EnvironmentState Pollution Control Board readings put the AQI at 314 and 320 at two spots in Dasnagar, Howrah; festival-season traffic, fog and falling temperatures are expected to push pollution higher.
EnvironmentEnvironmentalists are alarmed that trees have been wrapped from crown to base in LED chains. A Delhi University study found such lighting harms nocturnal animals and birds, and the Bombay High Court has barred lights on trees.
Daily lifeFootpath cooking has stopped in Salt Lake's Sector V under new NDITA rules; 90 percent of the 973 stalls sell food, and cold food brought from home is losing customers and going to waste.
EnvironmentKolkata received 557.4 mm of rain this September, the fourth highest since 1900, and late monsoon rain cut India's seasonal deficit to 12.6 per cent.
Ahead of the International Day of Older Persons, the mental-health rights group Anjali's Cultures of Ageing report says seeing older people only as ill or dependent hides their work, relationships and independence.
Ahead of the Puja season, demand has pushed hilsa prices up in Kolkata, where fresh fish of a kilogram or more are in short supply.
The Fish Importers' Association of Kolkata has written to Khandaker Abdul Muktadir seeking a permanent end to the ban in place since July 2012, saying the limited Durga Puja permits since 2019 are not enough.
LivestockThe Allah Bharosa cattle market on Rifle Range Road in Kolkata's Park Circus was not held ahead of Eid-ul-Azha in 2026; Jagonews24 reported it was shut because of the new state government's strict slaughter and licensing rules.
AgribusinessBangladesh cleared 1,200 tonnes of hilsa for export to India before Durga Puja 2025, but only 144 tonnes had gone by the 5 October deadline. Importers in Howrah blamed a poor catch in Bangladesh and high prices.
With hilsa prices high at home, a request from West Bengal importers for hilsa ahead of Durga Puja is being reviewed by the commerce ministry.
The foreign ministry has sent 400kg of seasonal mangoes through Benapole land port for the staff of Bangladesh's deputy high commission in Kolkata.
Non-Muslims are helping at Kolkata's 'Allah Bharosa' cattle market at Park Circus, which organisers say sends a message of communal harmony.
The temporary animal market beside Kolkata's Nakhoda Mosque is selling only dumba and goats before Eid-ul-Azha, with some traders complaining of weak demand and low offers.
