5 stories you must read today, September 4: From SC taking note of floating logs to plea against Bengal Files and more

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a report from the Centre, and the state governments of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir on illegal felling of trees in the hills. The SC was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the wake of the ongoing floods in the Himalayan states. Recently, a video had gone viral on social media, showing a large number of logs floating in the flood waters, raising suspicion of rampant illegal tree cuttings. Chief Justice of India Justice B R Gavai, said it was a serious matter and expressed concern that soon "we may not have any forests left". Read more

The West Bengal Assembly on Thursday witnessed chaotic scenes as both the ruling party and opposition MLAs engaged in a war of words, calling each other ‘thieves’. It all began when BJP MLAs disrupted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s speech against the “humiliation of the Bengali language” over the recent crackdown on Bengali speakers in other states. Before Mamata could speak, BJP chief whip Shankar Ghosh sought an explanation on why the Leader of Opposition had been suspended for the entire session. When the Speaker refused to answer, BJP MLAs began shouting slogans, disrupting the CM’s address. Following the chaos, the Speaker suspended Ghosh and other BJP MLAs Agnimitra Paul, Bankim Ghosh, Ashok Dinda and Mihir Goswami. Read more

The Union Environment Ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee has approved requests to allow more bore holes to be drilled on forest land for mineral exploration activity without seeking clearance under the Van (Sanrakshan evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam. Under the forest conservation law, drilling of up to 25 bore holes per 10 sq km and 80 shot holes per sq km, along with felling of up to 100 trees in the said area was exempted from forest clearance. But under the exemption category, the ministry will allow 62 to 80 bore holes of up to 6-inch diameter per 10 sq km, for survey and exploration. Read more

Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, has said Palestinians’ lives under Israeli occupation are worse than anything Black South Africans experienced under apartheid. Mandla Mandela, who will join a flotilla aiming to deliver food and humanitarian supplies to Gaza, also urged the global community to continue supporting the Palestinians. Israel has been restricting the entry of international aid, including food and medicines, to Gaza, resulting in a famine there. Read more

Shantanu Mukherjee, the grandson of Gopal Mukherjee, has moved the Calcutta High Court seeking a stay on the release of the controversial movie ‘The Bengal Files’. According to the petitioner, Gopal Mukherjee has been depicted in a ghastly manner, and such scenes should be removed from the movie. The Bengal Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, is slated to hit movie halls on Friday. Read more