ProUI

Enraged by the arrest of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, his followers and supporters stopped several trains at Ulhasnagar's railway tracks in the neighbouring Thane district today, official sources said.Scores of Asaram Bapu supporters staged a rail roko at around 12.30 pm, delaying local trains between the Kalyan-Karjat section for over half-an-hour, they said.Asaram was arrested by the Jodhpur Police after midnight from his ashram in Indore.His arrest followed an FIR filed by a 16-year-old girl, alleging she was sexually assaulted by Asaram at his ashram in Jodhpur.

Selection of exclusive developer-contractor for the Rs.5,581-crore project

The pre-expression of interest (EoI) conference to select the exclusive developer-contractor for the Rs.5,581-crore elevated Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode on a engineering-procurement-construction turnkey basis will be held on September 2.

The pre-EoI is part of the global tenders floated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the general consultant for Kerala Mono Rail Corporation Ltd (KMCL), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up to execute the project in the two cities. Official sources told The Hindu that the pre-EOI would be held in New Delhi at 11 a.m. Initially, it was decided to hold it on August 29. The last date of submission of EoI is October 1 and it will be opened on the same day as per the schedule. Technical and financial bids would be invited only from those who have been pre-qualified through the global EoI. The two-stage tender process to be initiated after October includes Request for Qualification (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP).

Two projects as one

Global tenders had been floated by treating the two monorail projects as one as only a 36.4-km stretch would be covered in the first phase in both the cities. Firms specialising in MRTS from the U.K., Japan, Malaysia, Korea, and China have evinced interest in the EoI. Official sources said the tenders were being floated to select the companies to design, set up, operate, and maintain the project apart from mobilising funds either through supplier credit or bilateral funding.

In case KMCL opts for supplier credit, the firm that bags the global tender would need to mobilise funds for the project. But, criticism has come up against opting for supplier credit. Apart from the construction work, those selected would have to supply rolling stock, build-up signalling and telecommunication facility, and construct stations and depots in both the cities.

The land for the project in the two cities would be acquired by KMCL at its own cost and handed over to the concessionaire. DMRC Principal Adviser E. Sreedharan has prepared a schedule to complete the tender process in six months and to fix the contract in seven months. The 22.2-km monorail would be from Technocity to Karamana in the capital. In Kozhikode, the 14.2-km rail would be from the Government Medical College area to Meenchantha.

October 1 last date for submission of EoI

Project to cover 36.4 km in two cities

Road and rail traffic in the city was disrupted for over three hours after followers of Asaram Bapu staged demonstrations against the arrest of the self-styled godman for allegedly assaulting a 16-year-old girl at his ashram.Thousands of vehicles were stuck on the Eastern Express Highway from Sion to Ghatkopar and Navi Mumbai. Vehicles proceeding towards Sion from South Mumbai were also entangled in a massive jam. Even though the protest was brought under control after an hour by the police the traffic continued to pile up on the highway.

Services on the Central Railway was badly hit because of the rail roko at Ulhasnagar station. A large number of supporters of the controversial guru squatted on the tracks protesting against the arrest resulting in tremendous inconvenience to commuters.

Many people heading towards Dadar and Parel to do shopping ahead of the Ganesha festival were stranded at Thane, Mulund and several other stations. “The demonstrators were on the tracks from 12.55pm and were protesting for about an hour,” said Central Railway PRO AK Singh.

Ashraf, who was on his way to the airport with his family, said: “I am stuck at Chunabhhati for one hour. I am going to miss my flight.”

Ram Bhai, a spokesperson for Asaram Bapu’s ashram at Goregaon, said, “The protests were organised spontaneously by devotees. The ashram has nothing to do with the demonstrations.”

Asaram’s supporters, including women, claimed he has been framed in the rape case. “We just want that the police to immediately release Bapu. We know that all allegations against him are false,” said Manoj Gupta of Hamara Bharat Foundation.

Gupta, who was among the protesters, alleged that a section of the protestors going towards Sion railway station was lathi-charged and over 100 protesters were detained by the police.

“We did not resort to lathi-charge. However, we booked 69 men and 39 women for the protests under Section 143 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They were later let out on bail,” said Baburao Gavit, senior PI, Sion police station.

The 72-year-old guru was arrested by the Jodhpur police from his ashram in Indore late on on Saturday. Asaram has denied the allegation and has stated that his arrest was “politically motivated.”

Prolonged struggle and persistent demands of city residents for restoring Rockfort Express to Tiruchi finally bore fruit when the train restarted its operation from here on Sunday night. Ever since the train originally introduced in the Tiruchi–Chennai chord line section was extended to Thanjavur at first and later to Kumbakonam some years ago, Tiruchiites had been fighting hard for its operation from Tiruchi - true to its name ‘Rockfort’.

They expressed their displeasure over the extension of this popular night train which had been running with packed capacity by resorting to agitations and shooting off memorandums to the railway administration at regular intervals. The extension, however, proved beneficial to travellers from Kumbakonam and Thanjavur for whom the express train was a convenient service at night. Tiruchi-based consumer and other organisations joined hands and formed a committee to retrieve Rockfort Express. Finally, the Railways announced the termination of Rockfort Express in Tiruchi and the operation of a new train from Thanjavur to Chennai.

However, the suspense over the exact date of operation of the new train caused concern among travellers from Kumbakonam and Thanjavur who wanted the termination of Rockfort Express in Tiruchi to be done only after introducing the Thanjavur–Chennai night train. Their anxiety came to an end a few days ago when the Railways announced that the Thanjavur–Chennai express would start operating from September 1 and that Rockfort Express would terminate in Tiruchi.

MARGAO: The Konkan Railway police on Sunday seized 488 helmets which were brought to the state on Goa Sampark Kranti Express for being sold illegally. The helmets didn't bear the mandatory ISI mark and had been transported by railway without proper billing, police sources said.

PSI Dattaguru Sawant of the Konkan Railway police said that a decoy customer, who was sent to inquire about the helmets on platform 3 of the Margao railway station, confirmed that the headgears were meant for sale. The Konkan Railway police then swung into action and seized the helmets, all worth 1.95 lakh, Sawant said.

Samsher Alam and Mohammed Ibrahim, both residents of Azadnagar, Margao, were arrested .

Palakkad: Ahead of the 2014 polls, the UPA government is moving ahead with another big-ticket rail project: A rail coach factory at Palakkad in Kerala.

“The request for qualification (RFQ) for the Rs.600 crore project will shortly be invited. We also expect to begin the process of shortlisting the bidders within this fiscal,” Railway Board chairman (CRB) Arunendra Kumar told.

The Pallakad factory has long been mired in political controversies despite the Kerala government — nearly four years ago — having offered land free of cost to set up the factory.

“All the issues have been sorted. An inter-ministerial group comprising officers of the ministries of finance, law and railways – as well as the planning commission – approved the draft RFQ for the project earlier this week,” Kumar said.

The factory, to be set up in three years, will have a capacity to manufacture 400 state-of-the-art aluminium coaches annually. It is planned as a joint venture with the railways contributing 26% of the equity.

The LDF government led by VS Achutanandan had acquired 430 acres for the project in 2009, which it had offered to the railways — provided the facility was built as a public fund and not as a PPP project.

As the railways plans to build the factory under the PPP mode, it has now purchased 239 acres from the Kerala government. “The state government had initially offered 430 acres free of charge,” Pallakad MP MB Rajesh said.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Government has granted sanction to construct a railway overbridge near Erode Station at a cost of Rs.40.16 crore. Since the Railways has expressed its inability to construct a new bridge to replace the existing one, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has sanctioned the construction of overbridge with State Government funds as it would connect traffic from Tiruchengode and Pallipalayam to Salem, Namakkal and Erode districts, an official release said. The railway overbridge would come up between Sankari Durg and Erode railway stations.The Chief Minister has also granted the Government’s administrative approval for constructing bridges in Thanjavur district at a total cost of Rs.36 crore, it said. Administrative approvals have been given for constructing a bridge between Thanjavur Town and Alakudi railway stations at Rs 29 crore and another bridge across Keezh Vennaru river at a cost of Rs seven crore, it added.

प्रतापगढ़ (ब्यूरो)। रेल ड्राइवर की सेवानिवृत्ति पर एक कार्यक्रम का आयोजन जंक्शन के लोको स्टोर के पास किया गया। इसमें ड्राइवर को स्मृति चिन्ह देकर विदाई दी गई।
जंक्शन मुख्यालय पर काम करने वाले रेल ड्राइवर डब्ल्यू ए एंडरसन के सेवानिवृत्त होने पर लोको पायलटों ने एक कार्यक्रम का आयोजन किया। इसमें उन्हें भावभीनी विदाई दी गई। चीफ क्रू कंट्रोलर एसएस मिश्रा ने कहा कि ट्रेन को चलाना जिम्मेदारी भरा काम होता है। एक ड्राइवर के जिम्मे हजारों की जान रहती है। उसकी एक चूक से कई जिंदगियां मौत के मुंह में जा सकती हैं। ऐसे में बिना किसी चूक के अपना कार्यकाल पूरा करना बड़ा कार्य है। एंडरसन हमेशा समय के पाबंद रहे। कार्यक्रम में उन्हें प्रतीक चिन्ह देकर सम्मानित किया गया। इस मौके पर क्रू कंट्रोलर एसडी मिश्रा, आशीष, आरसी मिश्रा, अशोक श्रीवास्तव, रिटायर्ड ड्राइवर नारायण सिंह आदि मौजूद रहे।

Namakkal-based Makkal Sakthi Iyakkam (People’s Power Movement) has urged railway officials in the Salem Divisional office, Southern Railways, Railway Minister, Members of the Legislative Assemblies and Members of the Parliament in this region to provide various basic amenities to benefit passengers who make use of the Namakkal Railway Station.

District secretary of the Iyakkam, Kaliannan Perumal, alleged that the lethargic attitude of railway officials here by not providing necessary facilities and failing to fulfil their assurances to the people has tarnished the image of the department.

He cited the delay in diverting a number of express trains on the Salem to Karur route (through Namakkal) several months after announcement of the same has disappointed commuters of this district. While passenger train service alone is operated on the route commuters are hit by lack of a link road to the railway station”, he said.

Mr. Kaliannan added that lack of bus service to the railway station has forced people to undergo difficulty in crossing the bumpy mud road to reach the railway station.

The movement has also sought extension of the functioning time of the railway reservation counter on the Mohanur Road, in Namakkal town, by seven hours (from the present 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.) till 8 p.m.

There is something about this music bug in Chennai that tends to drag perfectly normal people to their deaths on railway tracks. The Government Railway Police (GRP) sees in the frequent visits of the Grim Reaper the captivation power of the ubiquitous mobile phones.

Smart phones that let you listen to music using snazzy headsets have a particularly dangerous track record, claim GRP sources. For, the music flowing into your head and veins through the headset is so overpowering, you could get lost in your own world and become a potential danger at critical traffic points like railway tracks while on foot.

If the music theory doesn’t sound convincing, sample this: According to a new study at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University, teens listening to their favourite music tend to commit errors and make miscalculations while driving. Researchers found male novice drivers in particular making more frequent and serious mistakes listening to their preferred music than their female counterparts. The key words are “favourite music”. What applies to driving should surely apply to people on foot as well, isn’t it?

According to available data, around 25 people came under the wheels of trains in the State, while they were hooked to their cell phones, till July 31 this year. That works out to one death every eight days.

“Curiously, runover cases involving victims speaking on mobile phones and trespassing onto the tracks are reported more in Chennai and its suburbs when compared with the rural pockets of Tamil Nadu,” a GRP officer says.

“A majority of the victims were under the age of 30 years, largely comprising office-goers, college and school students. Speaking over the phone or listening to music on railway tracks distracts the attention of trespassers,” another senior officer adds.

The Israeli study assessed distraction by measuring driver deficiencies (miscalculation, inaccuracy, aggressiveness, and violations) as well as decreased vehicle performance. When teen drivers listened to their preferred music, almost all (98 per cent) demonstrated an average of three deficient driving behaviours, including speeding, tailgating, careless lane switching, passing vehicles and one-handed driving.

“Drivers in general are not aware that as they get drawn-in by a song, they move from an extra-personal space involving driving tasks, to a more personal space of active music listening,” researcher Brodsky says.

An officer in suburban Tambaram says youngsters often watch video clippings on their cell phones while taking strolls on the tracks, which multiplies the danger.

Last year, around 100 people came under the wheels of trains in the State while jaywalking because of their cell phone fixation. Around 50 such cases were recorded in Tamil Nadu in 2011, when the cell phone market had already started exploding.

In the last few weeks alone, two accident cases involving college students were reported at Nungambakkam and St Thomas Mount railway stations. Both students were using their cell phones at the time of the accident, an officer with railway security says.

For their part, GRP sources say campaigns are being organised to create awareness about the ill effects of mobile phone conversation which crossing railway tracks. They have borne fruit with the number of such accidents drastically reducing this year in the northern parts of Chennai, sources say.