ProUI

रांची रेलवे स्टेशन पर एस्केलेटर सीढिय़ों के चालू होने में अभी एक महीने का समय और लगेगा। एस्केलेटर लगाने का काम सात अगस्त तक पूरा करना था, लेकिन प्लानिंग में कमी और मानसून के कारण ऐसा नहीं हो पाया।
रांची स्टेशन के प्लेटफॉर्म नंबर एक और चार-पांच पर एस्केलेटर लगाया जाना है। फिलहाल प्लेटफॉर्म एक पर एस्केलेटर इंस्टॉल करने का काम चल रहा है। यह काम दिल्ली की कंपनी ऑटो मीटर कर रही है। वहीं एस्केलेटर लगाने के लिए बेस बनाने का काम घरौंदा होम्स प्राइवेट लिमिटेड पूरा कर चुकी है। प्लेटफॉर्म नंबर एक पर एस्केलेटर लगाने का काम लगभग पूरा हो चुका है। वहीं प्लेटफॉर्म नंबर चार-पांच पर सिर्फ लोहे का बेस खड़ा किया गया है। एस्केलेटर लगाने के लिए खुदाई की जा रही है। यह काम पूरा होने में करीब एक महीना लग सकता है। एस्केलेटर के ऊपर शेड भी बनाया जाना है।

Patna, Aug 21: Two days have passed since the tragedy took place on the railway tracks in Khagaria district in Bihar. Still, severed human body parts are found lying in and around the tracks even after the bodies were lifted and stray dogs and vultures are competing for a feast. The scene at Dhamara Ghat Railway Station where 37 pilgrims were mowed down by a speeding train on Monday is far from an assuring one. Scattered body parts, blood-stained tracks, vandalised station, remains of burnt railway property, damaged papers are yet to be cleared and local railway authorities did not know when business will Resume as usual at the station.

Poor railway infrastructure: What did Bihar's railway ministers do all these years? The tragedy has raised some important questions. Bihar has been home of a number of railway ministers but yet stations like Dhamara Ghat remain nondescript and inaccessible through roadways. Neither do such stations have a public address system that could have proved handy in alerting those people, including children, who were run over by the train. Bihar's current chief minister Nitish Kumar has also been the railway minister in the past. What were the authorities doing yet? Not far from where Monday's disaster took place, perhaps the deadliest train accident in India's history took place in June 1981. More than 500 people were killed on the fateful day after a loaded passenger train plunged into the Bagmati River from over a bridge amid rainy conditions. The mishap occurred when the driver tried to save a cow crossing the tracks.

THE death of a number of people, mostly Kanwarias, in a train accident at Dhamara Ghat in Khagaria district in Bihar has come as a shock. These people were hit by the Rajyarani Express. Even as the country mourns the loss of so many lives, the blame game has already started between the state government and the Railways. This is most unseemly.

It is ultimately the duty of the Indian Railways to ensure the safety not only of the passengers travelling in the trains, but also the general public which is using the facilities. Governments of the states through which the railway tracks run also must share the responsibility of handling crowds in or near railway properties, including railway stations. There is no doubt that religious occasions create situations where very large number of people congregate at specific locations. Proper coordination between the state authorities and the Railways is imperative. As regards this specific accident, a large congregation of pilgrims was expected at the Katayani temple. Only a failure at multiple levels allows such a situation to develop into a tragedy.

It is a sad reflection on the state of affairs in the nation that the authorities concerned have not learnt much from such incidents in the past. In February, a stampede at Allahabad railway station led to the death of 36 Kumbh Mela pilgrims. The Commission of Railway Safety's data reflects an average of 24 serious train accidents in a year. This leads to the death of 130 passengers annually. Then there are other accidents which involve people who are not passengers and their deaths are many more, an estimated 15,000. This is a shocking figure. Many of these deaths are at unmanned crossings and on open train tracks. Sometimes, they happen when trains plough into people standing on the tracks, like it apparently happened in Bihar. While it is true that people should not have been on the track, the authorities concerned and the driver should have taken prompt action to avoid the tragedy. The matter should now be thoroughly investigated with the objective of learning some lessons.

Southern Railway General Manager Rakesh Misra on Tuesday directed the divisional railway officials to expedite the process of converting unmanned level crossings in Tiruchi division into manned or limited use subways. Mr. Misra gave the instruction at a review meeting with the railway officers of the division and from the Construction Organisation here.Reviewing the earnings of Tiruchi Division, Mr. Misra said there was a need to improve the earnings from the passenger transportation segment, adding that effective ticket checking could bring the desired result. He also directed the officials with regard to effective crowd management during the festival season by deploying adequate security personnel and volunteers and use of closed circuit television cameras in stations.

Divisional Railway Manager Manjula Rangarajan, Chief Administrative Officer – Construction S. Vijayakumaran and senior officers from various railway departments took part in the meeting held at the Control office meeting room, a Southern Railway press release here said.

Thanjavur: New Thanjavur-Chennai Express will be introduced simultaneously with the termination of Rockfort Express in Tiruchi, Mr. Rakesh Misra, told presspersons in Thanjavur on Tuesday. The people of Thanjavur and Kumbakonam need not have any apprehension over loosing Rockfort Express.

“The new express train announced in the budget for which timetable has been announced will be introduced simultaneously with the termination of Rockfort in Tiruchi,” he said.

समस्तीपुर रेल मंडल के धमारा घाट में हुई हृदयविदारक घटना से सबक लेकर धनबाद रेल मंडल ने एहतियात बरतना शुरू कर दिया है। रेलवे बोर्ड से जारी आदेश के बाद सभी स्टेशन मास्टर को सतर्क रहने के निर्देश दिये गये हैं। झारखंड, बिहार, उत्तर प्रदेश व मध्य प्रदेश में फैले रेल मंडल के वैसे रेलखंड जहां रेलवे फाटक के आसपास मेला का आयोजन या फिर हाट-बाजार लगता है, उन रेलखंडों पर विशेष एहतियात बरतने को कहा गया है। रेल चालक व गार्ड को ऐसे स्थानों में रफ्तार नियंत्रित कर स्वविवेक से काम करने की हिदायत दी गई है। रेल फाटकों के आने के एक किमी पहले से सायरन बजाकर रेल परिचालन करने तथा भीड़भाड़ वाली जगहों थ्रू पासिंग नहीं करने को कहा गया है।

समस्तीपुर रेल मंडल के धमारा घाट में हुई हृदयविदारक घटना से सबक लेकर धनबाद रेल मंडल ने एहतियात बरतना शुरू कर दिया है। रेलवे बोर्ड से जारी आदेश के बाद सभी स्टेशन मास्टर को सतर्क रहने के निर्देश दिये गये हैं। झारखंड, बिहार, उत्तर प्रदेश व मध्य प्रदेश में फैले रेल मंडल के वैसे रेलखंड जहां रेलवे फाटक के आसपास मेला का आयोजन या फिर हाट-बाजार लगता है, उन रेलखंडों पर विशेष एहतियात बरतने को कहा गया है। रेल चालक व गार्ड को ऐसे स्थानों में रफ्तार नियंत्रित कर स्वविवेक से काम करने की हिदायत दी गई है। रेल फाटकों के आने के एक किमी पहले से सायरन बजाकर रेल परिचालन करने तथा भीड़भाड़ वाली जगहों थ्रू पासिंग नहीं करने को कहा गया है।

Train movement on the Saharsa-Patna route resumed today, almost 16 hours after the Rajya Rani track terror at Dhamara Ghat station.
Since there is no road route between Kopadia and Badala Ghatrailway stations, a distance of about 13km, the railway movement was necessary. It is theonly means of communication and considered the lifeline for lakhs of villagers.
Railway services resumed at 12.55am today after it was stopped soon after the express hit the passengers at 8.40am yesterday. Since protesters had destroyed railway property worth crores at the Dhamara Ghat station, it was difficult to resume the service.
The railway administration has roughly estimated a loss of about Rs 9 crore, as people uprooted properties on the station premises and torched two trains, including the Rajya Rani Express and Saharsa-Samastipur Passenger.
Divisional railway manager of Samastipur Arun Malik toldThe Telegraph: “We have resumed the train movement today. The burnt trains were pulled out of the station. We have roughly estimated a loss of Rs 8-9 crore after people torched two trains and vandalised offices at the station.”
The East Central Railway today in apress note stated “residents have done considerable damage to two trains and Dhamara Ghat station”.
“The panel and the signalling system have been completely damaged because of which train movement had to be stopped. The railways is trying to normalise train movement on the Saharsa-Mansi route. It will take four to five days to restore the damaged systems. However, we have resumed the movement of trains using an alternative signalling pattern,” the railways stated in the release.
Even the Rajya Rani Express, which was vandalised after it mowed down 28 people yesterday, will be resumed from Patna tomorrow. Malik said: “We have set-up four teams which would visit the victims’ villages and verify the credentials of the 28 deceased and their kin. The teams would disburse the Rs 5-lakh compensation to the relatives of the dead. Each team comprises three officers and a police inspector led by a senior officer of the railways. Since the compensation is huge, we strive to identify the victim’s family. We want to ensure that the compensation reaches the right person.”
He added that loco pilot Raja Ram Paswan and his assistant S.K. Suman, who were brutally beaten up by the mob, are recovering well.

A fake currency note dealer from Bengal was arrested from Gaya railway station on Tuesday.
Economic Offences Unit officers seized Indian currency notes witha face value of Rs 4.75 lakh from him. With the confiscation, the total value of seized fake Indian currency notes in the state since January has gone up to Rs 30 lakh. So far, 26 people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in circulation of counterfeit notes in the state.
Additional director-general (headquarters) Ravinder Kumar said: “One Chhedu Mandal, a resident of Malda in Bengal, has been arrested. Fake currency notes, with a face value of Rs 4.75lakh, were recovered from his possession.”
He said the Economic Offences Unit officers apprehended Mandal soon after he alighted from a train at Gaya railway station and was about to deliver the consignment to a resident.
The notes were of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination, he added.
Kumar said a case under sections 489 (A), 489 (B) and 489 (C) of the Indian Penal Code has been lodged against Mandal with the Economic Offences Unit police station in Patna.
Mandal is a native Chaipara in Malda district of Bengal.
He said Malda has, of late, emerged as a nerve centre for the fake currency note dealers in eastern India.
Giving details of the seizure, the additional director-general (headquarters) said counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 49.96 lakh were seized in 2012 and 53 people were arrested.
“In 2011, fake notes with a face value of Rs 22.54 lakh were recovered and 52 people were arrested,” he added.
Similarly, fake notes with a face value of Rs 18.69 lakh were seized and 72 people were apprehended in 2010.
The police had seized fake notes with a face value of Rs 13.07 lakh and arrested 67 people in 2009.
A year prior to that, 112 people were arrested and notes with a face value of Rs 16.81 lakh were seized.

बिलासपुर। डिवीजन के 10 उन छोटे रेलवे स्टेशनों के रिजर्वेशन काउंटर से अनरिजर्व टिकटें भी जारी होंगी। हर दिन समय विशेष पर जनरल टिकट कटाने वालों की भारी भीड़ होती है। यही वजह है कि काउंटरों के दोहरे उपयोग के निर्देश दिए गए हैं। यह भी तय कर दिया गया है कि किस समय कौन सी टिकट जारी होगी। नया निर्देश मंगलवार से लागू कर दिया गया।
अकलतरा, सक्ती, विश्रामपुर, बिजुरी, किरोड़ीमल नगर ये सभी स्टेशन ऐसे हैं, जहां सुबह 6 बजे से 9 बजे के बीच दो से अधिक पैसेंजर ट्रेनें गुजरती हैं। इसके चलते इस समय स्टेशन में जनरल टिकट लेने वालों की भारी भीड़ रहती है। एक काउंटर से टिकट जारी करने के चलते यात्रियों के बीच झगड़े की स्थिति बन जाती है। बिजुरी, बेलपहाड़ स्टेशन में पैसेंजर ट्रेनें दोपहर में पहुंचती हैं, लिहाजा यहां इस समय भीड़ ज्यादा रहती है।
रेल प्रशासन ने इस समस्या को दूर करने के लिए भीड़ के वक्त रिजर्वेशन काउंटर को यूटीएस यानी अनरिजर्व टिकट काउंटर के तौर पर उपयोग करने की योजना बनाई है। ऐसे में एक काउंटर के सामने लंबी कतार होती है, दूसरा (रिजर्वेशन) काउंटर सूना रहता है।

The weekly special train no 06565/06566 to run between Yeshwantpur and Mangalore Central between August 18 and September 2 has been cancelled, said a release from the Pallakad Division of the Southern Railways. — Staff Correspondent