ProUI

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.

Temporary Additional AC First Class Coach to Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express

  South Central Railway will temporarily augment Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express with o­ne additional AC First Class Coachfrom 25th to 31st August, 2013 to clear the extra rush / waitlisted  passengers as per the following schedule.

Accordingly, Tr.No.17230 Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express will be temporarily augmented with o­ne additional AC First Class coach Ex-Hyderabad from 25th to 31st August, 2013.

Tr.No.17229 Trivandrum-Hyderabad-Trivandrum Sabari Express will be temporarily augmented with o­ne additional AC First Class coach Ex-Trivandrum from 27th to 31stAugust, 2013.

These two additional AC First Class Coaches will make available 216 additional First Class berths.

Temporary Additional AC First Class Coach to Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express

  South Central Railway will temporarily augment Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express with o­ne additional AC First Class Coachfrom 25th to 31st August, 2013 to clear the extra rush / waitlisted  passengers as per the following schedule.

Accordingly, Tr.No.17230 Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express will be temporarily augmented with o­ne additional AC First Class coach Ex-Hyderabad from 25th to 31st August, 2013.

Tr.No.17229 Trivandrum-Hyderabad-Trivandrum Sabari Express will be temporarily augmented with o­ne additional AC First Class coach Ex-Trivandrum from 27th to 31stAugust, 2013.

These two additional AC First Class Coaches will make available 216 additional First Class berths.

KOLKATA: A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has brought to light the unhygienic conditions that prevail at major stations like Howrah and Sealdah as well as on trains. The report has also exposed how unclean linen is supplied to upper-class passengers.Eastern Railway (ER) is among the four zones with the maximum number of stations without cement-concrete (CC) aprons, a pre-requisite for mechanized cleaning. Only between 60 and 71% of stations in these zones have the facility."Provision for washable aprons was found inadequate even in major stations of ER such as Howrah, Naihati, Malda, Bandel, Burdwan and Sealdah. The CAG also noted improper sanitation due to night soil deposit on damaged aprons or absence of washable aprons at the Naihati, Bandel, Burdwan and Asansol stations under ER. Thus the railway administration was not able to effectively implement the Railway Board's guidelines of December, 2006, for mechanized cleaning of all major stations," the CAG report states.

The CAG audit has also noted several shortcomings in the Clean Train Stations (CTS) scheme. "Audit observed an average shortfall of about 20% in the number of trains actually cleaned under CTS. The trains cleaned under this scheme were only partially attended," the report said. Sleeper class coaches mostly remained unattended. During joint inspection of trains attended through the CTS project, audit observed that vestibules between coaches were littered with untreated food, used plastic plates, tea cups and other items. These are then thrown out on to the tracks. Toilets in most of the trains inspected were either chocked or dirty," the report states.

According to the CAG, Indian Railways has only partially achieved the objective of maintaining cleanliness in trains mainly due to poor planning and inadequate monitoring at the zonal level. The report has also found several problems with the On Board Housekeeping System (OBHS) on mail/express trains. Under this system, housekeeping staff from private agencies are to travel in passenger coaches and clean toilets, aisles, doorways and compartments. The audit has revealed that of the 554 pairs of trains identified under this scheme, tenders were finalized only for 350 pairs. Based on average Passenger Satisfaction Index, Rs 53 lakh was recovered by South Eastern Railway (SER) from private contractors responsible for OBHS at the Santragachi and Tatanagar stations. The report also has a photograph of a water-logged, dirty, washbasin on the Howrah-Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express which is under OBHS. "Audit conducted in 88 trains revealed several deficiencies. There is lack of adequate publicity through public address system in the station before the start of the journey about the presence of the executive housekeeper for cleaning and sanitation work on the running train. The terms and conditions of OBHS agreement provides for disposal of garbage at notified stations en-route. It was observed that staff didn't turn up for collection of garbage at the notified stations. Sleeper class coaches were mostly left unattended. There is lack of adequate supervision by railway officials in respect of activities of staff involved in OBHS," it has been stated in the report.

The CAG audit has also revealed that unclean linen is supplied to passengers. While ER imposed a penalty of Rs 37.10 lakh on private contractors for not adhering to quality norms, SER charged Rs 12.34 lakh. It was revealed during the audit that 'linen supplied is dirty, torn/tattered and has outlived its prescribed life.' It has been noted that sufficient numbers of automated mechanized laundries have not been set up by the railway zones, resulting in over-dependence on private agencies.

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.

अमरावती, बडनेरासह सहा रेल्वेस्थानके समस्यांनी त्रस्त

अमरावती - पादचारी पूल, उद्‌घोषणा, फूडप्लाझा, सायबर कॅफे आणि सायकल स्टॅण्ड अशा अनंत समस्या सोडविण्यात "भुसावळ झोन'ला अंतराच्या मोठ्या मर्यादा पडतात. अमरावती, बडनेरा आणि नरखेड मार्गावरील चार स्थानके तातडीने मध्य रेल्वेच्या नागपूर विभागाला जोडली तर प्रशासकीय नियंत्रण आणि समन्वय सहज शक्‍य होऊन लाखो प्रवाशांची नाहक त्रासातून सुटका होईल.

भुसावळ विभाग अमरावतीपासून 229 किलोमीटर दूर आहे. त्या तुलनेत नागपूर विभाग 150 किलोमीटर अंतरावर आहे. अमरावती, बडनेरा आणि नवीन अमरावती रेल्वेस्थानके नाना प्रश्‍नांनी वेढलेली आहेत. एवढेच काय, तर चांदूरबाजार ते भुसावळ हे अंतर तब्बल 271 किलोमीटर एवढे पडते. भुसावळ विभागात 1028.36 किलोमीटर लांबीचा लोहमार्ग आहे. त्यामुळे भुसावळ विभागावर प्रशासकीय समन्वय राखण्यात मोठ्या अडचणी येतात. त्यामुळे भुसावळ विभागातील सहा रेल्वेस्थानके कमाल 150 किलोमीटर अंतरावरील नागपूर विभागाला जोडली तर सर्वच प्रश्‍न प्रशासकीय नियंत्रणामुळे सुटू शकतात. भुसावळ विभागात अंदाजे 272 स्थानकांचा, तर नागपूर विभागात फक्त 91 स्थानकांचा समावेश आहे. त्यामुळे भुसावळमधील सहा स्थानकांचा समावेश नागपूर विभागात करणे सोयीचेच ठरणार आहे.

मुंबई-हावडा रेल्वे मार्गावरील बडनेरा हे मध्य रेल्वेतील अत्यंत महत्त्वाचे स्थानक आहे. त्यानंतर मॉडेल स्थानकाच्या रूपाने अमरावती रेल्वेच्या नकाशावर आले. अमरावतीला मॉडेल स्थानकाचा दर्जा मिळाला. सात नव्या रेल्वेगाड्यादेखील सुरू झाल्या. परंतु, मॉडेल स्थानकावर घोषित केलेल्या सोयी, सुविधा उपलब्ध झाल्या नाहीत. हीच परिस्थिती बडनेरा स्थानकाची आहे. विशेष म्हणजे, 133 किलोमीटर लांबीचा अमरावती-नरखेड रेल्वेमार्ग तयार करण्यात आला. या मार्गावरील चांदूरबाजारपर्यंत मध्यरेल्वेच्या भुसावळ विभागाची हद्द असून, तेथून पुढे नरखेडपर्यंत नागपूर विभागाची हद्द आहे.
मॉडेल स्थानकातून नरखेड मार्गे जाणाऱ्या अनेक गाड्या प्रस्तावित आहेत. परंतु, अमरावती-नवी अमरावतीला जोडणाऱ्या "कॉर्ड लाइन'चादेखील अद्याप पत्ता नसल्याने बडनेरा-नागपूर मार्गावर काही अघटित घडल्यास पर्यायी मार्ग म्हणून अमरावती-नरखेडचा वापर केला जातो.

दबाव हवा
कुठले रेल्वेस्थानक कोणत्या विभागात असावे, याचा निर्णय "रेल्वे बोर्ड' घेते. त्यामुळे नेत्यांनी दबाव आणल्यास नागपूर विभागात समावेश करणे सहज शक्‍य आहे.

सहाही स्थानके नागपूर विभागात समाविष्ट करावी, ही रास्त मागणी आहे. त्यासाठी आम्ही पाठपुरावा करू.
- देवेंद्र फडणवीस, आमदार आणि प्रदेशाध्यक्ष, भाजप

या आहेत समस्या...

* अमरावती (मॉडेल) : चार फलाट-एकच अंडरपाथ वे, फुट ओव्हरब्रिज, उद्‌घोषणा यंत्रणा, दुकाने, सायकल स्टॅंड, वाहन चोऱ्यांवर अंकुश, पुरेसे मनुष्यबळ, राजापेठ उड्डाणपूल, वॉशिंग-सायडिंग दिवास्वप्नच

* बडनेरा : कायम अस्वच्छता, निसरडा फुट ओव्हरब्रिज, मनुष्यबळाची कमतरता, ठोस नियंत्रणाचा अभाव

* नवीन अमरावती (नरखेड मार्ग) : प्रस्तावित गाड्या सुरू नाही, आरक्षण सुविधा नाही, खानपान व्यवस्था

ALLAHABAD: The railway administration had decided to fix quota in the selection of Jan Sadharan Ticket Booking Sewak (JTBS) operators. Under the scheme, the selected persons are empowered to issue general tickets to the passengers at major locations in the city. Director (passenger marketing), Railway Board, Monica Agnihotri had written letters to all the chief commercial managers of the zonal railways in this regard. There would be 49.5% reservation of the total number of JTBSs on the divisional basis. Of this, 12% has been reserved for people belonging to Scheduled Caste, 8% for Scheduled Tribes, 20% for persons belonging to other backward classes (OBCs) while 9.5% has been reserved for person belonging to the minorities communities. The minorities would include Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis).

In each category, 10% would be for freedom fighters and women, including war widows and widows of railway employees and 10% for physically challenged persons. Apart from this, 10% reservation for the disabled persons would be applicable in the general category also.

The JTBS operators are allowed to issue season tickets. Each season ticket is to be treated as a single ticket/single passenger for the purpose of levy of service charge. Service charges to be realized by JTBS is Re 1 per passenger. Bank guarantee had been reduced to Rs 20,000 from Rs 40,000 and security deposit has been reduced to Rs 5,000 from existing Rs 15,000. JTBS operators are also permitted to operate one additional counter provided the sale of tickets is more than 800 per day on each counter for a period of one month. They may be allowed to shift from the original location to a new location at own cost with a view to increase sale of tickets.

The tenure of contract is enhanced to three years, renewable by a tenure of three years, subject to satisfactory performance. and the operators abide by terms and conditions prevailing at the time of renewal.

The railway ministry had introduced this scheme in 2008 with a view to appoint JSTB Sewaks in various parts of cities for issue of unreserved tickets through Computerized Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS).

Temporary Additional AC First Class Coach to Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express

  South Central Railway will temporarily augment Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express with o­ne additional AC First Class Coachfrom 25th to 31st August, 2013 to clear the extra rush / waitlisted  passengers as per the following schedule.

Accordingly, Tr.No.17230 Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express will be temporarily augmented with o­ne additional AC First Class coach Ex-Hyderabad from 25th to 31st August, 2013.

Tr.No.17229 Trivandrum-Hyderabad-Trivandrum Sabari Express will be temporarily augmented with o­ne additional AC First Class coach Ex-Trivandrum from 27th to 31stAugust, 2013.

These two additional AC First Class Coaches will make available 216 additional First Class berths.

Temporary Additional AC First Class Coach to Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express

  South Central Railway will temporarily augment Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express with o­ne additional AC First Class Coachfrom 25th to 31st August, 2013 to clear the extra rush / waitlisted  passengers as per the following schedule.

Accordingly, Tr.No.17230 Hyderabad-Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express will be temporarily augmented with o­ne additional AC First Class coach Ex-Hyderabad from 25th to 31st August, 2013.

Tr.No.17229 Trivandrum-Hyderabad-Trivandrum Sabari Express will be temporarily augmented with o­ne additional AC First Class coach Ex-Trivandrum from 27th to 31stAugust, 2013.

These two additional AC First Class Coaches will make available 216 additional First Class berths.

The Railways on Tuesday blamed the Bihar government for the train disaster at Dhamara Ghat in Khagaria district and claimed that only 28 persons died in the accident, not 37 as put out by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar; it said nine others were injured.

“Probably he (Nitish Kumar) mixed up the figures of death and injured to say that 37 persons died in the mishap at Dhamara Ghat in between Saharsa and Mansi section of Samastipur division,” Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters at Patna airport.

Asked who was to blame for the Rajyarani Express mowing down the pilgrims, the minister put the blame on the state administration.

Lack of coordination

“The local administration did not alert the Railways about the large congregation of pilgrims for the mela (fair) at the Katayani temple so that we could have taken some measures,” Chaudhury said.

“There was no proper coordination by the local administration with the Railways for making the necessary arrangement,” he said.

The Bihar CM had yesterday dismissed any lapse on the part of the state administration.PTI