ProUI

A meeting pertaining to railway matters of Coastal Karnataka will be held at the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) Hall at Bunder in Mangalore at 3.30 p.m. on Wednesday. The meeting is being jointly organised by the KCCI and Udupi Railway Yatri Sangha. Interested persons from all the three Coastal districts are requested to attend the meeting, said a press release issued by R.L. Dias, president of the Sangha, here on Saturday.

Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor has assured that the railway development at Nemom would become a reality soon.Inaugurating the 20th half-yearly meet of the Federation of Residents’ Associations, Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT), he said,” Thampanoor railway station would be raised to global standards. New booking station, escalators and other facilities would be set up here. An amount of Rs 10 crore was allocated for this”. He also said that the Kazhakoottam-Kaliyikkavila bypass construction would be started soon.The prospect of developing the ship building unit at Poovar as a unit of the Kochi shipyard would also be considered.Former Union Minister and BJP leader O Rajagopal, M Vijayakumar, M R Thampan, K Viswanathan, Kadakampally Surendran, Karamana Jayan, G Santhakumar, Nandakumar (IAS) and Madhavan Kutty also attended. National award winning teachers were honoured at the function. Mithranikethan director K Viswanathan was also honoured.

FRAT president Pattom Sasidharan Nair, general secretary Maruthamkuzhy Satheesh Kumar, treasurers C Manoharan Nair and others spoke.

Chennai: The Madras high court has ruled in favour of a wife of a dead Southern Railway employee who was denied appointment in his place on compassionate grounds because she was a diabetic.Pointing out that diabetes usually has no impact on an individual’s ability to do a particular job, the court said, “In most cases the employer may not even know that his employee has diabetes.As the impact of diabetes and its management varies among individuals there cannot be a blanket ban on giving public employment to persons with diabetes.”The court upheld the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal which had quashed the decision  of  the Southern Railway, denying the widow a job after a medical examination showed she was diabetic.Arockiammal had applied for a job on compassionate grounds after her husband , a commercial clerk with the Southern Railways, died in  2010. But was told in vague terms after her medical examination in 2011 that she was unfit on medical grounds.On her representation, another medication examination was conducted in June 2012. And this time she was told she was being denied a job as her blood sugar was high. The woman then approached CAT, which allowed her application.  

Diabetic wins battle against railways

Coming down hard on Southern Railway for denying the widow of an employee a job in his place because she diabetic and the disorder was “chronic and progressi­ve”, the Madras high court said it had failed to establish its case.

While dismissing the petition filed by the Southern Railway challenging the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal  which had ruled in favour of the Arockiammal, a division bench comprising Justices R. Banumathi and T.S. Sivagnanam said going by medical experts diabetes was only a condition in which the body failed to utilise the ingested glucose properly.

It also noted that  there was a strong school of thought that a diabetic was not suffering from a disease, but only a disorder that could be managed. Quoting a  2011  survey it said 62.4 million were diabetic in the country,  and this figure could rise to 110.1 million by 2030.

Recalling that Arockiammal’s husband was a commercial clerk with Southern Railway when he died in  2010 and that she too had merely done her plus two, it said, “ In the given circumstances one can reasonably conclude that she would have been unaware that her blood glucose level was higher than the acceptable norms.”

In the judges’ view it was unfair of the railway administration to reject her candidature based on a single blood test. “To deny employment to her on speculation about what might occur in future is unreasonable. Medical experts state that blood glucose levels fluctuate throughout the day, which is also the case of people with diabetes, and one test cannot be an assessment of the overall health of a person with diabetes,”  they added.

CHENNAI: Can diabetes and a blood sugar level of 140mg/dL be cited as reasons to deny employment to a person?

No, the Madras high court has said, adding, "There cannot be a blanket ban on giving public employment to persons with diabetes. Medical experts opine that diabetes is a condition where the body fails to utilise the ingested glucose properly. Further, there is a strong school of thought that a diabetic is not suffering from a disease, but only a disorder that could be managed."

Upholding a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order rejecting the railway administration's claim that a diabetic might not be able to discharge his/her works efficiently, a bench of Justice R Banumathi and Justice T S Sivagnanam said, "It is unfair on the part of the railway administration to reject a candidature on a single blood test."Manikandan, a commercial clerk in Southern Railway, died in harness in 2010. His wife Arockiammal applied to the railways for a job on compassionate grounds. In 2011, the railway administration informed that she was unfit on medical grounds, as her blood sugar level was around 140mg/dL.She then approached the CAT for remedy. The railways resisted her application, stating that compassionate appointment cannot be a matter of right and that she had been found medically unfit for the job. The tribunal, however, allowed her plea, and directed the railways to appoint her under compassionate grounds.The present appeal in the high court was filed by the railway administration.

Dismissing the appeal, the division bench said that, as of a 2011 survey, 62.4million (as against 1.2 billion Indian population) are diabetic. It is slated to increase in 2030 to 110.1 million. "Diabetes usually has no impact on an individual's ability to do a particular job, and in most cases the employer may not even know that his employee has diabetes. As the impact of diabetes and its management varies among individuals, there cannot be a blanket ban on giving public employment to persons with diabetes.

The judges said they were conscious of the legal position that there is no vested right to secure appointment on compassionate grounds, but said that they had jurisdiction to step in when they find that there has not been an objective consideration or arbitrary approach by the authorities. Pointing out that Arockiammal was otherwise eligible for the employment, the judge said, "to deny employment to her on speculation that what might occur in future is unreasonable."

The judges then directed the railway administration to comply with the CAT direction on giving employment to Arockiammal within three months.

Medical experts point out that people with diabetes should not be discriminated based on their condition as it is treatable and does not interfere with the person's routine life. "Diabetes is a very common disorder and no one can deny a job for a diabetic on these grounds. Diabetics are healthy people who have a treatable condition and it does not affect their work in any way," said diabetologist Dr A Ramachandran, Chairman, Dr A Ramachandran's Diabetes Hospitals.

SUNDAY:
DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Saturday warned of rail blockades and black flags on houses and commercial establishments across Tamil Nadu if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not declare that India would not participate in the CHOGM in Colombo, Indian media reported.Indian media quoted Karunanidhi in a statement, as saying: "The prime minister without neglecting Tamils' demand should categorically and openly declare that India will not participate in the meet."He said the Sri Lankan government has lost credibility in the international forum and it is trying to dilute the provisions of 13th amendment to its constitution.

Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor has assured that the railway development at Nemom would become a reality soon.Inaugurating the 20th half-yearly meet of the Federation of Residents’ Associations, Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT), he said,” Thampanoor railway station would be raised to global standards. New booking station, escalators and other facilities would be set up here. An amount of Rs 10 crore was allocated for this”. He also said that the Kazhakoottam-Kaliyikkavila bypass construction would be started soon.The prospect of developing the ship building unit at Poovar as a unit of the Kochi shipyard would also be considered.Former Union Minister and BJP leader O Rajagopal, M Vijayakumar, M R Thampan, K Viswanathan, Kadakampally Surendran, Karamana Jayan, G Santhakumar, Nandakumar (IAS) and Madhavan Kutty also attended. National award winning teachers were honoured at the function. Mithranikethan director K Viswanathan was also honoured.

FRAT president Pattom Sasidharan Nair, general secretary Maruthamkuzhy Satheesh Kumar, treasurers C Manoharan Nair and others spoke.

A leading Chinese rolling stock manufacturer said Friday it has produced the world's heaviest freight train with a maximum loading capacity of nearly 155 tonnes per wagon.CNR Qiqihar Railway Rolling Stock Co., Ltd. delivered the train to global mining giant Rio Tinto on Friday.The maximum axle load of each wagon is 44 tonnes and the train has a total carrying capacity of 30,000 to 50,000 tonnes.The train shows that China is a global leader in freight train research, development and manufacturing, according to the company.Based in the city of Qiqihar in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Qiqihar Railway Rolling Stock is a leading domestic freight train manufacturer under China CNR Corporation Limited.In 2012, Qiqihar Railway Rolling Stock realized export contracts for trains and parts totaling nearly 400 million U.S. dollars.The company's products have been sold to more than 20 countries or regions.

New Delhi: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has decided to run around 300 extra trains each on Tuesday and Wednesday, in anticipation of the rush of commuters on Raksha Bandhan, an official statement said on Sunday. "In view of the high ridership observed on Rakhi day, and the day before it for the past few years, DMRC has decided to run extra trains and deploy additional personnel to cater to the extra rush of commuters expected on these two days," the DMRC statement said. Raksha Bandhan, the Hindu festival that celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters, will be celebrated Wednesday.An 8-coach metro train would run on the commuter service line connecting Dwarka with Noida and Vaishali from Monday. According to ridership figures, in 2012, over 22 lakh passengers travelled the day before Raksha Bandhan by metro and close to 20 lakh riders took the metro trains on the day of Rakhi. DMRC also said that an eight-coach metro train would start running on the commuter service line connecting Dwarka in west Delhi with Noida and Vaishali in Uttar Pradesh, starting Monday. "This will be the first of a total of 31 eight-coach trains which will be introduced on the blue line in a phased manner," the statement said. Delhi Metro hit a high ridership figure of 25 lakh passengers recently. Its operational network has grown to 190 km. Metro services began in Delhi in 2002

लखनऊ में मेट्रो दौड़ाने के लिए सरकार एक कदम और आगे बढ़ी है। सरकार मेट्रो संचालन के लिए कारपोरेशन बनाने जा रही है। जल्द यह काम पूरा करने का निर्देश देते हुए मुख्यमंत्री अखिलेश यादव ने कहा कि मुख्य सचिव स्तर से अनुमोदित मेट्रो की संशोधित डीपीआर में शहरी विकास मंत्रालय ने कुछ संशोधन करने कहा है, जिसे इस माह तक दूर कर दिया जाएगा। उन्होंने कहा है कि मेट्रो का काम तय समय पर शुरू कर लिया जाएगा।
मुख्यमंत्री ने बताया कि दिसंबर में एयरपोर्ट से मुंशी पुलिया रूट वाले नार्थ साउथ कॉरीडोर का निर्माण शुरू हो जाएगा और मेट्रो ट्रेन का संचालन दिसंबर 2016 में संभावित है। उन्होंने बताया कि वर्तमान में संशोधित डीपीआर में प्रस्तावित कॉरीडोर में अतिरिक्त कॉरीडोर मिल रोड, तुलसीदास मार्ग, सुभाष मार्ग, गोमतीनगर व रिंग मेट्रो के प्रथम चरण की टेक्नोफिजिबिलिटी स्टडी कराने के लिए दिल्ली मेट्रो रेल कॉरपोरेशन को कार्यादेश जारी किया जा चुका है।
मुख्यमंत्री ने कहा कि लखनऊ मेट्रो के संचालन की व्यवस्था केबाद अब गाजियाबाद में मेट्रो शुरू करने की कार्ययोजना तैयार कर रहे हैं। मेट्रो के कार्य के लिए राजीव अग्रवाल को पूरी जिम्मेदारी सौंपी गई है। चारबाग से आइटी कालेज का मेट्रो स्केल तैयार हो गया है। कैबिनेट ने वित्तीय स्थितियां भी स्पष्ट कर दी हैं। इसमें 50 फीसद राज्य, 50 फीसद केंद्र वहन करेगा।

New Delhi: Indian Railways has decided to equip some of its premier trains with automatic fire detection system involving activation of emergency brake followed by hooter sound in case of a fire.“The automatic fire and smoke detection system is being installed on Ranchi Rajdhani,” a senior Railway Ministry official said, adding, “as per the plan, more such trains will be equipped with the system in future.”LHB coaches of Ranchi Rajdhani now have fire safety device manufactured by an Australian company. The installation was done at a rail coach factory in Kapurthala at approximately Rs 1.75 lakh per coach.The air brake system will be automatically activated if there is a fire in the coach and the hooter sound will follow 45 seconds after the emergency brake, the official said. The hooter will alert the Railway staff in case of fire, enabling them to shift or evacuate the passengers from the train, he said.Earlier, the fire detection system was installed in Bhubaneswar Rajdhani on a trial basis. “Two fire incidents were detected by the system in two coaches of Bhubaneswar Rajdhani during the trial period and timely warning saved loss of life and property,” the official said.Based on the feedback from the trial, Research Design and Standards Organisation, Railways’ research wing, has improved on the specification and also made provision of interfacing the system with the air brake system of the coaches so that in the event of fire, train stops before the hooter is sounded.

This will ensure that passengers get out safely without panicking, he said.

Currently, the fire safety system can be installed only in air conditioned coaches – AC First, AC Second, AC Three Tier, AC Chair Car and AC pantry car. The general compartments and sleeper coaches have been left out.

A different system will be developed for sleeper and general compartments as this technology is suitable for AC coaches only, the official said.