ProUI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday exuded confidence that the ambitious Lucknow Metro Rail project, to ease traffic and transportation problem of the State capital, would start in time.While releasing the ‘Development Agenda of UP 2013-14’, Mr. Yadav said, “After the Lucknow project, which is a priority of the State government, projects for other cities would be taken up”.Mr. Yadav was presented the model of the proposed project at his residence on Saturday. He added that the funds for the extension of metro in Ghaziabad have been arranged.Housing and Urban Planning Principal Secretary Sadakant said details of the project were being worked out so that the first phase of the Rs.6,757-crore project could be started by the targeted date of December 2013.All efforts are being made to obtain necessary approvals and financial sanctions from the Centre, he said, adding that operations are expected to commence in December 2016.A modified Detailed Project Report had been approved by the high-powered committee headed by the Chief Secretary, Mr. Sadakant said.The constitution of the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) is under way with the memorandum and articles of the association having been prepared, he said.To expedite the work, an interim consultant is required to prepare detailed designs for which two specialist agencies -- RITES and DMRC -- have been asked to submit proposals, he said, adding that the interim consultant would be selected by the end of this month.

The DMRC is working on the depot design for north-south corridor of the first phase, he said.

The underground portion of the north-south corridor had been reduced from 7.5 km to approximately 3.5 km from Charbagh to Hazratganj, Mr. Sadakant said. Twenty-two stations are proposed in the first phase, out of which three are underground and 19 elevated.

An estimated 6.45 lakh passengers are likely to use this corridor in the year 2020. The peak-hour-peak-direction traffic (PHPDT) of this corridor is estimated to be 20,976 in 2020. One rake would consist of six coaches with a passenger carrying capacity of 1,574. Initially, the train will run at an interval of 7 to 14 minutes but with the increase in traffic, the interval will be reduced to 2 to 4 minutes. - PTI

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.

कानपुर, हमारे संवाददाता: शनिवार को कालका मेल के द्वितीय श्रेणी के एसी कोच में पानी न होने के चलते यात्रियों ने हंगामा किया। जिसके बाद रेलवे अधिकारियों ने पानी की व्यवस्था कराई। उधर, जनरल कोच में पंखा न चलने को लेकर भी यात्रियों ने शिकायत की जिसे रेलवे के इलेक्ट्रीशियन ठीक करने में जुटे रहे। इसके चलते ट्रेन ढाई घंटा देर से चली। 1कानपुर, हमारे संवाददाता: शनिवार को कालका मेल के द्वितीय श्रेणी के एसी कोच में पानी न होने के चलते यात्रियों ने हंगामा किया। जिसके बाद रेलवे अधिकारियों ने पानी की व्यवस्था कराई। उधर, जनरल कोच में पंखा न चलने को लेकर भी यात्रियों ने शिकायत की जिसे रेलवे के इलेक्ट्रीशियन ठीक करने में जुटे रहे। इसके चलते ट्रेन ढाई घंटा देर से चली।

KORAPUT: Fifteen people were arrested for stealing alumina powder from the bogie of a goods train at Lada railway station in Rayagada district on Friday midnight.A truck, an auto-rickshaw and two mini-trucks engaged in transporting the stolen item were seized from the spot.Police said the consignment was being transported from Nalco at Damanjodi and to Vishakapatnam port.The train had halted at Lada railway station, about seven km from Rayagada."Around midnight, the miscreants broke open the lock of a bogie and looted material. They had filled the looted items in around 200 sacks and were loading it in the vehicles, when they were caught," said SDPO (Rayagada) Y Jagannath Rao."Valuation of the stolen item is yet to be done," he added. According to the officer, the involvement of some railway officials in the robbery is under investigation and details will be known once the inquiry is over.

Silchar: Hundreds of protesters on Saturday staged a demonstration in front of the residence of Assam minister for excise and sports Ajit Singh in the Itkhola locality of Silchar.The demonstration was organized by the Lumding-Silchar Broad-gauge Project Demand Implementation Action Committee, an umbrella organization of different NGOs of the Barak Valley. They were seeking immediate completion of the much-delayed 201-km broad gauge project connecting Lumding with Silchar under Northeast Frontier Railway.The members with placards and festoons in their hands raised slogans criticizing the ministers, MLAs and MPs from the Barak Valley for their alleged reluctance in timely implementation of the mega project, which is considered as the lifeline of the Barak Valley, Tripura, Mizoram and parts of Manipur.The sports minister was, however, was not at home when the demonstration took place. "We will not rest until the broad gauge and East-West corridor projects are commissioned. The projects are victims of negligence and reluctance of the government and local representatives", said Haridas Dutta, a member of the committee.

The demonstration passed off peacefully and no one was arrested, said a police officer.

This is the part of a series of agitations chalked out by the committee. On Friday, they staged a similar demonstration in front of the house of Assam public health engineering minister Gautom Roy in Hailakandi. Police arrested160 people for breaking Section 144 of CrPc.

On Sunday, the members of the committee will organize a similar programme in front of the house of minister for border area development Siddeq Ahmed in Karimganj.

Weekly special trains between Yeshwantpur and Mangalore Central will be introduced via Palakkad from August 18 to September 2. Train No.06565 will leave Yeshwantpur on Sundays at 11.55 p.m.Train No. 06566 will leave Mangalore Central on Mondays at 1.30 p.m.The service of the weekly special trains leaving Yeshwantpur on Sundays will be available from August 18 to September 1 and that of trains leaving Mangalore Central on Mondays from August 19 to September 2, a press release from Palakkad railway division here said on Saturday.These special trains will have one 2 tier AC coach, one 3 tier AC coach, seven sleeper coaches, and six unreserved general coaches, the release said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday exuded confidence that the ambitious Lucknow Metro Rail project, to ease traffic and transportation problem of the State capital, would start in time.While releasing the ‘Development Agenda of UP 2013-14’, Mr. Yadav said, “After the Lucknow project, which is a priority of the State government, projects for other cities would be taken up”.Mr. Yadav was presented the model of the proposed project at his residence on Saturday. He added that the funds for the extension of metro in Ghaziabad have been arranged.Housing and Urban Planning Principal Secretary Sadakant said details of the project were being worked out so that the first phase of the Rs.6,757-crore project could be started by the targeted date of December 2013.All efforts are being made to obtain necessary approvals and financial sanctions from the Centre, he said, adding that operations are expected to commence in December 2016.A modified Detailed Project Report had been approved by the high-powered committee headed by the Chief Secretary, Mr. Sadakant said.The constitution of the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) is under way with the memorandum and articles of the association having been prepared, he said.To expedite the work, an interim consultant is required to prepare detailed designs for which two specialist agencies -- RITES and DMRC -- have been asked to submit proposals, he said, adding that the interim consultant would be selected by the end of this month.

The DMRC is working on the depot design for north-south corridor of the first phase, he said.

The underground portion of the north-south corridor had been reduced from 7.5 km to approximately 3.5 km from Charbagh to Hazratganj, Mr. Sadakant said. Twenty-two stations are proposed in the first phase, out of which three are underground and 19 elevated.

An estimated 6.45 lakh passengers are likely to use this corridor in the year 2020. The peak-hour-peak-direction traffic (PHPDT) of this corridor is estimated to be 20,976 in 2020. One rake would consist of six coaches with a passenger carrying capacity of 1,574. Initially, the train will run at an interval of 7 to 14 minutes but with the increase in traffic, the interval will be reduced to 2 to 4 minutes. - PTI

Chandigarh:
Taking cognisance of curfew in Jammu and Kashmir, a total of 80 Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) personnel have been deployed to escort eight express trains plying between Ambala and Jammu stations.The trains in which the RPSF men have been deployed along with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) men are the Malwa Express, Swaraj Express, Dee Uhp AC superfast and Jat Durg superfast.Sources in the Northern Railway said a company comprising 80 RPSF men had been sent to the Ambala station for deployment on the trains.Sources in the Railways said seven RPSF personnel along with two RPF men would escort each train and around 20 RPF personnel were deployed at the Ambala station to inspect all trains plying from the station.Railway Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Mohinder Singh said the RPSF was a reserve force which is usually deployed during disturbances for the security of the passengers.

Records revealed that more than 20 trains were plying between Ambala and Jammu. Officials said the trains were shortlisted for additional security as they were prone to attack by anti-social elements.

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.

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.