ProUI

The district police made elaborate security at the Visakhapatnam railway station and surrounding areas due to a proposed Samaikhyandhra group's rail blockade agitation against the UPA's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh. The city police did not allow agitators inside the railway station and clamped Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code at the railway station as well as railway tracks under city limits, banning unlawful assembly of people, to avoid any untoward incidents. In a statement, the city police commissioner said that stern action would be taken against agitators if they tried to stop trains. Trespassing into railway stations, obstructing trains, causing inconvenience to passengers and damaging railway property are non-bailable offences, the police said. Conveners of the North Coastal Andhra Political Joint Action Committee K T Rama Rao and Students' Joint Action Committee A Kishore were taken into custody by the police, even as rallies and protests called by various organisations continued for the eleventh day today.

Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) Aug 11 (IANS) Traffic on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow rail gauge line in Himachal Pradesh will remain off the tracks for at least 10 days due to landslides along the track, a railway official said Sunday. "Traffic was suspended Friday as heavy rain in region had damaged the track at a number of points between Guler and Kangra towns," assistant divisional engineer (Northern Railways) M.K. Goel told IANS. He said the damage to the tracks was greater near Kangra. The 165-km-long rail track from Pathankot in Punjab to Jogindernagar in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh was once proposed to be declared a UNESCO heritage site. Railway officials say trains have been playing normally between Pathankot and Guler in Kangra district; beyond Guler, traffic has been halted for repair work. In March last year the rail traffic on this section was restored after seven months of closure. At that time, the 84-year-old railway bridge on the Chakki rivulet had been damaged in flashfloods. The bridge, initially constructed in 1928 when the Sanan hydel project in Jogindernagar was set up, is the only bridge connecting Pathankot and the picturesque Kangra Valley. The British had laid the Pathankot-Jogindernagar line in 1932, linking the prominent religious towns of Kangra and Mandi districts of the hill state. Each year, a large number of tourists ride trains on the line to take in the scenic beauty of the Himalayas

Says he found it at his son's home and was carrying it to throw it from the running train

A major security lapse was averted at the Pune railway station when a routine bag scan revealed that an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police was carrying an illegal country made pistol in his bag. The arrested person has been identified as Subhash Ganpatrao Gaikwad (55), who hails from Narayannagar in Amravati.On Sunday, Gaikwad was produced before the court of judicial magistrate first class, which remanded him in a day’s police custody on the grounds that police were probing from where he got the pistol, whether he had used it or had plans to sell it.The incident came to light after a constable Sachin Jagdhale, attached to the railway protection force (RPF), lodged a complaint with the government railway police (GRP) on Saturday.According to inspector DS Rajput, the RPF in-charge here, Gaikwad has been currently posted at the Amravati wireless department. Subhash had planned to travel back to his hometown in Amravati by Azad Express.

“Around 6pm, Gaikwad entered platform number one where a constable found a suspicious object in his bag during scanning. Gaikwad was first reluctant to give his bag claiming the different object was just a toy and also showed his police identity card to get away. Our constable insisted on checking the bag and found a seven-inch countrymade pistol,” Rajput said.

When the RPF asked him whether he had arms documents and licence, Gaikwad told that he was in Pune to visit his software engineer son at Shivne and found the pistol in his house, the inspector said.

“Gaikwad further claimed that he took away the pistol without telling his son and was planning to throw it away from a running train,” he said.

An offence had been registered against Gaikwad and he had been handed over to GRP. He was then arrested by GRP under relevant sections of Arms Act.

Mahendra Bagade, assistant police inspector, GRP, who is investigating the case said, “Gaikwad claimed that he had come to Pune to visit his son Shrikant. While cleaning the house, he found the pistol in the garden area. Without asking his son, he kept the pistol along with him and was travelling to his workplace. Despite being in  the police department, he did not alert the police. We are recording the statement of his son after which the picture will be clear.”

Thrissur Railway Passengers’ Association has welcomed the Railway’s proposal to operate a daily train from Guruvayur to Punalur through Kottayam. The train will be of considerable help to inter-district passengers and also Sabarimala pilgrims, the organisation has said.

VADODARA: Movement of trains was affected at the Vadodara station today after derailment of a goods train, Railway officials said.Seven oil tankers connected to a freight train jumped tracks near here, said Pradeep Banerjee, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Vadodara) of the Western railway."Because of the derailment, trains passing through Vadodara are directed on one track," he told PTI."Several trains on Up and Down lines on Mumbai-Delhi route have been running about 30 minutes behind schedule, but normalcy will be restored soon," Banerjee said.Thie goods train was on its way to Meerat from Gujarat refinery on the city's outskirts, Banerjee said.

Dhanbad, Aug. 10: The new chief security commissioner of East Central Railway, A.K. Pathak, is planning to groom Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel under his jurisdiction into a formidable force that can take on Naxalites.
Pathak, who took charge on August 7, said that he was committed to reining in rebel attacks in his zone.
“We will co-ordinate with state police, CID and top government officials to ensure that the railways remains safe,” he said while speaking to The Telegraph.
The senior railway official also said that RPF personnel would be trained like paramilitary troops and bomb disposal squads would be constituted in many areas. This apart, he promised to upgrade RPF gear during his tenure.
“Unless security personnel are equipped with latest gadgets and arms, they cannot fight criminals and Naxalites, who target railwaysfrom time to time,” said the chief security commissioner.
He added that tenders to revamp RPF gear were floated in the past, but were never executed.
After taking commando training in 1992 at BSF camp in Hazaribagh, Pathak went on to join engineering services and later moved to RPF.

Guntur (AP): Anti-Telangana activists on Sunday held protests on railway tracks here delaying at least two long-distance trains, police said.

Seshadri Express and Janmabhumi Express were delayed for at least two hours due to the agitation which was part of the ongoing protests in Seemandhra region against Centre's decision to carve out separate Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh.

Interestingly, Andhra Pradesh DGP V Dinesh Reddy on Thursday warned Samaikyandhra agitators of stringent action if they went ahead with their proposed rail roko agitation in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

The agitators squatted on the railway track and raised slogans demanding resignations of public representatives and ministers hailing from Seemandhra regions to bring pressure on Congress government at Centre to rescind its decision on creation of Telangana.

They relented only after passengers from the held up trains requested them.

Former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Dr Umareddi Venkateswarlu, who recently joined YSR Congress, alleged that Congress president Sonia Gandhi allowed bifurcation of state with an ulterior motive to consolidate Congress base in the separate state.

He was speaking at YSR Congress satyagraha camp here.

SANGRUR: Sangrur MP Vijay Indersingla on Sunday early morning flagged off a passenger train at Dhuri railway station for Bathinda. The passenger train will pass through Barnala, Tapa, Rampura to reach Bathinda in 2.25 hours.

Vijay Inder said after being elected MP from the Sangrur parliamentary constituency, I had consistently raised the demand for Introduction of new trains services, extension and increase in frequency of existing services.

Train no. 54765 Dhuri- Bhatinda passenger train would start from Dhuri daily at 4.00am and reach Bathinda at 06.25 am via Barnala,Tapa, Rampura Phul. On its return journey, the train no. 54746 would start at 7.35 pm and reach Dhuri at 10.15pm.

Chennai: A coach of a suburban Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train derailed near Chennai Central railway station this evening, but there were no casualties, railway sources said.The incident occurred at around 6.30 PM as the Electric Multiple Unit from Gumidipoondi was arriving at a platform. One of the wheels got dislodged from a coach near Basin Bridge and it derailed, they said.Train services were disrupted for over an hour on the route due to the incident, the sources said.Railway officials rushed to the spot to repair it, they said, adding that services would soon be restored.

Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) Aug 11 (IANS) Traffic on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow rail gauge line in Himachal Pradesh will remain off the tracks for at least 10 days due to landslides along the track, a railway official said Sunday. "Traffic was suspended Friday as heavy rain in region had damaged the track at a number of points between Guler and Kangra towns," assistant divisional engineer (Northern Railways) M.K. Goel told IANS. He said the damage to the tracks was greater near Kangra. The 165-km-long rail track from Pathankot in Punjab to Jogindernagar in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh was once proposed to be declared a UNESCO heritage site. Railway officials say trains have been playing normally between Pathankot and Guler in Kangra district; beyond Guler, traffic has been halted for repair work. In March last year the rail traffic on this section was restored after seven months of closure. At that time, the 84-year-old railway bridge on the Chakki rivulet had been damaged in flashfloods. The bridge, initially constructed in 1928 when the Sanan hydel project in Jogindernagar was set up, is the only bridge connecting Pathankot and the picturesque Kangra Valley. The British had laid the Pathankot-Jogindernagar line in 1932, linking the prominent religious towns of Kangra and Mandi districts of the hill state. Each year, a large number of tourists ride trains on the line to take in the scenic beauty of the Himalayas