ProUI

Members of the CPI, CPI (M) and YSR Congress joined the residents of Bhanunagar to stage a dharna at the colony on Saturday to protest against the fencing of a part of the residential area by the Railways.According to CPI leader Navaneetham Sambasiva Rao, the residents had been living in the colony since 1981 and even the district administration had promised to build the required infrastructure, but now Railways was pouring water over their dreams.According to the activists of the political parties, about 400 families had been living in about 100 houses on the land in question since last four decades.

CHANDIGARH: The quick "six-hour" approval from the PMO for his appointment as member (staff) of railway board, even when he was allowed to continue as the general manager of Western Railways, was "a mystery" even to Mahesh Kumar, going by the transcripts of telephone conversations which are part of CBI's charge sheet in the " Railgate". Kumar shared his puzzlement with co-accused Sandeep Goyal on May 1. "Accha theek hai, now developments I tell you ... Yesterday had, a very fast day actually. Matlab mujhe who mystery nahi samajh nahi aa rahi ... ki baat toh ho gayee thi fir aage isme, you know normally, PM's Office takes four days", Kumar told Goyal, according to transcripts of the conversations intercepted by the CBI. When Goyal verified with Kumar if the file had been signed, the suspended railway board member said, "Haan kal woh 6 ghante mein sab ho gaya". He was also keen to find out as to who could have organized the fast-track clearance of his file.

"Haan toh yeh, kaun haii, yeh iske peeche?" asked Mahesh.

Goyal immediately ascribed the swift movement to former railway minister Pawan Bansal. "Nahi mere ko lagta hai, MR Sahab ne khud hi karaya hoga sir".

Kumar was allegedly lobbying to become member (electrical) in the railway board. He was unhappy when he was appointed member (staff), but was allegedly assured that he would be shifted as Member (Electrical) shortly, and that, in the meanwhile, will be allowed to continue as GM of Western Railways.

Kumar had himself attributed what he considered to baffling alacrity with which the PMO cleared his file. He shared this assessment of his with Manjunath, a Bangalore-based railway contractor who has been arrested for arranging the bribe that Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla and others had asked from the suspended railway board member, in a conversation they had on April 30.

"But why this PM office also fast sir, so fast they ..." he asked of Kumar.

"Apparently, I don't know, this what I know see this, this mystery I have not understood ... It might be that MR might have told CRB (Chairman railway board ) that you go and change it temporary," Kumar had replied.

The details of the CDR of Singla, one of the main accused in the case also show that the last incoming call on his phone before he was arrested on May 3 was from the railway ministry.

The call on Singla's phone came from number 011-2*****25 at 4.59pm while the CBI raids at Singla's Sector 28-house in Chandigarh began at 5.30pm. The call lasted nearly one-and-a-half minute.

As per CDR details, Singla also spoke to Bansal's then officer on special duty (OSD) Vitul Kumar, a UP cadre IPS officer, for nearly three minutes.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has quashed the order passed by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court directing demolition of Buhari Hotel and other constructions on Poonamalle High Road, opposite Central Railway station, for the Chennai Metro Rail project.

CHANDIGARH: The quick "six-hour" approval from the PMO for his appointment as member (staff) of railway board, even when he was allowed to continue as the general manager of Western Railways, was "a mystery" even to Mahesh Kumar, going by the transcripts of telephone conversations which are part of CBI's charge sheet in the " Railgate". Kumar shared his puzzlement with co-accused Sandeep Goyal on May 1. "Accha theek hai, now developments I tell you ... Yesterday had, a very fast day actually. Matlab mujhe who mystery nahi samajh nahi aa rahi ... ki baat toh ho gayee thi fir aage isme, you know normally, PM's Office takes four days", Kumar told Goyal, according to transcripts of the conversations intercepted by the CBI. When Goyal verified with Kumar if the file had been signed, the suspended railway board member said, "Haan kal woh 6 ghante mein sab ho gaya". He was also keen to find out as to who could have organized the fast-track clearance of his file.

"Haan toh yeh, kaun haii, yeh iske peeche?" asked Mahesh.

Goyal immediately ascribed the swift movement to former railway minister Pawan Bansal. "Nahi mere ko lagta hai, MR Sahab ne khud hi karaya hoga sir".

Kumar was allegedly lobbying to become member (electrical) in the railway board. He was unhappy when he was appointed member (staff), but was allegedly assured that he would be shifted as Member (Electrical) shortly, and that, in the meanwhile, will be allowed to continue as GM of Western Railways.

Kumar had himself attributed what he considered to baffling alacrity with which the PMO cleared his file. He shared this assessment of his with Manjunath, a Bangalore-based railway contractor who has been arrested for arranging the bribe that Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla and others had asked from the suspended railway board member, in a conversation they had on April 30.

"But why this PM office also fast sir, so fast they ..." he asked of Kumar.

"Apparently, I don't know, this what I know see this, this mystery I have not understood ... It might be that MR might have told CRB (Chairman railway board ) that you go and change it temporary," Kumar had replied.

The details of the CDR of Singla, one of the main accused in the case also show that the last incoming call on his phone before he was arrested on May 3 was from the railway ministry.

The call on Singla's phone came from number 011-2*****25 at 4.59pm while the CBI raids at Singla's Sector 28-house in Chandigarh began at 5.30pm. The call lasted nearly one-and-a-half minute.

As per CDR details, Singla also spoke to Bansal's then officer on special duty (OSD) Vitul Kumar, a UP cadre IPS officer, for nearly three minutes.

Aimed at fine-tuning numerous aspects related to Kochi Metro’s civil works, the Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), Mangu Singh, visited different work sites in the city on Saturday. He also inspected the metro’s alignment from Aluva to Ernakulam Junction railway station and the barricaded area near Changampuzha Park where L&T is engaged in piling works. He was accompanied by S.D. Sharma, DMRC’s Director (Business Development) who is also a member of KMRL's Director Board. Sources said Mr. Singh and senior DMRC officials visited the casting yards at HMT, Kalamassery and the port, where land is being levelled for casting girders and other structures.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has quashed the order passed by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court directing demolition of Buhari Hotel and other constructions on Poonamalle High Road, opposite Central Railway station, for the Chennai Metro Rail project.

Nothing is as intricately linked to our lives as the railways. Indian Railways’ glorious sojourn that completed 160 years was captured in the just-concluded photo exhibition conducted by the South Central Railway at Salarjung museum.The week-long exhibition presented in 215 pictures the varied stages of the exciting journey of the steam engine, the iconic new age machine of transportation the Britishintroduced for its troop movements. From the chug-chug locomotive to the modern trains in a tearing hurry on electrical lines, the machine has transformed itself, serving millions of people every day.Nearly 10,000 footfalls had been recorded at the exhibition. The particular interest to everybody was the famous picture of Mahatma Gandhi travelling in a third-class compartment.Through this exhibition, the Indian Railways brought railway history under one roof as showcased in selected pictures. It provided a unique chance of knowing all about Indian Railways. How the tracks were laid, how the tunnels were made, how the bridges came into being were all presented in alluring pictures. Train services in Hyderabad were introduced in the seventh Nizam tenure.“People of all age groups are coming especially to take a look at the photo exhibition, from all over the State. Tourists who just came to visit the Salarjung Museum were amused and thrilled at the pictures,” said railway officer J Selvin.

Public Relation Officer of South Central railway Shakeel Ahmed said that the exhibition was a hit with the public.

The exhibition is set to move to the other parts of the country — Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Allahabad and Jaipur.

The Railways have decided to extend the Puri-Darbhanga-Puri Express up to Jay Nagar beginning August 1. This is being done as per the announcement in the last Railway Budget.

 The Puri-Jay Nagar Express will leave Puri at 1.45 am every Thursday and will arrive at Jay Nagar at 1.30 pm on Fridays. In the return direction, the train will leave Jay Nagar at 4.45 am on Saturdays and will arrive at Puri at 3.20 am every Sunday.

The train will have one AC-2 tier, two AC-3 tiers, eight sleeper class, six general second class and two guard-cum-luggage vans. It will have stoppages at Sakri and Madhubani between Darbhanga and Jay Nagar. The timings and stoppages for the train between Puri and Drabhanga will remain unchanged, an East Coast Railway press release said.

The South Central Railway will run nine special trains - eight between
Secunderabad and Guwahati and one from Aurangabad to Secunderabad to
clear passenger rush.
Secunderabad-Guwahati train will depart from Secunderabad at 7.30 am
on July 26, August 2, 9 and 16 (Fridays) and arrive in Guwahati at
7.55 am on the third day i.e Sundays.
In the return direction, the train will depart from Guwahati at 6 am
on July 29, August 5, 12 and 19 (Mondays) and arrive in Secunderabad
at 9.15 am on Wednesdays. - See more at: http://www.assamtimes.org/node/8686#sthash.TNoYqPaY.dpuf

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh has demanded that multilateral funding of Rs 500 crore be provided to the state for the construction of motorable tunnels. Road network is the main source of transportation in the state, and tunnels are the only medium to reduce the distance between places.A demand to this effect was made by the member parliament from Mandi Pratibha Singh who recently met Union finance minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi. During her meeting, Pratibha Singh said that the state government has prepared the DPRs for four tunnels in Shimla town for decongesting traffic from the main roads which experience heavy vehicle rush through out the day.State government has prepared DPRs for construction of motorable tunnels from Lift to Lakkar Bazar (681.25m), Lift to Himfed petrol pump (1134.92m), Himfed petrol pump to IGMC (890m), and Sanjauli to Dhalli (147.61m).She said that private parties are not interested to construct these tunnels under public private partnership (PPP) mode because of lack of financial viability. She requested Chidambram to arrange funding to these tunnels from some multilateral funding agency.She also requested him to arrange funding for tunnels between Chamunda to Holi, Karsehar to Telang and under Jalori Pass to reduce the distance and provide all weather travel facilities to remote and backward areas residents throughout the year.

Pratibha Singh also requested the Union finance ministry to provide funding for upgradation and modernization of Shimla, Kangra and Kullu airports in the state to facilitate the landing of bigger aircraft and also night landing facilities to promote tourism in the state. She requested for providing central funding in the ratio of 90:10 for all centrally sponsored schemes in the state on the pattern of northeastern states due to similar topography, geography and other working conditions.

She demanded to declare the Ghanauli--Baddi -Kalka and Amb-Paonta-Dehradun railway lines as project of national importance and provide hundred per cent central funding for the construction of these railway projects. She also requested that construction work on Bhanupalli--Bilaspur--Beri broad gauge railway line should be expedited as per the cost sharing agreement held on august 2007 in PMO in the central state ratio of 75:25 of fixed cost of Rs 1046 crore and requested that the enhancement of the project cost due to delay by railway should be met by providing additionally by finance ministry and Planning Commission.