ProUI

BANIHAL: Undeterred by challenges it faced while executing two big-ticket infra projects here, Hindustan Construction CompanyBSE 8.34 % will bid for such upcoming works in this region like the 13-km Arpinchala-Dharam underground railway project.The Mumbai-based firm has recently executed the 11-km long Pir Panjal railway tunnel, the third longest in the world, and also the Uri-II hydro power project in Jammu and Kashmir.The company is set to bid for the 13-km long Arpinchala- Dharam project as well, the official said."The Banihal-Qazigund railway tunnel, the longest in the country, was awarded to us in 2005. The track is now ready for the Railways. The amount of challenges we had to face was mind-boggling."However, that does not deter us from bidding for more projects and we are, in fact, working on the same route that will connect between Dharam-Sumbar. We will bid for more projects on the same track in the coming days," said tunnel's project manager Sharanappa Yalal.Sources said that government has already come out with a tender inviting developers to bid for the Arpinchala to Dharam project and HCC is making preparations to bid for it.HCC had bagged the Pir Panjal tunnel project from IRCON, a construction subsidiary of the Railways, in 2005. Though the initial cost of the project was Rs 400 crore, it went up to Rs 800 crore as the scope of the project widened.The tunnel, which connects the Bichelri valley of Banhial in Jammu with Qazigund in Kashmir, will reduce the distance between the two places to 18 km from 35 km by road."It will also help the economy of the two places. The tunnel will facilitate transportation during winter. During the most part of the year, the inclement weather forces closure of the road tunnel and the highway," Yalal said."However, it was not easy to execute the project. Initially, we had brought two road headers from Germany for boring the tunnel. But, as we started working, we found the geologically young and unstable mountain range is not fit for traditional way of tunneling. We then brought the New Austrian Tunneling method for the first time in India," he said.The official said the Uri-II 240 MW hydro power project is also ready for commissioning though it has been taken out of the PM's inauguration agenda during his two-day proposed visit here as NHPC said it had developed some technical snag."We have done the civil construction part of the project and the project hand over is likely to happen soon. It is up to NHPC to decide on the date of commissioning of the project," he said.NHPC is building the Rs 1,724 crore project at Baramulla on the river of Jhelum. Talking about the Pir Panjal project, Yayal said: "The company faced weather problems as well. During November to June period of the year, the area remains almost inaccessible due to snow, which envelopes the arterial road causing huge problems for transporting required materials. Getting manpower, even those who are unskilled, was difficult." The tunnel is a part of the 345-km long Jammu Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link, aimed at connecting Jammu to Baramulla on the northwestern part of the valley. Trains now ply from Baramulla to Quazigund and Jammu to Udhampur on this stretch. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to inaugurate the tunnel, thereby connecting Qazigund to Banihal. Around 90-km long stretch, between Udhampur to Banihal is to be completed to get the stretch connected by the Railways. Meanwhile, sources said Railways is likely to tie up with state transport authority to help passengers reach out to the unlinked passage by bus at no extra cost. Passengers would be able to book tickets up to Baramulla. An announcement in this regard is likely during the tunnel's inauguration by the Prime Minister. HCC has executed a majority of India's landmark infrastructure projects. Its landmark works include the Bandra Worli Sea Link, Mumbai - India's first and longest open sea cable-stayed bridge; the Kolkata Metro, Farakka Barrage and India's largest nuclear power plant at Kudankulam - Tamil Nadu.

KOZHIKODE: The Railway Police, booked four pantry car workers of Duronto Express who allegedly beat up four passengers of the train following a scuffle over delayed supply of meals. According to the complaint received by the police, the pantry workers attacked the passengers while they were about to alight at the Kozhikode railway station. The passengers had earlier protested against the delay in supply of meals. The workers were taken into the police custody and charged under Section 341 (wrongful restraint) and 323 (for voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.

(પ્રતિનિધિ દ્વારા) સુરત, સોમવાર
ઉધના-વારણસી અઠવાડીક ટ્રેનના શુભારંભનો કાર્યક્રમ આજે એક તમાશો બની ગયો હતો. ઉધના રેલ્વે સ્ટેશને યોજાયેલા આ કાર્યક્રમમાં ભાજપ અને કોંગ્રેસ પક્ષના કાર્યકરોએ ભારે નારાબાજી કરીને સરકારી કાર્યક્રમને રાજકીય અખાડો બનાવી દીધો હતો. ભારે શોરબકોર અને અરાજકતા વચ્ચે અંતમાં કેન્દ્રના રાજ્ય કક્ષાના મંત્રી ભરતસિંહ સોલંકીએ લીલી ઝંડી બતાવીને નવી ટ્રેનનું પ્રસ્થાન કરાવ્યું હતું.
ઉધના રેલ્વે સ્ટેશનના પ્લેટફોર્મ નં. ૨ ઉપર એક કલાક રાજકીય પક્ષોના કાર્યકરોએ સરકારી કાર્યક્રમને માથે લીધું હતું. ભાજપ અને કોંગ્રેસના કાર્યકરો સાંસદો અને નેતાઓ સાથે આવી પહોંચ્યા હતા અને કાર્યક્રમની શરૃઆતમાં સૂત્રોચ્ચાર સાથે માથાકૂટ શરૃ થઇ હતી. રાજકીય પક્ષોના કાર્યકરોનો એજન્ડા કાર્યક્રમ નહીં થવા દેવાનો હોય તેમ નારાબાજી છેક સુધી જારી રહ્યા હતા.
કાર્યક્રમના આરંભમાં સાંસદ સી.આર. પાટીલે વક્તવ્યની શરૃઆત કરતાં જણાવ્યું કે, ભાજપના આંદોલનને કારણે બે વર્ષ પછી સુરતને આ નવી ટ્રેન મળી છે. આ ટ્રેનથી જો કે, અમારી જરૃરીયાત સંતોષાતી નથી. બજેટમાં જાહેર થયા પ્રમાણે ટ્રેન શરૃ કરવામાં આવી છે. પણ, આ ટૂકડો ફેંકવાથી માંગણી સંતોષાતી નથી. કેન્દ્રીય મંત્રી ડૉ. તુષાર ચૌધરીએ એક સંમેલનમાં કરેલી ટીપ્પણીનો જવાબ આપતાં તેમણે જણાવ્યું કે, તેઓ કહે છે કે, આંદોલનને કારણે ટ્રેનો અપાઇ નથી. પણ, અમે આંદોલન કર્યું અને પશ્ચિમ રેલ્વેના ડીઆરએમએ એક જ દિવસમાં ૧૬ માંગણીઓ સ્વીકારી હતી.
જો કે, સાંસદ પાટીલે પ્રવચનમાં કોંગ્રેસને ફીક્સમાં મૂકવાની શરૃઆત કરતાં ભારે હોબાળો શરૃ થયો હતો અને કોંગ્રેસી કાર્યકરોએ સૂત્રોચ્ચાર કરીને તેઓને પ્રવચન કરતાં રોકવાની ચેષ્ટા કરી હતી. સાંસદને ઓછામાં ઓછા ચારેક વખત બોલતાં અટકાવવામાં આવતાં, મામલો ગરમાયો હતો. કોંગ્રેસી કાર્યકરોએ ઘોંઘાટ મચાવીને નારાબાજી ચાલું રાખતાં, ભાજપ કાર્યકરોએ પણ વળતો મોરચો માંડયો હતો.
કેન્દ્રીય મંત્રી તુષાર ચૌધરીએ સાંસદ પાટીલના મંતવ્ય સામે ભારે નારાજગી વ્યક્ત કરીને ભાજપ કેવી રીતે જાહેર કાર્યક્રમોમાં પ્રોટોકોલનો અમલ નહીં કરી, કોંગ્રેસના નેતાઓને મંચ ઉપર સ્થાન નથી આપવા દેતાં, તેની હૈયાવરાળ ઠાલવી હતી. તેમણે સ્પષ્ટ જણાવ્યું કે, કેન્દ્ર સરકાર પ્રોટોકોલ પ્રમાણે જ ચાલે છે. આ જે નવી ટ્રેન મળી છે, તે રજૂઆતોને કારણે મળી છે. આ રાજનૈતિક મંચ નથી, સરકારી કાર્યક્રમ છે. એટલે હું એવી કોઇ વાત નહીં કરૃં એમ તેમણે જણાવ્યું હતું. જો કે, કેન્દ્રીય મંત્રી તુષાર ચૌધરીને પણ પ્રવચન નહીં કરવા દેવા ભાજપ કાર્યકરોએ ભારે શોરબકોર અને નારાબાજી કરીને વાતાવરણ ગજવી નાંખ્યું હતું.
ઉધના-વારાણસી નવી અઠવાડીક ટ્રેનના શુભારંભના એક કલાકના કાર્યક્રમમાં પોણો કલાક નારાબાજી અને આક્ષેપ-પ્રતિઆક્ષેપમાં પૂરો થયો હતો. કેન્દ્રના રાજ્ય કક્ષાના મંત્રી ભરતસિંહ સોલંકીએ પોતાના ભાગે આવેલા પાંચ મિનિટના પ્રવચનમાં આ ટ્રેનથી બધા ખુશ છે, કોંગ્રેસ પણ ખુશ છે, ભાજપ પણ ખુશ છે, બધાએ આ ટ્રેન માટે ખૂબ રજૂઆત કરી છે. આ માટે દરેકને અભિનંદન આપું છું, એમ કહીને ટ્રેનને લીલી ઝંડી આપીને રવાના કરી હતી.

The South Western Railway is organising a seven-day photography exhibition from June 25 to July 1 at the Government Museum and Venkatappa Art Gallery, Kasturba Road, Bangalore, to commemorate 160 years of Indian Railways. The exhibition will portray the evolution of Indian Railways, with focus on the first 100 years of its existence. It will be inaugurated by Ashok Kumar Mital, General Manager, South Western Railway.

The photo exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry is free.

कासगंज से मथुरा जाने वाली ट्रेन के निरस्त होने की जानकारी यात्रियों को नहीं होनेसे भारी परेशानी उठानी पड़ी। लोग घंटों रेलवे स्टेशन पर खड़े होकर ट्रेन का इंतजार करते रहे।
उत्तराखण्ड में आई आपदा में फंसे लोगों को सहायता के लिए पूर्वोत्तर रेलवे ने कई ट्रेनों का संचालन हरिद्वार व देहरादून के लिए किया है। इसके लिए कई स्थानों से संचालित होने वाली ट्रेनों को निरस्त कर दिया गया है। शनिवार को भी कासगंज से मथुरा जाने वाली पैसेंजर ट्रेन 55535 को भी अनिश्चितकाल के लिए रद्द कर दिया गया। अब इस ट्रेन का संचालन हरिद्वार देहरादून के लिए किया जा रहा है। इधर ट्रेन रद्द होने की जानकारी यात्रियों को नहीं होने पर वे घंटों तक ट्रेन का इंतजार रेलवे स्टेशन करते रहे। यात्रियों का आरोप है कि उन्हें ट्रेन रद्द होने की कोई जानकारी नहीं दी गई। जानकारी के नाम पर सिर्फ कागज पर नोटिस लिखकर चिपका दिया गया, जिस पर हर किसी का ध्यान जाने से रहा। अनपढ़ तो वह नोटिस भी नहीं पढ़ सकते हैं।
रविवार की दोपहर में सैकड़ों यात्री हाथरस सिटी रेलवे स्टेशन पर मथुरा आदि स्थानों पर जाने के लिए ट्रेन के इंतजार में खड़े रहे। समय पर ट्रेन नहीं आने के कुछ देर बाद जानकारी की तब जाकर उन्हें बताया गया कि ट्रेन रद्द हो गई है। इस पर यात्रियों ने नाराजगी जाहिर करते हुए बसों आदि से सफर किया।

Banihal (Jammu & Kashmir): When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flags off a train to Qazigund on Tuesday from Banihal in Jammu that will travel through the 11km Pir Panjal tunnel, the Kashmir valley will be just a step away from being fully linked to India’s extensive railway network.
For Ijaz Bhat, who has laboured with at least 1,300 workers and 150 engineers to build the country’s longest railway tunnel, it will be a moment of pride. “For me this is the best,” Bhat says, though he knows there’s a longer rail tunnel in China.
Built at a cost of Rs.1,300 crore, the T-80 tunnel will provide a second, all-weather link to the Kashmir Valley, which often becomes inaccessible in winter when the road through the 60-year-old Jawahar tunnel is blocked because of snow.
For now, there will be train services from Banihal to Qazigund in Kashmir valley and onward to Srinagar and Baramulla. The rail link from Banihal to Udhampur in Jammu, expected to be completed by 2017, will then provide a seamless connection to the rest of the country.
Saif-ud-din Malik, 65, who has never seen a train before, is barely able contain his excitement. “I have no words to express how much the people will benefit,” Malik said. “We had to walk for miles together. In winters, it got very difficult for us. We used to be stranded for 10-15 days when it snowed. It used to get very tough if someone was sick. Now in 10 minutes you can take the patient to a doctor in Kashmir.”
The improved connectivity is not only strategically important for India but will also help in integrating the people there with the rest of the country, according to Afsir Karim, a retired army general.
“Roads are few in Kashmir and these get blocked due to floods or snowfall. An all-weather rail link will help movement of people, essential goods and goods for trade, besides the movement of people,” Karim said. “The people of Kashmir have been feeling deprived for years. The more facilities you provide, the more it will help link them to the rest of India. If terrorists target this (rail network), it is likely to turn the Kashmiri people against them, as it means cutting off facilities. The network will work in its own way to bring peace to the valley and the region.”
Gulab Hussain Bhat, a government employee, says the train service from Banihal will mean saving on commuting to Srinagar. “My children travel from here to Srinagar to study engineering,” Bhat said. “They spend Rs.100-150 a day, but now they will be able to travel very cheap. So Rs.4,000-5,000 of our expenditure towards conveyance will be saved.”
The benefit extends to social aspects as well. “Our girls, who go to study in Srinagar, will come back home the same day,” Bhat said. “Earlier there was a lot of problem. A lot of girls discontinued their studies because families would not allow for stay overnight or stay away from home. So this will do a lot of good.”
The Pir Panjal tunnel is a part of the 345 km Jammu, Udhampur, Katra, Qazigund, Baramulla railway line. Of this, the 119km section between Baramulla and Qazigund in Kashmir was commissioned in 2009. The 53km Jammu to Udhampur section was opened to the public in 2005. The section that would connect Udhampur and Qazigund is expected to be completed by 2017.
For the railways, safety is a top priority. “Given the sensitivity of the region, adequate safety provisions have been made,” said Neeraj Sharma, chief public relations officer at Northern Railways. “Both the stations, track and tunnel as well as the train will be manned by security personnel.”

BANIHAL: Undeterred by challenges it faced while executing two big-ticket infra projects here, Hindustan Construction CompanyBSE 8.34 % will bid for such upcoming works in this region like the 13-km Arpinchala-Dharam underground railway project.The Mumbai-based firm has recently executed the 11-km long Pir Panjal railway tunnel, the third longest in the world, and also the Uri-II hydro power project in Jammu and Kashmir.The company is set to bid for the 13-km long Arpinchala- Dharam project as well, the official said."The Banihal-Qazigund railway tunnel, the longest in the country, was awarded to us in 2005. The track is now ready for the Railways. The amount of challenges we had to face was mind-boggling."However, that does not deter us from bidding for more projects and we are, in fact, working on the same route that will connect between Dharam-Sumbar. We will bid for more projects on the same track in the coming days," said tunnel's project manager Sharanappa Yalal.Sources said that government has already come out with a tender inviting developers to bid for the Arpinchala to Dharam project and HCC is making preparations to bid for it.HCC had bagged the Pir Panjal tunnel project from IRCON, a construction subsidiary of the Railways, in 2005. Though the initial cost of the project was Rs 400 crore, it went up to Rs 800 crore as the scope of the project widened.The tunnel, which connects the Bichelri valley of Banhial in Jammu with Qazigund in Kashmir, will reduce the distance between the two places to 18 km from 35 km by road."It will also help the economy of the two places. The tunnel will facilitate transportation during winter. During the most part of the year, the inclement weather forces closure of the road tunnel and the highway," Yalal said."However, it was not easy to execute the project. Initially, we had brought two road headers from Germany for boring the tunnel. But, as we started working, we found the geologically young and unstable mountain range is not fit for traditional way of tunneling. We then brought the New Austrian Tunneling method for the first time in India," he said.The official said the Uri-II 240 MW hydro power project is also ready for commissioning though it has been taken out of the PM's inauguration agenda during his two-day proposed visit here as NHPC said it had developed some technical snag."We have done the civil construction part of the project and the project hand over is likely to happen soon. It is up to NHPC to decide on the date of commissioning of the project," he said.NHPC is building the Rs 1,724 crore project at Baramulla on the river of Jhelum. Talking about the Pir Panjal project, Yayal said: "The company faced weather problems as well. During November to June period of the year, the area remains almost inaccessible due to snow, which envelopes the arterial road causing huge problems for transporting required materials. Getting manpower, even those who are unskilled, was difficult." The tunnel is a part of the 345-km long Jammu Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link, aimed at connecting Jammu to Baramulla on the northwestern part of the valley. Trains now ply from Baramulla to Quazigund and Jammu to Udhampur on this stretch. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to inaugurate the tunnel, thereby connecting Qazigund to Banihal. Around 90-km long stretch, between Udhampur to Banihal is to be completed to get the stretch connected by the Railways. Meanwhile, sources said Railways is likely to tie up with state transport authority to help passengers reach out to the unlinked passage by bus at no extra cost. Passengers would be able to book tickets up to Baramulla. An announcement in this regard is likely during the tunnel's inauguration by the Prime Minister. HCC has executed a majority of India's landmark infrastructure projects. Its landmark works include the Bandra Worli Sea Link, Mumbai - India's first and longest open sea cable-stayed bridge; the Kolkata Metro, Farakka Barrage and India's largest nuclear power plant at Kudankulam - Tamil Nadu.

SURAT: Government railway police (GRP) recovered 100 mobile phones worth Rs 7.90 lakh from an unclaimed bag on Vapi railway station on Friday. Police searched for owner of the bag and believed that its owner will contact police but no one turned up till Saturday after which police started investigation to find out if the phones are stolen.

During routine checking on Vapi railway platform police spotted two unclaimed bags below a bench on platform number II on Friday. Police inquired people standing nearby and stall owners to find owner of the bag but no one accepted ownership of the bag. Later police checked the bag for security reasons and found 100 mobile phones in it. Police seized the bag suspecting that some mobile businessman might have forgotten it at the railway station. Of the 100 phones, 56 are high-end smart phones of leading mobile brands. Majority of the phones were used pieces.

Police are now trying to reach last owners of the phone. "We will try to find out which mobile numbers were last used in these phones. It will lead us to the last owner of the phone. We can get further lead from. Reaching to last user will clear weather the phone was stolen or sold," said police.

The South Western Railway is organising a seven-day photography exhibition from June 25 to July 1 at the Government Museum and Venkatappa Art Gallery, Kasturba Road, Bangalore, to commemorate 160 years of Indian Railways. The exhibition will portray the evolution of Indian Railways, with focus on the first 100 years of its existence. It will be inaugurated by Ashok Kumar Mital, General Manager, South Western Railway.

The photo exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry is free.

Madurai : The Tirunelveli– Erode-Mayiladuthurai passenger train will be partially cancelled between Tiruchchirappalli and Mayiladuthurai on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from June 25 to September 18.The Mayiladuthurai/ Erode–Tirunelveli Passenger will be partially cancelled between Mayiladuthurai and Tiruchirapalli on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from June 25 to Sept 18, a Railway press release said.