ProUI

Western Railways (WR) is under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) scanner for not implementing malaria-prevention measures at their workshops.

Three days ago, the BMC’s insecticide department sent a notice to the divisional railway manager for not carrying out preventive steps to curb the breeding of mosquitoes, which spread diseases such as dengue and malaria.

On June 12, the BMC’s insecticide department sent notices to various land-owning authorities in Mumbai including Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), the army, navy and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada), Mumbai Port Trust, the National Textile Corporation, Western and Central Railways, telling them to make their premises free of mosquito-breeding sites by clearing scrap that can hold water and become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and plugging leaks in buildings and water tanks to avoid water accumulation.

Following the notices, the civic body’s insecticide officers inspected the sites.

“Most of the agencies have taken preventive steps to avoid breeding grounds. We found that WR’s workshop has train wheels stacked in a horizontal position which may lead to accumulation of water in the wheels.

Also, they are yet to clear scrap materials lying in their premises,” said R Naringrekar, chief insecticide officer, BMC.

He added that the civic body has given them a notice to complete work by June 27.

Sharat Chandrayan, chief PRO, WR, said, “We have our own system in place and we regularly conduct fogging.

In case we need assistance, we contact the BMC.”

Until June 21, the city had reported 532 malaria and 17 dengue cases. Doctors said that with intermittent rainfall, the risk of breeding sites developing is even higher.

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: 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.

VIJAYAWADA: Pilgrims from Krishna district, who were rescued after being stranded in the rain-ravaged Uttarakhand, reached here today from New Delhi.As many as 153 people, who belonged to various places in the district, arrived in a special train this morning. The railway administration attached four bogies to the New Delhi-Visakhapatnam Link Express for residents of Visakhapatnam and Rajahmundry, and two coaches to Puri-Tirupati Express for those belonging to Ongole and Nellore, to facilitate their journey home, said additional divisional railway manager S Subba Rao. Pilgrims were provided free food at the railway station.

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.

The Manamadurai-Chennai Egmore bi-weekly Silambu Express was flagged off here on Saturday. The Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industries E.M. Sudarsana Nachiappan and Chairman Manamadurai Town Panchayat I. Joseph Rajan flagged off the train.

The train no 16181, Chennai Egmore Manamadurai bi-weekly Silambu Express will run on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The train no 16182 Manamadurai-Chennai Egmore bi-weekly Silambu Express will run on Fridays and Mondays.

The trains will stop at Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Melmaruvathoor, Villupuram, Vridachalam, Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Chettinad, Karaikudi, Devakottai Road and Sivaganga. The train no 16182 will stop at Mambalam also.

Minister Manmohan Singh, the railway authorities have given the green signal to run Qazigund-Banihal train service on 17.8 km track between the two stations.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Northern Circle, which had conducted the safety inspection of the train as well as the rail track on June 18 and 19 has
given its approval to run the train.
“We received the green signal on Friday from the Railway Board for running the train between Banihal and Qazigund,” a northern railway official in Ferozepur said.
“The clearance from the CRS is essential to ply any train on any new track,” he added.
Sources said the railway officials in Kashmir have geared up to give a final shape to the arrangements to launch of the rail services from Banhial in Ramban of Jammu and Qazigund in Kulgam of south Kashmir.
The train to be flagged off by Prime Minister has reached Banihal station that has been decorated with flowers. The train will be flagged off from Banihal on June 26 jointly by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Work on the Qazigund Banihal section of rail track-which also passes through 11.17 km Pir Panjal tunnel, which is the country’s longest and Asia’s second longest tunnel, has been executed by IRCON, a PSU under railways and they have already handed it over to the railways.
The first trial run of the train between Qazigund and Banihal was conducted on December 25.
“On the commissioning of this section, the distance between Banihal and Qazigund will be reduced by almost half and the rail link will make all-weather connectivity between Kashmir and Banihal possible,” said another official of IRCON.
The trains from Kashmir would, however, still not be able to reach to other parts of the country as important railway stretch between Udhampur-Banihal is still under construction and is likely to be completed by 2017.
The first phase of the train service between Anantnag and Budgam districts was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 11, 2008.
The second phase of the train between Budgam and Baramulla was flagged off by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on February 14, 2009, followed by the third phase between Anantnag to Qazigund by the Prime Minister on October 28, 2009.

114-year-old dream a reality

1898: Maharaja Pratap Singh first explored the possibility to connect Jammu with the Valley with a railway line.
1905: Maharaja Pratap Singh approved a narrow-gauge railway line between Jammu and Srinagar via Reasi through the Mughal Road, which did not take off.
1947: Jammu was disconnected from the railway system as the old Jammu Sialkot Junction rail link was shelved
1971: Jammu reconnected through a broad- gauge railway link with Pathankot.
1983: Jammu-Udhampur railway link project starts
2005: Jammu-Udhampur rail link commissioned.
2009: Railway link in the Valley from Qazigund to Baramulla (119 km) commissioned.
2013: Train to ply between Valley to Banihal in Jammu

The Royapuram Railway Station, once "Madras Central", is today a shadow of its glorious past. With the Southern Railways planning to raze this heritage site to make way for developmental projects on the 72-acre station premises, we take a look at how it has survived over the past 157 years. Compiled by: Susanna Myrtle Lazarus

MUMBAI: "We had visited Gangotri and Yamnotri, and were just 14km short of reaching the Kedarnath temple when we were almost swept away by the flood waters," recalled ChaturbhujSarvaiyya (73), who was among the around 500 pilgrims who arrived in Mumbai on a special train on Sunday morning. After Chaturbhuj and his wife Devyani (63) got off the train, they immediately left for their hometown near Shirdi in Ahmednagar district—more than 200km away from Mumbai. Around 1,500 pilgrims boarded the 16-coach special train arranged by the Western Railway (WR) for free transit from Haridwar station to Mumbai. Several pilgrims were dropped at various destinations in Rajasthan and Gujarat before the train fianlly reached Mumbai Central at 4am. "Depending on the demand, we plan to operate more such special trains to bring back pilgrims stranded in Uttarakhand. The train will commence its journey from Haridwar. We will attach extra coaches to a few other trains operating between Dehradun and Mumbai," said Sharat Chandrayan, WR chief spokesperson.

The Sarvaiyyas, along with a group of 15 pilgrims, were stranded for more than three days near Kedarnath.

"As we were walking towards Kedarnath, we saw nature's fury from close quarters. We were forced to return to our lodge and were ensconced in the hills for three days with minimum ration. Prayers were our only hope," said Chaturbhuj.

When the weather cleared a bit, the group was taken to a safe base by bus. "We had a tough drive to Haridwar. The roads were very bad. We were shocked to see the damaged buildings, roads, bridges and areas near the shrines. By God's grace we reached Haridwar station, where the railway authorities had arranged for a special train to get us back to Mumbai," he added.

"These were the most unforgettable four days of my life; we were worried we would not reach home alive," said Dombivli resident Ramesh Patil (50), who undertakes the Char Dham Yatra every year in June with a group of devotees from the local Pimpleshwar temple.

Patil was among a group of 81 pilgrims stranded in the hills for four days, and finally rescued by the army.

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.