ProUI

First impression is the last impression is an inspiring old proverb but seems the authorities at holy city's junction Railway station have no interest to get inspired from this proverb as the station has become a spot of shame. The station might have been given a heritage look some years ago but it simply proves futile when basic things are missing.It is a welcoming spot for travelers in city that not only presents an ugly reality of administration here but makes the arrival a painful one. The moment one steps out of the train, the unhygienic platform is the first shock. Lacking the primary sanitation at every platform, without even one identifiable clean spot corridor, ground and walls covered with litter and nooks marked with filth narrate the sad story of sanitation system here.Outside the station building, are unlimited beggars who go on to chase till they get something from the tired travelers. At the same time, the way auto drivers surround around any traveler offers a whimsical scene to any traveler. And finally, if any tourist wants to visit the tourist office, there are no directions for him or her to follow. Most footpaths are covered with filth or encroached by beggars. And if we throw light on public toilets here, it is again a nightmare. If anyone plans to use the over bridge to cross the GT Road outside the station, it also speaks volumes about the responsibility of authorities here.

There is no option also for a hygienic meal. One has to depend upon the poor options available. Jaspal Singh Sokhi, from Amritsar says" Being a father my concern for kids come first and many times i have found the eatable packs expired and even with expiry date removed from pack. The food from stalls is unhygienic and no one bothers to check it."

Recent case of molestation at the station of a Danish tourist has put a big question mark for security at the station. The station also hosts the culture of pick pockets and teasing in which foreign tourists are always targeted and HT team brought this into the notice of the Dharminder Kalyan, SHO and security in charge at the station. He said, "We do our best but we lack strength and we can't do anything about it as recruitment is a Ministry's decision and long formal procedure." Unfortunately, RPF consisting only twelve constables in all for place which hosts thousands at one time raises mammoth sized questions.

Adding to troubles of travelers, less number of ticket windows makes them wait for hours in front of ticket window. It consumes precious time of travelers, and even make one miss the train maintains Kaya a student and regular traveler.

With only five platforms, trains are kept waiting before Amritsar junction to manage the traffic which consumes valued time of passengers. It is also working as opportunity to unchecked, bill-less couriers and loadings to off board the train.

Speak out

Deepinder Pal Singh, regular traveler on Amritsar Delhi route says," It's regrettable to see the difference between metro railway station and the ordinary. Metro has given example what the railway system should be. All it need is attention on the part of government. Our railway makes me feel like one from undeveloped world, what a pity!!"

Raghunath Singh a daily traveler, employee in government irrigation department, holds," Seating arrangements are not enough and no arrangements of enough fans. These are the basics facilities available at every place but here even these are not provided."

Karan Singh ,government employee shares," My purse was taken while boarding on the train.In the crowd I could not notice, but later on found that someone had cut my pocket. We see such incidents happen daily, as I am a daily traveler."

Dharminder Kalyan, SHO, security in-charge Railway Station says" We do our best  but we lack strength and we can't do anything about it as recruitment is a Ministry's decision and long formal procedure."

Jaspal Singh Sokhi, from Amritsar says, "Eateries at the station must be regularly checked by health department and cleanliness at the station is a must".

The Computerised Passenger Reservation Centres in Chennai Division of Southern Railway will function for one shift, similar to Sunday pattern of working (08.00 hrs. to 14.00 hrs) on 16.09.2013 (Monday) on account of ‘Onam’ festival.

SPECIAL TRAINS
The following weekly superfast special trains will be run to clear the extra rush of passengers during Pujaholidays.

Kamakhya – Yesvantpur - Kamakhya (via) Chennai Central Weekly Superfast Specials: T.No.02552 Kamakhya – Yesvantpur Weekly Superfast Special will leave Kamakhya at 14.00 hrs. on 2nd,9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th October 2013 and 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th November 2013 (Wednesdays), leave Chennai Centralat11.40 hrs. on Fridays and arrive Yesvantpur at 18.30 hrs. on Fridays.

T.No.02551 Yesvantpur - Kamakhya Weekly Superfast Special will leave Yesvantpur at 08.30 hrs. on 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th October 2013 and 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th November 2013 (Saturdays), leave Chennai Central at 16.10 hrs. on Saturdays and arriveKamakhya at 13.30 hrs. on Mondays.

The composition of the trains will be 1 First AC-cum-AC 2 tier, 1 AC 2-tier, 1 AC3-tier, 6 Sleeper Class, 6 General Second Class and 2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches.

The trains will stop at Rangiya, New Bongaigaon, New Alipurduar, New Coochbehar, New Jalpaiguri, Kishanganj, Barsoi, Malda Town, Rampurhat, Durgapur, Asansol, Adra, Bankura, Midnapur, Hijilli, Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Palasa, Vizianagaram, Duvvada, Samalkot,Vijayawada, New Guntur, Gudur, Chennai Central and Katpadi.

Advance reservation for the above trains are open.

The 9thAnnual Day function of Gymnasium Hall at Mancheswar Railway Colony was celebrated with fervour today, under the auspices of East Coast Railway Sports Association (ECoRSA), Mancheswar.On this occasion, a blood donation camp was organized by ECoRSA/ Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop in association with Red Cross/ Bhubaneswar chapter in Odisha. Sri S. K. Pankaj, Chief Workshop Manager/ Mancheswar graced the occasion as the chief guest to inaugurate the camp.Addressing the congregation Sri Pankaj expressed happiness over the noble efforts made by the organizers to have arranged the blood donation camp and said more such blood donation camp would be organized in near future o­n the occasion of the forthcoming celebration of 30 years completion of Mancheswar Workshop.  He also expressed pleasure over the efforts of staff and officers associated with the Gymnasium to have brought out a good number of talents in the field of Power Lifting and Weight Lifting in the area due to functioning of this Gymnasium.
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PUNE: The Pune division of Central Railway registered an increase in passenger fare earnings in first five months (April to August) of the current year as against earnings registered last year in the same period.An official from the Pune division said the earnings increased by 6 per cent. In five months ended on August 2013 the division registered earnings of Rs. 230.77 crore, as against last year's earnings of Rs.217.14 crore, an increase of Rs.13.63 crore.Prominent stations like Pune, Khadki, Kolhapur, Satara, Miraj and Chinchwad fall under the Pune division which always witness rush of passengers, said an official. The administration has undertaken steps to increase passenger amenities at stations on Pune-Lonavla and Pune-Kolhapur tracks, he said.The official said that parking slots for visitors have been started recently at the Shivajinagar and Chinchwad stations. One additional parking slot is proposed at the Pune station to benefit daily commuters and people who come to the station to see of friends and relatives.The officials said that the administration has initiated ticket checking drive at prominent stations. Action is being taken against illegal travel which included ticketless travel in trains, entering railway stations without valid tickets and unbooked luggage. More than 5,000 cases have been booked by the administration pertaining to illegal travel in last five months in Pune division.

For the convenience of rail passengers and to increase the passenger carrying capacity, Railway has decided to augment the train no.12357/12358 Kolkata-Amritsar-Kolkata Durgiana  express Train with One  Additional General Second Class coach from 14.09.2013 when departing from Kolkata and from 16.09.2013 when departing from Amritsar o­n permanent basis.
The other features like timings, route, stoppages etc. will remain as unchanged.
EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY AUGMENTATION OF DELHI SARAI ROHILLA- JAIPUR DOUBLE DECKER TRAIN

            For the convenience of the rail passengers and to increase the
passenger carrying capacity of trains, Railway has decided to
extend the augmentation of the 12986/12985 Delhi Sarai Rohilla- Jaipur- Delhi Sarai Rohilla Double Decker train by Two additional A.C. Chair Car coaches upto 15.10.2013 o­n temporary basis from both the directions. Earlier the Temporary Augmentation was announced from 16.08.2013 to 15.09.2013.

Shimla: Top officials of Himachal Pradesh and the Indian Railways will meet Saturday in Delhi to discuss modalities about the execution of railway projects in the hill state, a statement said here Friday. State Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy and Railway Board chairman Arunendra Kumar will discuss strengthening of the rail network and expediting ongoing projects in the state, the statement said. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting between Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi.

State Chief Secretary Sudripta Roy and Railway Board chairman Arunendra Kumar will discuss strengthening of the rail network. Virbhadra Singh has offered to bear 25 percent of the total cost of Bilaspur-Bhanupalli-Beri broad gauge railway line and also offered free government land for rail alignments, it said. He also offered to share the construction cost of new rail line connecting industrial town Baddi with a rail line. The chief minister also sought adequate budgetary provision for timely completion of Nangal-Talwara-broad gauge line and for survey of Ghanaulli-Baddi-Paonta Sahib-Dehradun line.

The Chennai–Madurai Vaigai Express suffered a detention of more than two hours in Poongudi Railway Station near Tiruchi Junction because of engine failure on Friday.The Vaigai Express which reached Tiruchi Junction at the right time of 6.45 p.m. left for Madurai as per scheduled time.However, after crossing the starter signal at Tiruchi Junction, the train stopped all of a sudden because of loco failure. Diesel mechanics attended the failure, but could not rectify the defect. However, the train slowly moved to Poongudi railway station.

Later, a relief loco was rushed to Poongudi station and the train left by 9.25 p.m.

Because of this incident, the Tiruneveli–Tiruchi Inter-city Express arrived at Tiruchi Junction late by 40 minutes.

The Chennai–Madurai Vaigai Express suffered a detention of more than two hours in Poongudi Railway Station near Tiruchi Junction because of engine failure on Friday.The Vaigai Express which reached Tiruchi Junction at the right time of 6.45 p.m. left for Madurai as per scheduled time.However, after crossing the starter signal at Tiruchi Junction, the train stopped all of a sudden because of loco failure. Diesel mechanics attended the failure, but could not rectify the defect. However, the train slowly moved to Poongudi railway station.

Later, a relief loco was rushed to Poongudi station and the train left by 9.25 p.m.

Because of this incident, the Tiruneveli–Tiruchi Inter-city Express arrived at Tiruchi Junction late by 40 minutes.

NAGPUR: The Central Railway Nagpur Division inquiry report in the TVI Express (Travel Ventures International) scam, running into a few crores, has been systematically diluted by issuing minor penalties to most of the employees who were deeply involved in the fraud.On October 27 last year, TOI had exposed the scam in which Central Railway officials collected Rs15,500 each from employees and outsiders by influencing their official position to make them TVI members by offering four-day and three nights' stay in five-star hotels along with double returns.

Ajay Raj, assistant personnel officer (APO), took 10 months to submit the inquiry report. A copy of the report received under the RTI shows that the entire proceedings and findings of the probe have been camouflaged.

TVI scam involved at least 300 railway employees and an equal numbers of outsiders who were duped of crores of rupees. However, the probe did not go into the depth of the issue and examined only a handful witnesses. This is contrary to the inquiry conducted by the vigilance department from Mumbai wherein statements of at least 40 witnesses and victims were recorded. The vigilance department is yet to submit its report in this case.

The report states that accused officials' admitted their wives were also involved. However, TOI is in possession of documents which shows that officials were involved in the business.

A membership pyramid of 75 shows names of officials J L Joshi, PK Shesha, Smriti Dayani, Deepika Pradhan among others.

On February 16, 2011, Shesha's wife had even written to TVI to change her name from Prathana to Sadhana.

Despite this, the report tries to dilute the gravity of the scam by stating that there is no direct allegation or statement that kingpin of TVI scam Komal Gajbhiye, D K Soni and P D Raut took subscription money. However, it says their presence in the meetings organized to promote TVI memberships influenced complainants and people.

"These employees violated Rule 15(D) of the Conduct Rules which states that no railway servant shall, except with the previous sanction of the government - canvass in support of any business of insurance, commission etc owned by member of his family," the report stated.

The probe categorized TVI, a Ponzi scheme, as commission agency, instead.

The report states that movement inspectors Komal Gajbhiye, PD Raut, JL Joshi, SH Jalali, SS Karnale, area supervisor SK Jaiswal, goods guard JK Gaurav and stenographer with signalling department Smriti Dayani have acted in a manner which is unbecoming of railway servant by violating service rules.

Yet, the report let off Joshi, Jalali, Karnale, Soni, Gaurav and Jaiswal by issuing minor penalty charge sheet (SF-11), while Gajbhiye and Raut were issued heavy penalty charge sheet (SF-5). The senior divisional signalling & telecommunication engineer (SrDSTE) took a lenient view about Smriti Dayani, despite probe ordering a stern action.

BURYING A SCAM?

APO submitted report in a haste ahead of vigilance probe. The idea was perhaps to subside gravity of scam

Report admits officials and employees attended seminars/meetings conducted by kingpin Komal Gajbhiye and others and actively participated in TVI marketing to earn easy money

The administration shifted some employees, but favoured them by posting either at Nagpur or Ajni ignoring registration of other employees

Involved supervisors are still working in DRM office including Dayani. Even recommendation of Dayani's transfer disregarded

Inquiry was completed on February 7, 2013, but charge sheets were issued after 6 months when the matter was raised by TOI

One of the employees who was transferred to Ajni has hardly worked in the field

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday asked various groups of agitators in the state to withdraw road and rail blockades immediately, warning them that the government would be compelled to take "appropriate steps otherwise". He said that the government cannot remain a passive spectator to the series of road and rail blockades which have caused great inconvenience to people and hit development. "We cannot allow the situation to deteriorate further. The rail and road blockades caused great miseries and hardships to the people and affected the economy. Such agitations are detrimental to the state's march towards the path of development and we cannot allow this to continue," he said. Road and rail blockades have been the most popular modes of public protest in Assam, and the state had been witnessing a series of such protests, particularly after the central government's decision to create a separate Telengana state. While the Bodos and the Koch Rajbongshis have been demanding creation of separate Bodoland and Kamatapur state respectively in the lines of Telengana, the Karbis and Dimasas have also stepped up agitation in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts demanding a separate autonomous state including both the hill districts. The Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts - Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri, the Karbio Anglong and Dima Hasao districts and several other districts of lower Assam have witnessed over a dozens of rail and road (National Highways) blockades since July. Although the agitations were temporarily stopped following discussions between the central government and the agitating groups, the agitators have threatened to launch fresh agitations as, according to some of them, the talks are not going in right direction.