ProUI

Anti-Telangana protests entered their fourth day in Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh on Monday as more unions joined the stir while 32 trains were cancelled. The power shutdown also continues in 13 districts of Seemandhra, comprising coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Normal life is

crippled as reports say ATMs are not functioning in cities while other services are also hit by the power blackout. On Sunday morning, Power Employees’ Joint Action Committee began an indefinite strike. They had announced on Saturday that 70,000 workers of transmission, generation and distribution companies would go on an indefinite stir.

Power production at the Kadapa and Vijayawada thermal units and Srisailam hydro units was also hit.

Further tripping could affect the entire southern grid, the employees said. Some media reports said even neighbouring Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala were affected.

On Sunday, protesters defied curfew and shoot-at-sight orders to clash with police and pelted stones at security forces. The troops retaliated by firing rubber bullets. Curfew was also imposed in Vizianagaram town after day-long violence on Saturday.

According to media reports, 20 policemen and 30 protesters were injured. Dozens of agitators were arrested.

East Coast Railways today halted operations of four express trains and all local/passenger trains originating and terminating at Visakhapatnam in the wake of agitation in Andhra Pradesh, official sources said.

Power crisis in Andhra Pradesh is a factor behind the cancellation of the trains, Railway sources said.

The express trains cancelled on Tuesday were 17015 Up Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad Visakha Express, 12898 Up Bhubaneswar-Puducherry Weekly Express, 18411 Up Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam Intercity Express and 18412 down Visakhapatnam-Bhubaneswar Intercity Express.

However, for the comfortable journey of the train passengers stranded enroute, East Coast Railway has arranged diesel locomotives for movement of long distance trains.

Apart from this, food and drinking water provision has been made at different stations for stranded passengers, a Railway release said.

ECoR has also opened an emergency control room at Visakhapatnam for smooth movement of trains. Staff has been deputed to look after the proper arrangement of food and drinking water at various stations and in trains.

ERSA/Recruitment/Advt./2013-14 07-10-2013
Kolkata
Recruitment of sports persons by Eastern Railway Sports Association

RECRUITMENT OF OUTSTANDING SPORTS PERSONS BY EASTERN RAILWAY SPORTS ASSOCIATION AGAINST SPORTS QUOTA OF HEADQUARTERS FOR THE YEAR 2013-14.
Click Here to download the details and Application Form


(M K Sinha)
Webmaster & Content Manager/ER

As the Central Railway (CR) gears up to do away with 300 coupon validating machines (CVMs) after March 2014, colourful coupon booklets used by commuters on suburban railways will probably be a thing of the past. This will mark the end of the 15-year-old ticketing method.

CR is contemplating handing over extra booklets to Western Railway (WR), which plans to integrate the standalone box machines with unreserved ticketing system (UTS) to prevent fraudulent practices and improve the accounting of coupon tickets.

A senior railway officer said, "The WR has asked CR to hand over excess coupon booklets to them after March 2014. If the Board does not give another extension, CR will hand over the booklets after doing away with the machines."

Installed for the first time in 1998 on an experimental basis, CVMs were one of the most popular ticketing systems on CR till two years ago. In 2011, the contribution of CVMs to ticketing was twice that of Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs), since the latter were perceived to be less user-friendly. However, after the Railway Board issued the directive to discontinue non-networked systems, CR took several measures to popularise ATVMs.

Some of these measures were positioning facilitators at ATVMs to disburse tickets to non-smart card commuters, installing signboards on all machines to explain steps of purchasing tickets from the machines, and introducing queue system to purchase coupon booklets. In 2011 CR sold 3 lakh tickets daily through coupon booklets. Now it has come down to 50,000 per day.

Atul Rane, Chief Public Relations Officer, CR said, "Though CVMs were a popular mode of ticketing for commuters, the machines were non-networked. Resorting to fraudulent means was easy. So replacing thosr machines was considered necessary. We have taken steps to replace this mode by providing ATVMs, JTBS and new UTS, which are more user-friendly."Following the Railway Board directive in 2011, CR and WR have repeatedly asked for extensions in 2012 and 2013, saying that the machines were extremely popular among commuters.

24/2013-2014 07-10-2013
chennai
TEMPORARY STOPPAGE AT VAITHISVARANKOIL

The following trains will stop at Vaithisvarankoil, between Chidambaram and Mayiladuthurai, on an experimental basis.

1)Train No.16183 Chennai Egmore – Thanjavur Uzhavan Express leaving Chennai Egmore from 09.10.2013 to 29.06.2014. -Arrival / Departure at Vaithisvarankoil - 04.32 hrs. / 04.33 hrs.
2)Train No.16184 Thanjavur - Chennai Egmore Uzhavan Express leaving Thanjavur from 10.10.2013 to 30.06.2014. – Arrival / Departure at Vaithisvarankoil - 22.46 hrs. / 22.47 hrs.
3)Train No.17407 Tirupati – Mannargudi Pamani (Tri-weekly) Express leaving Tirupati from 10.10.2013 to 28.06.2014. – Arrival / Departure at Vaithisvarankoil - 19.14 hrs. / 19.15 hrs.
4) Train No.17408 Mannargudi - Tirupati Pamani (Tri-weekly) Express leaving
Mannargudi from 11.10.2013 to 29.06.2014. - Arrival / Departure at Vaithisvarankoil -
07.34 hrs. / 07.35 hrs.





(M. Boopathy)
Sr.PRO

Railway passengers in the restive Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh are bearing the brunt of ongoing strike by employees of state power corporations with many trains are either being partially cancelled or rescheduled.

The South Central Railway (SCR) today partially cancelled services of passengers trains running on Rajahmundry- Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam routes in the wake of the strike by employees of Andhra Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation.

Employees of all three wings viz generation, transmission and distribution are on strike in protest against Centre's decision to carve out separate Telangana state.

While Rajahmundry-Visakhapatnam passenger train which left at 11:15 hrs was partially cancelled between Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam stations, a passenger train running between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam station was partially terminated between Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam, according to a SCR spokesperson.

The Tirumala and Konark expresses were stopped at Tuni and some services are running behind the schedule, he said.

Meanwhile, the South Central Railway has set up a helpline at major stations like Vijayawada, Nellore, Ongole and Rajahmundry to update passengers about the schedule.

Anticipating power disruptions in coming days due to strike, the SCR is keeping various options open, including hauling important express trains with diesel locos.

Locomotives are kept on standby along Vijayawada-Gudur- Renigunta section.

"Another measures the SCR has planned to roll out in case of emergency situation are suitable diversions of long-distance trains via convenient alternate routes, shutting down goods trains and cancellation/partial cancellation of short-distance passenger trains to facilitate movement of express trains," the spokesperson said.

Normal rail traffic restored at Gorakhpur Junction 
Gorakhpur (UP), Oct 7 (PTI) Normal rail traffic at the Gorakhpur Junction, which was affected due to the re-modelling work being carried out here, was restored today.

Due to re-modelling of Gorakhpur Junction's yard, several trains had been either cancelled, short-terminated or diverted since September 25.

The train services resumed this morning on the route, General Manager NER K K Atal said.

However, some re-modelling work will continue for the next two days, officials said.

ஓடும் ரயிலில் ஓவியப் போட்டி: 650 மாணவ, மாணவியர் பங்கேற்பு
By dn, புதுச்சேரி
First Published : 07 October 2013 04:09 AM IST
புகைப்படங்கள்
புதுவை-விழுப்புரம் பயணிகள் ரயிலில், ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை நடைபெற்ற ஓவியப் போட்டியில் பங்கேற்ற மாணவ, மாணவியர்.
புதுவை-விழுப்புரம் பயணிகள் ரயிலில், ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை நடைபெற்ற ஓவியப் போட்டியில் பங்கேற்ற மாணவ, மாணவியர்.
புதுச்சேரி-விழுப்புரம் பயணிகள் ரயிலில் ஓவியப் போட்டி ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை நடைபெற்றது. இதில் 650 மாணவ, மாணவியர் பங்கேற்றனர்.

சுற்றுலாவை மேம்படுத்தும் வகையிலும் குழந்தைகளிடம் ஓவியக் கலையைத் தூண்டும் வகையிலும் ஆண்டுதோறும் ஓடும் ரயிலில் ஓவியப் போட்டிகள் நடத்தப்படுகின்றன.

புதுவை மாநில ஓவியர் மன்றம் சார்பில் நடைபெற்ற இப்போட்டியில் புதுவைச் சேர்ந்த 48 பள்ளிகளில் இருந்து 650 மாணவ, மாணவியர் பங்கேற்றனர். சட்டப்பேரவைத் தலைவர் சபாபதி தலைமை வகித்தார். போட்டிகளை அமைச்சர்கள் தியாகராஜன், பன்னீர்செல்வம், அன்பழகன் எம்.எல்.ஏ. தொடங்கி வைத்தனர். புதுச்சேரி ரயில் நிலைய மேலாளர் கே.பாலகிருஷ்ணன் வரவேற்றார். ஓவியர் மன்றத் தலைவர் இபேர் விதிகளை விளக்கிக் கூறினார்.

புதுச்சேரி ஓவிய நுண்கலை குழுத் தலைவர் மாலதி ராஜவேலு குழந்தைகள் வரைவதற்கான பொருள்களை வழங்கினார்.

அனைவருக்கும் ரயிலில் அச்சடித்த கோட்டுப்படம் வழங்கப்பட்டது. மாணவர்கள் கல்வியில் கவனம் செலுத்தி பட்டதாரிகளாகத் திகழ வேண்டும் என்ற கருத்தை வலியுறுத்தும் வகையில் கோட்டுப்படம் வைக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது.

புதுச்சேரியில் இருந்து மாலை 3.30 மணியளவில் ரயில் புறப்பட்டவுடன் போட்டி தொடங்கியது. ரயிலின் ஓட்டத்துக்கு ஈடுகொடுத்து மாணவ, மாணவியர் ஓவியங்களை வரைந்து அசத்தினர்.

4.50 மணிக்கு ரயில் விழுப்புரத்தை அடைந்தது. விழுப்புரம் ரயில் நிலைய மேலாளர் பிரேம் லகேரா மாணவர்களை வரவேற்று சான்றுகள், சிற்றுண்டி போன்றவற்றை வழங்கினார். புதுவை, காரைக்கால், சென்னை, திருவண்ணாமலை, விழுப்புரத்தைச் சேர்ந்த மாணவர்கள் பங்கேற்றனர்.

65 ஆசிரியர்களும், 20 என்.எஸ்.எஸ். மாணவர்களும், 2 செவிலியரும் போட்டி நடத்தும் பணியில் ஈடுபட்டனர். ஓவியர்கள் எமில், குலசேகரன், ரிச்சர்ட், ராமலிங்கம், சுகுணா, ஜெயலட்சுமி, புதுவை, விழுப்புரம் ரயில் நிலைய அதிகாரிகள் இதற்கான ஏற்பாடுகளை செய்தனர். வரும் நவம்பர் மாதம் 10ஆம் தேதி பரிசளிப்பு விழா நடைபெறும்.

Southern Railway has cancelled a number of trains between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for tomorrow due to the agitation by some workers of Andhra Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation over the Telangana issue.

The Jan Shatabdi Express running between Chennai Central and Vijayawada, scheduled to leave the city tomorrow, has been cancelled, a Southern Railway release said.

Similarly, tomorrow's Chennai Central-Gudur Passenger, Vijayawada-Chennai Central Pinakini Express and Bitragunta-Chennai Central Passenger have also been cancelled, the release said.

As the electricity employees went on strike in the coastal districts and the Rayalaseema area of Andhra Pradesh against the Union Government’s decision to bifurcate the State and form Telangana, power supply was disrupted on Monday and there was a blackout in most of the coastal towns and villages. All industries, commercial establishments and other institutions were badly hit.The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, which experienced a minor disruption in production on Sunday, was totally disconnected from the State power grid on Monday and the plant was running solely on captive power units with a capacity of 240 MW. Sources said only the most essential systems were being maintained as otherwise there may be a total shutdown and production was badly hit.Other industries in Visakhapatnam and other towns had to stop production because of the power cut. Several trains on the Vijayawada-Chennai, Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada and the Visakhapatnam-Bhubaneswar sections were stopped because of the disruption in power supply. The railway authorities were moving trains on diesel engines. Passenger trains and goods trains were cancelled and several long-distance trains regulated due to the critical situation.

Curfew in force in Vizianagaram

The situation in Vizianagaram town, 60 km from here, where properties of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee President, B. Satyanarayana, were attacked, remained tense but under control, according to the police. Curfew continued in the town for the third day and there was a heavy deployment of rapid action police force.

Power generation at the Narla Tata Rao thermal power station at Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada came to a total halt on Sunday night. The plant generates 1750 MW of power.

sarma.rs@the.hindu.co.in