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  Indian Railways News  / Exodus of people from northeast stops in Karnataka, dwindles in Tamil Nadu - The Times of India

BANGALORE/CHENNAI: After four days of panic-driven exodus of northeasterners, the situation eased today with police and railway officials saying it has stopped in Karnataka and reduced to a trickle in Tamil Nadu.

In contrast to earlier scenes of people belonging to the northeast fleeing over rumours of backlash over Assam violence,the situation was normal in Bangalore which was turned into a virtual fortress with tight security in place.

Upto 30,000 people had fled the country's IT capital since late last week which abated yesterday after the government went into overdrive to instill confidence in the people.

Over 18,000 police personnel, bolstered by Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police, kept a hawk-like vigil in the city with Eid also celebrated today. "The situation is absolutely peaceful and normal ...People from the northeast are going about their chores without any disturbance and the exodus has completely stopped", Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Suneel Kumar told PTI.

Bangalore Police Commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji said they have held several peace committee meetings with community leaders and police intensified night patrolling.

Railways, which ran additional trains to Guwahati after the sudden rush of fleeing northeasterners, did not operate any special services for the second consecutive day.

"There are no trains to Guwahati today... passengers, if any from Bangalore, will be directed to board Yeshwanthpur-Howrah Express from Yeshwanthpur and will have to proceed to Guwahati from Howrah", ADGP Railways Bhaskar Rao said.

Karnataka deputy chief minister and home minister R Ashoka, announcing 24-hour duty for himself today, undertook rounds along with top police officials last night and visited places inhabited largely by northeast people.

In Chennai, after four consecutive days, the number of NE people leaving the city by trains noticeably reduced.

"There were very few people from the northeast today at Chennai Central station. It is far less compared to earlier and it has reduced from Tamil Nadu," a senior railway official said.

The last train that left with three extra coaches was the Howrah-bound Coromandel Express this morning. However, those coaches had mostly those who arrived here from Bangalore, he said, adding, only over 150 tickets were sold from Chennai Central Railway Station counter. Though an approximate number could not be put, as some of them came from other states to change trains, the number of home-bound NE people was certainly dwindling, he said.

In an isolated incident, migrant workers from Assam, working in a hollow brick manufacturing unit at Manjeri in Kerala's Malappuram district, were allegedly threatened by some unidentified persons to leave the state by today, following which police stepped by vigil. The workers were threatened on August 16 midnight by a 12-member gang and a complaint in this regard was filed by the unit owner before Manjeri police on August 18, police said.

  Indian Railways News  / Mishra murder hearing

New Delhi: The final arguments in the murder case of former railway minister L.N. Mishra will commence daily from August 27 in a Delhi court. The date of the final arguments was fixed after the Supreme Court on August 17 said the trial could not be quashed merely on basis of delay. "Put up (the case) for final arguments on August 27, 2012 on a day-to-day basis," additional district judge Vinod Goel said in his order. Mishra was killed in a bomb blast at Samastipur railway station on January 3, 1975. The judge took the decision after accused Santoshanand Avadhuta's counsel, amicus curiae Ashwani Kumar Bali, who was recently appointed by the court, submitted that he needed time for inspection of the file and to go through documents. The counsel "can take down notes during arguments by the special public prosecutor and, in the meanwhile, (he) may inspect the file and go through the documents," the court said.

  Indian Railways News  / Govt support sought for speeding up rail travel

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Imagine being able to reach the capital city from Kozhikode by train in five hours. And that too not on the much-publicized high speed rail corridor, but on the existing rail network!The Jan Satabdi Express (Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode) travelling at 120 kmph to reach its destination in five hours was one among the recommendations that came up at the national seminar conducted by NATPAC (National Transportation Planning and Research Centre), which conclude here on Tuesday.B G Sreedevi, director, NATPAC said such a feat would be possible if the government of Kerala extended the necessary support for the project.Highly placed railway officials in the state said that it could become a reality if the requisite infrastructure was present, but that that would require state support."Jan Satabdi trains, whose average speed is 87 kmph, unfortunately has only an average speed of 55 kmph in Kerala due to line congestion and absence of double lines.Completion of doubling alone will help us to save at least an hour of travelling time. And adequate increase in speed will help us make the train reach its destination in five hours. Increase in speed of up to 120 kmph is surely possible in Kerala, but for that the state should complete the land acquisition process to enable railways to complete the doubling process," said an official in Thiruvananthapuram railway division.While the seminar also advocated introducing Kairali agro trains to transport agricultural products from one end of the state to the other, its main emphasis was on improving efficiency and speed of trains.The seminar that saw the presentation of 25 technical papers on various modes of transport, pushed incorporating multiple objectives like cost effective, moderate capital investment and utilization of local resources. The emphasis was on introducing a multi-modal form of transport development integrating all modes of transport.Delivering the valedictory address, public works minister V K Ibrahim Kunju said the problems faced by the government in its attempt to develop cities, towns and villages were numerous."From environmental issues to litigations against land acquisition, the government faces stiff resistance from the public. But we cannot go on like this for long as our roads are getting congested. From taxation on households that have more than one vehicle, to integration of transportation modes we are considering measures to improve matters," minister said.

  Indian Railways News  / TMC takes on ruling Congress in Meham

Rohtak: Taking the ruling Congress head-on, the newly set up state unit of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has claimed that the state government has failed to come up to the expectations of the masses on various fronts.Announcing that the TMC will emerge as a political alternative, it has called upon the people to reject all those, including the ruling party, for “promoting” corruption and denying people the basic amenities of water and power in the state even after 46 years of its creation.“Holding its first public meeting in Meham recently, the move has sprung a surprise for many as the TMC was yet to establish its identity in the state and was still in the process of its formation,” claimed Raj Singh, a political analyst.He, however, added that the development was perhaps due to the involvement and interests of some of the locals and political aspirants, who had been feeling bottled up due to various factors, including resentment over lack of pace of development in the region, though it was claimed that the region had been getting a preferential treatment due to its being the home district of the Chief Minister.Shamsher Singh Kharkara, a vibrant political activist and who may have been a force to help the TMC to hold its first meeting under the guise of organising a wrestling event here, said Meham was not averse to other political forces as it was itself a victim of “poor” development. Kharkara, who contested the last Assembly election from Meham against the ruling party candidate, said Meham came last of all the Assembly constituencies in the state in the matter of development and added that the voters of the constituency had been feeling cheated as not a single development project had been launched here during the past several years.

Regarding the proposed rail line between Meham and Hansi, the TMC MP, KD Singh, said there had been certain lacunae in the project report.

He added that it was the TMC that would be carrying out the work as the Railway Minister belonged to the TMC.

Coming down heavily on both the ruling and the main Opposition party, the INLD, he said none of the governments in the past had cared to provide even water and power supply to the people and had been misleading them on the issue of employment.

He said the TMC would contest the next elections in the state and would provide voters an alternative to the people who were fed up with false promises and failures on part of the successive state governments so far.

  Indian Railways News  / 20 कोच वाली स्पेशल ट्रेन से आए सिर्फ 5

बेंगलूरू। विश्वास बहाली और व्यापक सुरक्षा उपायों के बावजूद राज्य सरकार द्वारा बेंगलूरू वापस लौटने की अपील का असर अपने घर लौट चुके पूर्वोत्तर के लोगों पर नहीं हो रहा है। मंगलवार को गुवाहाटी से सिटी रेलवे स्टेशन पर लौटी 20 कोच वाली स्पेशल ट्रेन से सिर्फ 5 लोग आए।दक्षिण पश्चिम रेलवे के बेंगलूरू मंडल के मंडल रेल प्रबंधक (डीआरएम) अनिल अग्रवाल ने बताया कि गुवाहाटी से पहली विशेष ट्रेन लौट आई है जिसमें सिर्फ 5 लोग लौटे हैं। बुधवार को एक और विशेष ट्रेन आने वाली है जबकि उसके अगले दिन तीन और विशेष ट्रेनें यहां पहुंच जाएंगी। गौरतलब है कि पूर्वोत्तर के लोगों के खिलाफ हमले की आशंका संबंधी अफवाह फैलने के बाद सिटी रेलवे स्टेशन पर गुवाहाटी जाने वाली ट्रेनों में भीड़ उमड़ पड़ी थी। इसके बाद रेलवे ने तुरंत अतिरिक्त ट्रेनों का प्रबंध करते हुए लोगों को उनके घरों तक पहुंचाने के लिए 8 विशेष ट्रेनें चलाई।इससे पहले राज्य सरकार ने पूर्वोत्तर के लोगों को पूर्ण सुरक्षा देने का आश्वासन देते हुए उन्हें शहर छोड़कर जाने का इरादा बदलने की अपील की थी। सरकार ने त्वरित कार्यवाही बल (आएएफ), सीआरपीएफ, होम गार्ड्स सहित स्थानीय पुलिस के 17 हजार जवानों को तैनात किया ताकि लोगों में सुरक्षा की भावना फिर से आ सके।यहां तक रमजान के अवसर पर गृह मंत्री खुद रात्रिकालीन गश्त पर निकले और यह देखा की सुरक्षा के तमाम इंतजाम दुरूस्त है या नहीं। अशोक ने कहा है कि यह सुरक्षा व्यवस्था अगले एक सप्ताह तक इतनी ही मुस्तैद रहेगी। उन्होंने कहा कि पूर्वोत्तर के लोगों के जीवन के प्रति कोई खतरा नहीं है। अफवाह का एसएमएस भेजने के आरोपी पांच लोगों को हिरासत में लिया गया है। जो भी सूचनाएं मिल रही हैं उससे केंद्र को भी अवगत कराया जाएगा।