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  Indian Railways News  / Assam violence: Four killed in police firing as Bodoland burns-- NFR cancelled 12 trains to and from

A day after the authorities ordered forces to shoot rioters on sight, four people were killed in police firing as Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts (BTAD) continued to burn in the wake of violent clashes between tribal Bodos and a religious minority group.

“The four were found indulging in violence and killed in three different parts of Kokrajhar district on Tuesday,” inspector general of police, BTAD, SN Singh told DNA. The toll now stands at 32. Official sources said 19 people had been killed in Kokrajhar district and nine in Chirang district in the clashes earlier.

Despite an indefinite curfew and shoot-on-sight orders, Tuesday saw rioters pelting stones at the Guwahati-bound Rajdhani Express, which led to disruption of train services and left nearly 25,000 passengers stranded. The Northeast Frontier Railway cancelled 12 trains to and from Assam and rescheduled 20 others. A number of trains were held up in West Bengal.

Hundreds of houses were burnt down in scores of villages in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts. It was learnt that Meghalaya governor RS Mushahary’s native village was also burnt down.

The Centre said it has sent 4,000 paramilitary troopers to the affected districts. Prime minister Manmohan Singh and Union home minister P Chidambaram called up chief minister Tarun Gogoi to take stock of the situation. “The prime minister has asked the chief minister to do everything possible for relief and rehabilitation of the affected,” a source said.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to send a four-member team to the state to ascertain the reasons for the clashes.

Gogoi refused to label the clashes as communal violence and said the situation was created by a few miscreants from both sides. “It will be dealt with firmly,” he said.

At least 500 villages have been affected. According to official figures, 55,000 people have taken shelter in 42 relief camps. Thousands have fled to other places in the state. Reports suggested that there was an acute shortage of food items, mainly baby food and drinking water, in the camps.

Director-general of police JN Choudhury said the situation was “very tense”. “We appeal to the people to not spread rumours. They should stay calm and cooperate with us,” he said.

Meanwhile, MP and president of Assam’s main opposition All-India United Democratic Front Badruddin Ajmal and Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mahillary appealed to the government to deploy sufficient army personnel to the trouble-torn districts. An all-party team of the Assam assembly will visit Kokrajhar on Wednesday.

The clashes broke out when some people killed four former members of an erstwhile rebel group to avenge the attack on two former leaders of the All-Assam Minority Students’ Union.

  Indian Railways News  / Science Express arriving on July 30

The Science Express - Biodiversity Special is an innovative and unique mobile exhibition mounted on a specially designed 16-coach AC train (13 exhibition coaches and two power cars).An exhibition-train, “Science Express - Biodiversity Special” will be arriving in the city on July 30. The exhibition will remain open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day till August 2. The Science Express - Biodiversity Special is an innovative and unique mobile exhibition mounted on a specially designed 16-coach AC train (13 exhibition coaches and two power cars), which will be travelling across India during its fifth phase from June 5 to December 22.The current decade (2011-2020) has been declared as the United Nations ‘Decade on Biodiversity and United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification’. The exhibition aboard the train, therefore, is based on the theme 'Biodiversity', according to Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Waltair Division of East Coast Railway M. Yelvender Yadav.The Science Express - Biodiversity Special is a collaborative initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF). The exhibition aims to showcase a wide array of biodiversity in the country and the conservation measures adopted. The train also houses the popular Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC) ‘Joy of Science’ hands-on lab as well as teachers’ training facility.The exhibition is open to all and entry is free.

  Indian Railways News  / Wait prolonged on Assam trains

Over 14,000 passengers travelling in 15 trains to and from Assam today waited at various stations, some for nearly 40 hours, as ethnic clashes continued in the neighbouring state and blocked all rail traffic to the Northeast. Almost all the 11 trains stuck in Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts in north Bengal were halted yesterday afternoon. Till 9.30pm tonight, no train had rolled and it seemed unlikely that any would be allowed to enter Assam, given the explosive law and order situation there. The Northeast Frontier Railway, headquartered in Assam, has said it will not run trains in the section till the law and order situation improves in the four Bodo districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri. Four alleged arsonists were gunned down and five bodies were found in different places in Kokrajhar today taking the death toll to 29 in the riots. Railway officials said they tried to run services at least seven times between last night and this morning but had to halt after attacks on trains in Assam. Of the 11 trains bound for Assam are two Rajdhanis, one going to Dibrugarh, the other to Guwahati. Both the Rajdhani Expresses have been halted at New Cooch Behar to provide passengers with running water and food. Some Rajdhani passengers complained to the station manager about the lack of water and food on the train. Last night, a goods train was attacked at Gosaigaon in Assam after which the railways suspended services for the night. Around 8am today, the North East Express was stopped at Srirampur, a station in Assam close to the Bengal border. The train was brought back to Alipurduar station in Jalpaiguri. This is possibly the first time such a large number of trains have been halted in north Bengal for more than a day. Shitushing Hajong, the Northeast Frontier Railway public relations officer, said at 5pm that 15 trains were stuck in total in Assam and Bengal. He said at least 14,000 passengers could be on the trains. An estimate of how many passengers were stuck in north Bengal alone tonight was not available. This morning, there was no water in most of the toilets in the North East Express at Alipurduar. The air-conditioning did not work either, and the pantry car food stocks also became insufficient. In the Rajdhanis, drinking water was insufficient. Passengers of the Dibrugarh Rajdhani complained that they had to go to a tube well of Samuktala Road station, where the train was stopped for the night, to fill their bottles. Prem Chand, a trader who runs his business from Guwahati's Fancy Bazar, was stuck on the Dibrugarh-bound Rajdhani. At Samuktala Road station, he said: "We did not get tea and breakfast. Around 7am, the staff said they would serve tea. We are drinking water from a tube well of the Samuktala Road station. The railway has thought of our safety but a train like Rajdhani Express should have been detained in a bigger station, so that we would have got everything normally." Udoy Kumar Gupta, travelling in the North East Express, said: "I am taking my son to admit him for BTech in Shillong and today was the admission date, but we failed to reach there and I don't know what will happen when we will reach Guwahati." At least 10 children had reportedly taken ill in one of the Rajdhanis. Hiramani Deka, who was travelling with her daughter Prachi, said: "From the morning, there has been no drinking water in the train, AC machines have not been working, toilets are not clean, children are becoming ill and no doctor has attended to them. Our country has so many forces, then why are trains attacked and not run without any trouble?" she complained. This afternoon when the Rajdhani Expresses reached New Cooch Behar station, some annoyed passengers went to the station master to complain. Hajong said: "Till yesterday, we have tried seven times but failed (to run the trains). We regret for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. Now, till the law and order situation becomes normal, we will not run any train."

  Indian Railways News  / 3 को पटना पहुंचेगी एड्स जागरूकता ट्रेन - Jagran Yahoo! India

पटना : एचआइवी/एड्स व इससे बचाव की जानकारी देने को जागरूकता ट्रेन 3 सितंबर को पटना जंक्शन पहुंच रही है। ज्यादा से ज्यादा लोग इसका लाभ उठा सकें इस बाबत चर्चा को जिलाधिकारी व डीडीसी की अध्यक्षता में मंगलवार को एक बैठक हुई। इसमें स्वास्थ्य विभाग, रेल प्रशासन समेत कई विभागों के लोगों ने भाग लिया।
सिविल सर्जन कार्यालय से प्राप्त जानकारी के अनुसार एड्स जागरूकता ट्रेन 23 अगस्त को प्रदेश में प्रवेश करेगी। यह ट्रेन किशनगंज, कटिहार, बांका, नालंदा होते हुए पटना जंक्शन तीन को पहुंचेगी। हर हाल्ट पर यह दो दिन रुकेगी। पटना से यह ट्रेन आरा, गया, नवादा होते हुए प्रदेश से रवाना हो जाएगी। ट्रेन में पेंटिंग, सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रमों, प्रदर्शनी आदि से लोगों को एड्स की जानकारी दी जाएगी। बैठक में उस दौरान विधि व्यवस्था और प्रचार-प्रसार, उद्घाटन आदि के बारे में चर्चा की गई। स्वास्थ्य विभाग इस मुहिम में आशा, ममता तथा आंगनबाड़ी कार्यकर्ताओं को भी नियुक्त कर रहा है।

  Indian Railways News  / North Central Railway general manager takes stock of Allahabad junction

ALLAHABAD: The North Central Railway general manager Alok Johri inspected the Allahabad Junction on Sunday. He laid emphasis on repair of foot over bridges and the planning for the proposed escalators to be installed at Allahabad Junction.NCR public relation officer Amit Malviya said the inspection started at 10am. Johri first inspected the various foot over bridge and the stairs. He then went to the site of proposed escalators and discussed the planning of the same with senior officials. He instructed the officials to conduct a detailed survey of the foot over bridges and the landing of stairs. He also instructed the officials to take suitable steps to see that the landing of stairs meets the passengers requirement.While inspecting the layers of these stairs, the GM instructed the officials that if the layer of these stairs have become unequal than the needed grinding be done and needed repair be taken. He also instructed the officials to remove the channel gate, located at Civil Lines side, so that more space can be created for smooth flow of passengers while coming from foot over bridge joining platform number 1 to 10, said Malviya.The GM also discussed at length the progress of work regarding preparations of Maha Kumbh. He instructed the officials that work should be expedited so that the work shall be completed before the targeted schedule time of completing the work.