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  Indian Railways News  / Bond market borrowers rush to LIC for funds

Major bond market borrowers such as Indian Railway Finance Corporation and Konkan Railway Corporation, along with banks such as Andhra Bank, Canara Bank, UCO Bank, Syndicate Bank and Central Bank of India are rushing to the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) seeking immediate disbursal of their sanctioned credit limits.

According to official sources, the rush for loan disbursement has gone up following the fear that interest rates will go up in the near future with clubbing of government borrowing with the corporate credit in the second half of the current fiscal.

On the other hand, banks are also clinging to LIC for raising funds in the form of subordinated debt (Tier-II) following the RBI structure to limit the cross holding among banks to 10 per cent of their of their portfolio.

After the new norms, they are finding it difficult to raise money as most of the banks are well in excess of this limit and are busy shedding the flab before time.

  Indian Railways News  / 1,171 join as Group D staff in SWR Hubli

The Hubli division of South Western Railway (SWR) has issued posting orders to newly recruited Group D staff.The division issued orders to 1,171 candidates till April 30. All of them have reported for duty, according to a release. The division has been facing a shortage of Group D staff. Although the recruitment process was initiated along with that for other SWR divisions, it was suspended for three years following complaints and protests over local candidates reportedly being denied opportunities.The process resumed in 2011.The division plans to complete the process of issuing posting orders to the remaining candidates by May 15.

  Indian Railways News  / Physically challenged forced to travel in crowded coach

Twenty physically challenged passengers, including three visually impaired persons, had to run pell-mell for 10 minutes at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on April 24 to find the coach for the handicapped on the Madgaon-bound Konkankanya Express. Their efforts unavailing, they were forced to travel in the overcrowded general compartment.Forty-year-old Sunil Chimulkar, a physically handicapped passenger, said: “I wanted to visit my native place Thivim in Goa, with my colleague, Jitu Karelia, 41. The booking office issued two tickets for the handicapped at a concession.”They decided to board the train at Dadar to avoid the crowd. They asked the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) patrolling the platform where the coach for the handicapped would arrive. “We stood where they told us to, but when the train arrived, there was no coach for the handicapped. There were 18 other handicapped passengers. Finally, we boarded the unreserved compartment,” Chimulkar said.When the train reached CST, the ticket examiner told them that the compartment in which they were travelling was meant for unreserved passengers and that it would be locked soon and opened at Dadar for passengers.Karelia contacted several officials including GRP and RPF to find out why the coach for the handicapped was not attached to the train. But, to his utter shock, nobody gave him a satisfactory answer. He added that they had to travel in the unreserved compartment after requesting the ticket checker.Their ordeal did not end there. The compartment was packed with 332 passengers, and he could go to the toilet after the train passed Rajapur station, 409km from CST. None of the pantry car staff came to our coach during the journey, he said.Chimulkar said he faced another problem on his return journey from Goa on April 27. When the train reached Chiplun, a motorman named Bhupati entered the coach meant for the handicappedand made seating arrangement for his colleague Sameer Laad. When Chimulkar questioned Bhupati, he abused him and said Laad was working in the top Konkan Railway officer’s residence as bungalow peon.On Wednesday, Chimulkar wrote a letter to the managing director of Konkan Railway, requesting him to take action against the erring railway officers.Siddheshwar Telugu, chief public relation officer of Konkan Railway, said, “We have three rakes plying between CST to Madgaon daily. Of the three, two have coaches for the handicapped, and the third will soon be available,” said Telugu. He added that the inconvenience to the passengers was regretted.

  Indian Railways News  / फर्स्ट क्लास एसी में छूटा यात्रियों का पसीना, चूहे करते रहे बल्ले -बल्ले!

जोधपुर.जोधपुर से शनिवार शाम दिल्ली सराय रोहिल्ला के लिए रवाना हुई राजस्थान संपर्क क्रांति एक्सप्रेस के फर्स्ट एसी कोच में यात्रियों को काफी परेशानी झेलनी पड़ी। कम्प्रेशर खराब होने से एसी बंद हो गया। कोच में कूद रहे चूहों ने यात्रियों की परेशानी को और बढ़ा दिया।

पसीने से तरबतर यात्री ट्रेन के मेड़ता रोड पहुंचने पर कोच से बाहर आए और रेलवे अफसरों से इसकी लिखित शिकायत की। जोधपुर-दिल्ली सराय रोहिल्ला एक्सप्रेस शनिवार शाम सात बजे जोधपुर से रवाना हुई। तब तक फस्र्ट एसी कोच का एयरकंडीशनर काम कर रहा था। ट्रेन अभी राईकाबाग से निकली ही थी कि अचानक एयरकंडीशनर बंद हो गया। कुछ देर तक तो यात्रियों ने एसी दुबारा चालू होने का इंतजार किया, मगर जब एसी चालू नहीं हुआ तो कोच कंडक्टर से इसकी शिकायत की।

यात्रियों को बताया गया कि इसका कम्प्रेशर खराब हो गया है और अब एसी चलना मुश्किल है। इसके बावजूद यात्रियों को दूसरे एसी कोच में शिफ्ट नहीं किया गया। कोच में यात्री पसीने से तरबतर हो गए। यात्रियों ने दोनों तरफ के दरवाजे खोलकर गर्मी से राहत पाने की कोशिश की, लेकिन एसी चालू नहीं होने से उनकी परेशानी कम नहीं हुई। बाद में डेगाना स्टेशन पर एसी शुरू करने की कोशि की गई, मगर सफलता नहीं मिली और यात्रियों को गर्मी व उमस में चूहों की उछलकूद के बीच ही सफर तय करना पड़ा।


डीआरएम से संपर्क नहीं हो सका

इस संबंध में रात पौने दस बजे मंडल रेल प्रबंधक राजेंद्र जैन के मोबाइल फोन पर घंटी दी। उनके पीए ने बताया कि सा’ब किसी कार्यक्रम में व्यस्त हैं। थोड़ी देर बात बात कर लेना। कुछ देर बाद दुबारा फोन लगाया, लेकिन उनका फोन संपर्क सीमा से बाहर बताया गया। इसके बाद हर बार फोन संपर्क सीमा से बाहर ही बताया गया।


यात्री बोले- हमारी नींद हराम, रेलवे बेफिक्र


फस्र्ट एसी एच ए-वन के ए कूपे में परिवार के साथ यात्रा कर रहे कर्नल गिरीश्वर ने बताया कि राईकाबाग क्रॉस करते ही कोच का एसी बंद हो गया। टीटीई आरके सिंह को शिकायत की तो उन्होंने बताया कि कम्प्रेशर खराब हो गया है। कोच में गर्मी से हमारी नींद हराम हो गई, लेकिन रेलवे अफसरों की नींद नहीं उड़ी। इतना ही नहीं एसी कोच में चूहे कूद रहे थे। इसी कोच के यात्री योगेश शर्मा ने बताया कि यात्रियों के दबाव के चलते डेगाना में एसी चालू करने की कोशिश की, लेकिन सफलता नहीं मिली।


रिफंड मिल जाएगा:

कोच टीटीई व गार्ड ने यात्रियों की शिकायत मिलने के बाद रिपोर्ट में एसी बंद होने की बात लिखी है। टीटीई आरके सिंह ने बताया कि डेगाना में एसी चालू करने का प्रयास किया गया, लेकिन एसी नहीं चला। यात्रियों को रिफंड (नॉन एसी) मिल जाएगा।

  Indian Railways News  / World class inaccessible railway station

KOCHI, INDIA: It seems promises remain only as promises when it comes to Ernakulam Junction. While commuters without disabilities wait for the “world-class railway station”, it offers no comfort for persons with disabilities.There is no way by which persons with disabilities who alight at platform five and six can reach the main entry other than by taking the two-km long road via South RoB.The Railways is also not implementing its own circular of 1998 for providing such commuters amenities including separate toilets.Though there is a low-height ticket window at the main entry, most of the time it remains closed.This, at a time when the Railway Board repeatedly reiterated its commitment to convert railway stations falling under category A1, A and B into accessible stations for persons with disabilities. Ernakulam Junction falls in the second category.“Every day, there are at least 20 to 30 passengers with disabilities who arrive at the station, but there is no trolley path from platform six or five.The escalators, the ideal ones, may be a luxury but the trolley path is a basic amenity,” said Paul K. J. Manvattom, president of All Kerala Railway Users Association.Despite the station being the highest revenue earning one in the division, there is not even an upper class waiting room, he said, adding that a memorandum has been filed in this regard. The station has other shortcomings too.There are no facilities for passengers coming through the eastern entry to locate their trains in the absence of an LED display or information centre.Also, one of the foot overbridges has no roof, making it difficult for commuters, especially when it rains.