The Maharashtra government has announced a flexible work time initiative for women state government employees working in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The 'Come Early, Go Early' initiative will allow women employees flexible reporting times and earlier departure times.
The Bombay high court on Friday expressed concern over deaths of commuters on Mumbai local trains, describing the situation as 'alarming', an observation coming days after five people lost their lives post-falling off a packed suburban service.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking immediate action to prevent future stampedes at railway stations. The PIL, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, calls for the implementation of a 2014 report by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on crowd management. The plea also criticizes the disparity in safety efforts, questioning why high-end technology and intelligence are deployed for VIPs while common citizens remain vulnerable to such incidents. The PIL seeks directions to the Indian Railways to take measures for passenger safety, including widening corridors, constructing broader over-bridges and platforms, and ensuring easy access to platforms through ramps and escalators.
The government will look to standardise rules around operations protocol during failure of automatic signalling.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety has determined that the Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express accident was caused by sabotage, prompting increased security measures and investigations.
210 deaths were directly attributed to commuters falling from overcrowded trains.
The incident occurred between Diva and Kopar railway stations when the overcrowded train was going towards Kasara, an official said.
'Imagine what will happen when a train running at 128 kmph moves onto a track that is meant to have only a speed less than 30 kmph!' 'Naturally, it will derail, and the coaches will go for a tailspin.'
Railway Safety Plan for 12th Plan would be Rs 16,842 crore (Rs 168.42 billion), the Railway Minister informed the Lok Sabha.
A woman loco pilot was killed in the Malda division of West Bengal after being hit by a speeding train while returning from a washroom break. The incident has sparked outrage among loco pilots' unions who have been demanding improved washroom facilities and safety measures for female drivers. This incident highlights the ongoing struggle for safe working conditions for women loco pilots, who face numerous challenges due to the lack of basic amenities and support.
The current system of the Indian Railways is on the brink of collapse. The Indian railways working model is not financially viable either. The railways coffer have gone, almost, bankrupt, that is the outcome of the intense review undertaken by the committee consisting of galaxy of experts that was given task to review the Indian railways safety.
'There are enough funds to solve this problem.'
'Because of the callous attitude of the railway administration, they don't take care of safety.'
Seven rivers, including the Brahmaputra, were flowing above the danger level, even as the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Guwahati predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in the state.
The Odisha government has constituted a fact-finding committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a Nepali student at KIIT University and the subsequent protests by students. The three-member panel will investigate the institute's handling of the situation, including the suspension of students seeking justice. The incident has sparked outrage and raised concerns about the safety of international students at the institute. The Nepal government has threatened to stop issuing no objection certificates for students studying in Odisha if the situation is not resolved.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday as the Monsoon Session of Parliament gets underway next week with the united opposition set to corner the National Democratic Alliance government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case and railway safety.
The Opposition party asked whether the prime minister will take responsibility for the 'deadliest rail tragedy' of this century.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has slammed the Maha Kumbh as a "Mrityu Kumbh" (Death Kumbh), accusing the Uttar Pradesh government of suppressing the actual toll in the stampede that occurred at the religious gathering. Banerjee also criticized the lack of planning and management at the event, highlighting the plight of Bengal residents who died in the stampede. The BJP, however, has condemned Banerjee's remarks, calling her an "anti-Hindu chief minister" and accusing her of political opportunism.
Railway officials also indicated that possible 'sabotage' and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the Friday accident.
A high-level safety review committee for the Indian Railways has suggested fresh tax on passengers.
The bench noted that the special investigation team was formed as the local police did not probe the case properly, and "there was a strong outburst of the common man."
Ministers may come and ministers may go but the attitude of the RB remains the same forever, and it is this group that really calls the shots in Indian Railways, says S Pushpavanam.
The twin-train derailments within minutes of each other that killed 25 people in Madhya Pradesh on August 5, 2015, is being blamed on flash floods. S Pushpavanam wonders if that is the only reason.
'The accident happened because the railway track was at the same level as the ground, so the people walked over it.'
As Cyclone Dana barrels toward the coasts of Odisha, threatening to impact nearly half of the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating about 10 lakh people in several coastal districts to safety. In West Bengal, the cyclone is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
LHB coaches are safer. Two high-level railway safety commissions came down heavily on ICF coaches, recommending their replacement by LHB, says Bibek Debroy.
Deepak Parekh, HDFC Bank Chairman, M S Verma, former SBI Chairman, Raghuram, Professor IIM, Ahmedabad, Rajiv Lal, IDFC MD and Vinayak Chatterjee, Feedback, Infrastructure Services Chairman are members of the committee.
Chief ministers of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi are among those who attended the meeting.
Nothing is going to change in a hurry unless attitudes change and punishments are speedy and fair, notes Ramesh Menon.
Talking to reporters at the accident site, he said the issue is of electric point machine, a vital device for railway signalling, and electronic interlocking.
The Congress on Wednesday filed a police complaint over the recent statements of leaders belonging to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) targeting Rahul Gandhi.
Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee presented the Railway Budget for 2009-10 in Parliament on Friday.
Exhausted but elated, around 600 Indian students, who waged a tough battle for survival before being pulled out of war-battered Ukrainian city of Sumy, are now on way to Poland on a train from where they will be flown back home likely on Thursday.
'We have been threatened. We have felt violated.' 'Everything is in danger if you don't give safe spaces to women.'
RJD president Lalu Prasad on Thursday said Railway Budget has cheated people as it has nothing to offer.
He said that efforts were being made either to close or man such crossings in the next two years.
'The Railways must provide a rail system that they can be proud of.'
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi has said that 31 bills will be taken up in the monsoon session. Among these include the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023.
Indian Railways is in talks with Reliance Jio Infocomm to allow the Mukesh Ambani-led telecom major's use of its towers. The aim is seamless mobile and internet connectivity for passengers along the 67,368-km of tracks. The Railway Board has entrusted its RailTel Corporation arm to work on the modalities with Jio. The Jio tie-up is expected to bring down its telecom bill by at least 35 per cent from this financial year.
The Railway Budget was on Thursday passed by the Lok Sabha with Minister Mamata Banerjee announcing a slew of measures to tone up the functioning of the Railways in terms of amenities and safety and deciding to set up an expert committee to prepare a blueprint for future.
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