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55 new trains, 35 extensions
Lalu denies giving preference to Bihar
Bhilai rolls out world’s
longest rails
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Jawan kills colleague, self
Left, BJP criticise privatisation
NCP-Left pact in WB, two other states
SC notices to govt, EC
SC talks tough against Jaya
Burns-Saran talks “fruitful”: PM
Cartoon row: Muslims take to streets in Patna
Somnath Chatterjee stable
USA gives visa to Indian scientist
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55 new trains, 35 extensions
New Delhi, February 24 The trains to Ajmer, named Garib Nawaj Express, will originate from Ranchi, Kishanganj and Bangalore (Yashwantpur) to facilitate visit of people of all religions and communities from all corners of the country to the famous dargah to pay their obeisance. All three trains would be weeklies. Modelled on the present fastest train on the Delhi-Agra section, a new train will run between Delhi-Kanpur-Lucknow at a speed of 150 kmph. The speed of some of the mail and express trains linking Ajmer, Jaipur, Varanasi, Chhapra will be increased to 120 kmph from 110 kmph. Most of the new trains are weeklies. There are 25 weekly trains, 12 dailies, six bi-weekly trains and five tri-weekly trains. A new brand of trains called “garib rath” is proposed to be introduced from Delhi connecting Patna, Mumbai and Chennai on weekly basis. The three trains will be fully air-conditioned. A similar garib rath train is also being introduced on the Saharsa-Amritsar section as a bi-weekly link connecting Barauni, Hajipur, Sonpur, Chhapra and Gorakhpur. Mr yadav said in deference to the public request, the Karnataka Sampark Kranti express between Nizamuddin and Yeshwantpur (Bangalore) would be rerouted to run via Itarsi, Manmad, Pune, Hubli, Arsikere and Yeshwantpur twice a week, instead of on a daily basis at present. Similarly, the Rajendranagar-Jammu Tawi Archana Express, at present running via Varanasi, Sultanpur and Lucknow, will run via Rae Bareilly, Pratapgarh and Lucknow. The following are the new trains proposed in the Budget. Valsad-Udhna (Surat)-Chhapra-Sonpur Shramik Express (weekly), Ahmedabad-Patna Azimabad Express (weekly), Muzaffarpur-Kolkata (Chitpur)Tirhut express (weekly), Darbhanga-Kolkata (Chitpur) Mithilanchal Express (bi-weekly), Kishanganj Garib Nawaj Express (weekly), Yeshwantpur Garib Nawaj Express (weekly), Ranchi-Garib Nawaj Express via Varanasi (weekly), Saharsa-Patna Kosi Express (daily) and Sonpur-Chhapra-Jammu Tawi Mour Dhwaj Express (weekly). Delhi-Patna Garib Rath (AC weekly), Delhi-Mumbai-Garib Rath (AC weekly), Delhi-Chennai Garib Rath (AC weekly), Saharsa-Amritsar Garib Rath (AC bi-weekly) via Barauni, Hajipur, Sonpur, Chhapra and Gorakpur. Bangalore-Darbhanga Express via Chennai, Patna (weekly), Link Express between Darbhanga and Guwahati with Avadh-Assam Express (daily), Delhi (New Azadpur) Saharsa Poorabiya Express via Lucknow (weekly), Valsad-Udhna (Surat)-Kanpur Udyogkarmi express (weekly), Rae Bareilly-Pratapgarh-Lokmanya Tilak (T) Link express (bi-weekly), Bhubaneswar-Baripada express (tri-weekly), Durg-Gorakpur Express via Faizabad (weekly), Delhi-Rae Bareilly express (tri-weekly), Chennai-Mangalore express (tri-weekly), Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram express (daily), Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram express (weekly), Chennai-Coimbatore express (weekly), Madurai-Tirupati Manmad express (weekly), Howrah-Puri express (bi-weekly) and Bhubaneswar-Pondicherry express (weekly). Visakhapatnam-Nizamabad express (bi-weekly), Howrah-Mumbai express (weekly), Tatanagar-Yesvantpur express (weekly), Chennai-Bilaspur express (weekly), Nagpur-Raipur Intercity express (daily), Pune-Lucknow express (weekly), Indore-Bhopal Intercity express (daily), Bhuj-Bareilly express (tri-weekly), Jabalpur-Jammu Tawi express (weekly), Jaipur-Amritsar express (bi-weekly), Radhikapur-Sealdah Link express with Gour Express (daily), Mathura-Alwar Passenger (daily), Machilipatnam-Tirupati Fast Passenger (tri-weekly), Gudur-Tirupati Passenger (daily), Hajipur-Sonpur-Chhapra-Siwan-Thawe Passenger (daily), Jalandhar city-Nakodar DMU (daily) and Asansol-Bokari (MEMU) and Bankura-Ranchi Passenger via Purulia. The following new trains will be introduced after the completion of gauge conversion. Jogbani-Kolkata express (tri-weekly), Ajmer-Udaipur City express, Purna-Nanded-Patna express (weekly), Purna-Adilabad passenger (weekly), Nanded-Adilabad passenger (daily), Madurai-Rameswaram passenger (daily) and Kumarghat-Agartala (daily). |
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Lalu denies giving preference to Bihar
New Delhi, February 24 He said Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu would get 13, 15 and 10 new trains respectively. Besides Uttar Pradesh would be given 20 additional trains. “Even if there is a mention in the Budget speech of a train originating or going to Bihar, there is a commotion.” Railway Board Chairman Joginder P. Batra also defended the decisions taken by his Ministry for 2006-’07 and countered the argument of an alleged Bihar bias in the Budget. Ready with numerical homework, Batra reeled out figures on new trains in different regions across the country. He said: “I’ve drawn out an analysis of trains from different regions to see what are the results. Thirtyfour trains will be introduced in the northern region, 58 in the southern region, 59 in the easatern region, 34 in the western region and 28 in central India. By and large, all areas have been taken care of. Therefore, it is not fair to say that Bihar has been given any special treatment.” Mr Batra used the opportunity to give the Railway Ministry a pat on the back for safe travel. “From a figure of 473 accidents during 2000-2001, we have come down to a figure of 234. Accident per million train kilometre, the yardstick used the world over for judging train safety, was .65 in 2000-’01 and has come down to .29 in 2004-’05.” He said the anti collision device (ACD) is on trial presently in the entire North Frontier railway. “We have decided to extend ACD to South, South Central and South Western railway. We would like to see that ACD is spread throughout the Indian Railway.” |
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Bhilai rolls out world’s
longest rails
Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, February 24 The rake carrying 650 tonnes of long rails was sent to Andal in West Bengal, a spokesman for the plant said. The 260-metre long welded rail panels are manufactured by welding together four rails of 65 metre length each at the Flash Butt Rail Welding Plant, which is one among the selected few steel makers capable of producing world-class long rails.
— UNI |
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Left, BJP criticise privatisation
New Delhi, February 24 The Left was angry over the east-west Freight Corridor going from Ludhiana to Sonnagar in Bihar as against Delhi to Kolkata announced by the Prime Minister earlier. Giving a left handed compliment to the Railway Minister for having abandoned kulhars and khadi in trains, the main opposition BJP apprehended that facilities like i-ticket, e-ticket and ATMs would lead to unemployment. Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) was disappointed over the Railway Budget, not meeting the demands of the people of Punjab. “We are not very happy with the Railway Budget as it has not fulfilled the demands of the people of Punjab,” SAD (Badal) leader S S Dhindsa said. “We had expected the west-east corridor from Amritsar instead of Ludhiana,” he said criticising the Railway Minister for not making any announcement for speedy completion of Chandigarh-Ludhiana railway line. “As far as Chandigarh-Ludhiana new railway line is concerned, the work has been completed only up to Morinda, and the project has been lagging for the past several years. We had expected Railway Minister to announced speedy
expeditation of this line,” Mr Dhindsa said. The Samajwadi Party, another outside supporter of the UPA government, attacked Mr Prasad for not providing even a single passenger train for Uttar Pradesh despite UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi hailing from there. The BSP severely criticised the Lalu's moves to take every major train to Patna and not doing anything for Uttar Pradesh. CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said “there is a big departure from the culture of Lalu Babu and the Railway Budget has been overshadowed by (Finance Minister) P Chidambaram”. “Mr Chidambaram is synonymous with privatisation and outsourcing, which is what has been reflected in the Budget, which we oppose,” he said. BJP Parliamentary Party spokesperson V K Malhotra said “the Railway Minister is a fully transformed person. Lalu Prasad, who used to take credit for Kulhars and Khadis in the first two years, has now started talking about cyber cafes, food plazas, vending machines and food courts.” Taking strong exception to the “wholesale privatisation” of the railways, Mr Malhotra alleged that after reducing the staff strength by three lakh, the government was adopting “Western philosophy” and focusing on ATMs, e-mails and vending machines “which would result in unemployment”. Maintaining that the provisions for gauge conversion, new lines and doubling were “grossly inadequate”, he alleged that the non-Congress states have been discriminated against. |
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NCP-Left pact in WB, two other states
New Delhi, February 24 Addressing mediapersons at a specially convened press conference, NCP General Secretary and chief spokesman Devi Prasad Tripathi said the party had accepted the Left Front’s offer of contesting two seats in the coming West Bengal Assembly election. In Assam, the NCP has decided to form a broad democratic front with the Left parties which will also have an electoral understanding with the United Democratic Minorities Front this providing the people of the state a non-BJP and non-Congress option, Mr Tripathi said. Mr Tripathi ruled out any alliance or electoral understanding with the Congress in Assam. In Kerala, the NCP is a 25-year-old constituent of the Left Democratic Front and will be contesting the election together. The NCP will not only focus to win two seats that have been offered by the Left Front in West Bengal but “our leaders” will also campaign for the Front candidates, he said. When asked about Tamil Nadu and Pondichery, Mr Tripathi said, “we would like to the part of the DMK-led front”. In response to a question on the cartoon controversy and UP Minister Haji Yaqub Quereshi, Mr Tripathi said the NCP supports the stand taken by the OIC and Indian Muslim leaders who had condemned Mr Quereshi’s statement.
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SC notices to govt, EC
New Delhi, February 24 The protection was provided under Section 8 of the RPA by inserting clause (4) in it, which says the disqualification as prescribed under Clause 1 to 3 of the Section on conviction in a case shall not take effect until three months from the date of trial court order when an appeal was filed by the convicted legislator in a superior court. The protection would be available to him till the final disposal of his appeal. Taking cognizance of a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the amended law on the ground that it not only violated Articles 102 and 191 of the Constitution, setting out disqualifications for the election of MPs and MLAs, respectively, but “mocks” at the two Articles, a Bench of Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Mr Justice C.K. Thakker and Mr Justice R.V. Raveendran sought replies from the government and the EC why the said law should not be struck down. The amended RPA provision “is ultra vires of the Constitution as it is grossly arbitrary and violative of Article 14 as well,” said the PIL filed by Mr Basant Kumar Chaudhary, convener of NGO Jan Chowkidar. |
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SC talks tough against Jaya
New Delhi, February 24 “How long can you drag the proceedings? You must set an example to others by presenting yourself in the court,” a Bench of Justice B.N. Agrawal and Justice A.K. Mathur observed. The observations came after her counsel sought six weeks to respond to an appeal filed by the IT Department against a Madras High Court order dismissing its plea for a direction to her to appear before the trial court. “What counter-affidavit you can file in these matters. We want to pass an order today itself directing your client to appear before the trial court. — PTI |
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Burns-Saran talks “fruitful”: PM New Delhi, February 24 The talks overshot their scheduled time and even though the Working Group concluded discussions in the afternoon, talks between Mr Burns and Mr Sran continued till late into the night. National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Mr Shyam Saran met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this evening and sought instructions on certain proposals put forward by the Americans. After their meeting with the Prime Minister, the talks between Mr Saran and Mr Burns continued over dinner. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was mobbed by reporters while emerging from Parliament and asked whether the Burns-Saran talks had been fruitful, replied: “Yes, it was useful”. He also said: “We are looking forward to Mr Bush’s visit as an honoured guest of our country.” Mr Burns muddied the waters when he said that some differences still remained between the two sides. After his meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma, Mr Burns told reporters: “Both of us want to complete these negotiations but there are still some remaining differences between us and those differences need to be worked out… We simply don’t know whether we will have an agreement before President Bush’s visit. We are trying our best, both sides.” The Ministry of External Affairs issued a three-line statement which read as follows: “The two sides had detailed and productive discussions. There was greater clarity on the issues under discussion. Progress has been made in the talks.” The Tribune understands that the Americans are not opposed to India’s long-term strategic programme and do not want to put a cap on it. They are also game about India not keeping its Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) programme under international safeguards. However, Washington wants two things from the Indians and New Delhi does not appear to be game: (I) Put more number of existing and operational nuclear reactors under the civilian list so that it becomes easier for the Bush administration to get the nod from the Congress; and (ii) Put future nuclear reactors also under international safeguards. On both points, the UPA government is unlikely to oblige the Americans.
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Cartoon row: Muslims take to streets in Patna
Patna, February 24 The crowd
assembled after offering namaz on a call given by Imams of different masjids in the state capital. The agitating crowd, demanding punishment of the Danish cartoonist, submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister's office for forwarding the same to the Prime Minister. Mr B.H.Khan, noted orthopaedic surgeon, while talking to media urged the West to stop tirade against the Islam. "The West should not spread hatred against Islam. Like we respect other religions, they should also respect our sentiments." The protesters, however, did not support the views of UP Minister Haji Iaqoob Qureshi, who had declared a reward of Rs 51 crore for beheading the Danish cartoonist. Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar government has banned a school textbook titled Jeevan Nirman (part V) containing a caricature of Prophet Mohammad. The textbook had been prescribed in the syllabus of a private school in Darbhanga district for quite some time. This, however, came to the notice of the government only a couple of days ago. |
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Somnath Chatterjee stable
New Delhi, February 24 He said Chatterjee is undergoing treatment for chest infection and is stable. In his absence, the Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal presided over the House, perhaps for the first time, when the Railway Budget was presented.
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USA gives visa to Indian scientist
New Delhi, February 24 Processing of Professor Mehta’s visa had been suspended pending its review in Washington, D.C. That review has been concluded. |
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