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Rail fares set to go up as panel okays safety cess
Polling for 56 UP seats today
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Mamata writes to PM, questions Teesta pact
Krishna to Italian minister: Tell crew to cooperate
Maharashtra civic poll fallout
Six killed as school bus falls into river in Goa
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Rail fares set to go up as panel okays safety cess
New Delhi, February 18 The committee headed by Dr Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, submitted its report to the Railway Minister here yesterday. The report says a sum of at least Rs 1 lakh crore will be required over the next five years for the Railways to meet its safety requirements. Whether or not the passenger fares will go up in the Railway Budget to be presented next month will depend on the extent to which the ministry adopts the recommendations. Over the years, successive Railway Ministers have used the ministry for their regional political gains. Passenger fares have not been increased for years now. This has put pressure on the finances of the Railway Ministry. The ministry has been seeking higher outlay from the Finance Ministry every year to fill the financial gap created by such populist measures. The report points out that passenger fares have not been increased for the past 10 years, but a number of new trains have been introduced during the same period. This has resulted in overloading of the existing infrastructure. Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said the ministry would first study the recommendations. The other member of the committee was former Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Managing Director Dr E Sreedharan (as adviser). The report points out that the financial state of the Indian Railways is on the "brink of collapse" and has suggested strong measures to improve the situation. No new passenger trains should be introduced unless infrastructure upgradation is effected, it says. The committee has suggested ways to raise Rs 20,000-crore fund every year. It includes Rs 5,000 crore as safety cess, with a matching grant of Rs 5,000 crore from the Centre, Rs 5,000 crore by not paying dividend, Rs 1,000 crore through road cess and Rs 4,000 crore through rail land development authority earnings. Raising Rs 5,000 crore annually will mean a hike of about Rs 625 per passenger. The committee has also suggested institutional changes, including strengthening of the Railway Safety Authority (RSA), which, it says, should be set up as an independent body with a chairman and outside experts.
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Polling for 56 UP seats today
Lucknow, February 18 More than 1.74 crore voters would exercise their franchise in Hardoi, Unnao, Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Farukkhabad, Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar (Amethi), Kannauj, Banda, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur and Pratapgarh. The fate of three ministers, 32 sitting MLAs and 12 former ministers would be decided tomorrow. Prominent among them are: UPCC state president Rita Bahuguna Joshi, senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra, Uma Bharti and Raja Bhaiyya. This phase has 103 candidates with criminal cases pending against them, besides 139 "crorepatis". This phase would also test the luck of Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid's wife Louis Khurshid from Farukkhabad. Congress Legislative Party leader Pramod Tiwari is seeking re-run from his traditional Rampur Khas seat in Pratapgarh district. Gulabi gang leader Sampat Pal is also in the fray on a Congress ticket from Manakpur in Bundelkhand. Notorious dacoit Daddua's son Veer Singh is contesting from the Karvi seat in Chitrakoot as an SP nominee. Daddua was killed in an encounter with the police soon after Mayawati came to power in 2007.
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Money distributors land in jail
Two persons were arrested for distributing currency notes of Rs 100 to residents of a Dalit hamlet at Parsipur village in Unchahar Assembly segment in Rae Bareli where the son of a senior BSP minister is in the fray. The two persons arrested had a list of Dalit voters and a few currency notes of Rs 100 denomination on them. An official of the flying squad of the Election Commission said that the matter came to light when the two men approached a Yadav household in the village with the money by mistake. The matter was immediately reported to the officials concerned who caught the two men red-handed. They admitted to have distributed most of the money that they had been handed over.
Candidates see EC's gunner as informer
For the security of candidates, the EC has provided gunners to candidates once their nomination process is complete. However, for some candidates, these gunners, who accompany them 24x7, have become a source of discomfort as they feel that the gunner might be an 'informer' for the EC. Most of these gunners are post-graduates and well versed in election rules and regulations. Now a bit wiser, candidates have started asking the gunner to follow them in another car or have attached their agent to keep an eye on the gunner.
Jobless line up for allowance
Places that have seen an incredible increase in visitors in recent weeks are the states' employment exchanges. Following the promise of unemployment allowance to every unemployed youth up to the age of 35 years in the election manifestos of the BJP and SP, there is a mad rush among such youth to get their name registered at the employment exchange. While the BJP has promised an allowance to the tune of Rs 18,000 per year, the SP manifesto guarantees Rs 12,000 to every unemployed youth annually. According to an official at the Lucknow employment exchange, two to five youth get themselves registered at the exchange daily in normal conditions. However, ever since the manifestos were released in January, the number has jumped to 150 to 175 persons. (Compiled by Shahira
Naim)
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Mamata writes to PM, questions Teesta pact
New Delhi, February 18 She reportedly mentioned the damage to some sluice gates at the Farraka barrage, which hold the Teesta river water from flowing to Bangladesh. Seeing her visible attempt to break free of the UPA, the BJP was quick to jump at the prospect and senior BJP leader Balbir K Punj immediately extended a warm welcome to Mamata Banerjee to rejoin the NDA. Smelling a “man-made conspiracy in the damage to the sluice gates”, she has said the water-sharing arrangement was depriving India of its rightful share. According to reports, two sluice gates of the Farakka Barrage were damaged causing the water flow to Bangladesh to go up from the agreed discharge of 35,000 cusecs per day to 82,801 cusecs. Yesterday, Mamata had pitched in with the BJP and other non-UPA Chief Ministers to oppose the setting up of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) on the plea that it would transgress the states’ federal powers. Today when Home Minister P Chidambaram went to Kolkata to inaugurate the NCTC hub, the Chief Minister boycotted the event and sent a junior minister instead. Even after the Ministry of Home Affairs assured her that the NCTC was not stepping on the states’ toes, she did not relent and eventually her name had to deleted at the last minute from the programme printed by her state government.
Foreign Secy meets Mamata
Kolkata: Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on Saturday met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Writers’ Buildings and exchanged views with her before re-drafting the Teesta river water sharing agreement with Bangladesh. They also discussed how to maintain long-lasting and cordial relations with neigbhouring countries — Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Mamata alleged that the Teesta river water agreement, which was drafted earlier without consulting the state government, would have harmed the state, particularly the irrigation and power generation in the north Bengal districts. She demanded re-drafting of the agreement, to which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed. Mathai met Mamata as an emissary of the Prime Minister and spent about an hour with her. He also met Chief Secretary Samar Ghose and held talks in connection with re-drafting the agreement.
— TNS
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Krishna to Italian minister: Tell crew to cooperate
New Delhi, February 18 During the telephonic talk, Krishna told Terzi that the people onboard the ship 'Enrica Lexie', particularly the captain of the ship and the two personnel involved in the shooting, should fully cooperate with Indian investigating authorities. Krishna said the law should be allowed to take its course in connection with the incident. His remarks came in the backdrop of reports that the Italian ship authorities refused to hand over the personnel involved in the shooting to Indian law enforcers. Krishna, according to a statement by the External Affairs Ministry, said the loss of lives could have been avoided had the naval personnel on board "Enrica Lexie" been careful and exercised restraint.
— PTI
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Maharashtra civic poll fallout Shiv Kumar/TNS
Mumbai, February 18 The BJP, a dependable ally for more than two decades, is all set to grab more political real estate from its ally following the civic elections in different cities of Maharashtra. The saffron party increased its tally from 28 seats to 31 in the Mumbai civic body despite contesting just 63 seats. On the other hand, the Shiv Sena bagged just 75 seats as against 84 in the 2007 BMC elections. "The BJP is no longer Shiv Sena's junior partner, but an equal one," Ashish Shelar, a BJP leader told mediapersons here today. The BJP, which wrested the post of Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly after the last elections, is expected to push for a greater say in the administration of Mumbai considering that the city has a budget of more than Rs 22,000 crore. In Maharashtra, the BJP will be pushing its alliance partner a bit more in some other cities. For instance in Nashik, the BJP is planning to dump the Shiv Sena entirely if it sews up a tie-up with Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The MNS has won 40 of the 122 seats in the Nashik Municipal Corporation while the BJP has 14 seats in the kitty. The BJP is in close contest with the NCP, which has 20 seats, to win the affections of the MNS. Senior leaders of the BJP have been looking to cut the Shiv Sena to size for quite a while now. Party president Nitin Gadkari who is not known to be a fan of Bal Thackeray mooted the idea of a three-way alliance that would include the MNS, shortly after the last Assembly elections. Some sections in the party feel that the results to the just-concluded BMC elections have confirmed the gradual decline of the Shiv Sena. However, the Thackerays who have the most to lose from a resurgent BJP in Maharashtra are putting on a brave front. "It was team work by the BJP and the Republican Party of India which helped us retain the BMC," Uddhav Thackeray said shortly after the results were declared. The RPI (Athavale) bagged only a single seat in the 227-member BMC. The Shiv Sena leader said he wanted the alliance partners to look ahead to the 2014 Assembly elections.
MNS gains in strength
Political parties in Maharashtra will have to take Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) more seriously in the forthcoming Assembly elections, going by poll results of civic bodies across the state that were announced on Friday. The party has increased its tally from seven seats to 28 in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. But more than the numbers, the party, which was seen as a breakaway outfit of the Shiv Sena, has managed to draw leaders and cadres from the original organisation across the state.
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Six killed as school bus falls into river in Goa
Panaji, February 18 Bodies of Priyal Salgaoncar (10), Diana Dias (8), Elvina Dias (11) and Nigel Gracias (10) along with Josephine Dias (58) and Dayanand Hoble (55) were fished out from Kalvi river, Deputy Inspector General of Police Ravindra Yadav said, adding the mishap occurred at 12.20 pm when the bus of St Thomas Girls High School from Aldona was taking the children home. The driver and conductor escaped unhurt as they jumped out from the vehicle which fell into the river next to a wharf, 15 km from here, while all of its other occupants got trapped and drowned, the police said. — PTI
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The Indian Railways has been advised to levy a cess for raising money for improving passenger safety. The recommendation coming from a high-level committee appointed by the Railway Ministry to review railway safety is likely to effect a passenger fare hike.
Lucknow, February 18
New Delhi, February 18
The fate of 967 candidates vying for 56 Assembly seats spread across 11 districts would be sealed during the fourth phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow.
