Amritsar | Dasara revellers spill onto railway track; at least 60 killed

Agencies
October 19, 2018

Amritsar, Oct 19: In a major tragedy, at least 60 people, including women and children, were killed and more than 70 injured after a train ran them over when they were gathered at a crossing to watch burning of Ravana's effigy at Jora Phatak near Amritsar on Friday evening.

Reports said that during the Dussehra celebrations, around 500 people were standing near the railway tracks to watch a Ravan effigy being burnt.

As the effigy of Ravana, located very close to the tracks was lit, a section of the crowd retreated towards the tracks, where a large number of people were already standing to watch the celebrations.

Two trains arrived from the opposite direction at the same time giving little time to people to escape. Many people were mowed down by one of the trains, sources said.
The people who were hit could not see or hear the sound of the train due to burning of firecrackers.

The train was on its way from Jalandhar to Amritsar when the tragedy took place at Jora Phatak in Amritsar Sub Division.

Magistrate I Rajesh Sharma confirmed that 50 bodies have been recovered and over 70 injured have been admitted to a government hospital.

According to Amritsar Police Commissioner SS Srivastava, at least fifty people have died in this tragedy.

"We are still assessing the number of casualties," he added.

Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of Punjab Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, was the chief guest at the Dussehra function.

After the tragedy, she left the venue in her car.

The angry mob attacked Education Minister OP Soni when he reached the spot. Police rescued the minister.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Government has announced Rs 5 lakh for the families of each person killed in the accident and free treatment for the injured.

"My government will give Rs 5 lakh to kin of each deceased and free treatment to injured in government and private hospitals. District authorities have been mobilised on war footing," he tweeted.

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has directed Home Secretary, Health 
Secretary and ADGP (law and order) to immediately rush to Amritsar.

The Chief Minister has said he is rushing to Amritsar to personally supervise relief and rescue efforts. He has asked all government and private hospitals to stay open.

The Chief Minister would fly to Amritsar on Saturday to assess the situation.

The state will remain in mourning tomorrow in view of Amritsar train mishap. All offices and educational institutions will remain closed, the CM said.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday expressed condolences.

The Prime Minister and Home Minister Rajnath Singh have also promised all possible assistance.

In a condolence message, the President said, 'Shocked to hear about the tragedy on rail tracks in Amritsar, Punjab. Understand Indian Railways and local authorities are taking steps to help affected people. Heartfelt condolences to bereaved families.'

'Extremely saddened by the train accident in Amritsar. The tragedy is heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones and I pray that the injured recover quickly.

Have asked officials to provide immediate assistance that is required,'the PM said in a message.

Condoling the deaths in the accident, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, 'the train accident in Punjab in which over 50 people have died is shocking. I urge the state government & Congress workers to provide immediate relief at the accident site. My condolences to the families of those who have died. I pray that the injured make a speedy recovery.'

'Pained beyond words at the loss of precious lives due to a train tragedy during Dussehra festivities in Punjab. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased and prayers with the injured.

I spoke to Home Secretary of Punjab and DGP of the state regarding the train accident in Amritsar. They are rushing to the spot. Centre is ready to provide all possible assistance to the state at this hour of grief,'the Home minister said..

Expressing sadness over the tragic train incident in Amritsar , Railways minister Piyush Goyal on Friday assured that the Railways is conducting immediate relief and rescue operations.

Shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic train incident that occurred in #Amritsar. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims.

I pray for the injured to recover quickly. Railways is conducting immediate relief and rescue operations,' Piyush Goyal said in a tweet.

Information and Broadcasting minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore also expressed grief over the tragedy.

'Anguished by the tragic train accident in Amritsar. My heart felt condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones. I Pray for the speedy recovery of the injured?'Mr Rathore tweeted.

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News Network
June 9,2020

Jun 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants all 1.3 billion Indians to be “vocal for local” — meaning, to not just use domestically made products but also to promote them. As an overseas citizen living in Hong Kong, I’m doing my bit by very vocally demanding Indian mangoes on every trip to the grocery. But half the summer is gone, and not a single slice so far.

My loss is due to India’s COVID-19 lockdown, which has severely pinched logistics, a perennial challenge in the huge, infrastructure-starved country. But more worrying than the disruption is the fruity political response to it. Rather than being a wake-up call for fixing supply chains, the pandemic seems to be putting India on an isolationist course. Why?

Granted that the liberal view that trade is good and autarky bad isn’t exactly fashionable anywhere right now. What makes India’s lurch troublesome is that the pace and direction of economic nationalism may be set by domestic business interests. The Indian liberals, many of whom are Western-trained academics, authors and — at least until a few years ago — policy makers, want a more competitive economy. They will be powerless to prevent the slide.

Modi’s call for a self-reliant India has been echoed by Home Minister Amit Shah, the cabinet’s unofficial No. 2, in a television interview. If Indians don’t buy foreign-made goods, the economy will see a jump, he said. The strategy — although it’s too nebulous yet to call it that — has a geopolitical element. A military standoff with China is under way, apparently triggered by India’s completion of a road and bridge near the common border in the tense Himalayan region of Ladakh. It’s very expensive to fight even a limited war there. With India’s economy flattened by COVID, New Delhi may be looking for ways to restore the status quo and send Beijing a signal.

Economic boycotts, such as Chinese consumers’ rejection of Japanese goods over territorial disputes in the East China Sea, are well understood as statecraft. In these times, it’s not even necessary to name an enemy. An undercurrent of popular anger against China, the source of both the virus and India’s biggest bilateral trade deficit, is supposed to do the job. But is it ever that easy?

A hastily introduced policy to stock only local goods in police and paramilitary canteens became a farcical exercise after the list of banned items ended up including products by the local units of Colgate-Palmolive Co., Nestle SA, and Unilever NV, which have had significant Indian operations for between 60 and 90 years, as well as Dabur India Ltd., a New Delhi-based maker of Ayurveda brands. The since-withdrawn list demonstrates the practical difficulty of bureaucrats trying to find things in a globalized world that are 100% indigenous.

Free-trade champions fret that the prime minister, whom they saw as being on their side six years ago, is acting against their advice to dismantle statist controls on land, labor and capital to help make the country more competitive. Engage with the world more, not less, they caution. But Modi also has to satisfy the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the umbrella Hindu organisation that gets him votes. Its backbone of small traders, builders and businessmen — the RSS admits only men — was losing patience with the anemic economy even before the pandemic. Now, they’re in deep trouble, because India’s broken financial system won’t deliver even state-guaranteed loans to them.

The U.S.-China tensions — over trade, intellectual property, COVID responsibility and Hong Kong’s autonomy — offer a perfect backdrop. A dire domestic economy and trouble at the border provide the foreground. Big business will dial economic nationalism up and down to hit a trifecta of goals: Block competition from the People's Republic; make Western rivals fall in line and do joint ventures; and tap deep overseas capital markets. The first goal is being achieved with newly placed restrictions on investment from any country that shares a land border with India. The second aim is to be realized by corporate lobbying to influence India's whimsical economic policies. As for the third objective, with the regulatory environment becoming tougher for U.S.-listed Chinese companies like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., an opportunity may open up for Indian firms.

All this may bring India Shenzhen-style enclaves of manufacturing and trade, but it will concentrate economic power in fewer hands, something that worries liberals. They’re moved by the suffering of India’s low-wage workers, who have borne the brunt of the COVID shutdown. But when their vision of a more just society and fairer income distribution prompts them to make common cause with the ideological Left, they’re quickly repelled by the Marxist voodoo that all cash, property, bonds and real estate held by citizens or within the nation “must be treated as national resources available during this crisis.” Who will invest in a country that does that instead of just printing money?

At the same time, when liberals look to the business class, they see a sudden swelling of support for ideas like a universal basic income. They wonder if this isn’t a ploy by industry to outsource part of the cost of labor to the taxpayer. Slogans like Modi’s vocal-for-local stir the pot and thicken the confusion. The value-conscious Indian consumer couldn’t give two hoots for calls to buy Indian, but large firms will know how to exploit economic nationalism. One day soon, I’ll get my mangoes — from them.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
July 20,2020

Jaipur, Jul 20: In a startling revelation, Rajasthan Congress MLA Giriraj Singh Malinga has claimed that rebel leader Sachin Pilot offered him Rs 35 crore to switch to the BJP but he refused. 

Speaking to the media in Rajasthan capital Jaipur, Malinga, who represents Bari constituency, said he had informed Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot about Pilot’s “offer”.

“I, too, had offers but I refused. I had spoken to Sachin ji, he asked me to switch sides and I refused. This is a wrong thing, I will not do it for money,” Malinga said.

“I said that when we left Bahujan (BSP, in 2008), where one has to give money to get a ticket, whereas in Congress and BJP, that is not the system. I was offered a lot of money. Sachin Pilot had said money is not an issue, you ask what you want and you will get… Rs 35 crore or more, but I said it is wrong,” he added.

Malinga said he had had the conversation with Pilot 2-3 times, first in December during the panchayat delimitation, and later before the Rajya Sabha elections last month.

He added that the BJP had never reached out to him, and neither had he spoken to them. “I have no animosity with Pilot but I am speaking the truth,” he said.

The state plunged into a political crisis after former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot declared rebellion on 12 July, claiming to have the support of 30 MLAs. By the next day, however, he could not prove the support of more than 18 legislators.

On 14 July, 19 MLAs, including Pilot, were served notices by Speaker C.P. Joshi, who asked them to respond by Friday after a petition filed by the chief whip of Congress sought their disqualification from the state assembly. The party also sacked Pilot and two Rajasthan cabinet ministers from their respective posts the same day.

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News Network
January 12,2020

Kolkata, Jan 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that Kolkata Port Trust will be renamed as Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port.

Addressing the gathering at the inauguration of 150th anniversary celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust, he said: "I announce the renaming of the Kolkata Port Trust to Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port. He is a living legend who was a leader for development and fought on the forefront for the idea of One Nation, One Constitution."

"This port represents industrial, spiritual and self-sufficiency aspirations of India. Today, when the port is celebrating its 150th anniversary, it is our responsibility to make it a powerful symbol of New India," Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that the Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder had set the stone for industrialization in India. "Chittaranjan Locomotive Factory, Hindustan Aircraft Factory, Damodar Valley Corporation and several others saw active participation from him," he said.

The Prime Minister also felicitated the two oldest pensioners of the Kolkata Port Trust, Nagina Bhagat and Naresh Chandra Chakraborty.

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