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Bharat bandh enters second day; 71 arrested for violence in Noida

[email protected] (Agencies)
February 21, 2013

Bharat_bandh

New Delhi, Feb 21: The two-day Bharat bandh called by 11 major trade unions is into its second day today. Banks are shut like yesterday and public transport in many cities remains affected.

Noida adjoining Delhi, where factories and vehicles came under mob attacks yesterday, is under heavy police watch. At least 71 people have been arrested for vandalising factories at a hosiery complex and setting 25 vehicles, including a fire engine, on fire.

Sixty four cases have been registered against the protesters, but it's not clear if they were trade union workers or people leveraging the bandh to loot offices. The factory-owners say they suffered a loss of Rs. 600 crore and allege that the police reached the sites of violence late.

The response to the bandh today appears to be mixed. In Delhi, there are fewer autorickshaws on the roads although government buses are running.

In Bangalore, schools and colleges are closed. A few autorickshaws and buses are running. Shops are open and information technology companies are working.

But public transport in Thiruvananthapuram remains crippled like yesterday. The government's threat to cut pay has not deterred employees from joining the strike.

The situation is better in Kolkata, where taxis are plying and government offices, factories and most shops are open. The Mamata Banerjee government is determined to defeat the strike and has warned government employees that they will lose pay if they miss work.

Government buses are not running in Lucknow and public sector banks are closed. Yesterday, some 50,000 state road transport employees were on strike across Uttar Pradesh and around 9,000 buses were off the roads.

The Bharat bandh has been called to protest against rising prices and disinvestment in public sector enterprises and to demand more jobs. Industry body Assocham estimates the loss from the two-day strike to be Rs. 26,000 crore.

The major unions participating in the strike are Bhartiya Mazdoor Sabha, Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC).

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: Kolkata Metro Rail Corp expects to complete its East-West project, which runs partly under the city’s iconic Hooghly river, by March 2022 after a delay of several years doubled costs.

The authority is awaiting a final installment of Rs 20 crore ($2.8 million) over the next two years from the Indian Railway Board, said Manas Sarkar, managing director at KMRC. A soft loan of Rs 4,160 crore from Japan International Cooperation Agency helps fund 48.5% of the project.

India’s oldest metro, which started in 1984 with a North-South service, was due to expand by 2014 but faced problems including squatters on the planned route. These issues have contributed to the total project cost rising to about Rs 8,600 crore for some 17 kilometers from Rs 4,900 crore for 14 km.

“About 40% of total transport demand will be tackled by these two metro services,” Sarkar said in an interview at his office in Kolkata. “It will be a relief for environmental pollution and the city should be much more decongested.”

The new line is expected to carry about 900,000 people daily, -- roughly 20% of the city’s population -- and will take less than a minute to cross a 520-meter underwater tunnel. Depending on the time of day, it takes some 20 minutes to use the ferry and anywhere upward of an hour to cross the Howrah bridge.

KMRC will repay the JICA loan over 30 years after an initial six-year moratorium. The interest rate is between 1.2% to 1.6%. The East-West metro project is 74% owned by the railway ministry and 26% by the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

“We don’t anticipate any further cost escalation now,” Sarkar said.

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News Network
August 7,2020

Kozhikode: An Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the Kozhikode tabletop runway on landing there today. The Boeing 737 “fell off” the runway into the valley, broke into two causing death and devastation. 

According to reports, around 20 people were dead including two pilots.

An Air India spokesperson said: “Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by Boeing 737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot the runway at Kozhikode at 7.41 pm Friday. No fire reported at the time of landing. There are 174 passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and five cabin crew on board. Rescue operations are on and passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care. We will soon share the update in this regard.”

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing this accident. “Prima facie, the aircraft landed beyond the touchdown point and fell into a valley. It has broken into two. We suspect some casualties. More information is awaited,” said a senior DGCA official.

Taking to twitter, defence minister Rajnath Singh wrote: “Devastating news from Kozhikode, Kerala. I am deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to an accident carrying several passengers on Air India flight. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”

Foreign minister S Jaishankar tweeted: “Deeply distressed to hear about the Air India Express tragedy at Kozhikode. Prayers are with the bereaved families and those injured. We are ascertaining further details.”

While, senior BJP leader from Kerala K J Alphons tweeted: “Second tragedy of the day in Kerala: Air India Express skids off the run way at Kozhikode, front portion splits , pilot dies and lots of passengers injured . All passengers evacuated. Very lucky the aircraft didn’t catch fire.”

More details are awaited.

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News Network
July 10,2020

New Delhi, Jul 10: Nepal has banned all Indian news channels, except DD News, for alleged propaganda against the country.

Reports say that Nepal cable operators have stopped getting signals of Indian news channels.

Nepal government spokesperson Yuvaraj Khatiwada said: "We request all not to disseminate news that infringes sovereignty and self-respect of Nepalis. This includes the media of neighbouring countries. We might seek both political and legal remedies."

Earlier, Nepal has amended its map which show some Indian territory as part of it.

Nepal's parliament on June 13 adopted unanimously the Constitution Amendment Bill, paving the way for accommodating the updated political-administrative map, which includes Indian areas of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, in its symbol.

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