Train runs over 35 devotees, mob attacks train driver

August 19, 2013
Khagaria (Bihar), Aug 19: A speeding express train ran over devotees waiting on tracks to stop it, leaving 35 persons dead and triggering angry protests by locals who attacked the train driver and set afire its coach besides engine of another train at Dhamara Ghat Station in Khagaria district today. bihar

The 'kanwarias' (devotees of Lord Shiva) were on the tracks after alighting from the Samastipur-Saharsa passenger when they were run over by the Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express travelling at 80 kmph, officials said.

Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Law and Order S K Bharadwaj told PTI that 35 pilgrims were killed.

A senior railway official also said that the toll could be around 35, but refused to be quoted.

Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar said the train was not supposed to halt at Dhamara Ghat and was given clearance to pass through the area but the devotees were on the tracks thinking they could stop the train.

Though the driver applied emergency brakes, it was too late by then, he said, adding an internal inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

The pilgrims were going to nearby Katyani Sthan temple to offer 'jalabhishek' to Lord Shiva on the fourth and final Monday of the holy month of Shrawan when the mishap took place.

Soon after the accident, local people attacked the train driver.

Superintendent of Police S K Jha told PTI over phone that the engine of the Samastipur-Saharsa passenger train and an AC coach of Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express were set on fire by the enraged locals.

The two drivers of the express train, Rajaram Paswan and Sushil Kumar Suman, were traceless and their mobile phones switched off, ECR CPRO Amitabh Prabhakar said.

However, the Railway Board Chairman said the driver was safe without specifying.

He said it was a case of trespassing as the pilgrims were illegally trying to cross the tracks.

Minister of state for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the express was travelling at a speed of 80 km per hour when the accident occurred.

He said although relief trains carrying doctors and nurses were sent from Saharsha and Barauni, they could not reach the spot as the law and order situation there was not conducive because of protests by angry people.

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News Network
February 9,2020

Feb 9: The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in Delhi Assembly polls are kept under tight security, in the 'Strong Room' located at Atal Adarsh Bengali Balika Vidyalaya in Gol Market.

Voting for Delhi Assembly elections took place on Saturday with voters turnout well short of the 2015 election mark.

Counting of the votes will be on February 11.

Earlier, Deputy Election Commissioner Sudip Jain had said the Delhi elections took place peacefully and smoothly.

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News Network
February 28,2020

Feb 28: Market benchmark Sensex plummeted over 1,100 points, wiping off over Rs 5 lakh crore investor wealth, in opening session on Friday amid a massive selloff in global equities as rising coronavirus cases outside China stoked fears of a pandemic that could dent world growth.

The 30-share index sank 1,100.27 points, or 2.77 per cent, to 38,645.39, while the NSE Nifty cracked 329.50 points, or 2.83 per cent, to 11,303.80.

All Sensex components were trading in the red, led by losses in Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, HCL Tech and Reliance Industries.

In the previous session, the Sensex settled 143.30 points, or 0.36 per cent, lower at 39,745.66, and the Nifty fell 45.20 points or 0.39 per cent to end at 11,633.30.

According to analysts, till last week the market was of the view that coronavirus was going to have minimum impact on global economy as situation in China was being contained. But the increase in the number of new cases is changing the view and investors are worried about an intense slowdown.

Further, incessant selling by foreign investors is also spooking domestic market participants, traders said.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 3,127.36 crore on Thursday, data available with stock exchanges showed.

Stock exchanges in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo plunged up to 4 per cent in their morning sessions.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,190.95 points, its largest one-day point drop in history, bringing its loss for the week to 3,225.77 points, or 11.1 per cent.

The S&P 500 has now plunged 12 per cent from the all-time high it set just a week ago.

World oil prices too tumbled by more than 4 per cent overnight as traders fretted about the impact of spreading coronavirus on crude demand, particularly from key consumer China.

Brent crude oil futures fell another 2.47 per cent to USD 50.45 per barrel early in the day.

The rupee depreciated 28 paise to 71.89 against the US dollar in morning session.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

New Delhi, Feb 10: The government is set to privatise Central Electronics Ltd, a CPSE under the Department of Science and Technology, by selling its 100% stake with management control and has invited the Expression of Interest for the same by March 16.

The selected bidder will be required to lock in its shares for a period of three years during which it cannot undertake the sale of its stake in CEL, the PIM (Preliminary Information Memorandum) said.

"The government of India has 'in-principle' decided to disinvest 100 per cent of its equity shareholding in CEL (which is equivalent to 100 per cent of the total paid up equity share capital of CEL) through Strategic Disinvestment with transfer of management control (Strategic Disinvestment or Transaction)," DIPAM, the Disinvestment Department, said.

The process for the transaction has been divided into two stages, namely, Stage I and Stage II.

After BPCL and Air India, this is yet another CPSE which government is slated to privatise if it gets offers from bidders.

The government has set a challenging target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore disinvestment proceeds from CPSE sell-offs and IPOs, OFSs (Offer for sale) in the next fiscal and it going out all guns blazing to meet that target after revising this fiscal target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore to Rs 65,000 crore.

The Interested Bidders (which can also include employees of CEL) must have a minimum net worth of Rs 50 crore as on March 2019. DIPAM has released complete invitation Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) of CEL. Resurgent India Limited is the advisor to the Transaction.

CEL is a pioneer in the country in the field of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) with the distinction of having developed India's first Solar cell in 1977 and first Solar panel in 1978 as well as commissioning India's first solar plant in 1992.

More recently, it has developed and manufactured the first crystalline flexible solar panel especially for use on the passenger train roofs in 2015.

Its solar products have been qualified to International Standards IEC 61215/61730. CEL is further working on development of a range of new and upgraded products for signaling and telecommunication in the railway sector.

In the SWOT analysis of the CPSE, DIPAM has stated under weakness that "the company has weak financial loss due to past losses, high manufacturing cost and non payment of dues by state nodal agencies affecting the financial position of the company".

The CPSE has adequate land for expansion, the SWOT analysis said adding "the CPSE faces threat of dumping of solar cells at very low rates which makes solar PV manufacturing industry unviable".

Entry of new players in the market for solar products and railway signalling systems also is cited as a threat.

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