THE HEADLINES:
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says root cause of Balasore train mishap in Odisha and those responsible for it have been identified.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to Railway Minister to take stock of restoration work at accident site.
Third G20 Health Working Group meeting begins in Hyderabad.
Japan, US and South Korea agree to upgrade their security relationship to enable real-time monitoring of missiles launched by North Korea.
And in Tennis, top seed Iga Swiatek thrashes China's Wang Xinyu to reach the fourth round of French Open in Paris.
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Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has said that the root cause of the train accident in Odisha and the people responsible for it have been identified. Informing media from the accident site, he said that facts will be revealed soon.
Based on the preliminary findings, Railway Minister also informed that the accident involving Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train near Bahanaga station occurred due to a fault in the electronic interlocking system.
The Railway Minister said restoration work is being undertaken on a war footing, adding that train movement in this route will be expected by Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Railway Minister to take stock of the progress of the restoration work at the accident site.
Railway Minister along with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited the Bahanaga train accident site today to take stock of the restoration work. Railways said all 21 coaches, which had capsized due to the derailment, have been removed from the tracks. In addition, wheelsets and other components were being cleared from the accident site. It said more than seven Poclain machines, two accident relief trains, four road railways and safety cranes are deployed, and a thousand-plus workforce is working tirelessly to restore normalcy in this train route. In the meantime, the railways have deployed three special trains, one from Bhadrak to Chennai and two from Howrah to Balasore. The train will have a parcel van attached to carry bodies if required and stoppages at all major stations en route.
In addition to the announcement of ex-gratia by Railways and PM relief fund, the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced ex-gratia of 5 lakh rupees for the deceased's next of kin in the Balasore train accident. In addition, the Chief Minister also announced ex-gratia of 1 lakh rupees for seriously injured persons.
As per the information received from the Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jana, as many as 275 passengers were killed, and a total of 1,175 passengers have been admitted to different hospitals in Odisha, of which 793 have been discharged. Meanwhile, the Odisha government has shifted 160 unidentified and unclaimed bodies of train accident victims to different morgues in Bhubaneswar.
More from our correspondent:
Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today took stock of medical assistance being provided to the injured victims of the Odisha triple train accident. First, he visited the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhubaneshwar. Talking to media persons, Mr. Mandaviya said :-
The Railway Board today said that according to preliminary findings, there was some issue with the signalling in the Balasore Train accident. Briefing media in New Delhi, Member of Operation and Business Development, Railway Board, Jaya Varma Sinha said that they are waiting for the detailed report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety. She informed that only Coromandel Express met with an accident which was at a speed of around 128 kilometres per hour.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has successfully completed the structural work of four kilometres of viaduct starting from Majlis Park to Mukarba Chowk connecting the Majlis Park and Bhalaswa Metro stations on the upcoming Janakpuri West - RK Ashram Marg corridor of Phase 4. This particular completed stretch of the elevated viaduct is now being offered to the system contractors for track laying and traction work involving the erection of Over Head Electrification OHE masts etc. The structural work for the viaduct shall also be completed till Haiderpur Badli soon, as just a crossing over a railway track is left there.
DMRC said, this is an important achievement for its engineers since the work on this corridor had started amidst the Covid crisis and had to face intermittent delays due to the pandemic and issues pertaining to obtaining tree-cutting clearances.
In Kerala, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the year-long Silver Jubilee celebrations of Amritha Hospital in Kochi this afternoon. He will also inaugurate the Research Centres being set up at Amrithapuri, Kollam and Amritha Hospital, Kochi. State Health Minister Veena George will release the Silver Jubilee souvenir at the function.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has congratulated Dr. Hakan Fidan on his appointment as the Foreign Minister of Türkiye. In a tweet, he said that he is looking forward to working for stronger India-Turkiye relations.
The 3rd G20 Health Working Group meeting began this morning in Hyderabad. Minister of State for Health Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar on behalf of Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, is taking forward the agenda of the G20 Health Track under India’s Presidency. She emphasised leveraging the existing global health systems and regional health practices in a synergic manner to achieve universal health services accessible to all.
Earlier, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said, the Government is committed to providing all health and medical service by the year 2030. He explained that the age-old Indian Medical systems and technological advances have helped tackle the Pandemic effects.
Minister of State in Ministry of Health & Family Welfare S P Singh Baghel also spoke on the occasion. The 3-day meeting is focusing on priorities including Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness, and Response, Access and Availability to Affordable Medical countermeasures, and Digital Health.
As the Narendra Modi Government has completed nine years in office, Akashvani News is bringing a series of special stories on the initiatives taken by the Government. Today, we take a look at the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi. It is a unique initiative by the government of India that gives farmers up to 6,000 rupees per year as minimum income support.
Japan, the United States and South Korea have agreed to upgrade their security relationship to enable real-time monitoring of missiles launched by North Korea. The countries will activate the new data-sharing mechanism by the end of the year. The trilateral agreement came during a one-hour meeting in Singapore on Saturday attended by Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup. The Defense Chiefs met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
A joint statement released after the talks said the three condemned North Korea's recent claimed space launchusing ballistic missile technology, as it constitutes a serious violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Pyongyang announced after the failed launch that it will conduct another launch soon.
In Tennis, top seed Iga Swiatek thrashed China's Wang Xinyu 6-0, 6-0 to reach the French Open fourth round. Poland's Swiatek, going for a third Roland Garros title, has won four of her six sets without dropping a game.
Meanwhile, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina pulled out of the tournament shortly before her third-round match because of illness. One of the favourites for the title at Roland Garros, the 23-year-old Kazakh was set to play Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Indian grapplers have signed off with three medals in the UWW Ranking Series event in Bishkek yesterday, with Manisha grabbing Gold, Reetika finishing second-best to win Silver and Sarita Mor getting Bronze.
Improvising with the small sized-draws, Manisha bagged Gold in the 65 kg weight category, while India's tally in the series is four medals including 1 gold , 1 silver and 2 bronze.
Manisha won four matches in the four rounds she completed which helped her win the gold medal.
In the tournament, the wrestler with the most number of victories will be ranked first.
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