THE HEADLINES:
Railway Board seeks CBI inquiry into train accident in Balasore, Odisha; death toll revised to 275.
Railways makes special arrangements at helpline number 139 to provide correct information to kin of deceased and stranded passengers.
Condolence messages from World leaders continue to pour in.
Centre appoints Commission of Inquiry to look into incidents of violence in Manipur.
And, in Badminton, World No. 2 South Korea's An Se Young bags her fourth Women's Single’s Super Series title at Thailand Open.
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The Railway Ministry has recommended a CBI inquiry into Friday's tragic train accident involving Coromandel Express at Bahanga in Balasore district of Odisha. Talking to media in Balasore, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Railway Board has recommended a CBI inquiry to find out the root cause of the accident and persons responsible for the same.
जिस सिच्युएशन में दुर्घटना हुई है, जो परिस्थितियां हैं, उन सबको ध्यान में रखते हुए जो कुछ अब तक का एडमिनिस्ट्रेटिव इन्फोरमेशन मिली है। आगे के इन्वेस्टिगेशन के लिए मामले को सी बी आई के पास देने का रेलवे बोर्ड की तरफ से रिकमन्डेशन किया जा रहा है।
Mr. Vaishnaw said restoration work is going on and normal train services would resume by Wednesday morning.
Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena said the death toll in the tragedy has been revised to 275 after accounting for certain 'double counts'.
कल जो रिपोर्ट आया था उसमें कुछ डबल कल्टिंग था। फाइनल जो डेथ फिगर है वो 288 नहीं 275 है। 78 जो डेड बॉडीज हैं उनका आइडेंटिफिकेशन हो चुका है और उनके रिश्तेदारों को उन्हें सौंप दिया गया है और 10 डेड बॉडी इस बीच में आज नौ बजे के बाद अभी तक दस डेड बॉडीज का पहचान हो चुका है और उनके जो रिश्तेदार हैं उनको हैंडिंग ओवर प्रक्रिया चालू रहेगी।
The state is facing a morgue crunch as a large number of unclaimed dead bodies have piled up at different mortuaries. Many bodies have been kept at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar and a few others in several hospitals in the state capital.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today visited the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and enquired about the health condition of the injured.
Meanwhile, a special train started from Bhadrak this afternoon that would run upto Chennai on the Coromandel Express route for the stranded passengers and their relatives. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced a free bus service to Kolkata from Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. This special arrangement would continue till restoration of normal train services on the accident route.
Bihar government has made special arrangements to provide assistance to affected passengers, families of the deceased and the injured in Balasore rail accident.
Talking to Akashvani News, Secretary, State Disaster Management Department, Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said 66 passengers have been brought back from Odisha on two buses. He informed that a 24-hour helpline has been made functional for people seeking any kind of help.
कुल आठ लोगों की मृत्यु की सूचना प्राप्त हो चुकी है जिनकी डेड बॉडीज को आइडेंटिफाइ कर लिया गया है। जिसमें से तीन डेड बॉडीज बिहार पहुंच भी चुकी हैं और इसके अलावा 53 लोग इंजर्ड हैं जो विभिन्न अस्पतालों में उनका इलाज चल रहा है और वो सभी अभी आइडेंटीफाइड हो गए हैं उन सबकी लिस्ट हमनें पब्लिश्ड कर दी है। हम लोगों ने जो कन्ट्रोल रूम का नम्बर जारी किया था उसमें 46 लोगों ने अपने परिजनों के मिसिंग होने की सूचना उपलब्ध करवाई है। तो वो सूचना हम लोगों ने ओडिशा के साथ शेयर कर ली है।
The helpline numbers are 2294204 and 2294205 . A dedicated mobile number 7070290170 has also been issued for the people.
The Railways has made special arrangements at helpline number 139 to facilitate family, friends and relatives of deceased persons and passengers stranded in the tragic Train accident in Odisha. A team of senior officers is manning the helpline 24X7 to provide all relevant details to callers after coordinating with the Zonal Railways and State Government. This service will ensure prompt disbursal of enhanced ex-gratia announced by Railways Minister. Ten lakh rupees each enhanced ex gratia has been announced for next of kin of those killed, two lakh rupees each for those grievously injuried and fifty thousand rupees each for minor injuries. The Railways is paying the ex-gratia amount at 7 locations. These are Soro, Kharagpur, Balasore, Khantapara, Bhadrak, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The aim of the Helpline is to provide a helping hand and to give correct and satisfactory information to the aggrieved passengers and their kin in this trying time.
Condolence messages from around the world continue to pour in. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed sadness at the loss of lives in the accident. In a statement, Mr. Guterres extended his deep condolences to the families of the victims, as well as the people and the Government of India. He wished a swift and full recovery to the injured.
US President Joe Biden said he is heartbroken by the train crash. In a statement, he said the United States and India share deep bonds rooted in the ties of family and culture that unite the two nations. He said people all across America mourn alongside the people of India.
Pope Francis also expressed grief over the tragedy, and said he is praying for the families of the deceased and the injured.
In Bihar, a portion of an under construction bridge over the Ganga River collapsed today. The Aguanhighat-Sultanganj Bridge is part of a project to provide road connectivity between the districts of Khagaria and Bhagalpur. Another part of the bridge collapsed during gusty winds in November last year.
Officiating District Magistrate of Bhagalpur, Kumar Anurag told Akashvani News that no casualty has been reported in the incident.
The Central Government has appointed a Commission of Inquiry to look into the incidents of violence in Manipur. The three-member-commission will be chaired by former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Justice Ajai Lamba. The Commission includes retired IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and retired IPS officer Alok Prabhakar as members.
The Commission will probe causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities. They will examine the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to such violence and assess if there were any lapses or dereliction of duty by responsible authorities.
The Commission is required to submit its report to the Central Government within six months from the date of its first sitting. The headquarters of the Commission will be located in Imphal.
In the mean time, combined security forces in the state devastated the base camp of United Kuki Liberation Army (UKLF) at Nazareth situated at the adjoining area of Chandel and Kakching districts. The force rushed to the spot today and a heavy exchange of fire took place near Nazareth camp for a long time. The security forces were able to flush out suspected Kuki militants from the camp this afternoon. A search operation was undergoing at the camp.
Separately, an exchange of fire was also taking place near Phayeng village under Imphal West district when reports last came in.
Home Minister Amit Shah has appealed to the people of Manipur to lift blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, National Highway-2. In a tweet, the Minister emphasized the critical importance of unimpeded access to essential supplies such as food, medicines, fuel and other necessary items for the well-being of people in the state.
Expressing his concern over the situation, Mr Shah called upon civil society organisations to play their part in facilitating a consensus among all stakeholders. He highlighted that normalcy can be restored in the state only by working together.
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar has called for integrating and strengthening One Health-based surveillance system as the threat of pandemics is far from over. She was addressing the inaugural session of the 3rd G20 Health Working Group Meeting in Hyderabad today.
Our Correspondent reports that the two-day meeting is being attended by top officials, representatives from the G20 member countries, special invitee countries, international organisations, forums and partners such as WHO, World Bank and World Economic Forum.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said the government is committed to universal healthcare for all by 2030.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in New Delhi today on a two-day visit to India to discuss ways to further expand bilateral strategic engagement ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to Washington. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh will discuss a number of new defence cooperation projects with Mr Austin tomorrow. It will be Mr. Austin’s second visit to India, the previous one being in March 2021. German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius is also arriving in New Delhi on a four-day visit to India tomorrow. Raksha Mantri will hold bilateral talks with his German counterpart on Tuesday.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana has completed 8 years of its existence. During these eight years, commercial banks, small finance banks, Micro finance Institutions, and Non-Banking Financial Companies have provided loans worth 24 lakh crore rupees to more than 40 crore beneficiaries. Our Raipur correspondent has filed this report:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana on April 8, 2015 with the aim of providing collateral-free microcredit up to Rs 10 lakh to non-corporate, non-farm small and micro-enterprises. In the last 8 years, this scheme has proved to be a boon for small entrepreneurs. Especially women have got a lot of benefit from this scheme. This is evident from the fact that 68% of accounts under the scheme belongs to women entrepreneurs, while 51% belongs to entrepreneurs from SC/ST and OBC categories. This scheme has three categories. At the Shishu stage, the Kishore stage and the Tarun stage, enterprises can get loans above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh. In Chhattisgarh, so far about 7 lakh accounts have been opened under this scheme. A loan amount of Rs 6 thousand 300 crore has been sanctioned and a loan of Rs 6 thousand 200 crore has been disbursed in the state. Any individual who has a business plan for a small business enterprise can avail of credit under the scheme. Vikalp Shukla, Akashvani News, Raipur.
Veteran actress Sulochana Latkar passed away in Mumbai this evening. She was 94. Ms Latkar was popularly known as Sulochana didi in Bollywood and Marathi film industry. She was not feeling well for the last few days, and was on a ventilator. Her last rites will be performed at Shivaji Park Crematorium tomorrow.
Noted theatre actor and director Amir Raza Husain has breathed his last. He was 66. Hussain was known for his large outdoor stage productions such as "The Fifty Day War" based on the Kargil War and "The Legend of Ram".
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that hailstorms are likely to occur in isolated places of Odisha, Madhya Maharashtra, and West Madhya Pradesh today. It stated that Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also likely to witness heavy rainfall today and tomorrow.
According to the IMD, the onset of the monsoon over Kerala is slightly delayed this year compared to the normal date. It also mentioned that the heatwave over Bihar will continue till the eighth of this month. A heatwave is likely to prevail over West Bengal, Sikkim, and Northeast Jharkhand during this period.
In Badminton, World No. 2 South Korean An Se Young claimed her fourth Women's Single’s Super Series title on the BWF World Tour this season at the Thailand Open in Bangkok today. She defeated China’s He Bingjiao in straight games 21-10, 21-19 . This was Young’s seventh final berth in a row.
In Men’s singles, Thai shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn secured the Thailand Open title for the first time in his career today, becoming the only men's singles player in the badminton World Tour to have won more than one tournament this year. He defeated Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in straight sets, 21-12, 21-10 in the final.
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