Pune: For maintenance purposes, a mega block is in place on Sunday on the Mumbai-Pune Railway Line. Due to this, many key express trains have been cancelled, while some locals from Pune to Lonavala will also not provide the service on Sunday.

Express trains, which have been completely cancelled, include the Sinhagad Express, the Deccan Queen Express, the Pragati Express, the Mumbai Pune Intercity Express and the Indrayani Express.

Meanwhile, many Pune-Lonavala local trains have been cancelled as well. Some of them have been completely cancelled, and some of them will begin or end their journey at Talegaon Dabhade Railway Station. They won’t connect Pune to Lonavala. Railway authorities have asked commuters to be aware of this and act accordingly.

Mega-blocks on the Mumbai–Pune Railway Line and the broader Mumbai suburban network are scheduled mainly on Sundays to allow Central Railway to carry out large-scale maintenance that cannot be performed during heavy weekday traffic. These blocks provide uninterrupted time for essential work on tracks, overhead equipment, points, signals, and bridges, ensuring long-term safety and reliability of both suburban and long-distance operations.

Sundays (or public holidays) are chosen because commuter footfall is comparatively lower. This reduces disruption to daily travel patterns. Mega-blocks occur almost every Sunday across the Main, Harbour and Trans-Harbour lines and occasionally affect stretches on the Mumbai–Pune intercity route as well. Their duration typically ranges from four to seven hours; earlier blocks commonly lasted four to five hours, though recent examples include work between Vidyavihar and Thane from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Mega-blocks may also lead to temporary cancellations or diversions of Pune–Mumbai trains when work is scheduled on those sections.

Chennai, Dec 6: The Tamil Nadu government has approved a Rs 10-crore special package for desilting the Parambikulam–Aliyar Project (PAP) canals, with works scheduled to begin immediately after the completion of the ongoing water release to the fourth zone.

The order, issued by Water Resources Department (WRD) Secretary J. Jayakanthan, provides administrative sanction for 154 desilting works across three key divisions under the PAP.

A senior WRD official said the initiative includes clearing vegetation, removing loose debris, and desilting major and minor canals.

“We had originally planned 160 works, but 154 have received sanction. Our aim is to complete all desilting activities before Pongal, as water must be released for irrigation to the first zone during the festival season,” the official said.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had announced the allocation on August 11 during his visit to Tiruppur district, following requests from irrigation association leaders and farmers who highlighted the urgent need for desilting to improve water flow and irrigation efficiency.

The government subsequently earmarked Rs 10 crore exclusively for PAP canal works.

According to the government order, 44 works will be taken up in the Thirumurthy division at an estimated cost of ₹2.88 crore, 27 works in the Parambikulam division at Rs 2.15 crore, and 83 works in the Aliyar basin division at Rs 4.97 crore. The desilting programme is expected to benefit a total ayacut of 1,33,976.62 hectares across Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts.

At present, water is being released from the Thirumurthy Dam for the fifth wetting of the fourth zone.

As per the original schedule, water should be supplied until December 9. However, a recent breach in the main canal near Vavipalayam disrupted supply.

“To compensate for the interruption, we have extended water release for another ten days, from December 9. Desilting will begin soon after this cycle ends,” the WRD official said.

Welcoming the move, P. Velusamy, President of the PAP Vellakoil Branch Canal Water Conservation Movement, said desilting should ideally be carried out twice a year.

“For the last four years, PAP has not received adequate funds for regular desilting. The current special allocation is a much-needed intervention,” he noted.

The Parambikulam–Aliyar Project, a vital inter-basin water transfer and irrigation scheme, consists of seven reservoirs, four hydropower stations, six tunnels, one weir, and a contour canal system that diverts west-flowing rivers to irrigate vast rain-shadow regions of western Tamil Nadu.

Pimpri-Chinchwad: In a shocking incident, two people died near the famous tourist place of Lion’s Point in Lonavala in Pune District. The incident happened on Saturday morning when a car collided with a container. Two people originally from Goa, visiting Lonavala as tourists, lost their lives.

According to available details, the deceased have been identified as Mayur Vengurlekar (24, Goa) and Yogesh Sutar (21, Goa). They were driving a Maruti Suzuki Swift car with registration number GA 03 AM 0885. While taking a turn on the Ghat Road near Lion’s Point in Lonavala, they collided head-on with a container with registration number MH 14 JL 5525.

Yogesh was driving the car while Mayur was seated in the passenger seat. Both of them died on the spot, with their car having heavy damage. The container driver was injured as well, but police said he was stable.

Due to it being a Saturday morning, the Lonavala area is filled with tourists from Pune and Mumbai. Police officials confirmed that this accident caused a traffic jam near Lion’s Point. Tiger’s Point and Lion’s Point are two of the most famous destinations in the Lonavala area. Anybody visiting the tourism hub definitely goes there.

Authorities arrived and moved the vehicle and container away. The bodies of the deceased have been taken to the local hospital. Meanwhile, a case is being registered at the Lonavala City Police Station. Action will be taken against the container driver, said the police.