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Jammu and Kashmir: World’s highest railway bridge, taller than Eiffel Tower, to open soon

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Taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Jammu and Kashmir will soon get a 1.315-km long bridge built at a dizzying height of 359 metres. The first track mounted vehicle (trolley) run was successfully conducted on Sunday in the presence of Ashwini Vaishanaw, minister of railways

Worlds highest railway bridge over Chenab river in Jammu, almost ready, Track linking activity over the Chenab Bridge has been completed.

Some track and overhead wire-related works remain, which will be likely to complete by end of this year. The bridge is part of Udhampur – Srinagar – Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL). Railway minister also travelled on the track mounted trally with railway officials and inspected the iconic bridge  having the height of 359 meters from the bed of river Chenab.

Foundation of hte bridge equal to half of a football field

Vaishnaw said that the decision has been taken to set up Vande Bharat Express train maintenance facility at Badgam in Kashmir Vally and in the first go Vande Bharat Metro will be run between  Jammu-Shringar cities once this important railway link, which will connect Kashmir Vally with railway network, in the rest of the country will be completed 

Vaishnaw said that the iconic bridge having foundation equal to half of the football field is a “subject of pride” and it was “difficult challenge of engineering”, while over 28,000 metric tons of steal used for the bridge structure that is built in highly active seismic zone.

Construction of the bridge started in 2005

According to Northern railway officials, the arch bridge was constructed at a cost of ₹1,486 crores. Construction work of the bridge was started in 2005. Its consumes over 13 million man work hours till the date.

The deck height of the bridge is 359 meters, while the length of it is 1.315 km. The arch bridge has 17 spans and the linear length of main arch span is 460 meters and curvilinear, they said. The codal life of the bridge is 120 years and the bridge can withstand the wind speed of 266 kmph, but the train can cross the bridge at the speed of 100 kmph.

Overarch of the deck completd with golden joint in August 2022

Prior to the construction of the Bridge, 260 meter approach roads and 400 meters long tunnel was built to reach the site. Cable crane was commissioned in 31st August 2013 for erection of steel arch, trestle and piers. Incremental launching over 2.74 degree circular and transition curve of 268 meter length was successfully done for the first time in Indian Railways in November 2017.

The overarch deck of the bridge was completed with a ‘Golden Joint’ in August last year, marking the bridge’s major achievemnet and further making way for the laying of the track. The construction of this highest railway bridge of the world was one of the biggest civil-engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in the recent past.

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Tobacco is not just addiction but poison: Delhi Speaker Vijender Gupta leads walkathon on World No-Tobacco Day in Rohini

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New Delhi, May 31: On the occasion of World No-Tobacco Day, Delhi’s Rohini area witnessed a strong show of public awareness and health advocacy through a walkathon organised to spread the message against tobacco consumption.

The event, themed ‘Walk for Life’, brought together medical professionals, civic leaders, and local residents in a collective stand against the harmful effects of tobacco.

Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta, who flagged off the walkathon, delivered a powerful message on the dangers of tobacco. “Tobacco is not just an addiction; it’s a poison,” he said, addressing the gathering. “It is a dangerous habit that ruins lives, and the only effective way to combat it is through sustained awareness and education,” he added.

Organised by the Indian Medical Association in collaboration with the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, the event saw enthusiastic participation from doctors, healthcare workers, and members of the public.

The walkathon aimed to raise awareness, especially among the youth, about the health risks associated with tobacco, including its direct link to life-threatening diseases like cancer.

“The younger generation often views smoking and tobacco use as fashionable, but we must help them understand the long-term consequences,” Gupta added, urging collective efforts to curb the rising trend of tobacco use among the youth.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Sudhir Rawal, Medical Director at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, emphasised the medical impact: “Tobacco is one of the main avoidable causes of cancer. If you don’t use tobacco, you significantly reduce your risk of developing cancer, especially lung and mouth cancer.”

The event also featured health-themed activities, including group exercises and educational talks, to create a more engaging and impactful experience for participants.

As part of a broader initiative across the country, the Rohini walkathon served as a crucial reminder of the importance of quitting tobacco and promoting healthier, smoke-free lives.

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National

SpaceX’s Starship fails 3rd time, Musk blames fuel leak as megarocket explodes

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New Delhi, May 28: Even as SpaceX’s Starship flight exploded during splashdown on its ninth test on Wednesday, the company’s founder Elon Musk blamed it on fuel leaks.

This is the third time in a row that Starship flight has faced issues during the test flight. The company’s last two test flights — the seventh (January) and eighth (March) test flight — also ended prematurely with the destruction of the aircraft.

The ninth test flight of Starship — which blasted off at about 7:36 p.m. EDT (5:06 am IST) from the company’s Starbase launch site in Texas — successfully reached orbit, flying farther than on its two previous attempts.

However, the spacecraft’s payload bay door failed to open, preventing the planned release of simulated Starlink satellites. Around 30 minutes into the mission, SpaceX confirmed a fuel tank leak aboard the vehicle.

The first-stage Super Heavy booster exploded shortly before its expected splashdown, and live video showed the upper-stage vehicle spinning uncontrollably before its planned re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere, due to fuel leaks.

“Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase,” Musk shared in a post on his social media platform X.

“Contact with the booster was lost shortly after the start of the landing burn when it experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly approximately 6 minutes after launch, bringing an end to the first reflight of a Super Heavy booster,” SpaceX said in a statement.

However, Musk called the flight an achievement and noted that there had been no loss to the heat shield tiles.

“Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over the last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent. Lot of good data to review,” Musk said.

SpaceX noted that the company “will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test”.

Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship and heavy booster — the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket system. It will launch the moon lander for NASA’s Artemis 3 mission that aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2026.

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‘Nothing wrong in renaming Ramanagara’: Abu Azmi backs Karnataka govt

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New Delhi, May 24: Backing the Karnataka government’s decision to rename Ramanagara district as ‘Bengaluru South’, SP Maharashtra chief Abu Asim Azmi said there was “nothing wrong” with the move and took a swipe at name changes in Uttar Pradesh, alleging that only Muslim names were being deliberately altered in the northern state.

“There is no hate in this name. In UP and other places, including Maharashtra, Muslim names were deliberately changed. If Karnataka has renamed Ramanagara to Bengaluru South, what’s wrong with it? Many names have been changed similarly in Mumbai without targeting any particular religion. I don’t think this is anything different,” Azmi told Media.

Azmi’s remarks came shortly after the Karnataka government formally issued a notification renaming Ramanagara district to ‘Bengaluru South’. The state’s Revenue Department said Ramanagara city will continue to serve as the district headquarters under the new name.

Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar confirmed the decision, stating that it was made following due process. “Ramanagara city will remain the headquarters of the district. The Cabinet has decided to rename it as Bengaluru South district from today,” he told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

However, the decision sparked controversy, with Union Minister and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy strongly opposing the move. He has vowed to reverse the decision if the opportunity arises.

The renaming has been seen by some as a strategic political step to integrate Ramanagara more closely with the capital’s administrative and economic structure.

Speaking on all-party delegations’ global outreach against Pakistan-backed terrorism, Azmi said, “It’s a good initiative, people should know the truth about Pakistan sheltering terrorism, and not giving up on supporting them even after several warnings.”

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