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Modi flags off Uttarakhand’s first Vande Bharat Express train

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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday flagged off the inaugural run of Uttarakhand’s first Vande Bharat Express from Dehradun to Delhi and slammed the previous governments for not working on the connectivity in the hill state.

The Prime Minister said that the Vande Bharat Express will attract more tourists to �the state.

Prime Minister Modi also dedicated the newly electrified rail line sections as a part of his vision to provide cleaner means of public transport and electrifying rail routes in the country. With this, the state will have its entire rail route 100 per cent electrified.

Speaking on the occasion, Modi underlined that now Dev bhoomi will be connected to the national capital through Vande Bhart Express which will make the journey more pleasant.

Modi said that the manner in which India has strengthened its economy has earned the trust of the world. Even during the Covid pandemic, the country gave a tough fight and supplied vaccines to other countries.

“Today, people want to come to India and in such a scenario, it is a big opportunity for Uttarakhand and this Vande Bharat train will help the hill state,” Modi said.

“After offering prayers at Baba Kedarnath, I had murmured that this decade will be of Uttarakhand’s and today the way the state is striding ahead in development is commendable. It is good for preserving the identity of Devbhoomi. This devbhoomi will be the centre of attraction of spirituality,” he said.

On tourists visiting Uttarakhand, the PM said, “We have seen how people visit the state for char dham yatra and also to participate in the Kumbh here. There are only a few states in the country where people come in such large numbers.”

Catering to so many people is not an easy task but the double engine government is working at full pace. BJP has focused on Kedarnath and Badrinath projects worth Rs 1,300 crore, Rs 2,500 crore for Gaurikund-Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib ropeway work, promotion of home stay, 16 eco tourism development, spread of health services, among others.

In Udhamsingh Nagar AIIMS satellite centre is being built, Tihri lake development project work Rs 2000 crore is underway, Rishikesh and Hardiwar are emerging as adventure tourism destinations and yoga capital. Work on the Tanakpur-Bageshwar rail line will also start soon, he said.

Under Pushkar Singh Dhami government, all the projects have been paced up on Chardham project with Rs 12,000 crore, between Dehradun and Delhi expressway is also on fast track, which will ease the travel.

Besides roadways, works are also going on ropeway connectivity. With the Parvat Mala project, it will change the face of the state as people have waited for long for proper connectivity. Riskiest and Karnprayag projects will be completed in the next two to three years and over Rs 16,000 crore is being spent on that,” Modi said.

“This project will help in creating employment opportunities and industrial development and Vande Bharat Express will also act as a big gift for the people,” Modi said.

Uttarakhand is now emerging as a film shooting destination, wedding destination, tourism Hub, adventure tourism hub with the efforts of the state government and is attracting the foreign tourists as well, he said.

Now, many parts of the country are having Vande Bharat Express. Train is the first choice of families for long travels.

Taking a pot shot at the previous governments, Modi said, “For��long, the ruling parties did not understand the people’s requirements. Those were focused more on scams, corruption, they were involved in families. In India for high speed trains, previous governments made hig promises. And even after many years they couldn’t do so.

“Similar was the condition of electrification of the Railway network as only one third of the rail network was electrified. So it was impossible to think of running high speed trains. So after 2014, we started bringing the high speed train projects and on other hand we also started preparing trains for semi high speed trains. And also sped up the process of electrification of the rail network. Today, more than 90 per cent of electrification of the entire network has been done and in Uttarakhand we have achieved 100 per cent electrification of the rail network,” he said.

During previous governments, Uttarakhand used to get Rs 200 crore, but this time the state has been granted Rs 5,000 crore projects and this is the reason why the rail network is expanding in the state which is needed for a hill state,” he charged.

“How many villages went vacant due to connectivity issues, we want to save the generations from the issue and thus we are focusing on connectivity. Even for providing proper connectivity to defence forces these projects would help,” he said.

The semi-high speed train will be India’s 17th and Uttarakhand’s first-ever Vande Bharat train which commenced its inaugural run from Dehradun to Delhi’s Anand Vihar terminal.

According to Northern Railway, the regular operations for the Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express will commence on May 29. The train will cover a distance of 302 km in four hours and forty-five minutes. It will operate six days a week, except Wednesday.

The Vande Bharat is scheduled to depart from Dehradun at 7 a.m. and will reach Delhi’s Anand Vihar terminal at 11.45 a.m., while it would depart from Anand Vihar at 05.50 p.m., and arrive at Dehradun by 10.35 p.m.

During the journey, the train will stop at Meerut City, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Roorkee, and Haridwar.

The fare for an AC chair seat from Delhi to Dehradun will be Rs 1,065, while an executive chair car ticket will cost Rs 1,890.

According to the Prime Minister Office’s (PMO) official release, the train is equipped with advanced safety features including the Kavach technology.

Maharashtra

Winter rains expected in the state, alert issued in three districts

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Mumbai: The weather in the state is constantly changing. Now after the severe cold, the Indian Meteorological Department has given a major warning of direct rain. The state is currently facing favorable weather for rain.

The state has been experiencing cold and temperature in the last few days. The mercury is continuously falling. Pune is experiencing severe cold, Punekar is facing pink cold due to the drop in temperature. Not only Pune, many parts of the state are experiencing severe cold and cold winds are blowing from the north. North India is experiencing severe cold and the mercury is likely to fall further in the next few days. However, the cold has decreased slightly since yesterday. The mercury is falling in the districts of Mumbai, Nagpur, Akola, Solapur, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Beed, Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli, Ahlia Nagar, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Jalgaon, Bhandara, Ayutthaya. The mercury in Dhule fell to 7.5 Celsius. The Indian Meteorological Department has now issued a big warning.

Although the cold is being felt at the moment, the cold has decreased in some areas compared to the last two or three days. Not only this, the weather is also cloudy. Currently, the environment is favorable for rain in the state. The Indian Meteorological Department has also issued a rain warning in some districts. Rain warnings have been issued in Kolhapur, Sangli and Sindhudurg districts.

The mercury is below 10 degrees in some places. On Friday, the lowest temperature in the state was recorded in Dhule. The temperature was recorded in Dhule at 7.5 degrees. The temperature was recorded in Parbhani at 8.9. The temperature was recorded in Nafad at 8 degrees Celsius. The mercury dropped to 11 degrees in Pune, Ahlia Nagar and Mahabaleshwar. Today, the weather is favorable for rain in some cities of the state. There will be light to moderate rain in Kolhapur, Sangli and Sindhudurg.

The mercury has dropped below 10 degrees in Pune. Due to which there is a heavy fog in the air. To avoid the cold, Ganpati Bappa is traditionally dressed in a woolen sweater and ear caps at Saras Bagh in Pune. This sweater is given to Ganpati Bappa with the pleasant feeling that Ganpati Bappa is also feeling the cold. Every winter, whenever the cold increases, Ganpati Bappa is given a sweater.

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Maharashtra

Disturbance at Kalyan Ideal College over offering Bajrang Dal prayers, students pressured to apologize with Jai Shri Ram slogan, tension remains under control

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Mumbai: Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal were in a frenzy over prayers at Ideal College in Kalyan, adjoining Mumbai. Its mischief increased so much that it forced the students to apologize. This extremist group intimidated the students and forced them to apologize in front of the statue of Shivaji Maharaj and the southern extremist was seen raising the slogan of Jai Shri Ram with hooliganism. This video is viral on social media, but so far the police has not taken any concrete action on this issue. Controversy arose over offering prayers at Ideal College in Kalyan area. The students apologized, while the college administration has promised action.

According to initial details, the controversy escalated after a video of some students of the pharmacy department of Ideal College offering prayers on the college campus went viral on social media. As soon as the news of this was received, workers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal reached the college and lodged a protest with the administration. Meanwhile, the local police also reached the college after the commotion and reviewed the situation but no case has been registered in this matter.

According to the college administration, some students were offering prayers in an empty classroom for a few minutes. Someone shared the incident on social media. After the video went viral, some organizations protested and demanded action against the students involved.

The police reached the college and brought the situation under control. However, the college administration requested the police that since the matter is related to the academic campus, it should be resolved at the college level. Respecting the administration’s request, the police handled the situation peacefully.

The college administration then summoned the concerned students. The students admitted that they had offered prayers but they had no intention of inciting any controversy or inflaming religious sentiments. To avoid any misunderstanding, the students apologized to the administration and the staff present there.
The college administration said that discipline and rules are essential in educational institutions. Such religious activities are not in accordance with the rules of the institution and strict vigil will be maintained to ensure that no student repeats such incidents in future. He also assured that necessary action will be taken against the students involved.

The college campus is under complete control after the incident and the police have withdrawn from the spot after a short period of surveillance.

Currently, the police administration has handled the matter peacefully, while the college has also taken cognizance of the matter internally. However, no statement has been issued by anyone yet.

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Maharashtra

Charkop Firing Case: Four More Arrested In Attempt On Real Estate Agent Freddy D’Lima; Total Accused Now Five

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Mumbai: In the Charkop firing case where 42-year-old real estate agent and social worker Freddy D’Lima was targeted, the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested four more accused on Friday.

The arrested men have been identified as Rajesh Chauhan (42), resident of Kandivali; Subhash Mohite (44), resident of Virar; Mangesh Choudhary (40), resident of Pune; and Krishna Singh (25), resident of Thane.

The arrests were made by Unit 11, under the leadership of Unit 6’s PI Bharat Ghone, following the directive of DCP Vishal Thakur. All four were traced and detained from Kolhapur before being brought to Mumbai for interrogation.

With these arrests, the total number of accused in the case has reached five. On Thursday, Charkop Police had arrested 35-year-old Munna Sheikh, alias Guddu, a bar and restaurant manager, for his alleged involvement in planning the attack.

During investigation, police found that Guddu had a financial dispute with D’Lima. Officers suspect that Guddu may have hired shooters to eliminate D’Lima.

An officer revealed that both Guddu and D’Lima live in the same housing society but were involved in redevelopment deals with different builders. The project was reportedly valued at around ₹4 crore, which may have caused prolonged tension between the two.

It is suspected that this dispute may have driven Guddu to plan the firing attack, although police have not officially confirmed this motive. Guddu has been remanded to police custody till November 27. The Charkop Police continue to probe the case.

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