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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

Mumbai: Rickshaw driver beaten up in Vikhroli on suspicion of child theft, burqa-clad driver did this to collect fare, police claim

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Mumbai: Vikhroli Park Site, after the rumor of a child theft, chaos broke out and an auto rickshaw driver was attacked by a mob when he went to the street of Vikhroli Madina Masjid dressed in a burqa to collect his fare. During this, people suspected that the child had come to steal, after which the mob beat him up, but the police reached the spot and then took him into their custody. During interrogation, it was found that the child had not come wearing a burqa to steal but to collect the fare. He was dressed in a burqa so that no one would recognize him and he could easily collect his fare and go back, but unfortunately, the people caught him and the police took him out of the mob’s possession and safely took him to the police station. After that, the police confirmed that the child had not come to steal. Further investigation is underway in this matter. The police said that along with the investigation, it is also being found out whether he really came to collect the fare or not. He is a thief. Initial investigation has revealed that the child is not a thief. The police have confirmed that the rickshaw driver is not a thief.

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Maharashtra

Municipal Corporation in Mumbai is committed to conducting administration and election process in a fearless, free and transparent environment: Bhushan Gagrani

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Mumbai: Municipal Corporation Administration and Election System Mumbai Municipal Corporation is committed to conducting the election process for the general elections 2025-26 in a completely fearless, free, transparent and disciplined environment. In this regard, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Administration has made all and extensive preparations and all necessary measures are being implemented effectively. The role of political parties is very important in the election process. In order to promote democratic values ​​and make the election process fair, transparent and credible, all political parties, their office bearers and workers should strictly follow the code of conduct framed by the State Election Commission and cooperate with the Municipal Corporation Administration. A positive and exemplary example should be set in the electoral process, this appeal was made by Municipal Commissioner and District Election Officer Bhushan Gagrani. A meeting was held with representatives of political parties at the Municipal Corporation headquarters today in connection with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation general elections 2025-26. On this occasion, Gagrani presented detailed information about various administrative, technical and legal aspects of the elections.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Special Duty Officer (Election) Vijay Balmwar, Joint Commissioner (Tax Assessment and Collection) Vishwas Shankarwar, Assistant Commissioner (Taxation and Collection) Gajanan Belle, UP Election Officer Vijay Kumar Suryavanshi and other office bearers and representatives of various political parties were present in the meeting. Political parties were provided detailed information about the offices of 23 Election Decision Officers and their scope of work for the smooth conduct of the elections. Along with this, guidance was also given on the process of filing nomination papers, scrutiny of applications, registration of objections and how to contact these offices for day-to-day work in the election process. Municipal Commissioner Shri said that all necessary arrangements have been completed at the level of the Election Decision Officer so that the candidates do not face any technical problems.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwani Joshi said that all guidelines have been given so that the candidates do not make any mistakes while filing nomination papers (candidate applications) for the elections. The concerned persons should submit all the information in the prescribed format. Candidates should take special care that no application is rejected due to technical difficulties. It is mandatory for the candidates to fill all the information correctly and clearly in the affidavit submitted with their application. He said that if any column is left blank in the affidavit or if incorrect information is found, the nomination of the candidate, along with all other matters, can be cancelled.

Joint Commissioner (Tax Assessment and Collection) Vishwas Shankarwar said that the main objective of the administration is to increase the voting percentage to strengthen democracy. For this, political parties should create awareness among the voters. Public awareness is being created among the voters under the ‘SVEEP’ program by the Municipal Corporation. Also, it is mandatory to follow the guidelines of the esteemed State Election Commission regarding election expenses. Candidates should keep a record of every expense incurred during the election campaign and submit the account of election expenses within the stipulated time. Various doubts raised by the representatives of political parties on various issues were cleared including caste verification certificate, toilet usage certificate, Appendix 1 and Appendix 2, appointment of representatives of election candidates.

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Maharashtra

Abu Asim Azmi praised for introducing a bill against hate speeches and hate crimes, Muslim organizations called Abu Asim Azmi’s step commendable.

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Mumbai: Leading Mumbai NGOs like OZ Seva Trust, Minara Masjid Trust, All India Ulema Board, Malik Liaquat Hussain Trust, National Uni-Ayush Activist Trust, Mumbai Central Association etc. today felicitated SP State President Abu Asim Azmi at Islam Gymkhana and appreciated his efforts to maintain unity and brotherhood in the society by respecting all religions in the Maharashtra Assembly. Azmi had introduced a bill in the Nagpur Assembly to enforce strict laws against religious hatred, blasphemy, prophets, religious leaders, and religious places, and hate speeches and hate crimes.

The event was organised at Islam Gymkhana, Mumbai. Addressing the event, Abu Asim Azmi said that nowadays hatred is being spread among the brothers by making objectionable or insulting inflammatory speeches against any religion, religious leader, religious book, religious place, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This poses a threat to peace and order. Therefore, we have presented this bill in the Legislative Assembly against those who insult any religion, religious leader, religious book, religious place, or Prophet. This bill proposes a penalty of imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh for those who make slanderous statements about any religion, religious leader, religious book, or religious place or spread it on social media. Such a punishment will curb hate speech and hate crimes. MLA Raees Shaikh, State Working President Yousuf Abrani, Chief General Secretary Meeraj Siddiqui and Advocate Rizwan Merchant, Maulana Ijaz Kashmiri, Nizamuddin Rain, Naseem Siddiqui, Sarfaraz Arjo were present at the event.

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