Mumbai: Raising serious safety concerns for commuters, miscreants—reportedly minors—pelted stones at two express trains on the Kalyan–Karjat route on Monday. The first incident occurred on the Koyna Express near Ambernath railway station, while the Sainagar Shirdi Express was attacked near Vangani.

Railway officials said that when the Mumbai-bound Sainagar Shirdi Express reached near Ambernath station, miscreants threw stones at the S1 coach, shattering the window glass. When the train arrived at Dadar station, the Badlapur RPF was informed, and a case has been registered.

The Koyna Express, travelling towards CSMT, was also targeted near Vangani at around 10.30 am. A passenger sustained an eye injury after being hit by a stone and was immediately given first aid at the next station, the report stated.

Stone-pelting incidents have seen a sharp rise across Mumbai’s suburban railway network, sparking serious safety concerns among daily commuters. Despite multiple safety measures by Indian Railways, including the installation of iron grills on windows, the menace continues unabated.

Just last month, three women sustained injuries in separate stone-pelting incidents on the Harbour Line.

On September 26, 28-year-old Shivani suffered a head injury when a stone hit her on a CSMT–Goregaon slow local near Reay Road station. Earlier, on September 18, 39-year-old Anuradha Sav sustained an eye injury near Wadala, while on September 15, a 21-year-old woman was struck in the face between Cotton Green and Reay Road stations.

Officials from Central Railway said nearly 30 stone-pelting cases are reported every year across the Mumbai division. The number of such cases is comparatively lower on Western Railway’s Mumbai Central division.

On the Western Railway, incidents are often reported from Mahim, Bandra, Kandivali, and areas beyond Virar. On the Harbour Line, cases have been registered between Dockyard Road and Mankhurd, while on the main line, areas such as Kalwa, Mumbra, Diva, and those beyond Kalyan have witnessed frequent stone-pelting attacks.

New Delhi, Oct 14: The Ministry of Jal Shakti on Tuesday announced an Internship Programme that allows short term exposure to “selected candidates” to be associated with its media/social media activities, along with a Rs 15,000 per month honorarium, an official said.

Under the programme, the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD and GR) seeks to engage students pursuing Graduate or Post Graduate Degrees or are Research Scholars enrolled in recognised University/Institution in the field of Mass Communication as interns.

An honorarium of Rs 15,000 per month and a certificate of internship will be given to the selected candidates on the successful completion of the internship programme, said the official in a statement.

The last date to apply for the six to nine month internship programme is November 24. Those interested in applying for the internship can apply through the online form, which is accessible at it said.

Students, who have completed their graduation in mass communication or Journalism or related fields, or students who are pursuing their PG or Diploma (subject to completion of graduation in mass communication or related field) in the aforesaid fields or MBA (Marketing) from any recognised college/university are eligible subject to conditions as mentioned in the guidelines.

Last week, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, culminated weeks of intensive deliberations on strengthening service delivery and sustainability at the grassroots with a demonstration of the upgraded Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes (RPWSS) module – a major stride towards digital transformation in rural water governance.

DDWS Secretary Ashok K. K. Meena stated that the new RPWSS module will serve as a cornerstone of transparency, accountability, and efficiency under Jal Jeevan Mission.

He said that RPWSS will act as a Digital Registry for Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes (RPWSS) and rollout of unique RPWSS IDs – a step towards smarter and efficient operation and maintenance of rural water infrastructure.

He described the RPWSS ID as a unique digital identity tag for every piped water supply scheme — enabling transparency, traceability, geo-tagged data for effective monitoring, operation and maintenance and data-driven governance.

He urged all States and UTs to prioritise and complete the creation of RPWSS IDs by November 2025, ensuring full data integrity and coverage.

Chennai, Oct 14: Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Tuesday demanded a comprehensive probe into the deaths of 22 children, allegedly caused by the consumption of a contaminated cough syrup manufactured in Tamil Nadu.

Describing the incident as “an unforgivable public health disaster”, he urged the government to fix accountability at every level and ensure that such negligence never recurs.

In a strongly worded statement, Karti said the government must trace the supply chain of the tainted drugs and identify where the lapses occurred.

“How did the medicine pass the quality test? Were proper quality checks conducted at all? Who certified the product as safe? Every one of these questions must be investigated in detail,” he said.

The Congress MP stressed that the deaths of over 20 children cannot be dismissed as mere statistics. His remarks came amid intensified investigations into Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the Tamil Nadu-based company that manufactured the Coldrif cough syrup linked to the tragedy.

On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at seven locations across Chennai – including the residence of company owner S. Ranganathan and offices of senior Tamil Nadu Drug Control Department officials – as part of a money laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED’s action follows the arrest of Ranganathan (75) by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Madhya Pradesh, with the assistance of Chennai Police, on October 9. He had been absconding since reports of the child deaths in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh surfaced.

Subsequent raids on the company’s Kancheepuram manufacturing facility revealed over 300 safety and regulatory violations, including the use of non-pharmaceutical grade chemicals.

Laboratory analysis in Chennai confirmed that the syrup contained 48.6 per cent diethylene glycol (DEG), a highly-toxic industrial solvent known to cause kidney failure. Officials suspect cost-cutting measures led to the use of substandard ingredients, resulting in the fatal contamination.