Jaipur: A massive fire accident took place on the Jaipur—Ajmer Highway when a tanker filled with LPG gas exploded on Friday morning as a truck hit the gas tanker. The explosion reached a sleeper bus coming from Udaipur to Jaipur and claimed eight lives, while 35 people suffered burn injuries. The number of deaths is likely to increase as some of the injured are reported to be critical. 

As per the officials, the tanker-filled LPG was coming from Ajmer to Jaipur. At around 5.44 in the morning, while taking a U-turn, a truck coming from Jaipur collided with the tanker and within no time, the entire area became a ball of fire. The fire engulfed over 30 vehicles and thick black smoke filled the sky.

The sleeper bus running behind the tanker had 34 passengers on board and as per information 20 of them suffered burn injuries. The bus left Udaipur at 9 pm on Thursday night. At that time, there were 35 passengers in the bus. A passenger had deboarded at Ajmer. The bus was to reach Jaipur at around 6.30 am, but met with the accident at 5.45 am. 

There is a crude oil pipeline and two petrol pumps near the accident site, but all are safe. 

Dr. Sushil Bhati, Superintendent of SMS Hospital of Jaipur said that there 42 persons have been admitted in hospital while eight have been died. Out of these 4 were brought dead.  Among the admitted patients, there are 10 to 12 patients who have suffered more than 60% burns. 6 patients are currently on ventilator.

How Did The Accident Happen?

The tanker filled with LPG was coming from Ajmer to Jaipur. The tanker was taking a U-turn in front of DPS school in Bhankrota. The truck coming from Jaipur hit the nozzle of the gas tanker. About 18 tons of gas spread into the air from the nozzle, and an area of ​​200 meters became a gas chamber. A few seconds later, there was a massive explosion in the tanker and fire spread to the nearby vehicles.

The gas spreading rapidly in the air made the accident horrifying. People living nearby told many people were trying to take off their burning clothes. Mohan Lal, a family member of one of the injured,  said that many people became unconscious due to the gas. The fire was so severe that we turned away. What happened on the spot was not known. Hundreds of birds are lying burnt within a radius of about 400 meters from the accident site. 

Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma tweets, “I am deeply saddened to hear the sad news of casualties of citizens in the gas tanker fire incident on Jaipur-Ajmer National Highway. As soon as the information about the incident was received, I went to SMS Hospital and directed the doctors to provide immediate necessary medical facilities and take proper care of the injured.  Rescue work by the administration is continuing. The local administration and emergency services are working with full readiness. I pray to God to grant the departed souls a place in his supreme abode, give the bereaved families strength to bear this immense loss and provide speedy recovery to the injured.”

New Delhi, Dec 20: The INDIA bloc staged a protest march from Vijay Chowk to Parliament on Friday, demanding an apology from and resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Dr B.R. Ambedkar, which they labelled as “derogatory” and “unacceptable.”

The Opposition alliance’s protest also condemned the FIR filed against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, stating it was a “diversionary tactic” by the BJP to shift focus from HM Shah’s comments.

Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal stated, “The main issue is Amit Shah’s apology for his unacceptable remarks on Dr Ambedkar. The BJP is trying to divert attention by filing an FIR against Rahul Gandhi.”

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari accused the BJP of misuse of power.

“We also filed an FIR, but it wasn’t registered. This is a sheer misuse of power. Even if they resort to lathi charges, we will not stop protesting. Insults to Dr Ambedkar will not be tolerated.”

Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav defended Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, and told media, “He is the Leader of Opposition and would never engage in such actions.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi slammed HM Shah’s refusal to apologise, calling it evidence of the BJP’s “true stance” on Dr Ambedkar.

“It shows the fragile ego of Amit Shah that he is not apologising. The country has now seen his stance on Ambedkar. A 12-second video encapsulates Shah’s 90-minute speech, showing their (BJP’s) disdain for Dr Ambedkar despite their claims of respect,” she said.

Congress MP Vivek Tankha termed the Union Home Minister’s remarks “shocking” and called for an apology.

Commenting on the FIR against Rahul Gandhi, he said, “The claim that Rahul Gandhi hurt someone is laughable. When this matter reaches court, it will be evident how baseless it is.”

Congress MP Imran Masood alleged the FIR against Gandhi was a distraction.

“This is their (BJP) diversionary tactic to shift focus from the disrespect shown to Baba Saheb. Rahul Gandhi is not someone who can be intimidated.”

JMM MP Mahua Maji called for public release of Parliament CCTV footage to clarify the situation. “Rahul Gandhi is a senior and mature leader. This is a conspiracy aimed at diverting attention,” she said.

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan stressed the peaceful nature of their protest.

“Today, we will march and return to the House peacefully. The Home Minister’s remarks against Dr Ambedkar are condemnable. If HM Shah respected Dr Ambedkar, he would have apologised to prevent this situation from escalating,” she stated.

New Delhi, Dec 20: More than four lakh backlog vacancies in government jobs reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates have been filled since 2016, the Parliament was informed.

“Occurrence and filling of vacancies, including the backlog reserved vacancies, is a continuous process,” Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Instructions have been issued to all ministries and departments of the central government to constitute an in-house committee for identification of backlog reserved vacancies, to study the root cause of such vacancies, to initiate measures to remove the factors causing such vacancies and to fill them up including through special recruitment drives, the minister said.

The minister said each ministry/department of the central government is required to designate an officer of the rank of Deputy Secretary and above, as Liaison Officer, to ensure due compliance of the orders and instructions pertaining to reservation.

Each ministry/department is also required to set up a special reservation cell to assist the Liaison Officer.

In answer to another question, the minister also said that the Government has undertaken the ‘Initiative for Increasing Efficiency in Decision Making in Government’ in alignment with the policy of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’.

The initiative for increasing efficiency in decision making, incorporated into the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure, adopted a four pronged approach with focus on delayering, delegation, digitization and desk officer system was implemented in all Ministries/Departments. In November 2024, the Government has issued directions to review the levels of disposal and channels of submission in Ministries/Departments and ensure that the levels do not exceed four.

Mission Karmayogi is an initiative of the central government to enhance the attitudes, skills and knowledge of the Government employees. The mission targets to build capacity on domain, functional as well as behavioral competencies.

A key feature of the Mission is the digital learning platform – IGOT Karmayogi, which provides more than 1500 courses to help civil servants upgrade their skills in governance, policy implementation, and technology. It promotes ensuring more efficient public service delivery and helps foster efficiency, accountability and transparency in the public service, Singh explained.