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Uttar Pradesh government to roll out road safety campaign

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The Uttar Pradesh government will be launching a ‘Road Safety Campaign’ after May 18, with the aim of spreading safety awareness among the people.

According to the government spokesman, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the officials to launch the campaign and said, “In view of the wider importance of road safety, an action plan for awareness campaign should be prepared in coordination with the departments like police, traffic, basic education, secondary education, technical education, higher education, transport, urban development, PWD among others.”

The chief minister also said that aspects like road engineering, enforcement, trauma care and public awareness should also be included in the campaign.

Special emphasis will be on creating awareness among students in basic and secondary schools regarding traffic rules. Stressing on the need to make road safety a way of life.

The chief minister said that the children should be made fully aware of road safety measures from the very beginning.

“Principals/headmasters/representatives of the university should be trained in relation to traffic rules. The schools must hold meetings with parents and ‘Prabhat Pheri’ should be taken out by school children to create awareness on road safety,” he stated.

The chief minister also stated that while speed-breakers are necessary for road safety, they become counter-productive if they are not laid in a scientific manner. Poor design of speed breakers on roads becomes a factor in accidents every day. The government must pay special attention in this direction in order to control such cases.

Buses failing on the standards should not be allowed to ply on the road under any circumstances.

Mumbai Press Exclusive News

Nigerian arrested with cocaine in Mumbai

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Mumbai: Police has claimed to have arrested a Nigerian with cocaine in the limits of Maloney police station and 180 grams of cocaine have been seized from his possession. Police searched Manuchi Agwa alias Oliver Agwa, 27, during a patrol and recovered cocaine from his possession. Along with the cocaine, a total of Rs 72 lakhs has been seized from the possession of the Nigerian. The police have registered a case under the NDPS Act and started investigation.

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Business

Rs 7,253 crore spent so far in 2025-26 on sprucing up railway stations in India: Vaishnaw

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New Delhi, Dec 5: The government has spent Rs 7,253 crore so far (up to October), of the total budgetary allocation of Rs 12,118 crore for 2025–26, on the redevelopment of railway stations across the country under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Friday.

The minister stated in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha that work is in progress at a good pace for the development of stations such as Tirupati, Yesvantpur, Rameswaram, and Safdarjung station in Delhi..

So far, 1,337 stations have been identified for development under this scheme since it was launched, of which 155 stations have been completed till now.

Vaishnaw said that the station development projects under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme are primarily conceptualised with budgetary support. However, 15 stations have been identified to be explored for development under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode also and based on the experience gained from the same, further evolution of the scheme is envisaged.

He further stated that the ownership of stations and operations-related activity will be with the Indian Railways. However, for some identified major stations, specific activities or groups of activities may be entrusted to outside sources for specified tenures depending upon the type of activity, requirements of the station, demand, etc. The terms of the contract are decided on a case-by-case basis.

He said that the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for the redevelopment of stations has been launched with a long-term approach.

The scheme involves the preparation of master plans and their implementation in phases to improve the stations. The master planning includes improvement of access to the station and circulating areas, integration of the station with both sides of the city, improvement of the station building and improvement of waiting halls, toilets, sitting arrangement, and water booths.

The redevelopment plans also include provision of wider foot over bridge or air concourse commensurate with passenger traffic, provision of lifts, escalators and ramps, improvement of platform surface and cover over platforms and provision of kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’.

Besides, the construction of parking areas, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, better passenger information systems, provision of executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings and landscaping is being taken up, keeping in view the necessity at each station, Vaishnaw said.

The scheme also envisages sustainable and environment-friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, etc., as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of a city centre at the station in the long term, the minister added.

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National News

Palghar Illegal Building Collapse: Civic Official Arrested For Failing To Act On Unsafe Structure

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Palghar: In a major development nearly three months after the collapse of an illegal residential building that claimed 17 lives, Assistant Commissioner Gilson Gonsalves has been arrested for allegedly failing to take timely action against the dangerous structure.

According to police, Gonsalves, who headed Ward-C of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), did not initiate mandatory action against the unauthorised and unsafe Ramabai Apartment, nor did he file a case under the MRTP Act within the stipulated period. His inaction, officials say, contributed to the scale of the tragedy.

The four-storey Ramabai Apartment, located in Vijay Nagar, Virar (East), collapsed on 26 August 2025 during the Ganesh festival, triggering shock and panic across the city. The incident killed 17 residents and left nine others injured. The building, which contained 50 flats, had deteriorated severely in just a few years.

Investigators revealed that the developer had misled residents into believing the structure was authorised, leading them to continue paying municipal taxes. Following the collapse, police registered a case against builder Nital Sane, the landowner, and three others. Five individuals, including the builder, were arrested, although four have since been granted bail.

Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik had handed the investigation over to Crime Branch Unit-3, which continued to probe municipal lapses. During the inquiry, it emerged that despite the building being declared dangerous, Gonsalves did not ensure the evacuation of residents or pursue legal action against the developer.

As a result, Crime Branch officials registered a case against him and arrested him at around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday night. Although Gonsalves had applied for anticipatory bail in the Vasai court, his plea was rejected.

The arrest marks a significant step in the ongoing probe, as authorities face increasing pressure from residents and activists to hold both builders and civic officials accountable for the region’s growing number of unsafe and unauthorised structures.

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