Archives for December 2018

Officials are suspecting that a faulty valve may have been responsible for the sugar factory explosion which happened in north Karnataka on Sunday, which left six dead and another five injured.

According to initial reports, a faulty valve led to an excess build-up of gas, which led to the boiler explosion. “Technical experts from Belagavi are conducting an investigation into the incident. The report is expected within a day or two,” said Deputy Commissioner KG Shantaram, speaking to media.

On Sunday, at least six people were left dead and another five injured after an explosion occurred in a sugar factory in Bagalkot district. The factory located in Mudhol taluk’s Kulali village is allegedly owned by former BJP minister and Bilgi MLA, Murugesh Nirani.

“This kind of an explosion is very rare. It is the chief engineers who take care of this delicate unit every day. We can therefore say for sure that this incident is not a result of negligence on the part of employees or factory owners,” stated factory MD Siddarth Wadennavar 

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy told officials in the district to shift those injured to hospitals and asked for an investigation to look into the accident. A statement from his office said, “The death of the six people in the blast in the sugar factory is saddening. Bagalkot district officials have been directed to conduct a probe and submit a report. The state government will provide compensation to the deceased’s kin.”

The incident occurred just two days after at least 13 people died after eating prasadam served at a temple in Chamarajnagar. Another 80 have been admitted to hospitals and are being treated.

By : Pramesh S Jain

Dy CM,Dr.G.Parameshwara with MD, BMRCL,Ajay Seth inspects metro pillar,155 rules out panic situation says Namma Metro is Safe
Cracks observed in same pillar in 2012 and were repaired, says BMRCL.
The Bengaluru Namma Metro has been a boon to lakhs of commuters in the traffic choked city but there has been some concern of late over what appeared to be cracks on a pillar number 155 on the stretch of Namma Metro on Mahatma Gandhi Road.
Eight years after the Purple Line of Namma Metro became functional, one of the pillars has developed cracks and a slider which is holding the bridge together has got dislocated.
A routine inspection had revealed a honeycomb in the diaphragm wall of the pillar, which forced BMRCL to take precautionary measures by providing temporary support structures around the pillar. As an additional precaution the speed of the trains was also asked to be reduced.
These steps raised doubts whether travelling in the namma metro was still safe? The continous media coverage as well as speculations on social media forced the BMRCL to call for a press conference on Friday to allay all fears regarding the safety of metro structures.
According to Ajay Seth, an inspection team on Sunday night detected a honeycomb formation in a diaphragm wall of pillar 155 near Trinity Station.
Speaking to Media BMRCL Managing Director, Ajay Seth with Chief public relations office, BL Yashavanth Chavan,  and other officers at a press conference told media persons that,”BMRCL takes the responsibility on it for public safety very seriously and no compromise is made on it. News items have drawn attention to apparent gaps between viaducts pillars, we would like to allay such anxiety arising out of lack of information.The gaps between viaducts are part of the design and well within the prescribed standards and we reassure that there was no need to panic.We are preparing an action plan to be implemented but I would like to assure all commuters that all the metro structures are fully safe and all possible care is being taken.

BMRCL has now taken a decision to shut metro services on Dec 22nd and 23rd in order to complete the restoration work. Being a weekend,the metro authorities hope that inconvenience is minimised.It has also promised to help commuters by increasing BMTC services on routes in this direction.The temporary barricades raised have reduced the space on the road which has also caused inconvenience to commuters by slowing traffic near the trinity metro station junction.We have not finalised the date when we will suspend services as yet but, once we do, we will inform the public in advance.We will plan for any curtailment of services on December 22 and 23, to avoid any inconvenience to office-goers.Free shuttle bus services will be provided between MG Road and Indiranagar on days when services on the section are suspended.A honeycomb is a formation of gaps in cement structures.The honeycomb was found in the metro pillar as part of a routine inspection of the metro tracks. Authorities also noted that during the inspection they had found that the slider (concrete slabs in a structure) supported by Pillar no 155, had moved from its original position.In 2012, just a year after the Baiyappanahalli to MG Road train began plying, BMRCL had found an issue with the same pillar and had narrowed it down to honeycomb formation.Back then, we were unable to determine the exact cause but had narrowed it down to honeycomb formation.It was repaired and there were no problems until recently,” Ajay Seth said.
Officials from the BMRCL had earlier said that it would take 10 days to fix the issue and that in the meantime, services would be affected. Operations will tentatively be stopped next weekend on December 22 and December 23 between MG Road and Indiranagar stations, and maintenance work will be carried out at night.
A special team has been formed to investigate and measure how over a period of time, the vibrations will increase or decrease the sturdiness of the pillar.They are looking to see whether there was negligence during construction or whether the quality of materials was substandard. But there have been so many protocols which were not followed and it would be difficult to find out,” the official added.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru Development Minister,Dr G Parameshwara went on a ride in the purple line from Vidhana soudha to Trinity Metro Station, to check whether passengers are being incovenienced. 
Dr.G.Parameshwara,Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of karnataka state with MD,Ajay Seth and Senior officers as,Seemanth Kumar Singh,P.Harishekaran,Rahul S,D.Devaraj,Jagadeesh was accompanied and after inspecting the pillar number 155 on the Trinity circle and after collecting the stock of the situation Parameshwara told media persons that,For safety purpose bearings are used to place cross beams on the top of the pillar.But now it has come to light that the bearing has moved slightly there is nothing to worry,Experts from Delhi metro and Indian Institute of Science will suggest to us on how to fix this after receiving the report action will be taken against the concerned contractor for the mistake.Now our priority is to recapture the trust we have lost and prove ourselves right he added.
The BJP, MP,PC Mohan has also inspected the pillar near Trinity Metro Station on Saturday evening. After inspecting the spot he said,i have Inspected the damaged pillar of Metro rail and urged officials to take steps to repair the damage and instill confidence among users. Will speak to Shri.Hardeep Singh Puri,Union Urban Development Minister to send a team of experts to help Bengaluru Metro team. I was accompanied by MLAs Suresh Kumar and Ashwath Narayana with Prakash and other party leaders he added.

New Delhi,(IANS) The Editors Guild on Sunday expressed grave concern over the Meghalaya High Court summoning ‘The Shillong Times editor and publisher for alleged contempt over reporting on how the judges of the court have granted themselves and their families multiple facilities and benefits.

“It is unfortunate that an editor has been summoned by the Meghalaya High Court for what appears to be a factual news report,” the Guild said over The Shillong Times editor Patricia Mukhim and publisher Shobha Chaudhuri being issued a show cause notice for contempt and asked to appear personally before the court. 

The notice was issued by Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen over the daily’s December 10 report “When judges judge for themselves”, about a recent order passed by Sen calling for better facilities for retired judges and their families. 

Justice Sen has been facing criticism for his recent observation that “nobody should try to make India… another Islamic country” and that the government should allow non-Muslim and tribal communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to live in India without any cut-off year.

The Guild said the judiciary was one of the pillars of democracy and should stand by the media in helping it discharge its functions in an independent and unbiased manner. 

“Such contempt notices are regrettable and will be seen as judicial intimidation of the media. Judges, who have broad shoulders and are tolerant of criticism, are the need of the hour.

“The Guild urges the Meghalaya High Court to take necessary steps that uphold the spirit of unbiased and independent functioning of both the judiciary and the media,” added the Guild. 

Both Mukhim and Chaudhuri appeared before the court on Thursday in pursuance of the court’s directive.