Archives for June 2024

The Tripura government is sending a team to the Kanchanjunga train accident site in West Bengal to provide all possible help to the passengers from the state, an official said on Monday.

At least 15 passengers died and 60 others were injured after three rear coaches of the stationary Agartala-Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express derailed on Monday morning as a goods train collided with it in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, officials said.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has spoken to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the accident and is personally monitoring the situation, state’s Home Secretary Pradip Kumar Chakravarty told reporters here.

“The Kanchanjunga Express left Agartala station on Sunday. We have sought passenger data from the railway authority to check if there is any casualty from our state,” Chakravarty said.

The Tripura Home secretary said a two-member team from Kolkata’s Tripura Bhavan will leave for the accident site at Rangapani to extend all possible help to the possible victims from the state.

“The team is expected to reach the site from Bagdogra airport by Monday evening. The state government also declared to provide Rs 2 lakh to the next kin of any person from the state in case of any death in the accident and medical expenditure to the injured persons,” he said.

All India Congress Committee President Mallikarjun Kharge said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will retain the Raebareli  Lok Sabha seat and vacate Wayanad seat for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Rahul Gandhi, who won from both Raebareli and Wayanad, must vacate one of the seats within 14 days of the election result. “Party has decided that Rahul Gandhi should retain the Raebareli seat since it is close to the family,” Kharge stated after discussions with senior party leaders at his residence.

Kharge also announced that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from Wayanad, expressing gratitude to the brother-sister duo for accepting the party’s decision.

Days after Monsoon rains in the state went weak, the Indian Meteorological Department has forecasted intensified rains across the three coastal districts accompanied by heavy winds during the next few days.

The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada districts for the next 24 hours. The alert also applies for June 21, 22 and 23. Thundershowers are expected in these districts today and tomorrow, with wind speeds reaching 40 to 50 km/h in south interior districts and 30 to 50 km/h in north interior districts. Light to moderate rainfall is anticipated in many districts.

the weather will remain generally cloudy for the next 24 hours with a possibility of light rain. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to be 31°C and 21°C, respectively.

On Sunday, Uttara Kannada’s Kumta received 9 cm of rain, while Gerusoppa, Gokarna, Ankola, and Gadag recorded 5 cms. Manki, Haliyala, Shirali, Sankeshwar in Belagavi, and Kushalanagar in Kodagu have received 4 cm of rain.

Dr. Rajavel Manikkam, a senior scientist at the  Bengaluru Meteorological Center, stated that the southwest monsoon was moderate over the coastal and northern interior regions, and weak over the southern interior region. Rainfall was reported in many coastal areas and a few interior regions yesterday.

Turku/Finland: Forced into a short break to mend a niggle, Olympic and world champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will return to competitive action at the Paavo Nurmi Games here on Tuesday against a stellar field, hoping to continue his build-up to Paris Games with renewed vigour.

The 26-year-old superstar, the lone Indian in the field here, will be up against German teenage sensation Max Dehning, who is the youngest member of the coveted 90m club, which Chopra is aspiring to enter.

The 19-year-old is being seen as a major competition for Chopra when he defends his Tokyo Games gold medal in Paris.

Local favourite Oliver Helander, who had beaten the Indian in the 2022 edition of the one-day competition, will also be there.

The Indian won a silver medal in 2022 with a throw of 89.30m, which was a personal best at that time. Chopra improved that mark to 89.94m at the Stockholm leg of the Diamond League in the same year.

Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago are in fray as well here.

Chopra had withdrawn from last month’s Ostrava Golden Spike as a precautionary measure after he “felt something in my adductor (group of muscles located on inner thighs)”

He began his season at the Doha Diamond League in May, where he finished second with his final throw of 88.36m, the ninth best mark of his career.

Jakub Vadlejch, who beat Chopra in the Doha Daimond League will not be competing here.

Chopra also participated at the National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, where he secured the gold medal with an underwhelming effort of 82.27m.

After the Paavo Nurmi Games, Chopra will next be seen in action at the Paris Diamond League on July 7.

He has opted out of the National Inter-State Athletics in Panchkula to be held from June 27 to avoid a hectic schedule ahead of the Olympics.

“Further competition schedule will be decided later according to situation and my body. Otherwise, I will go to Paris from there (after competing in Turku),” Chopra had stated after the Federation Cup.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Waikar should be stopped from taking oath as the Lok Sabha member, amid a controversy after he won the Mumbai North West seat by a thin margin of 48 votes.

The Vanrai police in Mumbai have registered a case against Waikar’s brother-in-law for allegedly using a mobile phone at a counting centre in Goregaon (which is part of Waikar’s constituency) on June 4, when results of the general elections were announced.

Speaking to reporters here, Raut said, “Waikar’s electoral victory is under suspicion, and a complaint has already been filed at the Vanrai police station in Mumbai. Due to the ongoing controversy surrounding the poll outcome, Waikar should be prevented from taking oath as a member of the Lok Sabha.” 

“It would be a true display of democracy if he is stopped from being a Lok Sabha member until the investigation is concluded,” he added.

Waikar, candidate of the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, defeated Amol Kirtikar of the Shiv Sena (UBT) headed by Uddhav Thackeray by 48 votes on June 4.

Raut, without taking any name, claimed a relative of Waikar made frequent visits to the Vanrai police station before the counting day and sought to know the purpose of it.

“Why did he go there? Was he trying to broker some deal? The details should be revealed, or else I will expose them,” the Rajya Sabha member said.

Raut also targeted the state government over the case of a relative of Waikar allegedly using a mobile phone at a counting centre.

“Forensic labs in the state are part of the home department, headed by BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. If blood samples of the Pune Porsche car accident (accused) can be tampered with, one can imagine what could happen to a phone and its data in police custody,” he said.

A fresh political slugfest erupted on Sunday over EVM tampering claims with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders citing a media report that alleged that a relative of Waikar was found using a mobile phone “connected” to an electronic voting machine during the counting of votes on June 4.

However, Vandana Suryavanshi, returning officer of the constituency, dismissed the report as “false news” and asserted that the EVM is a standalone system, not programmable and has no wireless communication capabilities.

The BJP hit out at the opposition leaders over the issue and demanded that the Election Commission should prosecute all those who “amplified the lie” by sharing the news report.

In a post on X, the Navy also shared some photos of the evacuation process.

“Indian Navy thanks JMSDF (Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force) for timely medical evacuation of one of the crew of INS Shivalik on 17 June despite inclement weather conditions in the Western Pacific Ocean it said in the post.

On June 11, officials said the Indian Navy’s indigenous stealth frigate INS Shivalik had arrived at Yokosuka to take part in the eighth edition of JIMEX 24 — a bilateral Japan-India maritime exercise.

Sullia: A MESCOM lineman was electrocuted while working on an electric pole at Parla near Alekkadi on Monday.

Prakash (29), son of Krishnappa Gowda from Beltangady taluk, was electrocuted while carrying out repair work on the power line under the Mescom Panja section in Parla, Murulya village.

Prakash, who was working on the pole, screamed for help, and when fellow workers arrived, they found him stuck to the pole. He was unconscious and was rushed to Puttur hospital, where he was declared dead.

A case has been registered at the Bellare Police Station in this regard.

Darjeeling: In a display of selfless courage and compassion, residents of Nirmal Jote village of the district turned a festive Eid al-Adha into a day of rescue and sacrifice following the tragic railway accident near Rangapani station, where the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express collided with a goods train, resulting in at least 9 fatalities and injuries to 50 passengers.

Several villagers in Nirmal Jote told The Telegraph the scenes were heart-rending. Disregarding their Eid celebrations, the villagers mobilized immediately, dividing into groups to aid the wounded, retrieve bodies, and secure belongings until authorities arrived.

Fazlur Rahman, 28, and his companions had just completed their morning prayers when a deafening noise alerted them to the nearby disaster. Rushing towards the scene, they discovered multiple derailed coaches and a chaotic scene of injured passengers.

“The scene at the accident spot was scary…. Coaches had been derailed. Some people lay unconscious, some were bleeding heavily, women and children were crying. I had never before been in such a situation,” said Fazlur, who was marshalling his friends to help the injured while speaking to this newspaper.

Fazlur added, “Several people from our village were at the spot, and we decided to split into groups and begin the rescue work.”

While some groups helped the injured and pulled out the bodies, others collected the luggage and assembled them in one place. Some villagers brought water while others tried to help by providing first aid in whatever way they could.

The youths guarded the luggage until forces from Phasidewa police station and railway officials arrived about half an hour later. Many of the villagers stayed back till late in the afternoon.

Local authorities and railway officials later commended the villagers’ proactive role in the rescue efforts, highlighting their invaluable contribution during a critical hour of need.