Ganga activist's death: Rahul vows to take fight for clean river forward
New Delhi, Oct 12: Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday hailed environmental activist G D Agarwal for his contribution towards saving the Ganga and vowed to take his fight forward.
Agarwal passed away at a hospital in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, on Thursday, 111 days after he began a fast for a pollution-free Ganga. He was 86.
Describing Agarwal as "the true son of mother Ganga", Gandhi said he gave away his life to save the river.
"Saving the Ganga is like saving the country. We will never forget him and will take his fight forward," Gandhi said on Twitter.
It is rivers like the Ganga that have made India, the Congress chief noted.
Agarwal, who began his hunger strike on June 22 demanding government measures to save the Ganga, died of a heart attack at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh. The activist was admitted to hospital on Wednesday after he even gave up water.
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After fake ID crackdown, IRCTC daily new accounts down to 5000 from one lakh: Railways
New Delhi (PTI): With a new, stringent system to establish user identity, the number of new user IDs being added daily on the IRCTC website has declined to about 5,000 from nearly one lakh, officials said on Saturday.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noted that the crackdown by Indian Railways on train ticket booking through fake identities is yielding positive results, according to a press note.
Before the latest reforms, this number had touched nearly one lakh new user IDs per day, it said.
"Following the introduction of a stringent system to establish user identity and detect fake IDs, about 5,000 new user IDs are now being added daily on the IRCTC website," the note said.
The officials stated that these steps have already helped Indian Railways deactivate 3.03 crore fake accounts.
"Another 2.7 crore user IDs have either been temporarily suspended or identified for suspension based on the suspicious activities they are indulging in," they said.
The Union minister directed officials to ensure that the ticketing system is reformed to a level where all travellers are able to book tickets easily through a real and genuine user ID, the press note added.
Additionally, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials to provide local cuisine of the region in Vande Bharat trains.
Introducing local cuisine that reflects the culture and tastes of the regions being traversed will significantly enhance the passenger experience, officials said.
This facility will be expanded to all the trains progressively in future, they added.
