Modi flags off new Metro line between Delhi, Haryana
New Delhi, June 24 : Calling the Delhi Metro's Green Line to Haryana a "gateway to development", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off the Mundka (Delhi)-Bahadurgarh (Haryana) section through video conference.
In his inaugural speech, Modi emphasised how the Metro has had a positive impact in Delhi-NCR region and will "facilitate an ease of living and travel in Haryana's Bahadurgarh in the same way".
"After Gurugram and Faridabad, Bahadurgarh is the third largest area to be connected to Delhi. With the opening of Mundka-Bahadurgarh section, the Metro is now covering 26 km in Haryana. It will prove to be a big help for students and businessmen to travel between Delhi and Haryana," he said.
The route has seven elevated stations in total, of which four are in Delhi (Mundka Industrial Area, Ghevra, Tikri Kalan and Tikri Border) and three in Haryana (Modern Industrial Estate, Bus Stand and City Park).
Modi said the Metro used at least "75 per cent India-made products and equipment".
"We have started building Metro coaches in the country. The Central government has set up advanced plants in Vadodara and Chennai," he said.
Modi also advocated the need of integrating transport system in India.
"Earlier, every state used to work in its own way. All the decisions were made by the state governments, ministers and departments and that's why there was no policy for work related to the metro.
"But under the 2017 Metro policy, all these issues will be addressed. No matter where the metro is made, a set standard will decide on how things will work," he said.
He also mentioned a "regional rapid transport system", which will connect Delhi to Sonipat, Alwar and Rohtak in the coming days.
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Jhansi fire: Nurse's heroic efforts helped save over dozen babies
Lucknow/Jhansi (UP), Nov 17: Nurse Megha James was on duty when the fire broke out at the Jhansi hospital and she threw herself headlong into the rescue efforts, playing a hero's role by saving several babies.
Even when her salwar got burned, she refused to give up and was able to evacuate 14-15 babies with others' help.
"I had gone to take a syringe to give an injection to a child. When I came back, I saw that the (oxygen) concentrator had caught fire. I called the ward boy, who came with the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But by then, the fire had spread," James said.
Ten babies perished in a fire that broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi Friday night.
Faced with an enormous blaze, James's mind worked with a frenetic speed, to the extent she cared little about burning herself.
"My chappal caught fire and I burned my foot. Then my salwar caught fire. I removed my salwar and discarded it. At that time, my mind was virtually not working," she told PTI Videos.
James just wore another salwar and went back to the rescue operation.
"There was a lot of smoke, and once the lights went out, we could not see anything. The entire staff brought out at least 14-15 children. There were 11 beds in the ward with 23-24 babies," she said.
Had the lights not gone out they could have saved more children, James said. "It all happened very suddenly. None of us had expected it."
Assistant Nursing Superintendent Nalini Sood praised James's valour and recounted bits from how the rescue operation was carried out.
"The hospital staff broke the glasses of the NICU ward to evacuate the babies. It was then Nurse Megha's salwar caught fire. Instead of caring for her safety, she stayed there to rescue the babies and handed them over to people outside," she said.
Sood said James is currently undergoing treatment at the same medical college. She said she did not know the extent of her burns.
"The rescued babies were shifted to a ward very close to the NICU ward… When I recall the scene, I feel like crying," she said.
Dr Anshul Jain, the head of the anaesthesiology department at the medical college, explained the standard rescue operation and claimed the hospital followed the protocol to the T.
"In the triage process during an ICU evacuation, the policy is to evacuate less-affected patients first. The rationale behind this approach is that patients requiring minimal support can be relocated quickly, enabling a larger number of evacuations to be completed in a shorter time.
"In contrast, patients on ventilators or requiring high oxygen support demand more time and resources for evacuation," he said.
"This principle was successfully implemented in Jhansi, playing a significant role in saving many lives," Jain said.
A newborn rescued from the fire died due to illness on Sunday, Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said.
