Northern Railways’ Lucknow division spends Rs. 69.5 Lakh to catch 168 Rats in 3 years
Lucknow: Northern Railways' Lucknow division has incurred an expenditure of ₹69.5 lakh between 2020 and 2022 to capture a total of 168 rats, according to an RTI response obtained by activist Chandrashekhar Gaur. This averages out to about ₹23.2 lakh per year or roughly ₹41,000 per rat.
The primary maintenance responsibility for pest and rodent control activities lies with the railways. In this case, Lucknow division outsourced rodent control to M/S Central Warehousing Corporation, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, on a contract basis since 2019.
The response from the Lucknow division did not include details on the extent of damage caused by rodents, with the central public information officer stating, "details not available for damaged goods and items. No assessment of damage has been made."
Meanwhile, the Ambala division reported an expense of Rs.39.3 lakh for pest control, rodent control, and fumigation treatment between April 2020 and March 2023, without specifying the costs for rodent control or the number of rats captured. The Delhi Division mentioned an ongoing contract for pest and rodent control on passenger trains without providing further details.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
