Petrol @ 89.97 In Maharashtra Town, Highest In India, Amid Fuel Protests
MUMBAI, Sept 10: As petrol prices on Monday shot up to Rs. 89.97 in Maharashtra's Parbhani - the highest in India - the Opposition Congress staged a 'rail-roko' agitation in Mumbai as part of the party-sponsored nationwide shutdown to protest rising fuel prices.
Parbhani District Petrol Dealers Association (PDPDA) President Sanjay Deshmukh said that while petrol was nearly touching the psychological barrier of Rs. 90 per litre, (Rs. 89.97), diesel prices stood at Rs. 77.92 on Monday.
Elsewhere in Maharashtra, petrol was Rs. 88 and diesel at Rs. 76, said All India Petrol Dealers Association (AIPDA) spokesperson Ali Daruwala, besides various local tax additions.
The all-India anti-fuel price hike shutdown got underway in different parts of Maharashtra with all parties, barring the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena, joining in wholeheartedly.
Maharashtra Congress President Ashok Chavan and Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam led thousands of activists to stage a noisy protest outside the Andheri station bus depot, and later they got down on the railway tracks, shouting anti-government slogans.
Several leaders including former ministers Naseem Khan, Manikrao Thakre, Suresh Shetty, joined the agitation as police maintained strict security at Andheri.
However, suburban trains, BEST buses, schools and colleges functioned normally, though shops and commercial establishments downed shutters in many localities, including pockets where the opposition is influential.
Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists also led aggressive protests in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Pune, Nashik and others areas of the state.
As per preliminary reports, the shutdown has elicited mixed response in urban centres, but widespread support in the semi-urban and rural hinterland which have been badly hit by the spiraling fuel prices.
The shutdown has been supported by Nationalist Congress Party, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (S), RPI (G), Peasant and Workers Party, Left Parties, Swabhimani Shetkari Party, Peoples Republican Party.
Courtesy: www.ndtv.com
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Bengal: On way to PM's rally, 3 mowed down by train amid dense fog
Kolkata (PTI): Three persons died and three others were injured after being hit by a train amid dense fog on Saturday, while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at Taherpur in West Bengal's Nadia district, a senior official said.
The incident occurred between Taherpur and Badkulla railway stations under the Sealdah-Krishnanagar section of Eastern Railway, he said.
Modi, whose helicopter could not land at Taherpur due to dense fog and low visibility, condoled the death of the “BJP workers” in his virtual address from Kolkata airport.
“I have come to know that some BJP workers, while travelling to the rally, lost their lives in a rail accident. My condolences are with the families of those who have lost their loved ones, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Modi said.
The Eastern Railway official told PTI that the incident occurred in the morning when these people, who were travelling by a bus, had stopped the vehicle and walked to the railway tracks to answer nature's call.
"While three persons died on the spot, two others with injuries were admitted to a local hospital," he said.
Another person with minor injuries was released after having been administered first aid, the official said.
The deceased have been identified as Ramprasad Ghosh (74), Shaktipada Sutradhar (55) and Gopinath Das (38).
Meanwhile, Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress MP from Krishnanagar constituency in Nadia district, alleged that the BJP ignored the incident and went ahead with the rally.
"Terrible tragedy hushed up at altar of @narendramodi ego. @BJP4India supporters brought from far Murshidabad for PM rally in Ranaghat today," she said in a post on X.
"4 went to answer nature's call and were killed by 31814 down local train near Taherpur. BJP ignored, blacked out & went ahead with rally," Moitra claimed.
Reacting to her remarks, the West Bengal BJP, in a post on X, asserted that the TMC "has always been adept at milking tragedies", and was being "disrespectful to the unfortunate victims of this tragedy".
The TMC alleged that BJP leaders have not shown "neither concern nor compassion" over the mishap.
"The loss of three lives in Taherpur should have united everyone in grief. But @BJP4India leaders showed neither concern nor compassion," it said in another post on X.
"At this painful moment, Smt @MamataOfficial and Shri @abhishekaitc put humanity above party lines and stood beside the families of the deceased," the party said.
TMC’s on-ground leaders promptly reached out to the grieving family members, ensuring them of help and assistance, it said.
"While Delhi’s rulers chase Bengal with arrogance, our leadership chose empathy. This is the difference between politics of power and politics of people!" the TMC added.
