Pune Indrayani river bridge collapse: Two dead, 18 injured; NDRF leads efforts to rescue three
Pune, Jun 15 (PTI): Two persons died and 18 were seriously injured after an old iron bridge on Indrayani river collapsed on Sunday afternoon in Pune's Maval tehsil, officials said.
At least three people, including a child, are still stuck under the collapsed portion of the structure and efforts are underway to rescue them, district officials said late in the evening.
The incident took place at 3:30pm in Kundamala area, which has been seeing heavy rains over the past few days, giving the river a steady flow, an official from Talegaon Dabhade police station said. It was not raining when the bridge collapsed in the presence of at least 100 picnickers, he added.
"In the mishap, so far 38 people have been rescued of which 18 sustained serious injuries and they are currently under treatment in three different hospitals. During treatment, two people succumbed to injuries while three people are still trapped under the portion of a collapsed bridge," a statement from the district administration informed.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), a specialised unit to tackle such emergencies, as well as personnel from the fire brigade, police and local rescue organizations are involved in rescue and relief efforts, it added.
Maharashtra Minister of Disaster Management Girish Mahajan, who was at the site monitoring rescue efforts, said the bridge collapsed under the weight of a large number of tourists.
"The bridge was meant only for pedestrians and there was a warning board there stating that it cannot be used by two-wheelers. It seems people on the bridge did not pay heed to these instructions, which caused the incident," Mahajan told reporters.
He said the state government has announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.
Queried about the lack of police presence at the spot despite it attracting crowds amid rains, the minister said this would be probed.
"'It has been observed that despite giving constant warnings about dangerous spots during the monsoon, people go and risk their lives. We appeal to the tourists not to risk their lives by visiting such places," he added.
Speaking about rescue and relief efforts, Mahajan said cranes have been deployed to remove the collapsed portion of the bridge, while full scale efforts are on to rescue some people stuck under this collapsed part.
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Karnataka Cabinet ratifies decisions on internal reservation for SCs
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Cabinet has ratified its earlier decisions on internal reservation for Scheduled Castes and approved key modifications to streamline recruitment, including withdrawal and reissue of notifications and adoption of a 400-point roster system.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil on Thursday said the Cabinet reaffirmed its commitment to implementing internal reservation within the 15 per cent SC quota and expediting long-pending recruitment across departments.
"The Cabinet ratified decisions taken in earlier meetings (April 16 and April 24) and made modifications regarding reservation policies," Patil said.
He said the government will implement internal reservation within the 15 per cent quota for Scheduled Castes in specified proportions and revise recruitment notifications accordingly, with a 400-point roster to be followed.
If fewer than three roster points for SC arise in recruitment, then all 101 Scheduled Caste communities will be allowed to compete under SC general, he said.
Patil added that recruitment notifications issued without incorporating internal reservation will be withdrawn and reissued in line with the revised policy.
"If the Supreme Court approves 24 per cent reservation for SC/ST, six per cent backlog posts will be filled," he said, noting that urgent steps will be taken to fill 56,432 approved posts.
The latest decision follows the Cabinet's April 24 resolution that cleared a revised internal reservation formula within the overall 15 per cent SC quota, paving the way for long-pending government recruitment. The government had approved 5.25 per cent reservation each for the "right-hand" and "left-hand" groups, and about 4.5 per cent for other Scheduled Castes, including nomadic communities.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had then said the categorisation was worked out proportionately within the constitutional ceiling. "From tomorrow onwards, the recruitment process will begin with the issuance of notifications," he had said after the April 24 Cabinet meeting.
He also noted that the SC quota was fixed at 15 per cent and ST at three per cent in line with the 50 per cent cap laid down in the Indra Sawhney case, while pointing out that the Supreme Court had permitted internal reservation within constitutional limits.
