SP leader slams UP govt over mango tree in middle of national highway
LUCKNOW: A mango tree in the middle of a national highway in Uttar Pradesh has become the latest political weapon for opposition Samajwadi Party to question the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s claims of development in the state.
Shashank Yadav, Samajwadi Party’s member of legislative council, posted the photograph on Facebook on Tuesday, triggering a blame game between officials of the construction company and the forest department.
“Vikas paida hua magar NH24 par Maigalganj ke paas (There is development but on NH24 near Maigalganj),” the caption of the photograph read.
Yadav, who is from Lakhimpur Kheri the largest district in Uttar Pradesh, said he posted the photo to highlight the negligence of the construction company’s officials as well as local representatives.
“While passing by the national highway, I was surprised to find a huge mango tree right in the middle of the road. This is a serious threat to people travelling during the night,” he said while speaking to the Hindustan Times.
“All MPs and MLAs of the region belong to the ruling party but none of them came to know about it. This indicates lack of coordination between the authorities concerned,” he added.
Officials of Era Infra Engineering Ltd, the company assigned to construct the 157km-long stretch between Sitapur and Bareilly on NH 24, blamed the forest department for not allowing them to remove the tree.
“The project was assigned to us in 2010-11. We sent letters to forest department seeking permission to remove the trees coming in the way of the proposed highway,” Era’s project in-charge Arun Chaudhary said.
“We did not receive any permission or reply from the authorities concerned. Due to this, 22% of the project is still pending. We have neither completed the work there nor permitted traffic on the route as yet,” Chaudhary added.
He said the portion of the road, which had the mango tree, fell under the jurisdiction of Hardoi administration.
District forest officer (South Kheri) Sameer Verma, however, said he has not received any letter from the construction company seeking permission to cut trees.
courtesy : hindustantimes.com
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
