Western Railway drops 'head-foot' massage proposal
Mumbai: Under fire from various quarters, the Western Railway (WR) on Saturday dropped its proposal for providing 'head and foot' massage services to passengers on trains originating from Indore, an official said here.
WR chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar said the head and foot massage service was initiated by the Ratlam Division.
"As soon as it came to the notice of the higher authorities, it has been decided to withdraw the proposal of starting massage services on trains," Bhakar said.
There were other suggestions and representations made about necessary passenger amenities which the WR will now consider instead of the massage proposal.
The massage services, touted as "unprecedented" in Indian Railways' history, was announced a week ago and was proposed to be made available for passengers' comforts, on board running trains.
It led to a storm on social media with many supporting and some trolling the proposal, including one who demanded: "How about escort services, gigolos, prostitutes?" and others saying it would dirty with oils the very same trains the railways was trying to maintain clean.
The massage service was to be introduced on 39 trains originating from Indore. With Rs 100 per massage, the WR was eyeing a revenue of around Rs. Two million annually from this service.
Besides, there was another estimated revenue increase of Rs 9 million per annum through additional sale of tickets from around 20,000 masseurs who would be service providers.
Around 3-5 licensed male masseurs, authorized by the railways, with officials identity-cards issued, were to travel on each train daily, offering the massage services during daytime to the passengers.
The massage fee was proposed to be included in the ticket fare, entailing no extra charge for the passengers, except for some specialized services using oils or medicines.
The scheme was part of the railways' scheme whereby zonal and divisional railways were asked to come out with innovative ideas to help generate non-ticket fare revenues.
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Karnataka to approach SC seeking permission to continue MGNREGA
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday decided to approach the Supreme Court seeking permission to continue implementation of MGNREGA in the state, contending that the Centre had repealed the rural employment guarantee law without consultation and failed to put in place any alternative mechanism under the VB-G RAM G Act.
Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state would immediately move the apex court seeking permission to prepare and implement the annual action plan for rural employment works, while also challenging what it described as an infringement on the constitutional rights of states.
The parliament passed VB-G RAM G in December that replaces MGNREGA.
Patil explained that the Cabinet decided to approach the court seeking permission for the State Government to prepare an action plan in this regard. Since the Centre’s stand interferes with the constitutional rights of state governments, the Cabinet has also decided to challenge this issue before the appropriate court
“There are two points here. One is that they have come in the way of our constitutional right of providing the right to work. That has been halted, and, therefore, the State Government has decided to approach the Supreme Court. The second point is that the Government of India has not provided any alternative,” the Minister said.
The Central Government has not yet issued a notification to implement the VB-G RAM G Act, nor has it made any alternative arrangements and hence continuing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is unavoidable in the public interest, the Minister said.
“Therefore, in the interest of the public, farmers and agricultural labourers, we must continue MGNREGA. For that purpose, the Cabinet has decided to approach the court seeking permission for the State Government to prepare the action plan for this year,” he added.
The Minister also said the Centre had only permitted continuation of pending and spillover MGNREGA works without releasing grants or announcing a fresh action plan.
“The Centre itself has said that pending, spillover and half-done MGNREGA works can continue. That means MGNREGA is actually still functioning in practice. But there is no new action plan,” he said.
Patil said the state had already passed a resolution on the issue, while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had written to the Prime Minister and the Rural Development Minister had held discussions with Union Ministers.
Replying to questions, the minister said the state would move court “as immediately as possible.”
He clarified that the state was seeking permission to formulate and implement this year’s action plan under the existing framework.
“What we are asking the Supreme Court is to allow us to have the action plan for this year and implement it,” he said.
The Cabinet also held detailed discussions on the final report submitted by the State Education Policy Commission headed by former UGC chairman Professor Sukhadeo Thorat.
Patil said a Cabinet sub-committee would be constituted to examine the report and recommend measures for implementation.
“No decision has been taken yet. The Cabinet sub-committee will recommend what should be accepted and what should be modified,” he said.
He said the report comprised around eight volumes and covered issues relating to financial implications, human resources, curriculum reforms, deemed universities, unitary universities and newly established universities. The Chief Minister has been authorised to constitute the sub-committee.
The Cabinet also approved the Karnataka Motor Transport and Other Related Workers’ Social Security and Welfare Amendment Bill, 2026, transferring welfare administration of transport-related workers from the Labour Department to the Transport Department.
The Cabinet further approved establishment of three new industrial estates in Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Surpur under the Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation and Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore.
The Cabinet also approved amendments to Karnataka Civil Services (General Recruitment) Rules, 2026, providing two per cent reservation in state civil services appointments for sportspersons.
