Mangaluru: St Joseph Engineering College (SJEC), Mangaluru, on Saturday, November 9 organised its Fourteenth Graduation Ceremony at its open air stage in the campus here.

The ceremony witnessed the awarding of Graduation Certificates by the institution to the Class of 2019 comprising of 562 Undergraduates (BE) and 95 Postgraduates (MBA, MCA and MTech).

Mr Thomas Mathew, Senior Manager, Body Engineering-Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India Pvt Ltd, Chennai, graced the occasion as Chief Guest and presented the degree certificates to the graduands. Most Rev. Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangalore and President of SJEC, presided over the ceremony.

Rev. Fr Wilfred Prakash D’Souza, Director of SJEC, welcomed the graduands from the Class of 2019, dignitaries and parents to the Graduation Ceremony. Dr Binu KG, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering introduced the Chief Guest.

Mr Thomas Mathew, in his address called upon the graduands to respect the profession they get into and learn to adapt to changes. He mentioned the 5S’s in Automotive Industry, which are Smart, Safe, Sustainable, Smooth and Serviceable. He urged the graduands to bring these 5S’s into their life and practice them rigorously. Mr Thomas Mathew remarked that each individual has to dream big and strive hard to achieve them. He concluded by saying one has to be humble, follow ethics and have a never give up attitude.   

Dr Rio D’Souza, Principal of SJEC, administered the graduation oath. Mr Royden Rego, graduand from the Computer Science & Engineering Department and Ms Reena Sequeira, graduand from the Department of Business Administration were the Valedictorians from the Class of 2019 and delivered the Valedictorian addresses.

Scholastic achievers and Sports achievers were recognized and awarded by Most Rev. Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangalore and President of SJEC. Delivering the Presidential Address, the Bishop remarked that the graduands are the pride and joy of the college. He congratulated the graduates and asked them to learn the skills to be interdependent at their workplaces. He said humans are more important than machines and called upon the graduands to inculcate human values.

Rev. Fr Rohith D’Costa & Rev. Fr Alwyn Richard D’Souza, Assistant Directors of SJEC and Mr Rakesh Lobo, HR Manager of the college were also present. Dr Vincent Crasta, Head of the Department of Physics, and Ms Evita Coelho, Chairperson of SJEC Alumni Association, felicitated the Graduates.

Mr Vinish P, Convener of the program offered the vote of thanks.

The college management also wished the Graduates from the Class of 2019 all success in their future endeavours.

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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.