Double Olympic bronze medal-winning shooter Manu Bhaker returns home
New Delhi (PTI): Star pistol shooter Manu Bhaker arrived home on Wednesday after her historic feat at the ongoing Paris Games where she became the first Indian in post Independence era to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics.
The Air India direct flight (AI 142) which brought Bhaker from Paris to Delhi landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 9:20am, delayed by one hour from the earlier scheduled time.
Around 100 people waited at the airport long before her arrival despite the morning drizzle in the city.
Among them were Bhaker's parents -- Ram Kishan and Sumedha -- and sports enthusiasts and officials from neighbouring states, including from Uttarakhand, the home state of Bhaker's personal coach Jaspal Rana, who also came back along with here.
Rana's father was also among those present at the airport.
People gathered at the airport long before her arrival and they celebrated Bhaker's feat with song and dance, beating of drums, holding banners with photos of Bhaker and Rana.
Bhaker will go back to Paris on Saturday and will be the female flag bearer of the Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Bhaker won a bronze each in the women's 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team event -- where she had paired with Sarabjot Singh -- to script Olympic history for the country.
Before her, British-Indian athlete Norman Pritchard had won two silver medals in 200m sprint and 200m hurdles at the 1900 Olympics but that achievement had come in the pre-Independence era.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Chamoli hydropower tunnel train collision: 88 injured, magisterial probe ordered
Gopeshwar/Dehradun (PTI): Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar on Wednesday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collision between two loco trains inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the under-construction Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydropower project, which left 88 people injured.
Earlier in the day, Kumar said that the accident occurred around 8.30 pm on Tuesday at the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) site inside the tunnel being built by THDC (India).
A loco train carrying workers for tunnel excavation during the night shift was about two kilometres inside the tunnel when another loco train coming from the opposite direction lost control and collided with it.
One of the trains had workers and officials on board, while the other carried material.
Upon receiving information about the collision, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered proper treatment for the injured. He spoke to the DM over the phone and instructed him to ensure that all the injured receive the best possible medical facilities.
DM Kumar and Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar met the injured at the Gopeshwar District Hospital.
Kumar said 109 people were on board the loco train at the time of the accident, most of them labourers. None of the injured was serious, he said.
He said that 88 of them were injured, although none of them are in serious condition. They said that 84 workers were discharged after receiving first aid, while four are still hospitalized.
DM Kumar and SP Panwar also inspected the project site and sought detailed information about the incident from the project officials.
They instructed them to strictly implement all necessary safety standards to prevent a recurrence of such an incident in the future.
After inspection, the DM issued orders for a magisterial inquiry into the accident caused by the collision of the loco trains.
Meanwhile, the Railways said the trains involved in the collision had no connection with it.
"It is clarified that this unfortunate incident occurred in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, involving a trolley used in the local transportation system during the construction of a hydroelectric project tunnel. The train referred to in the news reports is not an Indian Railways train, but a transportation system being used locally by the project team," the government entity said in a statement.
According to officials, rail-like vehicles are used to transport workers, employees, and materials for construction work inside the tunnel.
The project, being built between Helang and Pipalkoti on the Alaknanda River, will generate 444 megawatts of electricity through four turbines. The project is targeted for completion by next year.
