Cattle-hit incidents of Vande Bharat train, RPF asks heads of villages to curb stray animal menace
Mumbai (PTI): In the wake of multiple incidents of Vande Bharat train colliding with cattle in Gujarat, the Railway Protection Force has started issuing notices to the heads of villages located along the route in Maharashtra's Palghar, asking them not allow the animals roam unattended near the tracks, officials said on Friday.
The notices warned that if any cattle owner is found to be negligent, then legal action could be taken against him.
The semi-high speed express train service between the capital cities of Gujarat and Maharashtra was launched on September 30 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Since its inception, three incidents have taken place in Gujarat in which the train collided with cattle.
Talking to PTI, Western Railway chief spokesperson Sumit Thakur said notices are being issued by the Mumbai division of the RPF to the sarpanchs of the villages, in which the authorities have appealed to the local residents not to let their cattle loiter along the tracks so that such mishaps can be averted.
The notices issued to the sarpanchs are preventive in nature, Thakur said.
Last Saturday, the Mumbai-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Superfast Express rammed into cattle near Atul station in Gujarat. It was the third such incident since the inception of the train service. Earlier, on October 6 and 7, the train had rammed into some cattle. Both the incidents had occurred in Gujarat. In all these incidents, the passengers were not hurt, although the train's front portion suffered damages.
"Such cattle run-over incidents adversely affected the rail operations. Such incidents increase the possibility of rail accidents and can even lead to derailment. They not only cause disruption of rail traffic and loss of property of the railways, but also pose danger to passengers," Thakur said.
In the notices issued to the sarpanchs, the RPF said that a large number of stray animals (cows and buffaloes) come on to the railway tracks and there is always a possibility that the train-cattle collision can lead to major accidents,
In the notices, the RPF has appealed to the sarpanchs to conduct an awareness campaign for villagers living near the railway tracks.
"Please catch the stray animals and send them to gaushalas (cow shelters) built by the administration or social organisations and also make the residents of the village aware of this in the gram sabha meetings," the notice read.
The notices further warned that if any animal owner is negligent, then it is an offense punishable under the Railways Act, legal action would be taken against him.
Thakur further said that for the prevention of such cases in future, the RPF's Mumbai division has identified various vulnerable locations. The RPF has carried out frequent awareness and sensitisation campaigns at all these locations.
"The RPF has conducted 1,023 awareness campaigns at vulnerable locations so far this year," Thakur said.
He further said that meetings are being conducted with sarpanchs of all villages located along the railway tracks and so far more than 50 meetings have been held this year to avoid the incidents of cattle hit.
Thakur further said that dumping of garbage along the railway tracks by the people is also a cause as this attracts the cattle to graze near the railway lands/tracks. The RPF is also working in close coordination with city the local administration and police to prevent the movement of stray cattle near railway tracks.
A press release issued by the WR last week said the railway authorities are taking strict action against the violators, whose cattle are found moving in the railway land.
As per the provisions of Railways Act 1989, owners of cattle are liable to be punished under section 154 (endangering safety of persons travelling by railway by wilful act or omission, punishable with imprisonment for 1 year, or with fine or both) and under section 147 (trespass and refusal to desist from trespass, punishable with imprisonment for 6 months, or fine Rs 1,000 or both), the release said.
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah slams 'evil forces' for misleading claims in mining lease row
Bengaluru, Apr 9 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday alleged that several attempts were being made by "evil forces" to create confusion over the renewal of mining leases.
His statement came after activist H Ramamurthy approached Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, seeking a sanction to prosecute the Chief Minister in a mining-related case.
Ramamurthy claimed that mining approvals were granted at throwaway prices to nine firms involved in illegal mining, resulting in a loss of over Rs 5,000 crore to the state exchequer.
“It has come to light that in 2015, during his tenure, Sri Siddaramaiah allegedly granted ‘in-principle approval’ and deemed extension to nine private firms engaged in illegal mining,” the activist claimed.
“The renewal of these licences was reportedly done at throwaway prices, causing a significant loss of over Rs 5,000 crore to the state exchequer,” he added.
In response, Siddaramaiah said in a statement that multiple attempts had been made to create confusion over the mining lease renewal issue.
“Such misinformation has been circulating since I assumed office. Certain malicious forces are continuously trying to mislead the Raj Bhavan,” he alleged.
Under the MMDR Act, 1957—as it existed prior to 2015—lease renewals were applicable for 20 years. As per this provision, the government had granted only conditional in-principle approvals to obtain forest clearance for the renewal of mining leases, Siddaramaiah explained.
He added that on April 12, 2015, the central government amended the MMDR Act through an ordinance.
Following several stages of verification, it was concluded that the conditional approval letters issued to eight companies on February 9, 2015, for lease renewals were not valid.
These approvals were subsequently cancelled, and action was taken in accordance with the amended Act.
Siddaramaiah said that after reviewing the deemed extension proposals submitted by the Mines Department, the state government cancelled one case without considering it for a deemed extension, in accordance with a Supreme Court order.
In the remaining seven cases, deemed extension letters were issued with conditions—including submission of statutory forest and environmental clearances, a no-dues certificate, and compliance with the government's decision based on final investigation reports by agencies such as the CBI and the Special Investigation Team on illegal mining.
"Of these seven companies, two were not granted mining rights as they failed to submit the required statutory documents. Of the remaining five, three were granted mining lease rights during the BJP regime in 2020 and 2021," the Chief Minister added.
The remaining two cases were granted conditional deemed extension of mining lease rights through supplementary agreements in 2016 and 2018, he added.
“Therefore, in all these eight cases, the government did not incur any financial loss. Not a single piece of ore was extracted during this period,” Siddaramaiah said.
The Chief Minister claimed that similar cases had earlier been filed by opposition parties and individuals in various forums, but the complaints were closed as they were found to be baseless.
“After about 10 years, this case is being exhumed with political malice. I appeal to the intelligent people of the country not to believe the evil political conspiracies that are trying to poison their minds over a matter that has no substance,” he said in the statement.
