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 Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
