Gauhati HC issues notice to Assam CM in PILs alleging 'hate speech'
Guwahati (PTI): The Gauhati High Court on Thursday issued a notice to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in connection with a bunch of PILs, accusing him of giving "hate speech" and making "communal comments" against the 'Miya' community.
Notices were also issued to the state government and the DGP in connection with three different petitions on the matter.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury heard the three petitions.
The court fixed March 21 as the next date of hearing.
"The respondents have to reply to the notices before the next date. The court has not issued any other order," Advocate Santanu Borthakur, who assisted the counsels for one of the petitioners, told PTI.
One petition was filed by Assamese litterateur Hiren Gohain, former DGP Harekrishna Deka and senior journalist Paresh Malakar on February 24. The CPI and CPI(M) had also filed separate petitions on February 21, seeking to restrain the CM from making such comments.
The Supreme Court on February 16 refused to entertain petitions seeking action against Sarma over a viral video purportedly showing him taking aim and firing with a rifle at members of a particular community.
'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and the non-Bengali-speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting the term as a gesture of defiance.
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Mumbai Metro lines 9 and 2B open for commuters
Mumbai (PTI): Commercial operations on the first phases of Mumbai Metro corridors 9 and 2B began on Wednesday morning, a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the mass-transit routes, officials said.
While the Metro 9 marks the first direct connectivity between a suburb in Mumbai and a part of Thane city in the metropolitan region, the Line 2B will provide the first metro connectivity on the Harbour Line in Mumbai.
The 5.6-km elevated Phase 1 stretch of Metro Line 9 comprises four stations -- Dahisar East, Pandurangwadi, Miragaon and Kashigaon. The 5.53-km Phase 1 of Metro Line 2B has five stations, including Deshbhakt N G Acharya Udyan (Diamond Garden), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk, Deonar, Mankhurd and Maharashtra Nagar–Mandale.
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According to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Line 9 is expected to cut travel time between Mira-Bhayandar in Thane district and Mumbai to around 30 minutes from the current one to two hours. Built at Rs 6,607 crore, it will eventually provide seamless connectivity to south Mumbai through interlinking with other lines.
With the addition of the two new lines, Mumbai’s operational Metro network has expanded to six corridors, including Line 1 (Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova), Line 2A (Andheri West-Dahisar East), Line 7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East) and the underground Line 3 (Colaba-Bandra Kurla Complex-SEEPZ).
As per MMRDA, the revised timetable for Line 2A and Line 7 came into effect on Wednesday, aimed at improving frequency, predictability and overall commuter experience.
It said that with the inauguration of Line 9, Metro Line 2A will now operate as a standalone corridor between Andheri West and Dahisar East, with services from 5.50 am till around 11 pm and a peak frequency of about six minutes.
The integrated Line 7-9 corridor (Gundavali to Kashigaon), spanning 19.79 km, will operate from 5.50 am to 11 pm, with a peak frequency of under six minutes and 276 services on weekdays.
Metro Line 2B (Phase 1) services commenced at 6 am and will run till around 10.30 pm at intervals of approximately nine-and-a-half minutes, operating 209 services daily, according to officials.
MMRDA said the integration of Line 7 with Line 9 enables direct connectivity from Andheri East to Mira-Bhayandar, while Lines 2A and 7 will function as separate corridors.
A seamless interchange facility at Dahisar station will allow passengers to switch between Lines 2A and 7 without exiting the “paid” (ticketed) area.
