Man killed in IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur
Bijapur (PTI): A 20-year-old man was killed after a pressure Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Monday.
The incident occurred on Sunday when the victim, Aayta Kuhrami, a resident of Kasturipad village under Usoor police station area, had gone to a nearby forest, a police official said.
He inadvertently came in contact with the pressure IED, which exploded, causing injuries to his legs. The man succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to the hospital, the official said.
Security personnel have launched a search in the area to check if more IEDs were planted there, he said.
The official appealed to villagers to exercise extreme caution while going into forests and remote areas and asked them to immediately report any suspicious objects, activities, or materials to the nearest police station or security camp.
Maoists often plant IEDs on dirt tracks to target security personnel who use such routes during anti-Naxal operations inside forests. Civilians have also fallen prey to such traps laid by ultras in the Bastar region comprising seven districts, including Bijapur, police said.
On January 5, a 15-year-old boy was injured when a pressure IED planted by Naxalites went off in the district.
As many as 46 persons lost their lives in Maoist violence, including pressure IED blasts, in the Bastar region last year.
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.
Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link now fully operational
Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link was opened to vehicular traffic on Saturday noon after a delay caused by the dismantling of inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work, a day after the Pune section became operational.
The 13.3 km-long "missing link", which bypasses a section of the Bhor Ghat stretch of the expressway and cuts travel time between Mumbai and Pune by 25 to 30 minutes, was inaugurated a day earlier by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.
The Pune-bound carriageway of the corridor was opened to traffic immediately; however, the Mumbai-bound section remained closed to traffic for several hours after the inauguration.
An official of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation told PTI on Saturday that the opening of the Mumbai-bound carriageway was delayed mainly due to the dismantling of the inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work.
The removal of the stage and other decorations was completed in the morning. The work to load and transport the material slightly delayed the opening of the carriageway.
Vehicular movement on the carriageway began after all the remaining material was cleared and road cleaning was completed, the official added.
The expressway control room said that despite significant vehicular movement, the access-controlled highway has not witnessed any major traffic snarls since Friday evening, after the Pune-bound carriageway of the missing link was opened to traffic.
The Missing Link project connects Khopoli (in Raigad) on the Mumbai side to Kusgaon near Lonavala in Pune district and is expected to make the expressway fully access-controlled, easing congestion in the ghat section.
Developed by the MSRDC and dubbed an "engineering marvel", the project includes two tunnels, two viaducts and a cable-stayed bridge over Tiger Valley. It bypasses the steep, accident-prone ghat section, where frequent traffic snarls are reported during weekends and on public holidays.
