Maoists blow up railway tracks in Jharkhand
Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Oct 16: Maoists blew up railway tracks in Jharkhand's Giridih district, paralysing movement of trains for over five hours, a railway official said on Tuesday.
The incident took place at 10.45 pm on Monday between Chaudhary Bandh station and Chengaro halt under Dhanbad Rail Division of the East Central Railway (ECR), Hajipur zone.
Two night patrol staff members were hardly 20 metres away from the spot when the bomb exploded on the track. They immediately alerted the Assistant Station Master (ASM) of Chaudhary Bandh, Rajeev Kumar, the DRM said.
About one metre-long track was damaged in the explosion, he said.
Eight express trains were stopped at various stations on Monday night and 13 trains diverted due to the blast, Dhanbad Rail Division Manager (DRM) Anil Kumar Mishra said.
He said both up and down tracks were opened for trains at 3.15 am and 3.30 am respectively.
Mishra said patrolling was intensified following a two-day (October 16 and 17) bandh call given by the CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhand and Bihar.
The bandh call was given to protest the death sentence awarded to two Maoists by a Dumka court last month for killing six policemen in July 2013.
Mishra said the ASM and the two line men will be felicitated by Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani on Wednesday in New Delhi for their alertness.
The three have left for the national capital, he said.
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South zone finalists announced at WAVES VFX challenge in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: The South Zone round of the WAVES VFX Challenge took place today in Bengaluru, organized by the Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI).
The day-long competition brought together talented participants from across southern India, with the goal of selecting top finalists who will go on to represent the region at the national finals next month during the WAVES Summit in Mumbai.
Finalists were selected in three categories:
Student Category
Winner: Soumya Das
Runner-up: Gagan HP
Professional Category
Winner: Mohamad Javeed
Runner-up: S Sai Chandan
Enthusiasts Category
Winner: Gagan Ajai
Over 1,500 entries were received from students, working professionals, and VFX enthusiasts, all centered around the theme “Super Hero Power.” Out of these, 14 entries were shortlisted to compete in today’s final round. One winner and one runner-up from each category were chosen to represent the South Zone in Mumbai.
ABAI Secretary R.K. Chand appreciated the strong participation and encouraged industry professionals to attend the Mumbai summit, which will host well-known personalities from films, advertising, and creative sectors. He also mentioned that the WAVES Challenge was recently launched in Bengaluru by Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The event was inaugurated by Dr. Sagar Gulati, Director of the School of Creative Design and Information Technology at Jain (Deemed-to-be University), the zonal partner for the competition.
The day also featured two special sessions led by industry experts. Vijay Selvam from the global VFX studio MPC held a masterclass titled “Concept Reality,” where he discussed lighting, animation, compositing, and photorealistic effects. Students got the chance to interact with him during a Q&A session.
Another session was conducted by Rakesh H, Lead Head at The Mill, who spoke about how visual effects are used in advertising. Nearly 100 students attended these sessions, gaining valuable industry insights and learning opportunities.
