Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train service to start soon, travel time little over 2 hours: Vaishnaw
Bhavnagar, Aug 3 (PTI): Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said India's first bullet train service will commence very soon, and it will cut the travel time between Mumbai and Ahmedabad to two hours and seven minutes.
The Union minister was at Bhavnagar terminus from where he virtually flagged off the Ayodhya Express, Rewa-Pune Express, and Jabalpur-Raipur Express, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Chief Ministers Mohan Yadav and Vishnu Deo Sai respectively.
"The first bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will start very soon, and the work on the project is going on at a fast pace. When it starts running, the journey from Mumbai to Ahmedabad will take only two hours and seven minutes," Vaishnaw said.
India's first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad will span 508 kilometres. It will start from the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area in Mumbai, and connect to Gujarat's Vapi, Surat, Anand, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, running at a high speed of 320 km per hour.
Addressing a gathering here, the Union minister also gave details of the upcoming railway projects in Gujarat, including a new train between Porbandar and Rajkot, a Rs 135-crore coach maintenance facility at Ranavav station, a railway flyover in Porbandar city, two Gati Shakti cargo terminals, and a container terminal at an upcoming port in Bhavnagar.
Several new projects have also been undertaken in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with the double-engine governments in the two states making projects progress rapidly.
Vaishnaw claimed that in 11 years of the Narendra Modi government, 34,000 km of new railway tracks have been laid, with almost 12 km of new tracks built in the country daily.
He said 1,300 railway stations are being redeveloped in the country, which is something that has never been done before.
"No one has undertaken such a big work to date. When railway stations are renovated in developed countries, they are done systematically by closing down all stations and trains," Vaishnaw said.
"There is a huge population here, and everyone's expectation is that work should progress, trains should run, and the station should also be redeveloped. Taking all these challenges into account, Modiji has a big vision today regarding the renovation of these stations," he said.
The Union minister further spoke about trains introduced by the Modi government — Vande Bharat Express, Amrit Bharat Express, and Namo Bharat Express.
"Eight Amrit Bharat trains have been launched so far. They have features like Vande Bharat trains, but the fare is low. These trains have been constructed using new-age technology, and you will be surprised to hear the emotions expressed by passengers using these trains," he said.
Union Ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and Nimuben Bambhaniya were also present on the occasion.
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.
41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
ALSO READ: BJP accuses Karnataka govt of 'failing' to prevent noise pollution caused by 'azaan'
He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
