PM Modi to flag off first Vande Bharat train to Kashmir on April 19, says Jitendra Singh
Jammu (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first Vande Bharat train to Kashmir on April 19 from Katra, marking the completion of the 272-kilometre Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project.
The Jammu-Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express will initially operate from Katra as the Jammu railway station is undergoing renovation.
According to officials, the rail link project was completed last month. Trial runs of the train on the Katra-Baramulla route have been successfully conducted. The Commissioner of Railway Safety approved the train service between Katra and Kashmir in January, they said.
The Vande Bharat Express is expected to significantly reduce travel time between Jammu and Srinagar, providing a modern and efficient rail service for the region, they said.
Speaking to reporters in Jammu on Sunday, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said, "Prime Minister Modi will arrive in Udhampur on April 19. He will visit the world's highest railway bridge and inaugurate it. After that, he will flag off the Vande Bharat train from Katra."
The inauguration of the train will fulfil a long demand for direct rail connectivity to Kashmir. Currently, train services operate only between Sangaldan and Baramulla in the Valley and from Katra to destinations across the country.
Officials said the ambitious project to link Kashmir by train began in 1997 but faced multiple delays due to geological, topographical, and meteorological challenges.
The project includes 38 tunnels spanning a total of 119 km, with the longest among them being the 12.75 km-long Tunnel T-49. It is also the country's longest transportation tunnel.
The project also features 927 bridges, covering a combined length of 13 kilometres. Among them is the iconic Chenab Bridge, which has an overall length of 1,315 meters, an arch span of 467 meters, and stands 359 meters above the riverbed. Being 35 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower, it is set to be the world’s highest arch railway bridge.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
