Railway engineer stands in flooded Mumbai tracks for 16 hours to keep trains running
Mumbai, Sep 7: A railway engineer's efforts to do his bit to ensure smooth functioning of local trains when the services were paralysed due to heavy rains on Wednesday has earned him a praise from Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
According to a Western Railway (WR) official, the engineer, Harish Rathore, spent nearly 16 hours in flooded water monitoring the water level on tracks between Andheri and Vasai stations and clearing them.
The official said during the downpour, Rathore continuously coordinated with the city civic body to get the drains abutting the railway tracks cleared and accumulated water pumped out.
"Kudos to railway engineer Harish Kumar Rathore and his team who stood in flood water for 16 hrs to ensure smooth operation of local trains, amid heavy Mumbai rains. A fine example of how railway employees put in all efforts to ensure passenger safety," tweeted Goyal.
On Wednesday, the Kurla fire station recorded 141.97 mm rainfall in just 12 hours while the Santacruz observatory recorded 214.4 mm rainfall during the same period, bringing the country's financial capital to knees.
Inundation of railway tracks and inflow of water from the Mithi river had led to cancellation of several local trains, delayed flights and slowed road traffic.
1/3 During incessant heavy rains in Mumbai on 3/4.09.19, Sh. Harish Kumar Rathore, Sr. Sectional Engg, Bhayander led a team of 8 PWIs & 55 Track Maintainers. He remained stationed in field for almost 16 hours to monitor water level & brief control. #WRHeroes #SaluteToService pic.twitter.com/lLrvQQQtYi
— Western Railway (@WesternRly) September 5, 2019
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Nepal goes to polls in first general election since govt-toppling Gen Z protests last year
Kathmandu (PTI): Nepalese citizens on Thursday morning started to reach polling booths in all 165 constituencies amid tight security to cast their vote in the crucial general election, the first since a violent Gen Z protest that toppled the K P Sharma Oli-led government last year.
More than 18.9 million eligible Nepalese will be exercising their franchise to elect the 275-member House of Representatives from among the 3,406 candidates vying for 165 seats under direct voting, and 3,135 candidates vying for 110 seats through proportionate voting.
The voting started at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. The counting will start immediately after the ballot boxes are collected.
"Voting started in all the constituencies, including the southern plains, hilly area and the mountain region at 7 am," Election Commission spokesperson Narayan Prasad Bhattarai said.
“The election started in a peaceful environment across the country,” he added.
Addressing a press meet here on the eve of the polls, Acting Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari on Wednesday had said that all preparations for the election had been completed and urged voters to participate actively and enthusiastically in the democratic exercise.
In Kathmandu, the weather was fine, sky was clear and people were enthusiastically queuing up to cast their votes.
The Gen Z youth, through their two-day intensified protests on September 8 and 9, ousted Prime Minister Oli, chair of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) -- CPN-UML -- who was heading a coalition government with the backing of Nepali Congress that enjoyed nearly two-thirds majority support.
After Oli's ouster, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and appointed Sushila Karki as the caretaker PM.
The major issues raised by Gen Z are anti-corruption, good governance, an end to nepotism, generational change in political leadership, etc.
Starting Wednesday, Nepal has declared a three-day holiday for the polls.
There are a total of 10,967 polling booths and 23,112 polling centres, the Election Commission data showed. As many as 65 political parties are taking part in the election.
