Railways Ministry refuses to shift Maharaja Saloon Coach from Delhi National Rail Museum to Mysuru
Mysuru: The Ministry of Railways has turned down the local MP’s request to shift the Mysore Maharaja Saloon Coach, which is currently placed at the National Rail Museum in New Delhi, to the Mysuru Rail Museum.
Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar and his predecessor Pratap Simha in 2022 had requested that the coach be shifted. The MPs had stated that Mysuru was the seat of power of the Mysore Maharajas and placing the coach for display at the city museum rather than in New Delhi made greater sense, The Hindu has reported.
The Ministry of Railway, in its official response dated September 30, called the saloon coach of the Mysore Maharaja, which was more than 125 years old, one of the prestigious exhibits at the National Rail Museum and explained that it could suffer irreparable damage during the long-distance transportation from New Delhi to Mysuru.
Aashima Mehrotra, Executive Director, Heritage, Railway Board, addressed a letter to the General Manager of the South Western Railway, stating that the Mysuru Rail Museum already has the Maharani’s Royal Carriage and a dining-cum-kitchen car as an exhibit.
The Railway authorities had reportedly not literally rejected the MP’s plea to shift the coach to Mysuru, the local authorities have drawn this inference based on the contents of the letter from the higher authorities. The communiqué from the Railway Board has also stated that a virtual tour of the Maharaja’s Saloon was accessible to all on the Google Art and Culture platform, which has also been considered a clarification that the Maharaja’s saloon coach would not be shifted.
The saloon was used by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and the coach was built in 1899 at the Bangalore Workshop of Mysore State Railway, reportedly as a three-carriage rake inclusive of the Maharani’s coach and the dining-cum-kitchen car. The undercarriage of the coach was designed in a manner that would enable its use on broad gauge and metre gauge tracks as well, sources added. The cost of fabricating and building the coach was ₹29,508 each and the Maharani’s coach was built in 1914.
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Woman in labour dies while being transported in ambulance lacking oxygen support
Palghar (PTI): A 26-year-old pregnant woman from Maharashtra's Palghar district died while being taken to hospital in an ambulance which was not equipped with oxygen and other necessary facilities, authorities said on Wednesday.
Palghar's Civil Surgeon Dr Ramdas Marad said the health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region.
The woman, who was in labour pain, was brought to a rural hospital here in a critical state on Tuesday evening.
"If she had come earlier, we could have saved her," the health official said.
Palghar Lok Sabha member Dr Hemant Savara said the health department should take necessary action into the matter and ambulance services should have adequate facilities.
Pinki Dongarkar, resident of Sarni village, went into labour on Tuesday evening.
Her family immediately rushed her to Kasa rural hospital, but due to the critical nature of her condition, the staff there referred her to neighbouring Silvassa city (in the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) for further medical attention.
However, despite frantic attempts by her family to secure an ambulance equipped with oxygen and necessary medical facilities through the '108' emergency service, their requests went unanswered, a health official said.
They were eventually provided with a regular ambulance by the Kasa rural hospital.
While en route to Silvassa, the woman succumbed to complications and the foetus also did not survive, health officials confirmed.
Dr Marad said the woman was brought to the Kasa rural hospital in a critical state.
According to him, the woman suffered from a condition called Intrauterine Fetal Death (IUFD), where the foetus died in the womb. The exact time of the foetal death could not be determined.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the woman was semi-conscious and showed signs of severe infection.
On issues with the 108 emergency ambulance services, which are privately operated, Dr Marad said the ambulance might have been unavailable due to high demand.
The health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region, he said.
Talking to PTI, Palghar BJP MP Savara said, "This is a very sad incident. The health department should take necessary action in this connection. Also, such an incident should not happen in future for this reason."
"The ambulance services should have adequate oxygen and cardiac support facilities. Also, a doctor is required to accompany the patient. I will follow it up with the government," he said.
CPI (M) leader Vinod Nikole, the newly-elected assembly member from Dahanu in Palghar, said he had raised the issue in the House during his last term, but no action was taken.
He criticised the government over "indifference" towards improving healthcare facilities, particularly in tribal areas, and accused the state of prioritising other programmes, such as the Ladki Bahin Yojana, over the urgent needs of healthcare in rural regions.
