Gopeshwar (PTI): About 60 people were injured when a loco train collided with a goods train inside Pipalkoti tunnel of the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project tunnel in Chamoli district, officials said.

Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar said that there were a total of 109 people, mostly workers, on the train at the time of the accident, which occurred late Tuesday evening.

He said the train was evacuated and condition of all injured is stable.

The DM said that one train carrying people and another carrying materials were moving inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the project, being constructed by THDC (India), when they collided.

The Railways in a statement said the trains involved in collision did not belong to it but were part of a local arrangement.

"It is clarified that during construction of a hydro power project tunnel construction, an unfortunate event occurred due to local trolley transportation arrangement in Chamoli district Uttarakhand. This event has nothing to do with Indian Railways. The trains mentioned in news are not Indian Railway trains. This is a local arrangement done by Tunnel Project team for transportation," it said.

According to officials, loco trains are used inside tunnels for the transportation of workers, officials, and materials for construction work.

The Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Chamoli said that 10 injured have been sent to the district hospital in Gopeshwar for treatment.

The 444-megawatt hydroelectric project is being built on the Alaknanda River between Helang and Pipalkoti in Chamoli district.

The project is to generate 111 megawatts of electricity through four turbines. It is targeted to be completed by next year.

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New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the time has come for the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act in its true spirit and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with the quota for women in place.

In a letter to the floor leaders of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, ahead of the three-day special sittings of Parliament, Modi also asked all members to come together in one voice to pass the amendments to the women's reservation law, officially known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.

"After extensive deliberations, we have reached the conclusion that the time has now come to implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in its true spirit across the country.

"It is imperative that the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections are conducted with women's reservation in place," the Prime Minister said in his letter dated April 11.

The Budget Session of Parliament has been extended, and a special three-day sitting of the House has been convened on April 16 to 18.

The Women's Reservation Act will ensure an increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816, of which 273 will be reserved for women.

The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023.

However, the women's quota would have come into effect only after the completion of the delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2027 Census. This meant the reservation would not have become enforceable before 2034 if the present law remains as is.

To implement it from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, changes were needed in the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam; hence, the government is holding a special session to pass the amendments to the law.