Automated driving test track in Pajir to begin operations on August 18
MANGALURU: The newly inaugurated Automated Driving Test Track at Pajir, near Mudipu, Mangaluru, is set to become fully operational from August 18, 2025, Transport Department officials confirmed in a report published in The Hindu.
With an aim to reduce human error and ensure a transparent, objective assessment of driving skills, this advanced facility was inaugurated by Transport Minister B. Ramalinga Reddy on July 13, which is designed to streamline the driving licence test process through the use of sensors and monitoring systems.
Initially scheduled for commissioning within two weeks of inauguration, its launch was delayed due to heavy rains, which left the tracks slippery and posed safety concerns for applicants. “We postponed the commissioning as there was a genuine risk of candidates slipping during the trial. The track has since been thoroughly cleaned and is now deemed safe for use,” The Hindu quoted an official as saying.
The existing manual testing facility at Vamanjoor will conduct its final round of tests on August 16. From August 18 onward, all driving tests will be held exclusively at Pajir.
Senior RTO and Deputy Commissioner of Transport Shridhar K. Mallad said that candidates who have already booked slots post-August 18 will be required to appear at the new venue.
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Congress cites Maniben Patel's diary entries, asks Rajnath to apologise for Babri claim
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Saturday shared diary entries of Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter from a book to rebut Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's claim that India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and demanded that Singh apologise for spreading "falsehoods".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, claimed the defence minister was spreading falsehoods to “improve his relationship” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Here is Maniben's original diary entry in Gujarati on pages 212-213 in the book ‘Samarpit Padchhayo Sardarno’ by CA R S Patel 'Aaresh', published by Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, 2025,” Ramesh said on X, sharing screenshots of the relevant pages from the book.
“There is a huge difference between what is contained in the original diary entry and what Rajnath Singh ji and his fellow ‘distorians’ are propagating,” Ramesh said.
“The Defence Minister must apologise for the falsehoods he is spreading, simply to improve his relationship with the PM,” he claimed.
The Congress had earlier termed Singh's claim that Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds a “lie” and “WhatsApp university story”, and said the defence minister should not walk in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's path.
Addressing a gathering at Sadhli village in Gujarat's Vadodara district last Tuesday, Singh said Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel didn't allow his plans to succeed.
The BJP had cited a book by Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter to double down on Singh's claims, and said the first prime minister also said he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in south India despite their beauty.
“The source of what Rajnath Singh said is the 'Inside Story of Sardar Patel, Diary of Maniben Patel'," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi had said at a press conference at the party headquarters while responding to media queries on the issue.
Trivedi claimed that on Page 24 of the book, it is written that Nehru also raised the question of the Babri mosque, but Sardar Patel made it clear that the government could not spend any money on building a mosque.
