Mangaluru central station to have 2 more platforms by September
Mangaluru(PTI): The Southern Railway (SR) is planning to complete the work on two new platforms at the Mangaluru central railway station by September next year.
SR general manager John Thomas, who visited the central railway station here on Tuesday and reviewed the ongoing work on the additional platforms, told reporters here that the pit line work at the station will be completed by March. The work on the new platforms will be taken up after that and completed within six months.
The GM said the new platforms will pave way for running more trains from the station and ease congestion, meeting the long-pending demands of the people from the region. Palakkad railway divisional manager Trilok Kothari was also present.
Members of West Coast Railway yatri abhivriddhi committee handed over a petition to Thomas seeking addition of second entry point to the station from the direction of Attavar and the extension of Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru junction Gomateshwara express day train till the central station.
The committee also sought the extension of Puttur passenger train till Subrahmanya road, extension of Mumbai CST Express train to central station and sanctioning a halt for Matsyagandha Express train at Mangaluru junction station. The general manager promised to consider their demands.
The GM said the Cheruvathur-Mangaluru passenger train which helped thousands of students from Kerala studying in Mangaluru will be reintroduced after assessing the Covid situation in the state.
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Not too many more vibrant democracies in the world than India: White House
Washington (PTI): There are not too many more vibrant democracies in the world than India, the White House has said, applauding the people of India for exercising their right to vote.
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby was responding to a question on the ongoing Indian elections in which more than 969 million people are exercising their right to franchise at one million polling stations to elect 545 Members of Parliament from thousands of candidates representing as many as 2,660 registered political parties.
The voting will conclude on June 1. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on June 4.
“Not too many more vibrant democracies in the world than India. And we applaud the Indian people for exercising, you know, their ability to vote, and to have a voice in their future government. And we wish them well throughout the process, of course,” Kirby told reporters at a news conference here.
Responding to another question, Kirby said the India-US relationship has strengthened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular during the last three years of the Biden administration.
“Our relationship with India is extremely close and getting closer,” he said.
“You saw it on a State Visit (last June). We launched all kinds of new initiatives, working on critical emerging technologies together, and bolstering and expanding the relevance of the Indo-Pacific quad, of course, which India is a part of. And then, just the people-to-people exchanges, and the military that we share with India,” Kirby said.
It's a very vibrant, very active partnership, he said.
"We are grateful for Prime Minister Modi's leadership,” said the senior White House official.
When asked if President Joe Biden believes that India and Japan are xenophobic countries, he replied in the negative and said the president was making a broader point.
“I mean, the president was making a broader point here about the vibrancy of our own democracy, here in the United States, and how inclusive and participatory it is,” Kirby said.
Biden earlier this month had called Japan and India "xenophobic", grouping them with Russia and China as countries that "don't want immigrants".
