Captain service launched in Karnataka Express train
Bengaluru, July 18 : The South Western Railway on Tuesday launched a Captain service in the Bengaluru-New Delhi Karnataka Express train to ensure comfortable journey to long-distance passengers, said an official.
"The senior-most train ticket examiner (TTE) will officiate as Captain of the train to look after passenger amenities and redress their grievances," said Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) R.S. Saxena while launching the service.
As a single point-man for about 2,000 passengers, the Captain will attend to complaints on cleanliness of coaches and toilets, water supply, functioning of fans, lights, charging points, air-conditioning and housekeeping.
"The Captain wears a red badge on his left hand to enable passengers identify and approach him for help during their 42-hour long journey. He will contact the staff concerned to address complaints on-board or at the next station," said Saxena.
The zonal railway will have a Captain in 76 express trains originating daily from Bengaluru to various destinations across the country.
"TTEs will look after the reserved coaches, while the Captain will supervise their working and attend to passengers in person or on mobile whose number will be messaged to them," said a statement from the divisional office.
Trains like Rajdhani Express, Duranto Express and Shatabdi Express, where train superintendents travel from end-to-end, will also have the senior-most nominated as Captain.
"We had introduced captains on a trial basis recently on Bengaluru-Kannur-Karwar express train and got favourable feedback on the service," added Saxena.
As one of the busiest railway stations, the Bengaluru city station daily handles about 210 trains, including about 109 to long-distances.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
