Congress selects candidate for Ballary bypoll: Siddaramaiah clears the air
Bengaluru: The coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah has succeeded in uniting the Congress MLAs of Ballary district and district in-charge minister D.K. Shivakumar over the issue of choosing Congress candidate for the Ballary bypoll.
Though a series of meetings was conducted at the KPCC office for a couple of days, it was not possible to choose a Congress candidate for the upcoming Ballary bypoll. However, today Siddaramaiah attended the leaders meeting and cleared the air.
MLAs Tukaram, P.T. Parameshwar Naik, Anand Singh, and Anil Lad had expressed their opposition to MLA Nagendra's brother Venkatesh Prasad’s candidature. Also, they had not attended the meeting held at the KPCC office.
At a meeting held at KPCC office under the leadership of Siddaramaiah today, all the Congress MLAs of the district, and prominent party leaders participated and expressed their opinions. Except former MLA Anil Lad, all attended the meeting.
KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao, Bellary district in-charge minister D.K. Shivakumar and others were present.
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Railway minister announces launch of Kavach 5.0 for Mumbai's suburban trains
New Delhi (PTI): Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday announced the upcoming launch of the automatic train protection system Kavach 5.0 for Mumbai's suburban trains.
The railway ministry said the state-of-the-art safety and signalling system has been tailored for the suburban section in Mumbai.
"Kavach 5.0 is expected to significantly reduce the inter-train headway, enabling more trains to run safely and efficiently," it said.
Vaishnaw, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, interacted with reporters to highlight the transformative progress in railway infrastructure across the state.
According to the railway ministry, Vaishnaw emphasised that infrastructure development is the cornerstone for increasing suburban services and projects worth nearly Rs 17,000 crore, covering more than 300 kilometres of new lines, are currently underway at a rapid pace.
"These initiatives aim to decongest existing lines, improve service frequency and cater to the ever-growing demand of Mumbai's suburban commuters," the ministry said.
Announcing a major upgrade in passenger comfort, Vaishnaw said 238 new air-conditioned suburban rakes, uniquely designed keeping in mind the needs of Mumbai's commuters, would soon be introduced.
"A major announcement during the interaction was the doubling of the Gondia-Ballarshah railway line, a 240-km strategic corridor, with an investment of Rs 4,819 crore," the ministry said.
"This key project connects Vidarbha and Marathwada, easing congestion and enabling faster passenger and freight movement. It will also strengthen Maharashtra's rail links with Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, boosting regional trade and integration," it added.
This infrastructure push was announced on April 7, when the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved four projects of the railway ministry with a total cost of Rs 18,658 crore.
