Karwar: The Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) collected Rs 2.41 crore in fines and ticket charges from ticketless and unauthorized passengers during February as part of a special ticket-checking campaign conducted across the Konkan Railway route.

According to a press release issued by the corporation, the amount collected in February stood at Rs 2.41 crore, slightly lower than the Rs 2.53 crore collected during January.

The release stated that during February alone, railway staff conducted 873 special ticket-checking operations on the Konkan Railway route. During these drives, a total of 41,522 ticketless and unauthorized passengers were detected and fined, resulting in the collection of Rs 2.41 crore.

KRCL further said that since the beginning of the financial year 2025–26, a total of 10,368 special ticket-checking operations have been conducted up to the end of February.

During these operations, 4,54,849 ticketless and unauthorized passengers were identified, and a total of Rs 25.21 crore was collected as fines and deposited into the railway treasury.

The corporation stated that the special drives are being carried out with the support of railway officials and personnel of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) both in trains and at railway stations along the Konkan Railway route.

Officials of Konkan Railway have appealed to passengers travelling on the route to purchase valid tickets before boarding trains in order to avoid inconvenience.

The release also stated that ticket-checking drives will be intensified across all Konkan Railway routes in the coming days.

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Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.

The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.

Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.

Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.

Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.

Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.

“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.

Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.

The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.

Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”

“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.

Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.

“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.

“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.