UK elects first Dalit female mayor in London council
London(PTI): An Indian-origin politician from the UK's Opposition Labour Party, Councillor Mohinder K Midha, has been elected mayor of Ealing Council in west London, becoming the first female mayor of a local London council belonging to the Dalit community.
Midha was elected for the next year's term of 2022-23 at a council meeting on Tuesday.
We are so proud that Cllr Mohinder Midha has been elected Mayor of Ealing for the next year, the Labour Party in Ealing said in a statement.
The election is being celebrated by the British Dalit community as a proud moment.
The first ever Dalit woman mayor in the UK. A proud moment for us, said Santosh Dass, chair of the Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisation (FABO) UK, an umbrella group representing Dalit rights in the country.
Midha, who was re-elected as a Labour councillor for the Dormers Wells ward in the Ealing Council in the May 5 local elections in London, had been serving as the Deputy Mayor for the council previously.
Tackling the cost of living. Recovering from the pandemic. Fighting violent crime and antisocial behaviour. Fixing social care. Re-growing, re-wilding and recycling. Delivering more genuinely affordable homes, reads the local Labour Party manifesto she campaigned on.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
