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Indian Express
25 minutes ago
- Business
- Indian Express
North-eastern Railway projects faced losses of over Rs 200 crore from natural disasters in 5 years: Railway Minister Vaishnaw
The Indian Railways has incurred losses worth over Rs 200 crore in the last five years due to the relentless impact of natural disasters such as floods and landslides on the projects in the Northeast. In a written response in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the geological weakness of the Northeast is always accounted for at the stage of design and implementation of Railway projects. These projects are being carried out by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone of the Indian Railways. 'Due to floods, landslides etc. in the last five years, some damage to railway tracks and structures took place in Northeast Frontier Railway which was assessed to be over Rs 200 crore. Geology of the North Eastern Region is such that it is prone to landslides,' said Vaishnaw. He added that for all major Railway projects in the hilly terrain (those in Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland), detailed geo-technical investigations and environmental impact assessments are carried out before going ahead with construction. 'These studies specifically assess slope stability, rock and soil characteristics, vegetation cover and hydrological patterns. Findings of these studies are used to anticipate the risk of landslides that can result from construction activities,' said the minister. According to Railway Ministry data, as of April 1, 2025, 12 railway projects (eight new lines and four doubling), totaling 777 km in length and costing Rs 69,342 crore, have been sanctioned for the region. Out of this, 278 km of length has already been commissioned at an expenditure of Rs 41,676 crore incurred up to March 2025. While the Bairabi-Sairang line, which connects Mizoram's capital Aizawl for the first time, is set to be operational, some of the key ongoing projects in the Northeast are the Dimapur-Kohima New Line (Dhansiri-Zubza) to connect Nagaland's capital Kohima, the Murkongselek-Pasighat new line, the Sivok-Rangpo new line to connect Sikkim to the national network for the first time and the Jiribam-Imphal new line. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
How a telecom software is helping Mumbai cops recover stolen, lost phones
MUMBAI: Forty-two-year-old head constable Parag Kapdanis, attached to the Kurla police station, is constantly hooked to a phone. He isn't chatting or playing games; rather, he is trying to convince people residing in far-off places to return the mobile handsets they are using, as the instruments have been reported stolen or missing, a cognisable crime. Thanks to the efforts of the policemen like Kapdanis, his zone was able to return around 634 mobile phones lost or stolen since 2023 to their rightful owners. A police officer told HT that after the location of a person who had a stolen/lost phone in his possession was traced—which was most often out of Maharashtra—a long process began to recover the phone. A police officer told HT that after the location of a person who had a stolen/lost phone in his possession was traced—which was most often out of Maharashtra—a long process began to recover the phone. 'We can't go to every location for every single phone, as the expense on this is considerable,' he said. 'So we call the SIM card holder and let them know that the mobile phone in their possession has been reported stolen or missing and that they should immediately return it or face criminal action. We tell them to courier the phone to the local police station where the case is registered.' Thanks to the Central Equipment Identity Registry (CEIR), an initiative of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the recovery of stolen or lost mobile handsets has gone up considerably, said a police officer. 'After the introduction of CEIR, we have deployed dedicated policemen like Kapadnis to trace and bring back missing mobile phones,' he said. According to the replies given by the police to a Right to Information (RTI) application, in 2019, a total of 43,397 mobile handsets were reported stolen or lost in the city and only 2,088 were recovered. In 2020, the figure came down to 39,819 but only 1,916 of the handsets were recovered. Similarly, in 2021, out of 51,030 stolen or lost phones, only 3,230 were recovered. Pramod Todarmal, senior police inspector at Kurla police station, said that the missing handsets were sent to far-off places like the northern and north-eastern states. 'Earlier, we used to only get the mobile number whenever a stolen or lost mobile handset was restarted and a new SIM card was inserted in it,' he said. 'Now, CEIR provides us with the name and address of the individual using the handset. This helps us trace and recover the phones.' The Kurla police station recovered around 126 phones in June this year. Recently, the Cuffe Parade police too used CEIR to track down an army jawan who had stolen 29 mobile phones left for charging in the Colaba Military Camp. When the handset owners approached the Cuffe Parade police station, the phones' IMEIs—the unique number associated with the handset—were blocked on the CEIR portal. After almost a month, the jawan, identified as 24-year-old B Alfa Rabohi Beho, believing that the police would be off his trail, inserted a SIM card into one of the stolen phones. The CEIR system immediately sent a message to the police, who tracked his location to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. A team under DCP Pravin Munde then brought him back to the city and recovered 20 phones from him. 'Under the guidance of the police commissioner, we are continuously trying to trace more and more stolen and lost mobile phones,' said Mohit Garg, deputy commissioner of police, Zone II. 'When a mobile phone is reported stolen/ missing, we insert the IMEI on the CEIR portal and block it. CEIR is connected to the IMEI database of all the mobile operators and acts as a central system for all network operators to share details of blacklisted mobile devices, and ensures that devices blacklisted in one network do not work on another even if the SIM card in the device is changed.' Garg said that once the data, like the IMEI number and billing details, was filled in and the phone blocked, whenever a new SIM card was inserted, two messages were generated—one to the police station where the theft or loss was reported and the other to the complainant. 'The police then track down the phone via the newly inserted SIM card,' added Garg, whose team returned around 166 stolen mobile phones in 2023, 188 in 2024 and 112 so far this year to their rightful owners. The officer pointed out that Section 314 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita punished dishonest misappropriation of property and Section 317 dealt with receiving stolen property. 'Using these sections, we send notices to the users of the stolen or lost phones and prompt them to send them to the police stations where the complaints are registered,' he said. This year, so far, the Mumbai police's Zone V, headed by DCP Ganesh Gawade, has recovered and returned around 634 mobile phones. Zone II under DCP Garg returned around 125 mobile phones valued at around ₹15 lakh while Zone X recovered and returned around 344 mobile phones valued at around ₹32 lakh. 'The country-wise recovery rate is 14.4% through the CEIR portal, but in Mumbai the recovery percentage stands at 10.1%,' said an official from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). 'Andaman and Nicobar has the highest recovery rate of 36% and Mizoram 30%. Since 2019 DoT has received around 34 lakhs block requests.' In recent years, chain snatchers and pickpockets had switched to robbing mobile handsets, especially on the suburban railway network. The police have in the past busted several gangs that erase IMEI and install another IMEI in the stolen phones. At times, the thieves also separate the parts and sell the accessories. But, with the introduction of CEIR, police officers believe that the menace of stealing mobile handsets will come to a halt.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
HC refuses to quash FIR against former medical dean in Rs 550cr procurement scam
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court has refused to quash an FIR against Dr P D Vithalani, former dean of multiple govt medical colleges, who is facing allegations of administrative and financial irregularities in the procurement of medical equipment worth Rs 550 crore. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The FIR was registered by Vadodara police following an order by a sessions court. The complaint was filed by Dr Amal Bhattacharya, an associate professor, who alleged that Vithalani abused his authority as dean by appointing and promoting ineligible doctors, shielding them when they were found engaged in private practice. He also accused Vithalani of misappropriating government funds through inflated bills and bogus transactions related to the procurement process. Additionally, Bhattacharya claimed that Vithalani had his office pay his electricity bills. The allegations were based on information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. After the police initially took no action, Bhattacharya approached a magisterial court. When the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) rejected his application, he filed a revision petition before a sessions court, which subsequently directed the registration of an FIR in 2013. Following this, Vithalani moved the HC seeking to quash the FIR and all related proceedings, arguing that the complaint was malicious and driven by personal vendetta. He contended that the appointments and promotions were carried out legally, and that the electricity bill in question had been recovered by the department following an objection. He also denied any wrongdoing in the procurement process. However, the high court considered the report submitted by the investigating officer, which indicated a prima facie misuse of authority in the appointments and promotions. Regarding the procurement allegations, the court observed, "Prima facie material collected in the investigation supports the allegation of a scam in the purchase of medical instruments as also the involvement of the petitioner." Justice J C Doshi concluded, "The FIR establishes a cognizable offence against the petitioner." He dismissed Vithalani's plea, calling it "frivolous, vexatious, and devoid of merit."
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
RTI shows zero progress on outer ring road in 24 months
T'puram: Even as state govt issued a two-month ultimatum to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to complete land acquisition and compensation disbursal for outer ring road (ORR) project from Vizhinjam to Navaikulam, RTI revelations show that the project did not move beyond its planning stage for the past two years. According to a Right to Information (RTI) reply received by local resident and affected landowner K Raveendran Nair on June 19, 2025, from the NHAI, the detailed project report (DPR) is still under preparation. Shockingly, this is the same status that was conveyed to him two years ago in a previous RTI reply dated June 27, 2023. Both responses were signed by NHAI project director Debaprasad Sahoo, indicating no visible progress over the last 24 months. In the latest RTI reply, Sahoo wrote, "Preparation of DPR is under progress. Hence, acquisition has not been started." This aligns with the earlier reply from 2023, exposing the stagnation that continues to plague the crucial infrastructure project. The ORR, spanning approximately 78km, is aimed at easing traffic congestion in Thiruvananthapuram and linking major hubs including the Vizhinjam port and NH-66 at Navaikulam. The project, originally conceived over a decade ago, is essential for decongesting city roads and boosting port-related logistics. However, without completion of DPR, the land acquisition process cannot proceed, effectively stalling all subsequent steps including compensation to affected parties. This directly contradicts state govt's recent push to expedite the project with revenue and transport departments coordinating efforts to clear bottlenecks. RTI applicant, Nair, whose land falls within the proposed alignment, expressed deep frustration. "For two years, the status has not changed. They are giving the same answer again. How long are they planning to fool the public? If there is no DPR, there is no acquisition and the project is going nowhere," he said. Nair has been advocating for transparency and clarity regarding the acquisition and compensation timelines, noting that affected landowners have been left in the dark despite the project being featured in multiple budget announcements. When contacted, Sahoo was unavailable for a comment. Meanwhile, a senior NHAI official, on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the delay. "DPR preparation is nearing completion and we hope to submit it to the Centre soon. We understand the frustration on the ground, but finalising a DPR for such a large-scale project is complex. Still, we aim to complete it within the next few months," the official said. Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari recently assured state govt that final approval for DPR would be granted by the end of July. Once that approval comes through, compensation disbursal and the tendering process can only begin. State PWD minister P A Mohamed Riyas also promised that the approval would be received by the end of July.
Indian Express
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
First announced in Budget 2008-09, 58-km railway project in Bihar's Kosi-Seemanchal region to finally get started
The Ministry of Railways has decided to commence the 58-km Kursela-Bihariganj New Line project, which falls in the Kosi-Seemanchal region of Bihar, 17 years after it was first announced. In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the project could not be taken up earlier because of low traffic projection. 'Kursela-Bihariganj (58 Km) New Line and Jalalgarh-Kishanganj (51.87 km) New Line projects were included in the Budget 2008-09. However execution of these projects could not be taken up due to low traffic projections. Subsequently, several representations were received to revive these two projects and after sanction of Bikramshila-Katarea New Line project, Kursela-Bihariganj New Line has become an operational requirement. As such, it has been decided to take up these projects,' said Vaishnaw. Officials said that an allocation of Rs 170.8 crore has been provided in the financial year 2025-26 for these projects. The 26.23-km Bikramshila-Katreah project with a bridge over river Ganga was sanctioned in August 2024. The total cost of the project is Rs 2,549 crore. This project is in the vicinity of Tejnarayanpur-Sahibganj (35 km) which could not be taken forward due to low traffic projections. The outlay for the project has been kept as Rs 64.05 crore in FY26. Vaishnaw added that a survey for 92-km Bihariganj-Virpur via Murliganj, Triveniganj, Bhimnagar new line project has been taken up and field survey has been completed. In response to another question in the Lok Sabha, Union minister Vaishnaw said a total of eight surveys, covering a length of 1,351 km, have been taken up to improve the connectivity in Bihar. This includes Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Kiul third and fourth line, Chhapra-Katihar third and fourth line, Bihta-Aurangabad new line, Rampurhat-Dumka-Bhagalpur doubling, and Bakhtiyarpur-Tilaiya doubling, among others. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
