Buses to have facilities for differently abled from March
New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Monday said that from March onwards buses will have facilities for differently abled passengers or passengers with reduced mobility. The Transport Ministry has notified amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 to this effect. The amendment provides for priority seats, signs, securing of crutches/canes/walkers, handrail/stanchions, controls at priority seats and wheelchair entry/housing/locking arrangement for wheelchair for divyangs. Such facilities will be checked and ensured at the time of fitness inspection for buses, said an official release. The draft rules to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, were published in July this year, inviting objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby. The government said that the notification has been issued after duly considering the objections and suggestions received from the public in respect of the said draft rules. (IANS)
Indian Navy bans smartphones, social media on bases, ships
New Delhi: After the recent arrest of seven navy personnel for allegedly leaking sensitive information to an espionage racket with links to Pakistan, the Indian Navy has issued direction to ban the use of all smartphones and social networking platforms onboard ships and naval bases. “All social networking platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other messengers from here on now will not be allowed at the naval bases and ships,” said a senior Indian Navy officer. The officer said that moreover no smartphones were allowed onboard ships and naval bases. On December 20, Intelligence agencies busted an espionage racket linked to Pakistan with the arrest of seven Indian Navy personnel and a hawala operator. The arrest of the seven navy officials from Mumbai, Karvar and Vishakapatnam for leaking sensitive information about the movements of warships and submarines to Pakistani agents had exposed lapses in the security apparatus placed around critical assets in India. “Three sailors were arrested from Visakhapatnam, two from Karwar and two from Mumbai,” said intelligence agencies, which busted the espionage racket being run by Pakistan. The agencies had stated that both Eastern and Western naval command centres, responsible for security of the maritime borders from China and Pakistan, were exposed to these Pakistan’s agents. (IANS)
Goa earned Rs 250 cr from Sunburn: Minister amid drug row
Panaji: Even as opposition parties in Goa kicked up a row alleging widespread use of drugs during the Sunburn festival, state Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Monday said the electronic dance music event should be held twice a year, claiming it had contributed Rs 250 crore to the state coffers. He also promised a detailed inquiry into the three deaths that took place in this year’s edition which started on Friday and culminated on Sunday. On Friday, two people from Andhra Pradesh had died in hospital after feeling uneasy while standing at the gates of the Sunburn venue at Vagatore beach in North Goa. On Sunday night, a visitor from Bengaluru complained of “extreme uneasiness” at the festival venue, dying minutes after being admitted in a hospital in Mapusa. While police claimed they are awaiting detailed post mortem reports, opposition Congress claimed “drug overdose” could not be ruled out in the deaths and hit out at Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for not being able to control the narcotics menace in the coastal state. Assuring a detailed inquiry into the deaths, Ajgaonkar on Monday said “no drugs were sold at the Sunburn festival venue”, adding “we made sure everyone who entered the venue was thoroughly checked”. “People had come to enjoy the music (at the festival). The response was overwhelming and during the three days, a turnover of Rs 250 crore was recorded solely due to Sunburn festival. All hotels in the vicinity were full,” he claimed. (PTI)
Dacoits hold family captive
Jaipur: An FIR was registered against six unidentified masked dacoits, who allegedly held a family captive in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district and fled with valuables worth Rs 40 lakh on Monday, police said. The incident happened in Sultana town falling under Chidawa police station area of the district where the the six armed dacoits barged into a residence of jewellery trader Pawan Soni in the early hours of Monday. The dacoits held the entire family captive at gunpoint and fled with jewellery and cash worth Rs 40 lakh, police said. The family members later informed their neighbours about the incident who informed the matter at Sultana police booth, they said. A case has been registered against the accused and a team of police officers are investigating the case, they added. (PTI)
Man performing stunts dies
Thane: A 20-year-old man died after he fell from a speeding local train while performing stunts near its door in Maharastra’s Thane district, railway police said on Monday. The incident took place last Thursday between Mumbra and Diva stations, an official said, adding that a friend of the deceased, identified as Dilshad Naushad Khan, was in the coach and recording a video of the stunts. In the video, which went viral on social media, Khan was purportedly seen leaning out of the train while standing precariously on its foot-board and holding on to the grab pole at the door. While leaning out of the door, he hit a pole by the side of the rail tracks and fell. Khan, who worked as an ambulance driver, was returning from Govandi in neighbouring Mumbai to Kalyan town here at that time, the official said. “After Khan fell, his friend took him to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Kalwa police in Thane were intimated about it by the hospital authorities,” he said. “The Kalwa city police registered an accidental death case and then transferred it to us as the incident took place under our jurisdiction,” Thane railway police inspector Smita Dhakne said. (PTI)
Five feared dead in chemical storage
Kandla: One person has been killed, and four are missing and feared dead in a fire accident in a chemical storage terminal at Kandla in Gujarat. The incident took place around noon on Monday, when a group of workers was involved in welding work at the storage tank. The tank containing 2,000 metric tons of methanol caught fire which then blew away the roof of the tank. Officials at the IMC terminal said, “Currently fire fighting is under progress by foam media by DPT fire brigade section, IMC team and other associated terminals.” The officials also said that to ensure the fire does not spread, cooling of another nearby tank is also being done with the help of medium velocity water sprinklers. In 2002, a similar accident had ocurred in Kesar terminal and it had taken three days to control it. (IANs)