PM Modi flags off three Vande Bharat Express trains in Bengaluru: WATCH
While the much-awaited Bengaluru–Belagavi Vande Bharat Express was flagged off by Modi in person; the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra–Amritsar, and Ajni (Nagpur)–Pune Vande Bharat services, were launched virtually, news agency PTI reported.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, were among others present at the event.
Bengaluru–Belagavi Vande Bharat Express: It will be the 11th Vande Bharat service to operate in Karnataka. 'This train connects Bengaluru, India's Silicon City, with Belagavi, a hub of premier medical and engineering institutions, fostering economic and educational opportunities,' officials told PTI.
According to officials, the Bengaluru–Belagavi Vande Bharat Express is the fastest train between these two cities, covering 611 km in just 8.5 hours. It will save approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes from KSR Bengaluru to Belagavi and 1 hour 40 minutes from Belagavi – KSR Bengaluru compared to existing services.
Route: The Route traverses Karnataka's rich sugarcane belt, passing through key cities such as Dharwad, renowned for its prestigious educational institutions; Hubballi, a thriving commercial and industrial center; Haveri, an emerging agricultural hub; Davangere, popular for textiles and agriculture; and Tumakuru, a growing industrial and educational center.
Timing: After the inauguration, the special inaugural train (Train No. 06575) will run from KSR Bengaluru to Belagavi, departing at 11:15 AM and reaching Belagavi at 8:00 PM the same day, with stops at Yesvantpur, Tumakuru, Davangere, SMM Haveri, SSS Hubballi, and Dharwad.
The flagging of these new Vande Bharat trains underlines the central government's efforts to rejuvenate Indian railways to provide a world-class travel experience to the people.
During his visit to Bengaluru, PM Modi will also inaugurate the Yellow line of Bangalore metro and undertake a metro ride from RV Road (Ragigudda) to Electronic City metro station today.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
19 minutes ago
- Hans India
CJI's intervention on stray dogs will delight animal lovers
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai's recent assurance that he would examine the Supreme Court's directive concerning stray dogs must be a welcome relief to animal lovers across the country. The directive, issued on August 11 by a bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, called for the removal of stray dogs from the streets of Delhi-NCR region, with instructions to relocate them to designated shelters. The order was framed to make all localities free from stray dogs, ostensibly to address growing public concerns about safety, hygiene, and civic order. However, the issue is far from one-dimensional. The debate over stray dog management in India has always been complex, drawing strong views from multiple stakeholders, including residents' associations, animal welfare activists, municipal authorities, legal experts and the citizens. While some view the large stray dog population as a pressing public health and safety problem, others see these animals as sentient beings deserving protection, compassion, and a dignified life. In recent years, there has been a rise in reported incidents of dog bites, often amplified by media coverage, which has intensified public calls for stricter action. On the other hand, animal rights groups argue that the abrupt removal of strays from their familiar environments can cause distress to the animals and may even be counterproductive if not supported by long-term, humane solutions. For them, sterilisation, vaccination, and community feeding under supervised conditions are proven, sustainable strategies to control stray populations while safeguarding public health. Gavai's intervention signals an awareness of this delicate balance. He has opened the doors for a more measured approach that considers both public safety and animal welfare. Such a stance could pave the way for a policy that is practical yet humane, and for judicial orders that encourages cooperation rather than confrontation between authorities and animal lovers. The responsibility for managing stray animals does not lie solely with the judiciary or the municipal authorities. Civil society organisations, residents' welfare associations, and all other individuals have a role to play. Humane stray management is resource-intensive and requires consistent funding, trained personnel, adequate shelter facilities, and active monitoring. Without these, relocation orders may end up being implemented haphazardly, potentially leading to overcrowded shelters, disease outbreaks among animals, or even clandestine culling—practices that would invite public outrage and legal challenges. Moreover, the issue extends beyond Delhi-NCR. Many Indian cities face similar challenges, where the stray dog population is the unintended consequence of inadequate waste management, urban sprawl, and a lack of robust sterilisation programs. Any decision made in the capital region could set a precedent—positive or negative—for the rest of the country. This makes it even more crucial that the path chosen balances compassion with pragmatism, and law with empathy. The way forward should ideally involve structured consultations between the judiciary, local bodies, veterinarians, NGOs, and community representatives. Such discussions could lead to a comprehensive framework that addresses root causes—uncontrolled breeding, lack of waste disposal systems, and insufficient public awareness—rather than simply dealing with the visible symptom of stray dogs on the streets. The CJI's statement offers a chance to transform what could have been a polarising order into a collaborative effort for humane and effective stray dog management. It is now up to all stakeholders to seize this opportunity and help achieve the intended purpose.
Scroll.in
19 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
Why India's plans to counter China's mega dam in Tibet may falter
The Yarlung Tsangpo river originates in the mountains of western Tibet, and flows eastwards through the Tibet Autonomous Region. It then enters Arunachal Pradesh, where it is known as the Siang. Then, it flows further downstream to Assam, from when it is widely known as the Brahmaputra. This river is currently the site of an intensifying conflict between India and China over the control, ownership and use of its waters. While the threat of competition for this water has always loomed large, it began to take firmer shape in July, when China began construction of a 60-gigawatt hydropower project in Medog, just 30 km north of Arunachal Pradesh. The dam is set to be the world's largest in terms of hydropower capacity – the current largest one, the Three Gorges Dam, also in China, has a capacity of 22.5 gigawatts. These plans have alarmed India. Ministers have described the dam as a 'water bomb' that China can weaponise – either by withholding water to India, or suddenly releasing it in large volumes, which can wreak destruction downstream. In response, India has been pushing forward with plans to build the 11-gigawatt Siang upper multipurpose project in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang district. The dam at Siang could help mitigate some of these probable risks of the Chinese dam, Indian authorities have argued. The government had been considering the project since 2017, when the Niti Ayog proposed it. In February 2022, the Ministry of Jal Shakti formed a technical group to finalise the dam's height. A month later, they recorded their findings in a report, asserting that the Siang Upper dam 'will act as a flood cushion in case of sudden release of flood due to breach in natural and man made storages' in China's proposed dam at Medog. The document noted that the dam would also help regulate glacial floods on the river, and thus minimise losses to local livelihoods. But experts warn that the Indian dam will be of limited use in these respects. Rather than offer any protection from China, India's dam will only serve as a marker of its claims over the river, experts argued. As India sees it, 'if they do not construct a dam on the Brahmaputra, then we will not have water rights over the river', said Sumit Vij, assistant professor at Netherlands-based Wageningen University, who has worked extensively on the Brahmaputra basin. The dam has also raised fears of damage to the local environment and destruction of livelihoods. Thirteen villages in Arunachal Pradesh are to be completely submerged, including agricultural fields where the Adi community grows ginger, cardamom, and paddy. Locals are also concerned that the dam will restrict sediment flow in the river. Communities in the region have been protesting against the project since 2024, noting that the government was pushing it through without adequately consulting them, and by deploying armed forces and police to quell objections. Such conflict is regrettable, particularly since, to achieve the tangible results of the kind the government seeks, 'there has to be a diplomatic solution, a dialogue solution, and not a dam solution', Vij noted. He added, 'If they get into this dam race, India will harm its own environment much more than what is expected to be harmed by China.' Scroll emailed the Ministry of Jal Shakti, seeking responses to questions about the rationale behind the construction of the dam and its planned functions. This story will be updated if it responds. Flood moderation or hydropower generation? The government intends for the Upper Siang dam to perform more than one function. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the dam 'is not just about generating power, but also about maintaining the natural flow of the Siang river and mitigating potential flood risks from water releases by China'. But experts argue that such a goal is unrealistic. If the Siang dam's main function is to mitigate against the risk of floods, they said, other functions, such as hydropower generation, would have to take a back seat. A key reason for this is that since the Siang dam is a hydropower project, water levels of its reservoir would typically be kept high. Soumya Dutta, a visiting senior fellow at Impact and Policy Research Institute who works on energy and climate, noted that 'for creating electricity, dam officials keep the reservoir levels at full capacity to maximise the energy potential'. If China withheld water or released excess water, the Siang dam would allow India to 'moderate these daily cycles of peaks and troughs of water for a few days'. But because it would have a limited buffer capacity, 'beyond that, if there is a heavy rainfall or a sudden release, the dam will not be able to hold it back', Dutta explained. This risk is exacerbated by the geographical limitations the Siang dam will face. Dutta noted that a crucial feature of a dam designed for flood control is a large reservoir. The government is proposing to build a reservoir in Siang – but the geography of the region will only allow for a narrow and deep reservoir, as opposed to the wide ones found in some dams elsewhere in India, like the Nagarjuna Sagar dam, jointly operated by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to control floods. In such broad reservoirs, flood control can be carried out even by keeping water levels 'just a little low', Dutta said. In deep reservoirs, however, maintaining a buffer capacity to guard against floods would mean necessarily keeping water levels much lower, which would impinge on hydropower generation capacity. Dams that prioritise hydropower generation are, in fact, generally prone to causing flooding when there is a sudden inflow of water into their reservoirs – Dutta noted that many independent experts argued that is what happened in the 2018 floods in Kerala. Indeed, concerns about the construction of the Siang dam do not only revolve around its efficacy – but also about the effects that it might have downstream in Assam, if the dam releases large volumes of water to prevent flooding around it. 'Unfortunately, there is no bioregional understanding of rivers,' in India, said Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, visiting associate fellow at Delhi-based Institute of Chinese Studies. Such an approach takes into account the fact that 'if you create something upstream of the river basin, it will have an impact downstream, and also vice-versa', he added. More deliberation needed The canyon where the Medog dam will be built is one of the deepest in the world, and plunges to depths of more than 5,000 metres. The river's fall over this canyon generates massive amounts of energy, making it an ideal site for a large hydropower plant. China has spent decades studying the site and drawing up plans for the dam's construction. Experts fear that if India now rushes to catch up with its neighbour, its own dam will not be built in the most optimal way. 'China has spent years studying the geomorphology and understanding the advantage of gradient that it has to build the dam there,' said Rahman. In this regard, India is '15-20 years behind China', Rahman said. At the moment, the government is attempting to conduct a survey, based on which it would draw up a 'pre-feasibility report' of the dam in Siang. This is only one of the first steps of the process, Rahman explained. 'You need to have a long-term research analysis in order to back up your structural interventions,' he said. This work would have helped India understand the area's hydrology more precisely, and identify potential sites for the dam. He further explained that such research could have helped minimise the likelihood of protests among local communities, since information about the project could have been communicated to people on the ground in a timely way. At present, he argued, sufficient hard data about the project has not been shared with local communities, which is leading to increased speculation among them. 'If India would have invested time and money in understanding the river basin in the last 20 years, India could have been in a much better position to design a dam that could perhaps counter the Medog dam,' Rahman said. No treaty India and China both feel a strong need to demonstrate ownership over the river in this region, experts noted, because there is no international law, transboundary institution, or treaty for the Brahmaputra basin that inscribes how its water should be shared. All the four countries that use the basin – China, Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh – have diverse interests, ranging from hydropower generation to flood management and economic development. But so far, discussions between them on cooperating over the river have been limited. In 1997, more than one hundred countries came together to adopt the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, which sets out a framework for countries that have to share waters. It mandates that signatories have to share hydrological, meteorological, hydrogeological and ecological data with each other, and that conflicts be resolved 'with special regard being given to the requirements of vital human needs'. But other than Bangladesh, none of the other countries in the Brahmaputra basin signed to be party to it. 'That made it very clear that India and China did not want to engage in a multilateral diplomatic negotiation where there could be a third-party mediation,' said Vij. 'It could have allowed for a more just, equal playing field for all actors, but the downside is that it would take longer time to negotiate between the countries.' Instead, India and China signed a memorandum of understanding in 2002 aimed at helping India take steps towards flood control and mitigate the risks of disasters. Under this memorandum, China would provide hydrological information of the river to India in both the flood and non-flood season. This memorandum was renewed in 2008 and 2013 – China temporarily paused it in 2017 after the two countries clashed in Doklam, and renewed it again in 2018. But the memorandum expired in June 2023 and has not been renewed since. In any case, Vij noted that as a mechanism, a memorandum of understanding 'can be a weak institutional mechanism for water-sharing'. Rahman added that while agreements act as 'bricks of confidence building', they are not as strongly backed by international law, and can be withdrawn more easily. In contrast, under international law, treaties are typically far more comprehensive, and carry more weight. Thus, they usually 'lead to cooperation and better understanding between the riparian states', said Vij. Indeed, though India and China signed the memorandum, the process of sharing data has been fraught, Vij wrote in a 2017 paper. Such sharing is typically a means of building trust between countries, but 'in the specific case of the Brahmaputra the lack of a data sharing procedure at the basin level has fostered mistrust between the riparian countries and hindered regional cooperation', he wrote. Further, he noted, 'The power asymmetry between the countries and the broader political context, which currently considers all hydrological data relating to international borders as classified, make the process of sharing data complex.' That has left the two countries in a race to create large infrastructure in the Himalaya, which can be disastrous not just to the topography, but also to local indigenous populations. 'In the way the dam construction is going on, it probably will not have an impact on what the Chinese are doing as much as it will have on their own population, people, nature and ecology,' said Vij.
Hans India
19 minutes ago
- Hans India
India's democracy is being stolen - One vote at a time
Authoritarianism is no longer a creeping threat in India; it is in full stride. For over a decade, the BJP-led NDA government under Narendra Modi has bent the nation's institutions to its will. The Election Commission (EDI) meant to be the impartial guardian of democracy now appears increasingly complicit in the very electoral malpractice it is sworn to prevent. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has, for years, warned of the Centre's heavy-handed pressure on election officials. Recently, he produced detailed evidence that exposes shocking loopholes in India's voting process revelations that suggest industrial-scale vote theft. The pattern is hard to ignore. After losing the Lok Sabha elections in Haryana and Maharashtra, the BJP returned to win the Assembly polls in those states just months later. In Maharashtra, over 6.5 million votes were recorded in a two-hour window after polls officially closed mathematically implausible. The Election Commission offered no explanation. The Congress party's forensic examination of recent polls reveals disturbing trends: duplicate voters, false addresses, bulk registrations at single homes, and misused voter applications. In Bengaluru's Mahadevapura constituency alone, over one lakh fraudulent entries were identified. They were enough to swing the seat, and with it, the BJP's narrow 32,000-vote win in Bengaluru Central in 2024. Nationally, more than 25 seats were won by margins smaller than this threshold. These are not isolated anomalies. Across India, voter rolls list people with no valid address, households with over a hundred registered voters, and individuals registered in multiple states. The Election Commission refuses to release this data in digital form, perhaps fearing what a proper audit might uncover. The rot extends beyond vote lists. CCTV footage has been withheld, VVPAT audits stonewalled, and procedural irregularities brushed aside. This is how public trust in elections is hollowed out from within. Having tasted the fruits of manipulated victories, the BJP now seeks to entrench itself through constitutional engineering. Its 'One Nation One Election' proposal is less about efficiency and more about locking in a power advantage. In Bihar, where Assembly polls loom, the party stands accused of plotting to remove over 6.5 million voters under the pretext of roll revision. The Supreme Court has had to compel the Election Commission to account for this purge. This is not mere political gamesmanship. It is the systematic dismantling of the world's largest democracy. If the ruling party believes it can win only by subverting the rules, then India's elections are no longer free and no longer fair. The Congress Party has vowed to confront this theft with hard evidence. The fight is no longer for power alone; it is for the survival of the democratic process itself. (The writer is the Chairman of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sanghatan, Telangana)
