Thane train tragedy: Centre, Maharashtra working on master plan to avoid mishaps on local suburban trains, says CM Fadnavis
Taking lessons from the Thane train tragedy, the Central and State governments are working on a master plan with adequate measures to avoid mishaps on local suburban trains and ensure passenger safety, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday.
Reflecting on the train tragedy on Monday that claimed four lives and left many injured, Fadnavis admitted that the delay in the completion of Metro railways has proved detrimental in decongesting crowded local trains, he admitted.
'Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held two-hour-long discuss with me post incident on Monday. We deliberated on effective measures to address the problems of overcrowding in local trains during the peak hours,' the CM told reporters in Mumbai as part of a media interaction organised to outline the achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government in 11 years.
The accident occurred after several passengers fell off two overcrowded moving trains near Mumbra railway station in Thane.
'Amongst the measures under consideration is putting doors to avoid mishap. When we say doors in local trains, it will be designed completely with adequate ventilation,' he said.
The CM admitted that the local trains are overcrowded during peak hours.
According to Fadnavis, the Mumbai local trains got maximum funds during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regimes in the last 11 years.
CM Fadnavis said that the government is planning to operate air-conditioned local trains without hiking the passenger fares.
'At the same time, we will ensure the commuters are not financially burdened. The ticket fares will be affordable,' Fadnavis revealed.
'Whether it was modernisation, upgradation of tracks, laying new railway lines, improving basic amenities, elevators in railways stations, expansion work and adding new railway lines, a lot of work took place in the last 11 years for which there was no paucity of funds from the Centre. Yet, train incident on Monday was unfortunate. We have to learn lessons from it and provide measures to avoid any mishap,' he noted.
The Thane train accident occurred due to a sudden jerk when one of the trains navigated a sharp curve between Diva and Mumbra stations, leading to the passengers on footboards of the trains bumping into each other and falling off, according to officials.
The Metro project, which Fadnavis has fast-tracked since his first tenure in 2014-2019, was allegedly stalled during the Uddhav Thackeray government of 2019-22. Though CM Fadnavis did not name any leader or party, the mention of the Metro delay was a subtle comment on the Opposition, which is questioning the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti government for the tragic train incident.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
18 minutes ago
- Indian Express
D for dope test returns to Punjab politics vocabulary as Ludhiana West bypoll heats up
A demand for legal cultivation of poppy in drug-hit Punjab has triggered a war of words between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress ahead of the high-stakes June 19 Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll, with leaders challenging each other to take dope tests. Making a case in favour of legalisation of poppy cultivation, Ludhiana MP and Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday said that consumption of poppy was less harmful than synthetic drugs. Ruling out any possibility of meeting the demand, state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday demanded Warring undertake a dope test and accused him of 'promoting drug culture'. Cheema also held the previous Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP governments responsible for the 'alarming rise of drug abuse in Punjab'. 'It was during their terms that drugs were sown in Punjab's soil. The AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is now committed to uprooting this menace,' he said. Warring almost immediately responded and urged Cheema not to politicise the issue. 'I welcome Cheema's suggestion (of me taking a dope test)… I am ready for the test but I will get it done along with Cheema. Before that, CM Mann should also undergo the test… I raised the issue of opium cultivation as the number of deaths due to drug overdose have been on the rise. The cultivation of poppy can put an end to this,' he said. Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa too echoed Warring's views. 'I have been suggesting for a while now that all leaders, starting with the CM, must take the test…' he said. Terming the issue a 'diversionary tactic', state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar said, 'As the bypoll is round the corner, politics is being played over the issue to divert the people from real ones.' The standoff comes amid the Mann government's crackdown on the drug menace to make a 'drug-free Punjab', a pre-poll promise of the AAP. The Punjab Police has filed 11,156 FIRs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act between April 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. The Punjab and Haryana High Court in January 2023 also weighed in on the issue. 'The lives of citizens are being destroyed due to the selling of these banned substances… There is an alarming spike in the number of people buying and selling these contraband in the country, especially in Punjab, which needs to be controlled in an effective manner so as to minimise the said offence, if not to eradicate,' the court held, while hearing the anticipatory bail plea of a person accused of peddling drugs. In March 2023, then Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh told the Assembly that the number of individuals grappling with addiction stood at 10 lakh. Now new to Punjab's politics Incidentally, demanding testing for drugs is not new in Punjab's politics. In 2018, with former CM Amarinder Singh at the helm, state minister Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa had demanded dope tests for all government employees after several people died of drug overdose. As employee unions demanded that leaders take the test first, several MLAs and ministers volunteered for it, before the government took a call. First to get himself tested for drugs was Punjab AAP chief and then Sunam MLA Aman Arora. Tripat Bajwa himself took a dope test and was followed by a few MLAs, including then Speaker Rana K P Singh. In 2015, a similar demand was put forward by the then Opposition Congress, which demanded SAD and BJP ministers undergo the test after then DSP Jagdish Singh Bhola, an alleged drug kingpin, was nabbed. The upcoming bypoll, necessitated after sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi 'accidentally' shot himself to death in January, has turned into a prestige battle for the AAP as it comes close on the heels of its drubbing in the February Delhi Assembly polls, where party bigwigs including party chief Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia lost. The Congress is also going all out to wrest the seat from the AAP. The AAP has fielded Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora for the bypoll. He will be up against former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu of the Congress, the Akali Dal's Parupkar Singh Ghumman and Jiwan Gupta of the BJP.
The Hindu
20 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Cabinet approves two multitracking projects across Jharkhand, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) two railway projects covering seven districts in Jharkhand, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with a total cost of ₹6,405 crore. One of them is the doubling of the 133-km-long Koderma-Barkakana track, which not only passes through a major coal-producing area of Jharkhand but also serves as the shortest and a more efficient rail link between Patna and Ranchi. The second project is the doubling of the 185-km Ballari-Chikjajur track that traverses through Ballari and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. According to the government, the approved multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to approximately 1,408 villages, which have a population of about 28.19 lakh. 'These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, iron ore, finished steel, cement, fertilisers, agricultural commodities, petroleum products, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 49 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum),' it said. The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals are poised to streamline operations and alleviate congestion, a government press note said. 'The projects are in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modiji's vision of a New India, which will make people of the region 'Atmanirbhar' by way of comprehensive development in the area which will enhance their employment/self-employment opportunities,' it said. The Railway Ministry said that the projects are a result of the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity which have been possible through integrated planning and will provide seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods and services. 'The two projects covering seven districts across the states of Jharkhand, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 318 Kms,' the Ministry added. Talking about their environmental benefits, the Ministry said that the Railways, being an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimising the logistics cost of the country, reduce oil imports (52 crore litres) and lower CO 2 emissions (264 crore kg), which is equivalent to the plantation of 11 crore trees.
India Today
22 minutes ago
- India Today
Why Mamata invoked PoK as Modi govt's ‘missed opportunity'
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, on June 10, questioned the Narendra Modi government's handling of national security following the terror strike in Kashmir's Pahalgam and suggested that India had missed a rare strategic opportunity to take control of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) during the subsequent military offensive.'There was a need to teach them a lesson; and we salute the bravery of our armed forces. India had an opportunity to take control of PoK,' Mamata said in the legislative mincing words in holding the Centre accountable for the April 22 Pahalgam attack, she said: 'The Pahalgam attack is the result of the Centre's callousness. Why were no security forces or police personnel present at the site?' She also took a swipe at the prime minister, remarking that 'PM Modi is only busy advertising himself', and accused the BJP of 'trying to politicise the valour of the armed forces'.Mamata unequivocally praised the armed forces for their precision strikes inside Pakistan. Her government moved a resolution in the legislative assembly condemning the Pahalgam massacre and hailing India's military response. Though the resolution conspicuously omitted the term 'Operation Sindoor', it recorded the assembly's 'gratitude and appreciation for the coordinated efforts of the Indian armed forces in destroying major terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and PoK'.advertisement 'This House strongly condemns this brutal attack [in Pahalgam] and at the same time salutes the discipline, dedication and courage shown by different wings of the Indian armed forces in combatting terrorist activities and safeguarding the sovereignty of the nation,' the resolution stated, also acknowledging the 'extraordinary display of unity, compassion and resilience' by the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of the tragedy. Mamata also questioned why the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack hadn't been apprehended comments, especially her assertion about PoK and criticism of the Centre's diplomatic failure, gained attention. 'Not sure if our international diplomacy is having issues. Pakistan received loans from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) instead of being cornered globally,' she said, expressing doubt over India's ability to isolate Pakistan on the world the resolution was passed unanimously, it drew sharp criticism from the BJP. Party leader Agnimitra Paul questioned the omission of the term 'Operation Sindoor' in the official resolution. 'What kind of appreciation is this when the name Operation Sindoor hasn't even been mentioned in the resolution?' she asked, implying political double accused Mamata and the Trinamool Congress of posturing for international audiences. 'On the one hand, she is sending Abhishek Banerjee in the all-party delegation. He, while abroad, is painting a good picture that the Trinamool Congress is with the central government and our prime minister. However, the moment he comes back to India, he begins to demean and abuse our PM. Under whose leadership was all of this achieved?' she BJP's counterattack extended to Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Suvendu Adhikari, who accused the Trinamool Congress of failing to maintain consistency in its stance. While Adhikari's remarks were not included in the assembly proceedings, his party's criticism made clear that the political fallout of the Pahalgam attack and its military aftermath was far from Trinamool MLAs moved a breach of privilege motion against Adhikari for allegedly making defamatory remarks outside the assembly and claiming that Mamata Banerjee had 'praised Pakistan' more eloquently than Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. Ministers, including Chandrima Bhattacharya and Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, signed the motion, with Firhad Hakim expected to join in. Assembly speaker Biman Banerjee confirmed receipt and may refer it to the privilege committee. Earlier, Adhikari had been suspended in February for unparliamentary the debate continues over how the government had handled the April 22 terror strike and Pakistan thereafter, Mamata's speech in the legislative assembly has shifted attention to strategic questions about India's foreign policy, domestic security gaps, and the Centre's 'missed opportunities' in leveraging military momentum for long-term geopolitical to India Today Magazine
