Latest news with #ChhathPooja
News18
3 days ago
- News18
Railways' Chhath, Diwali Gift: 20% Rebate On Return Fare For Round Trips Booked Beyond October 13
Last Updated: The scheme aims to spread out passenger traffic during the festive season by incentivising early and structured booking of both onward and return journeys The Indian Railways will offer a 20 per cent rebate on the base fare of the return journey for passengers booking a round trip starting October 13, according to a Ministry notification. The scheme applies to onward travel between October 13 and 26, with the return journey falling between November 17 and December 1. Diwali falls on October 21 and Chhath Pooja on October 28, followed by the peak wedding season. The scheme aims to spread out passenger traffic during the festive season by incentivising early and structured booking of both onward and return journeys. It encourages balanced utilisation of trains from both directions during periods when one-way demand is much higher. Tickets must be booked sequentially—the onward ticket first, followed by the return ticket using the connecting journey feature. The offer is valid for the same set of passengers, same class, with confirmed tickets only in both directions. It is also only for the same origin–destination pair, meaning if the onward ticket is from Patna to New Delhi, the return ticket must be from New Delhi back to Patna. Passengers will not be entitled for any refund of fare for the tickets booked under this scheme. The scheme will be for all classes and in all trains, including special trains, except trains with Flexi fare. The ministry also clarified that no modification will be allowed on these tickets in either of the journeys. 'In order to avoid rush, ensure hassle free booking as well as facilitate passengers and redistribute the peak traffic for larger range during peak festival seasons and ensure both side utilisation of trains including special trains it has been decided to formulate an experimental scheme named as round-trip package for festivals rush on discounted fare," the notification reads. During October–November 2024, the Railways ran 7,724 special trains to manage festive demand, carrying more than 20 crore passengers. Between October 1 and November 5 alone, 4,521 special trains transported 65 lakh passengers. Both Diwali and Chhath that year fell in the first half of November. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Hindu
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bihari migrants in Bengaluru in dilemma over SIR
Migrant labourers from Bihar living in Bengaluru are divided over whether to return to their hometowns to fill out the enumeration form issued by the Election Commission as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. In the lead-up to the Bihar elections, expected to be held in November, the Election Commission is undertaking a voter verification drive, the first in 22 years. Many Bihari migrants working in the city expressed mixed reactions when The Hindu spoke to them. Most of them cited time constraints, travel expenses, and a tedious process, even as the Election Commission continues to push the SIR aggressively. Midway through work Guddu Kumar, a native of Chhapra in Bihar, explained that workers usually travel home in groups for extended periods after completing their contracted work. However, at the moment, they are unable to go either alone or as a group, because they are in the middle of a project. 'If we leave midway and stay back for a long time, the current manager won't re-hire us when we return. Finding a new job again is a tedious task,' said Kumar. His co-workers at the construction site agreed with him. Ashu Raj, who works at a construction site in Ejipura, said that returning home now would be difficult because they would have to travel again for the elections and the upcoming festivals. During festivals 'Diwali and Chhath Pooja are the two festivals we always look forward to. If we go now, it will be hard to afford another trip soon, especially since many of us just returned in February,' Mr. Raj said. He added that some managers withhold part of the workers' salary and release it only when they go home, so many currently lack the savings needed for travel. A contractor, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed this. 'It's not a very common practice, but yes, some managers do withhold wages to ensure workers don't leave a project halfway,' he said. When asked whether they were concerned about missing the chance to vote, some workers said the hassle of going back and forth isn't worth it. They believe and hope the process will be available again when they return home for the festivals. Potential consequences However, others were more cautious and determined to participate in the process, fearing potential consequences. 'There are talks that the government might stop issuing rations and other essential benefits to those who don't complete the SIR. If that happens, our families back in the village will suffer,' said Ramesh, a tile worker near Suddaguntepalya. A few workers, whose names were already included in the 2003 revision, said their families were able to complete the current process on their behalf by submitting identity documents, so they didn't have to travel back. However, officials did not accept documents in the absence of voters if they were registered after 2003. Though EC has given the option of online registration, most The Hindu spoke to said they were unaware of it. Some said they did not have the necessary documents in Bengaluru to complete the process online.
The Hindu
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bihari migrants in Bengaluru are in dilemma over SIR
Migrant labourers from Bihar living in Bengaluru are divided over whether to return to their hometowns to fill out the enumeration form issued by the Election Commission as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. In the lead-up to the Bihar elections, expected to be held in November, the Election Commission is undertaking a voter verification drive, the first in 22 years. Many Bihari migrants working in the city expressed mixed reactions when The Hindu spoke to them. Most of them cited time constraints, travel expenses, and a tedious process, even as the Election Commission continues to push the SIR aggressively. Midway through work Guddu Kumar, a native of Chhapra in Bihar, explained that workers usually travel home in groups for extended periods after completing their contracted work. However, at the moment, they are unable to go either alone or as a group, because they are in the middle of a project. 'If we leave midway and stay back for a long time, the current manager won't re-hire us when we return. Finding a new job again is a tedious task,' said Kumar. His co-workers at the construction site agreed with him. Ashu Raj, who works at a construction site in Ejipura, said that returning home now would be difficult because they would have to travel again for the elections and the upcoming festivals. During festivals 'Diwali and Chhath Pooja are the two festivals we always look forward to. If we go now, it will be hard to afford another trip soon, especially since many of us just returned in February,' Mr. Raj said. He added that some managers withhold part of the workers' salary and release it only when they go home, so many currently lack the savings needed for travel. A contractor, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed this. 'It's not a very common practice, but yes, some managers do withhold wages to ensure workers don't leave a project halfway,' he said. When asked whether they were concerned about missing the chance to vote, some workers said the hassle of going back and forth isn't worth it. They believe and hope the process will be available again when they return home for the festivals. Potential consequences However, others were more cautious and determined to participate in the process, fearing potential consequences. 'There are talks that the government might stop issuing rations and other essential benefits to those who don't complete the SIR. If that happens, our families back in the village will suffer,' said Ramesh, a tile worker near Suddaguntepalya. A few workers, whose names were already included in the 2003 revision, said their families were able to complete the current process on their behalf by submitting identity documents, so they didn't have to travel back. However, officials did not accept documents in the absence of voters if they were registered after 2003. Though EC has given the option of online registration, most The Hindu spoke to said they were unaware of it. Some said they did not have the necessary documents in Bengaluru to complete the process online.
Indian Express
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Operation Sindoor and a ‘new normal': A tragedy seared the nation, response united it
Now that a ceasefire with Pakistan is in place, it is time to take stock of what worked for the government and where it may need to step up its efforts. What worked was the evocatively named Operation Sindoor that captured both the national sentiment after the April 22 Pahalgam killings, as well as what the government intended its response to be. Unlike previous terrorist strikes in the recent past — on paramilitary forces and soldiers in Pulwama (2019) and Uri (2016), and Mumbai, the financial centre (2008) — the attack on tourists visiting the meadow of Baisaran in Pahalgam in south Kashmir, at one level, was an act aimed at women. The terrorists made it a point to kill only men after ascertaining their religion. They shot them point blank in front of women and children, forever wiping their 'sindoor', the vermilion powder many Hindu women apply in their hair parting and which, for many, is more than a visual marker of their marital status. The sindoor is accepted all over India as the foundation of family life and holds deep cultural resonance. In Bihar, at the time of the Chhath Pooja, the sindoor is even longer, and the red line comes right down to the woman's nose, for the husband's long life. In West Bengal, too, the sindoor has an importance of its own. Even in the South, where turmeric is more the symbol of marriage, Tamil women apply a dot of vermilion on their foreheads. There are, of course, women who view the 'sindoor' as a symbol of patriarchy, but that is not how a large number of women see it. After the Pahalgam attack, the nation saw the image of a newlywed woman, Himanshi Narwal, sitting stoically beside the inert body of her husband, Navy Lt Vinay Narwal. It was an image that got seared into the nation's memory, striking a deep emotional chord. The brutality and the pathos of the killings would have touched every family in the country, as the women in the families of the 25 slain tourists were deliberately spared. The sindoor found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on Monday night, when he said that 'every terrorist, every terror organisation knows the consequence of wiping out the sindoor of our sisters and daughters'. Following the attack, Opposition parties closed ranks with the government, Kashmiris stood in solidarity with the rest of the country, and the communal polarisation the attackers would have hoped for did not materialise. As Operation Sindoor was initiated, the military, in a move of powerful symbolism, fielded two woman officers to brief the media: Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh. This signalled the country's multi-faith, pluralist credentials, contrary to what Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir spoke about in his April 16 speech: that it was not possible for Hindus and Muslims to co-exist. 'I wept when I saw those two women military officers address the nation together on Operation Sindoor,' a woman from Chennai told me. To many around the country, the officers represented India's strength and India's 'answer' to the Pahalgam killings. Though it is early days to talk about this, by doing what he talked about and striking deep into Pakistan territory — among them, Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Rawalpindi — and by avenging the women who lost their husbands and sons in Pahalgam, the PM may well have ensured the support of a large constituency of women for his future political battles. The Trump test Like the line of 'sindoor', the government has also drawn a new red line militarily, sending out the message that Pakistan would have a price to pay for terror attacks in the future and that the government would see them as an 'act of war'. This is what ordinary Indians wanted — that an appropriate message be sent to Pakistan. Talk to ordinary people, and they do not want a prolonged war that would only lead to loss of lives and bring hardship on all. Apart from the successes of the armed forces, what really worked for India was its soft power: the supportive Kashmiri voices, the resilience of women, and Hindu-Muslim unity. And now politicians will have to resist playing that card for political ends and desist from equating Pakistan with Indian Muslims. This is not to say that Operation Sindoor has not thrown up challenges for the government. It has to now contend with its supporters, particularly those on social media, who feel let down by the pause in military action when they thought Pakistan would be brought to its knees. The PM appeared to address these sections as he did not bring up the word ceasefire. He emphasised that the military had only suspended its 'retaliatory action against Pakistan's terror and military camps'. Then there is US President Donald Trump who has claimed that his administration brokered the ceasefire and would be willing to help the neighbouring countries resolve the Kashmir dispute. The government will now have to navigate a tricky terrain and maintain its ties with the Trump administration while countering the charge on the domestic political front that it has allowed third-party mediation on Kashmir and brought it back on the table, allowing India and Pakistan to be hyphenated once again. However, Modi, in his speech, pushed back on this, saying in no uncertain terms that terrorism would continue to be at the centre of the government's agenda. He was emphatic that the 'new normal' means that 'terror and talks cannot go together, terror and trade cannot go together, water and blood cannot flow together'. The PM said talks with Pakistan from now on would only be on terrorism and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Most importantly, the government will have to imaginatively re-engage with its neighbourhood, while also moving to acquire a clear and definite lead over Pakistan's military capability, backed as the neighbouring country is by China's support and the latest generation of fighter planes and missiles. (Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of How Prime Ministers Decide)
