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Time of India
22-05-2025
- Time of India
Train derailment at Kalka delays Shatabdi departure
1 2 Chandigarh: In yet another derailment incident disrupting train operations in the region, a coach of a shunting train derailed at Kalka railway station early Thursday morning, forcing the cancellation of the Kalka-Chandigarh leg of the Kalka Shatabdi Express (12006). As a result, the Shatabdi Express (12006) to Delhi departed from Chandigarh instead, after being cancelled between Kalka-Chandigarh, leaving the station 36 minutes behind schedule. Divisional railway manager (DRM) Vinod Bhatia confirmed the development, stating that all 700 passengers were safely accommodated and no one was left behind. According to DRM Bhatia, "At around 5 a.m., while a train was being shunted from one track to another at Kalka station, one of the coach wheels slipped off the track while negotiating a curve. The tracks were immediately cleared, and the Kalka Shatabdi Express was re-originated from Chandigarh." Passengers who were scheduled to board the Shatabdi from Kalka were transported to Chandigarh to join the train. "All arrangements were made promptly, and passenger safety was given top priority," Bhatia added. Railway officials confirmed that there was no damage to the tracks due to the derailment. However, train traffic at Kalka was briefly affected for about an hour before normalcy was restored. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cặp EUR/USD: Đà Tăng? IC Markets Đăng ký Undo This derailment marks the third such incident in recent months in the region. In February, the Vande Bharat Express (20978) from Chandigarh to Ajmer was among several trains diverted after a derailment near Nilokheri in Karnal. In April, a goods train carrying oil tankers derailed at Lalru on the Chandigarh-Ambala section, disrupting nine passenger trains including the Vande Bharat, Paschim Express, and Goa Sampark Kranti Express.
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First Post
15-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
‘India didn't seek war, imposed high costs to set new normal': Ex-DGMO on Operation Sindoor
With Operation Sindoor, India did not seek a war, but sought to set a new normal for Pakistan by imposing costs higher than what it could fathom, according to Lieutenant General (Retired) Vinod Bhatia, a former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). read more With Operation Sindoor, India has told Pakistan that the cost for any misadventure would be higher than what it would be prepared to incur. The adoption of such an approach marks a doctrinal shift, according to Lieutenant General (Retired) Vinod Bhatia, a former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). In four days of military campaign, India struck nine terrorist sites , at least eight airbases, and numerous air defence and radar sites. The sites struck extended from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) in the north and Karachi in the South. The brunt was, of course, borne by Punjab, the heart of the country, where India hammered some of the crown jewels of Pakistani military, such as the Chaklala and Sargodha airbases. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The hammering was such that while Pakistan rebuffed Indian outreach on May 7, it initiated a request for a ceasefire on May 10 that India agreed to. ALSO READ: Operation Sindoor: With battlefield edge, India cornered Pakistan to seek peace & that's new normal While critics have said that India should have hammered Pakistan more, Bhatia said that the ceasefire was justified as India had achieved its objectives. 'India did not start Operation Sindoor to seek a full-scale war. India had certain objectives in India and India achieved them. The main objective was to change the cost-effect game. For decades, Pakistan used terrorism as a low cost-high effect game. With Operation Sindoor, India turned it into a high cost-low effect game. India set a new normal. Now, Pakistan knows that any terrorist activity against India would invite higher-than-expected costs,' said Bhatia. The costs go much beyond than cratered runways, bombed-out hangars, and destroyed air defence systems. The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty may have effects way more far-reaching than any airstrikes. For context, consider this: around four-fifths of Pakistan's agriculture and one-third of its hydropower depend on the Indus river system and agriculture accounts for one-fourths of the country's economy. 'India controlled escalation ladder, achieved all objectives' As for the criticism that India did not continue the military campaign for some more time, Bhatia said that a full-scale was never the objective and waging a war without any clear objective is a recipe for a disaster. ALSO READ: 'From Kargil to Pahalgam, DGMO hotline has stood test of time': Ex-DGMO Lt Gen Bhatia on Operation Sindoor More than the objectives, India had a clear end-state of the conflict and India steered the campaign such that India achieved its objectives and concluded the campaign at the end-state it had envisioned, said Bhatia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'India controlled the escalation ladder, kept the initiative, and remained proactive throughout the campaign. If you don't have an end-state in mind, you risk getting into an escalation spiral where you may lose control. Prolonging the conflict after the objectives were met would have risked slipping into an uncontrolled escalation spiral. India did not let that happen. India demonstrated the ability to strike deep by hitting more than a dozen sites, imposed high costs, set a new normal, and then forced Pakistan to seek a ceasefire. The entire campaign went as per the plan,' Bhatia.
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First Post
15-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
‘From Kargil to Pahalgam, DGMO hotline has stood test of time': Ex-DGMO Lt Gen Bhatia on Operation Sindoor
In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, former Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lieutenant General (Retired) Vinod Bhatia said that the DGMO hotline between India and Pakistan has stood the test of time and has played critical roles from working out ceasefires to managing crises. read more For years, high-level political dialogue and diplomatic engagement between India and Pakistan has been frozen, but one channel has been open and has served as the only high-level direct communication between the two countries: the hotline between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries. Set up sometime after the India-Pakistan War of 1971, the DGMO hotline has been central to some very historic moments. Lieutenant General (Retired) Vinod Bhatia, who retired as the DGMO in 2014, told Firstpost that the DGMO hotline has played a very constructive role in the India-Pakistan relationship. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The main purpose of the DGMO hotline is crisis management. It also serves as a confidence-building measure between the two countries. Over the years, the hotline has been used to resolve misunderstandings, discuss the situation along the border, and reach understandings on particular issues,' said Bhatia. In the India-Pakistan conflict this month, the hotline served as the only direct communication channel between the two countries — at least publicly. After Indian strikes on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) on May 7, the Indian DGMO, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, reached out to his Pakistani counterpart, but the Pakistani side did not convey any intention to stand down. As India battered Pakistan over the next four days under Operation Sindoor, Pakistan activated the hotline and conveyed the intention to stand down to Ghai on May 10. Subsequently, the understanding to cease hostilities was reached over the hotline. In war & peace, DGMO hotline has stood test of time In peacetime, the DGMO hotline has been critical in resolving misunderstandings that may sometimes arise over troop movements or some military activities that the other side may misinterpret. The hotline also serves as the primary high-level communication channel when the cross-border firing gets intense. In times of wars and conflicts, Bhatia said that the DGMOs and their hotline have always been central to ceasefire efforts. Bhatia is an authority on the subject as he, as the DGMO at the time, negotiated a ceasefire understanding with his Pakistani counterpart in 2013. 'In 2013, discussions held over the hotline led to a historic meeting at the Wagha border crossing in December between me and my Pakistani counterpart. That was the first such meeting in a long time. We reached an understanding regarding the ceasefire that lasted for many months into 2014,' said Bhatia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Before that, Bhatia said that the DGMOs hotline had been instrumental in reaching the ceasefire in the Kargil War in 1999. 'While the Kargil War formally ended on July 26, 1999, when Prime Minister Vajpayee announced the successful conclusion of Operation Vijay, the understanding to cease hostilities was exchanged by the two sides over the DGMO hotline a few days back,' said Bhatia. In peacetime, the DGMO hotline has resolved situations that could have snowballed into conflicts if left unaddressed. A case in point is the accidental firing of an Indian Brahmos missile into Pakistan in 2022. Soon after the accidental launch on March 9, 2022, the hotline was activated and it was communicated to the Pakistani side that the launch was accidental and not an authorised act. Even as Pakistan reacted angrily in public, the two countries did not get into any conflict as the situation was duly addressed — thanks to the hotline. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How does the India-Pakistan DGMO hotline work? The hotline is a secure telephone link that connects the DGMO of India with their counterpart at the Pakistani Army headquarters at Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Bhatia said that the hotline is manned by a duty officer 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Unlike how movies depict such communication channels, the working is quite simple yet effective. Bhatia said, 'The hotline has a simple handset. As soon as someone on either side picks the handset, the call gets initiated. There is no dialler like regular landline phones and you don't have to dial any number.' Once a call has been initiated by one side, it is an obligation on the other side's DGMO to answer it, said Bhatia. 'Once a call has been initiated, the duty officer at the other end picks up. The duty officer informs the DGMO and the DGMO arrives in the secure room at the earliest to talk to their counterpart. If the DGMO is not around, as they might be away at that moment, they arrive and make the call at the earliest available moment. Once a call has been initiated by the other side, answering it is not your choice but a requirement that has to be fulfilled without failure,' said Bhatia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While the public learns about the DGMOs' calls during momentous times, it is a channel continuously in operation in peacetime as well. 'DGMOs hold weekly calls over the hotline every Tuesday. Whether it's war or peace, the DGMOs' hotline has always been functional. It has stood the test of time," said Bhatia. Operation Sindoor is the latest instance of the hotline fulfilling its role. Once a decision has been made at the level of political leadership, the DGMOs over the hotline work out the details about their implementation on the ground. In 2021, after multiple rounds of talks led by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the two sides arrived at an understanding of a ceasefire. Once the political leadership approved, the DGMOs finalised the technical details. The 2021 ceasefire lasted until last month when the Pahalgam attack shattered the uneasy calm between India and Pakistan. As for Operation Sindoor, Bhatia said that India kept the initiative, controlled the escalation ladder, did not allow Pakistan to take the lead, and achieved the objectives it started the operation with. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'India did not want to start a war. India started Operation Sindoor with the clear objective of imposing costs for Pakistan's actions. So far, Pakistan had played a low cost-high effect game against India with terrorism. Operation Sindoor turned that into a high cost-low effect game and sought to set a new normal. India controlled the escalation ladder accordingly so as to not get into an uncontrolled spiral,' said Bhatia.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Time of India
Train collision: Driver whose tractor-trolley caused the accident booked
1 2 Chandigarh: An FIR has been lodged against the driver, whose tractor-trolley got stuck on the railway tracks because of his negligence, leading to an accident involving New Delhi–Chandigarh-Una-Daulatpur Chowk Jan Shatabdi Express (12057) on Thursday night. The train collided with a stranded tractor-trolley on the tracks near Una around 9.15pm. The engine and one coach of the train suffered damage, but no injuries or casualties were reported, railway officials Railway Protection Force (RPF), which impounded the tractor, said efforts are underway to trace the absconding to officials, the incident occurred between Nangaldam and Una stations when the train was approaching Una. Operation Sindoor PM Modi meets NSA, chiefs of armed forces amid spike in tensions with Pak India's air defence systems shoot down Pak drones in J&K, Punjab & Rajasthan Several airports in India to be closed till May 15 - check list The tractor-trolley, reportedly out of control, had veered onto the railway tracks and struck an overhead equipment (OHE) mast before coming to a halt. The train had relatively few passengers on board as it was nearing its final stops at Una and Daulatpur division railway manager (DRM) Vinod Bhatia said the section was cleared promptly, with rescue teams reaching the accident site without delay. He emphasised that the event was purely accidental and not connected to any broader emergency divisional commercial manager (DCM) Varinder Kumar said a joint investigation conducted by railway officials and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) confirmed the sequence of events. The engine and one coach bore the brunt of the impact, though four coaches in total sustained authorities managed to pull the train back using another locomotive, ensuring minimal disruption to services. The train was delayed for about 35 minutesIntensive checking at railway stationIn the wake of failed drone attack in Chandigarh, the RPF and government railway police (GRP) conducted a massive search operation at Chandigarh railway station. RPF officials said passengers were thoroughly frisked and the luggage was also checked using sniffer dog squads, hand-held metal detectors and bomb squads. Passengers coming to the railway station were checked at both ends, Chandigarh as well as Panchkula side, said RPF.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
New Delhi-Una Janshatabdi hits tractor trolley near Una
CHANDIGARH: The New Delhi-Una met with an accident late Thursday night after a tractor-trolley jumped the railway track and came in front of the train near . The incident occurred around 11:45pm as the train was approaching Una. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The engine and four coaches were damaged in the collision, , said Ambala Division Railway Manager Vinod Bhatia. He added that rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the site and clearance operations are underway. 'This is an accident and not related to any war situation,' Bhatia clarified.
