6:27 PM
AILRSA Central Committee meeting will be held at 12.10.10 at Ghaziabad following RLC conciliation on 11.10.10.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
6:26 PM
c.sunish
By Sunish
No comments
Railways to Switch to ‘Five’ – Digit System for Numbering all its Passenger Carrying Trains from December 2010
In a significant move to make the train numbering system of passenger carrying trains of Indian Railways more scientific, logical, uniform and computer-friendly, Ministry of Railways has decided to use ‘five’ - digits for numbering trains, in place of the existing ‘four’- digit numbering system. The new ‘five’- digit numbering system of trains will come into effect from December 20, 2010.
To make the transition smooth and simple under the new scheme, only a prefix of the digit ‘1’ (one) will be added to the ‘four’- digit numbers of the existing trains which would cover all scheduled and regular express/mail and superfast trains including the Durontos, Yuva Trains, Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, Jan Shatabdi Express, Garibrath Express, Sampark Kranti Express and all category of trains that have a mail/express character during any part of their journey. The names of the trains are not being changed/modified. All the numbers will be converted to the new ‘five’ – digit system by simply adding a prefix of digit ‘1’ to the existing ‘four’-digit numbers
The special trains run by the Railways to clear holiday/festival rush etc. shall be numbered on the pattern of the mail/express trains except that they shall have the prefix of digit ‘0’ (zero). This shall apply to all special trains, whether superfast, express or passenger train in character, running between any pair of destinations. This numbering scheme shall also apply to special trains run on Full Tariff Rates (FTR) basis. The passenger trains and the suburban trains are also proposed to be renumbered and brought under this new ‘five’- digit system and separate notifications for such changes will be issued by the respective zonal Railways.
The introduction of the new system covering all kinds of passenger carrying trains run by Indian Railways will lay scientific and logical basis for numbering of trains on all India basis for all the trains which was earlier confined to express trains only, enabling better dissemination of information to the public. The new system will go a long way in monitoring the movement of trains more effectively on all India basis and in facilitating dissemination and management of train information more scientifically benefiting the public/customers. This major initiative will create a unique “train number” which will be a national level identity for each train and will cover all the passenger carrying trains running in the Indian Railways network.
Five digit train numbering scheme has become necessary in view of the four digit numbering scheme having got exhausted as Indian Railways runs more than 10 thousand trains every day. Need has also arisen to integrate the passenger and suburban train services in various information systems such as Control Office Application, Passenger Reservation System and other software applications
In a significant move to make the train numbering system of passenger carrying trains of Indian Railways more scientific, logical, uniform and computer-friendly, Ministry of Railways has decided to use ‘five’ - digits for numbering trains, in place of the existing ‘four’- digit numbering system. The new ‘five’- digit numbering system of trains will come into effect from December 20, 2010.
To make the transition smooth and simple under the new scheme, only a prefix of the digit ‘1’ (one) will be added to the ‘four’- digit numbers of the existing trains which would cover all scheduled and regular express/mail and superfast trains including the Durontos, Yuva Trains, Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, Jan Shatabdi Express, Garibrath Express, Sampark Kranti Express and all category of trains that have a mail/express character during any part of their journey. The names of the trains are not being changed/modified. All the numbers will be converted to the new ‘five’ – digit system by simply adding a prefix of digit ‘1’ to the existing ‘four’-digit numbers
The special trains run by the Railways to clear holiday/festival rush etc. shall be numbered on the pattern of the mail/express trains except that they shall have the prefix of digit ‘0’ (zero). This shall apply to all special trains, whether superfast, express or passenger train in character, running between any pair of destinations. This numbering scheme shall also apply to special trains run on Full Tariff Rates (FTR) basis. The passenger trains and the suburban trains are also proposed to be renumbered and brought under this new ‘five’- digit system and separate notifications for such changes will be issued by the respective zonal Railways.
The introduction of the new system covering all kinds of passenger carrying trains run by Indian Railways will lay scientific and logical basis for numbering of trains on all India basis for all the trains which was earlier confined to express trains only, enabling better dissemination of information to the public. The new system will go a long way in monitoring the movement of trains more effectively on all India basis and in facilitating dissemination and management of train information more scientifically benefiting the public/customers. This major initiative will create a unique “train number” which will be a national level identity for each train and will cover all the passenger carrying trains running in the Indian Railways network.
Five digit train numbering scheme has become necessary in view of the four digit numbering scheme having got exhausted as Indian Railways runs more than 10 thousand trains every day. Need has also arisen to integrate the passenger and suburban train services in various information systems such as Control Office Application, Passenger Reservation System and other software applications
Number of deaths in train mishaps increases in Mamata Banerjee’s regime
Published: Thursday, Sep 23, 2010, 11:23 IST
By Ashutosh Kumar | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee seems to have pushed the railways, which contributes around 1.5% to the country’s gross domestic product, back by a decade in the context of passenger safety.
Between May 2009, the time she took over as the railway minister, and now, the number of deaths in train mishaps has risen to the 1999-2000 levels. The number of casualties in train collisions between May 2009 and now stands at 276, a notch below 317 during 1999-2000.
Interestingly, between 2000-01 and 2008-09, there was a marked decline in the number of deaths in train mishaps, with 2007-08 seeing only one casualty despite eight collisions. During 2006-07, there were two deaths in eight collisions.
The last few years have witnessed a rise in the number of collisions as well. In Mamata’s regime till date, the railways have already matched the UPA-I record of 13 collisions. During 2004-05 as well as 2008-09, it had reported 13 collisions.
The rising number of casualties and accidents has prompted the joint parliamentary committee on railways, headed by TR Baalu, to set a six-month deadline for the ministry to come up with a blueprint for installation of anti-collision devices (ACDs) across the country.
In a report submitted in the last session of parliament, it observed, “The committee felt that the pace of installing ACDs is still unsatisfactory for various reasons. The committee, while appreciating the efforts of Konkan Railway in installing ACDs, directs the railways to come out with a concrete strategy within six months in this regard after examining all issues involved and studying the best practices available. In the interim, the committee directs the railway board to apprise the committee every two months of the progress made in this regard without fail.”
Published: Thursday, Sep 23, 2010, 11:23 IST
By Ashutosh Kumar | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee seems to have pushed the railways, which contributes around 1.5% to the country’s gross domestic product, back by a decade in the context of passenger safety.
Between May 2009, the time she took over as the railway minister, and now, the number of deaths in train mishaps has risen to the 1999-2000 levels. The number of casualties in train collisions between May 2009 and now stands at 276, a notch below 317 during 1999-2000.
Interestingly, between 2000-01 and 2008-09, there was a marked decline in the number of deaths in train mishaps, with 2007-08 seeing only one casualty despite eight collisions. During 2006-07, there were two deaths in eight collisions.
The last few years have witnessed a rise in the number of collisions as well. In Mamata’s regime till date, the railways have already matched the UPA-I record of 13 collisions. During 2004-05 as well as 2008-09, it had reported 13 collisions.
The rising number of casualties and accidents has prompted the joint parliamentary committee on railways, headed by TR Baalu, to set a six-month deadline for the ministry to come up with a blueprint for installation of anti-collision devices (ACDs) across the country.
In a report submitted in the last session of parliament, it observed, “The committee felt that the pace of installing ACDs is still unsatisfactory for various reasons. The committee, while appreciating the efforts of Konkan Railway in installing ACDs, directs the railways to come out with a concrete strategy within six months in this regard after examining all issues involved and studying the best practices available. In the interim, the committee directs the railway board to apprise the committee every two months of the progress made in this regard without fail.”
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
- 11:16 AM
- c.sunish
- By Sunish
- No comments
AILRSA, Hubli Division conducted a “FAMILY DHARNA” in front of the office of the Divisional Railway Manager, Hubli at 10:00am on 14.09.10 to highlight the deplorable working conditions and pathetic social life of Loco pilots. This Dharna became inevitable following the death of the wife of a Loco Pilot due to lack of timely medical care, when her husband was working out of station for more than three days which is beyond the prescribed time limit.
The Hubli Railway Authorities are still following the draconian rules of British period, violating all the rules and regulations of the Railway Ministry. When railway board had already issued orders restricting the stay at outstation of loco pilots to a maximum of 36 hrs, loco pilots of Hubli division are forced to stay for more than three days.
Com. Yamuna Gaungar, Secretary, CITU, Karnataka State committee inaugurated the Dharna. Com. SD Arnold Presided and attended by Com. C, Sunish, General Secretary, AILRSA, Com. Mahesh Pathar, Secreatary, Joint Council of Trade Unions, Dharward, Com. AH Ayee, Secretary, Insurance Employees Union, Com. Suppin, Secretary CPI(M) Dharwad, Com. Yogesh Japathy, Secrtary, All Indai Gaurds Council were addressd.
About 250 members mostly wives and children of loco pilots attended the congregation and they later submitted a detailed memorandum to the Divisional Railway Manager. He assured that the possible steps will be taken by earliest to redress the Grievances.
The Hubli Railway Authorities are still following the draconian rules of British period, violating all the rules and regulations of the Railway Ministry. When railway board had already issued orders restricting the stay at outstation of loco pilots to a maximum of 36 hrs, loco pilots of Hubli division are forced to stay for more than three days.
Com. Yamuna Gaungar, Secretary, CITU, Karnataka State committee inaugurated the Dharna. Com. SD Arnold Presided and attended by Com. C, Sunish, General Secretary, AILRSA, Com. Mahesh Pathar, Secreatary, Joint Council of Trade Unions, Dharward, Com. AH Ayee, Secretary, Insurance Employees Union, Com. Suppin, Secretary CPI(M) Dharwad, Com. Yogesh Japathy, Secrtary, All Indai Gaurds Council were addressd.
About 250 members mostly wives and children of loco pilots attended the congregation and they later submitted a detailed memorandum to the Divisional Railway Manager. He assured that the possible steps will be taken by earliest to redress the Grievances.
- 11:02 AM
- c.sunish
- b
- No comments
In 15 months of Mamata tenure, 270 railway deaths
Mahendra Kumar Singh, TNN, Sep 21, 2010, 02.25am IST
NEW DELHI: At a time when railways is trying for an image makeover, Monday's train accident near Guna in Madhya Pradesh, which killed 23 and injured 30 passengers, is set to dent the track record of rail minister Mamata Banerjee, who has often been accused of being an " absentee minister".
According to preliminary findings, the driver of the goods trains ignored the signal and rammed into a stationary Indore-Gwalior Intercity Express at Badarwas station. The spurt in accidents will certainly turn the political heat on Mamata, who faces assembly polls in her home state, West Bengal, next year.
In over 15 months since Banerjee took over as minister, around 270 travellers have been killed in more than a dozen major train accidents, which have mostly been caused due to failure of railway employees that led to head-on or rear-on collisions. Trinamool Congress chief has been accused of being absent from Delhi, and focusing more on the Bengal elections.
The spate of accidents has also put a question mark on her promise to improve railways' safety record.
Typically, Mamata's approach to the accidents has been to hurriedly announce compensation for victims and their next of kin, institute inquiries and direct senior officials from Delhi to rush to the sites, giving enough ammunition to the Opposition to highlight her failure to prevent such incidents.
Besides, questions are being raised about various pending vital decisions and appointments to heighten rail safety. While railways is trying hard to fill around 89,000 safety-related vacancies, the arrest of the chairman of railway recruitment board ( RRB) Mumbai has not only embarrassed the state transporter but also derailed the entire process.
Railways is yet to come up with a timeline for installation of the anti-collision device, even though the decision was taken after the Saithia tragedy. CAG had also pointed out to railways about meeting its own target that was set under the corporate safety plan.
Mahendra Kumar Singh, TNN, Sep 21, 2010, 02.25am IST
NEW DELHI: At a time when railways is trying for an image makeover, Monday's train accident near Guna in Madhya Pradesh, which killed 23 and injured 30 passengers, is set to dent the track record of rail minister Mamata Banerjee, who has often been accused of being an " absentee minister".
According to preliminary findings, the driver of the goods trains ignored the signal and rammed into a stationary Indore-Gwalior Intercity Express at Badarwas station. The spurt in accidents will certainly turn the political heat on Mamata, who faces assembly polls in her home state, West Bengal, next year.
In over 15 months since Banerjee took over as minister, around 270 travellers have been killed in more than a dozen major train accidents, which have mostly been caused due to failure of railway employees that led to head-on or rear-on collisions. Trinamool Congress chief has been accused of being absent from Delhi, and focusing more on the Bengal elections.
The spate of accidents has also put a question mark on her promise to improve railways' safety record.
Typically, Mamata's approach to the accidents has been to hurriedly announce compensation for victims and their next of kin, institute inquiries and direct senior officials from Delhi to rush to the sites, giving enough ammunition to the Opposition to highlight her failure to prevent such incidents.
Besides, questions are being raised about various pending vital decisions and appointments to heighten rail safety. While railways is trying hard to fill around 89,000 safety-related vacancies, the arrest of the chairman of railway recruitment board ( RRB) Mumbai has not only embarrassed the state transporter but also derailed the entire process.
Railways is yet to come up with a timeline for installation of the anti-collision device, even though the decision was taken after the Saithia tragedy. CAG had also pointed out to railways about meeting its own target that was set under the corporate safety plan.
- 10:59 AM
- c.sunish
- By Sunish
- No comments
The New Indian Express
23 killed in MP train mishap
Twenty-three passengers were killed and over 50 injured when a goods train rammed into the stationary Indore-Gwalior Intercity Express at Badarwas station in Shivpuri district early on Monday.
The mishap occurred between Guna and Shivpuri around 4.45 am when the driver of the goods train overshot the home signal and jumped out on finding the passenger train on the same track.
Goods train driver Mukesh Bharadwaj and assistant driver Mahesh Meena, both from Jhanshi division of the railways, have been suspended. Both are at large.
According to one version, the driver of the passenger train, Manjul Sirothia, was safe because he was standing outside while railway authorities said he jumped out when he saw the goods train coming.
Authorities admitted that there were complaints that station master Rajendra Tarare was in the habit of consuming alcohol but claimed he was not drunk when the mishap took place. They denied knowledge of recovery of empty liquor bottles from Tarare’s cabin, as shown repeatedly by local channels. No action has been taken against him so far.
23 killed in MP train mishap
Twenty-three passengers were killed and over 50 injured when a goods train rammed into the stationary Indore-Gwalior Intercity Express at Badarwas station in Shivpuri district early on Monday.
The mishap occurred between Guna and Shivpuri around 4.45 am when the driver of the goods train overshot the home signal and jumped out on finding the passenger train on the same track.
Goods train driver Mukesh Bharadwaj and assistant driver Mahesh Meena, both from Jhanshi division of the railways, have been suspended. Both are at large.
According to one version, the driver of the passenger train, Manjul Sirothia, was safe because he was standing outside while railway authorities said he jumped out when he saw the goods train coming.
Authorities admitted that there were complaints that station master Rajendra Tarare was in the habit of consuming alcohol but claimed he was not drunk when the mishap took place. They denied knowledge of recovery of empty liquor bottles from Tarare’s cabin, as shown repeatedly by local channels. No action has been taken against him so far.
- 10:46 AM
- c.sunish
- By Sunish
- No comments
September 20, 2010.
Trains collide in MP; 25 feared killed-----------------------------------------------------
At least 25 passengers were feared killed as a goods train rammed into the stationary Indore-Gwalior Inter-city express at Badarwas railway station in Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal Division of West Central railway) on Monday. The accident in Shivpuri district, which occurred 175 km west of Gwalior around 4.30 am, was blamed on the Station Master.
Fifteen bodies have been recovered from the accident site and rescue workers were cutting two mangled coaches to extricate trapped passengers, said Raj Kumar Pathak, collector of Shivpuri.
According to Divisional Railway Manager (Bhopal) Ghanshyam SIngh, the Station Master of Badarwas failed to signal the goods train to halt. The accused is absconding.
Local residents said the station master was often found drunk while on duty and that could be the reason why he failed to act on time. Liquor bottles were found from his cabin, television footage showed.
The death toll could rise as the condition of at least 17 injured passengers was critical. They were being treated at hospitals in Guna and Shukri, said Piyush Mathur, chief public relations officer of West Central Railways.
--
Trains collide in MP; 25 feared killed-----------------------------------------------------
At least 25 passengers were feared killed as a goods train rammed into the stationary Indore-Gwalior Inter-city express at Badarwas railway station in Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal Division of West Central railway) on Monday. The accident in Shivpuri district, which occurred 175 km west of Gwalior around 4.30 am, was blamed on the Station Master.
Fifteen bodies have been recovered from the accident site and rescue workers were cutting two mangled coaches to extricate trapped passengers, said Raj Kumar Pathak, collector of Shivpuri.
According to Divisional Railway Manager (Bhopal) Ghanshyam SIngh, the Station Master of Badarwas failed to signal the goods train to halt. The accused is absconding.
Local residents said the station master was often found drunk while on duty and that could be the reason why he failed to act on time. Liquor bottles were found from his cabin, television footage showed.
The death toll could rise as the condition of at least 17 injured passengers was critical. They were being treated at hospitals in Guna and Shukri, said Piyush Mathur, chief public relations officer of West Central Railways.
--
- 10:45 AM
- c.sunish
- By Sunish
- 2 comments
New WDG5 locomotive design finalised
Lucknow, Sep 16 : Indian Railways and Electro-Motive Diesel Inc (EMD), one of the leading global locomotive manufacturers, today announced the final design of the new WDG-5 locomotive.
In a landmark achievement for the Railways, a complete high horsepower locomotive design has been completed by Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) of the Railways with the support of EMD.
This diesel locomotive has an output of 5500 bhp, which makes it the strongest diesel locomotive ever run on the Indian rail network.
In combination with its record high tractive effort of 560 KN, it can pull significantly more load at higher speeds, thus enabling the Railways to increase the system in the rail network.
Mr Sanjiv Handa, Member Mechanical, Railway Board, Indian Railways, said, ''The partnership between Indian Railways and EMD has brought the latest diesel locomotive technology to India.
WDG5 is the latest outcome of this association, where RDSO, DLW and EMD have jointly worked and come out with a state-of-art locomotive design which will prove to be the most versatile and powerful diesel locomotive, capable of running on existing tracks on Indian Railways.''
--UNI
Lucknow, Sep 16 : Indian Railways and Electro-Motive Diesel Inc (EMD), one of the leading global locomotive manufacturers, today announced the final design of the new WDG-5 locomotive.
In a landmark achievement for the Railways, a complete high horsepower locomotive design has been completed by Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) of the Railways with the support of EMD.
This diesel locomotive has an output of 5500 bhp, which makes it the strongest diesel locomotive ever run on the Indian rail network.
In combination with its record high tractive effort of 560 KN, it can pull significantly more load at higher speeds, thus enabling the Railways to increase the system in the rail network.
Mr Sanjiv Handa, Member Mechanical, Railway Board, Indian Railways, said, ''The partnership between Indian Railways and EMD has brought the latest diesel locomotive technology to India.
WDG5 is the latest outcome of this association, where RDSO, DLW and EMD have jointly worked and come out with a state-of-art locomotive design which will prove to be the most versatile and powerful diesel locomotive, capable of running on existing tracks on Indian Railways.''
--UNI
- 10:41 AM
- c.sunish
- By Sunish
- No comments
ALL INDIA LOCO RUNNING STAFF ASSOCIATION
HQ ADRA Reg. No. 17903
SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY ZONE
Web Site: www.ailrsa-swr.org E-mail: ailrsaswr@gmail.com
Visit: railwayslocopilotsblogspot.com
Seminar on
“Railway Accidents, Reasons and Remedies”
On 29th Sept 2010,
Wed. from 9 hours.
At CYCD Hall
Okhali puram, Bangalore
Inauguration
Com. Basudeb Acharia MP
Program
Welcome Address: Com. C. Sunish
Presiding: Com. SD Arnold
Inauguration: Com. Basudeb Acharia MP.
Key Note Address: Sri Prahallad Joshy MP.
Member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways
Presenting Paper:
Com K Parthasarathy, AGS, AILRSA South Zone.
Addressing
Com. S Prasannakumar, President, Nairuthya Railway Employees Union.(NREU)
Com. R Elangovan, Working President, Dhakshina Railway Employees Union (DREU)
Com. RV Achari, Chairman, Karnataka Kerala Travelers Forum (KKTF).
Com. John Vincent Kumar, General Secretary, AISMA.
Com. VR Prakash. Ex.AGS, AILRSA, South Zone.
Vote of thanks: Com. D Rajkumar.
Dear comrades,
In the interest of the country, its internal security, in the interest of the safety of traveling public, who use the railways every day, it is high time that the Central Government and the Prime Minister take a call at the ministry of railways to find out as to what has gone wrong with the safety of railways, particularly in view of the recent spate of train accidents The country cannot afford and the people do not tolerate the continued lack of accountability that jeopardizes the safety of both the country and the traveling public.
Between May 2009 and July 2010, the country has witnessed 16 major rail accidents in which at least 260 people lost their lives and over a thousand seriously injured. If all minor accidents are taken into account, then there have been 162 accidents since May 2009 in which 420 people died.
The recent Accident occurred at SAINTHIA railway station on 19-07-2010 at 01:55 hours by way of rear collision between Uttar Banga express and Vananchal express has claimed 63 lives. This and the other accidents leave many important questions unanswered. All of these, however, point to a massive systems failure and invariably leads to the lack of the required commitment, concentration and attention to run the Indian Railways efficiently and safely. The Indian railways today transport over 18 million passengers a day apart from large scale transportation of freight. The safety on the railways has, obviously, been neglected. Nearly ONE LAKH sanctioned posts remain vacant as the Ministry of railways failed to fill up these vacancies. Shockingly, over 20,000 of these are directly related to safety category mainly the loco pilots. Even to day the Loco Pilots are forced to work for 20 hours and beyond at a stretch, while the International standard is 8 hours a day. They are not even allowed adequate Daily and Weekly Rests. The nature of loco men work has become so intensive that, they should not be put to work for more than 6 hours a
3
day; else, it leads to severe fatigue endangering the safety of traveling public and fright.
The anti-collision device (ACD) which automatically prevents train collisions was developed by the Konkan railways when the current railway minister was the minister in an earlier spell. The Konkan railways, today, uses the ACDs effectively. But, the Ministry of railways has not found the time or the inclination to introduce the ACDs in the vast network of Railways in India.
Neglecting the maintenance of equipment, rolling stock, signal & interlocking, track & bridges and important safety measures, besides inhuman exploitation of railway men treating them as machines instead of as humans are part of the unsafe methods being followed effecting the safety.
Clearly, India cannot afford such dangerous state of affairs in our railway network, which is so crucial for the country’s existence. The Government of India has the responsibility to under take the process of rectifying the defective system prevailing in the Indian railways to prevent recurring train accidents and save the precious lives and property.
AILRSA South Western Railway is organizing a Seminar to discuss all these parameters by different walks of society on 29th Sept 2010 from 9 hours at CYCD Hall, Okhali puram, Bangalore
We request all to participate and share your views.
HQ ADRA Reg. No. 17903
SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY ZONE
Web Site: www.ailrsa-swr.org E-mail: ailrsaswr@gmail.com
Visit: railwayslocopilotsblogspot.com
Seminar on
“Railway Accidents, Reasons and Remedies”
On 29th Sept 2010,
Wed. from 9 hours.
At CYCD Hall
Okhali puram, Bangalore
Inauguration
Com. Basudeb Acharia MP
Program
Welcome Address: Com. C. Sunish
Presiding: Com. SD Arnold
Inauguration: Com. Basudeb Acharia MP.
Key Note Address: Sri Prahallad Joshy MP.
Member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways
Presenting Paper:
Com K Parthasarathy, AGS, AILRSA South Zone.
Addressing
Com. S Prasannakumar, President, Nairuthya Railway Employees Union.(NREU)
Com. R Elangovan, Working President, Dhakshina Railway Employees Union (DREU)
Com. RV Achari, Chairman, Karnataka Kerala Travelers Forum (KKTF).
Com. John Vincent Kumar, General Secretary, AISMA.
Com. VR Prakash. Ex.AGS, AILRSA, South Zone.
Vote of thanks: Com. D Rajkumar.
Dear comrades,
In the interest of the country, its internal security, in the interest of the safety of traveling public, who use the railways every day, it is high time that the Central Government and the Prime Minister take a call at the ministry of railways to find out as to what has gone wrong with the safety of railways, particularly in view of the recent spate of train accidents The country cannot afford and the people do not tolerate the continued lack of accountability that jeopardizes the safety of both the country and the traveling public.
Between May 2009 and July 2010, the country has witnessed 16 major rail accidents in which at least 260 people lost their lives and over a thousand seriously injured. If all minor accidents are taken into account, then there have been 162 accidents since May 2009 in which 420 people died.
The recent Accident occurred at SAINTHIA railway station on 19-07-2010 at 01:55 hours by way of rear collision between Uttar Banga express and Vananchal express has claimed 63 lives. This and the other accidents leave many important questions unanswered. All of these, however, point to a massive systems failure and invariably leads to the lack of the required commitment, concentration and attention to run the Indian Railways efficiently and safely. The Indian railways today transport over 18 million passengers a day apart from large scale transportation of freight. The safety on the railways has, obviously, been neglected. Nearly ONE LAKH sanctioned posts remain vacant as the Ministry of railways failed to fill up these vacancies. Shockingly, over 20,000 of these are directly related to safety category mainly the loco pilots. Even to day the Loco Pilots are forced to work for 20 hours and beyond at a stretch, while the International standard is 8 hours a day. They are not even allowed adequate Daily and Weekly Rests. The nature of loco men work has become so intensive that, they should not be put to work for more than 6 hours a
3
day; else, it leads to severe fatigue endangering the safety of traveling public and fright.
The anti-collision device (ACD) which automatically prevents train collisions was developed by the Konkan railways when the current railway minister was the minister in an earlier spell. The Konkan railways, today, uses the ACDs effectively. But, the Ministry of railways has not found the time or the inclination to introduce the ACDs in the vast network of Railways in India.
Neglecting the maintenance of equipment, rolling stock, signal & interlocking, track & bridges and important safety measures, besides inhuman exploitation of railway men treating them as machines instead of as humans are part of the unsafe methods being followed effecting the safety.
Clearly, India cannot afford such dangerous state of affairs in our railway network, which is so crucial for the country’s existence. The Government of India has the responsibility to under take the process of rectifying the defective system prevailing in the Indian railways to prevent recurring train accidents and save the precious lives and property.
AILRSA South Western Railway is organizing a Seminar to discuss all these parameters by different walks of society on 29th Sept 2010 from 9 hours at CYCD Hall, Okhali puram, Bangalore
We request all to participate and share your views.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
THE TIMES OF INDIA
Mamata's namaz in rly ad creates uproar
TNN, Sep 11, 2010, 07.49am IST
KOLKATA: Desperate for power in Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is missing no opportunity to grab Muslim votes. A recent railway advertisement with her picture offering namaz in the backdrop of Islamic motifs a crescent moon and star and outlines of a mosque has created an uproar.
That Mamata calls imams and maulvis for discussions is well known. People are also familiar with her offering namaz, especially during the anti-land acquisition stir in Singur in 2008. What's raising eyebrows is the use of a railway advertisement for catching Muslim votes.
"I don't understand the connection between religious motifs and a nursing college in Garden Reach. This is exploitation of religious sentiments. We are a multi-religious society. How can public money be abused like this?" asked CPM central committee member and ex- MP Mohammed Salim.
BJP leader Tathagata Roy said, "The state has no religion. How can religious edifice be part of a government advertisement? This reveals her duplicity. She hasn't converted so how can she offer namaz? It's extremely improper."
Predictably, S M Norur Rahman Barkati, Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan mosque, did not see anything wrong in the ad. "We're happy with the design. We don't see anything wrong in this goodwill gesture."
Aziz Mubaraki, additional secretary to Barkati, said, "If the PM can call for iftar dinner and send select groups for Haj, what's wrong with this ad? Don't government officials sport tilaks? Don't police stations have temples?"
Thespian Bratya Basu, who is close to the Trinamool chief, said, "We claim we belong to a secular country. But do we really believe in secularism?
On the contrary, there is communal feeling among elite Hindus and Muslims. Mamata is bridging this gap. It's the right message to a community that feels let down."
Railways sources said several photographs were sent for the minister's approval. "The minister's cell approved the one in which she is seen offering namaz," a source said, adding that officials were asked to include the motifs and the photograph of Kaaba in the ad by those close to the minister. "The minister has equal respect for all religions. In mid-April, we brought out three ads to greet people on Poila Baisakh, Baisakhi and Puthandu (Tamil New Year's Day)," said Soumitra Majumdar, CPRO, South Eastern Railway.
Community leader Siddiqullah Chowdhury, the state secretary of the Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Hind who took to the streets calling for banishing Taslima Nasrin from Bengal, said, "I haven't seen the advertisement. But I feel that politics should be delinked from religion.''
Mamata's namaz in rly ad creates uproar
TNN, Sep 11, 2010, 07.49am IST
KOLKATA: Desperate for power in Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is missing no opportunity to grab Muslim votes. A recent railway advertisement with her picture offering namaz in the backdrop of Islamic motifs a crescent moon and star and outlines of a mosque has created an uproar.
That Mamata calls imams and maulvis for discussions is well known. People are also familiar with her offering namaz, especially during the anti-land acquisition stir in Singur in 2008. What's raising eyebrows is the use of a railway advertisement for catching Muslim votes.
"I don't understand the connection between religious motifs and a nursing college in Garden Reach. This is exploitation of religious sentiments. We are a multi-religious society. How can public money be abused like this?" asked CPM central committee member and ex- MP Mohammed Salim.
BJP leader Tathagata Roy said, "The state has no religion. How can religious edifice be part of a government advertisement? This reveals her duplicity. She hasn't converted so how can she offer namaz? It's extremely improper."
Predictably, S M Norur Rahman Barkati, Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan mosque, did not see anything wrong in the ad. "We're happy with the design. We don't see anything wrong in this goodwill gesture."
Aziz Mubaraki, additional secretary to Barkati, said, "If the PM can call for iftar dinner and send select groups for Haj, what's wrong with this ad? Don't government officials sport tilaks? Don't police stations have temples?"
Thespian Bratya Basu, who is close to the Trinamool chief, said, "We claim we belong to a secular country. But do we really believe in secularism?
On the contrary, there is communal feeling among elite Hindus and Muslims. Mamata is bridging this gap. It's the right message to a community that feels let down."
Railways sources said several photographs were sent for the minister's approval. "The minister's cell approved the one in which she is seen offering namaz," a source said, adding that officials were asked to include the motifs and the photograph of Kaaba in the ad by those close to the minister. "The minister has equal respect for all religions. In mid-April, we brought out three ads to greet people on Poila Baisakh, Baisakhi and Puthandu (Tamil New Year's Day)," said Soumitra Majumdar, CPRO, South Eastern Railway.
Community leader Siddiqullah Chowdhury, the state secretary of the Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Hind who took to the streets calling for banishing Taslima Nasrin from Bengal, said, "I haven't seen the advertisement. But I feel that politics should be delinked from religion.''
- 12:00 AM
- c.sunish
- By Sunish
- No comments
The Hindu
Saturday, September 11 , 2010
A Cabinet of crorepatis
Vidya Subrahmaniam
Sandeep Joshi
Folklore may ascribe immeasurable wealth to India's Cabinet Ministers, but going by what they have officially filed – and now made public -- many of them fall way short of the anticipated riches.
Nonetheless, it is a Cabinet predominantly of crorepatis. The first among equals, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not the richest member of his Cabinet, but even he reports a total asset value of Rs. 4.30 crore.
Surprisingly, Finance Minister and the presumed number two, Pranab Mukherjee, is some distance away from Dr. Singh with his total assets valued at around Rs.1 crore. This is apart from the assets held by Mr. Mukherjee's wife estimated at just under Rs. 1.5 crore. With a total asset value of around Rs.1 crore, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna also falls behind the Prime Minister. Mr. Krishna's wife, Prema, owns assets worth another Rs.1 crore.
Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar's statement shows him in possession of assets worth Rs. 3.9 crore with his wife Pratibha holding assets worth another Rs. 2.16 crore. Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal holds assets worth around Rs. 14 crore while his wife owns property worth Rs. 7 crore.
Strikingly, many of the Ministers are poorer than their spouses, among them. Home Minister Chidambaram and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. Mr. Chidambaram has movable (shares, bank deposits, cash, jewellery etc.) and immovable assets worth Rs. 5 crore while the assets of his wife, Nalini, add up to over Rs. 7 crore. At approximately Rs. 15 crore, Mr. Deora's assets are considerably lower than Hema Deora's pegged at around Rs. 31 crore.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath holds movable and immovable assets worth around Rs. 3 crore.
His wife Alka's assets are valued at Rs. 1.5 core. Mr. Kamal Nath and his family have business interest in at least 22 firms.
The total assets of Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Anand Sharma are valued at Rs. 2.5 crore. He has not reported the assets held by his wife. Union Minister for Chemical and Fertilizers M.K. Alagiri has movable and immovable assets worth about Rs. 9 crore.
This is apart from the holdings of his wife and son worth about Rs. 6 crore.
One of the richest members of the Council of Ministers, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel holds immovable assets worth nearly Rs. 35 crore.
This is besides assets totalling Rs. 40 crore in the name of his wife Varsha. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia has assets estimated at over Rs. 30 crore which excludes inherited property worth crores from the royal Scindia family.
This exclusive club also has its poor members, among them Union Minister for Railways Mamata Banerjee (Rs. 6 lakh), Union Minister for Defence A.K. Antony (Rs. 1 lakh) and, surprisingly, Union Minister for Communications and IT A. Raja (Rs. 88 lakh).
The information was compiled from data obtained under the Right to Information Act by S.C. Agrawal and election affidavits filed by the Ministers.
Saturday, September 11 , 2010
A Cabinet of crorepatis
Vidya Subrahmaniam
Sandeep Joshi
Folklore may ascribe immeasurable wealth to India's Cabinet Ministers, but going by what they have officially filed – and now made public -- many of them fall way short of the anticipated riches.
Nonetheless, it is a Cabinet predominantly of crorepatis. The first among equals, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not the richest member of his Cabinet, but even he reports a total asset value of Rs. 4.30 crore.
Surprisingly, Finance Minister and the presumed number two, Pranab Mukherjee, is some distance away from Dr. Singh with his total assets valued at around Rs.1 crore. This is apart from the assets held by Mr. Mukherjee's wife estimated at just under Rs. 1.5 crore. With a total asset value of around Rs.1 crore, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna also falls behind the Prime Minister. Mr. Krishna's wife, Prema, owns assets worth another Rs.1 crore.
Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar's statement shows him in possession of assets worth Rs. 3.9 crore with his wife Pratibha holding assets worth another Rs. 2.16 crore. Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal holds assets worth around Rs. 14 crore while his wife owns property worth Rs. 7 crore.
Strikingly, many of the Ministers are poorer than their spouses, among them. Home Minister Chidambaram and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. Mr. Chidambaram has movable (shares, bank deposits, cash, jewellery etc.) and immovable assets worth Rs. 5 crore while the assets of his wife, Nalini, add up to over Rs. 7 crore. At approximately Rs. 15 crore, Mr. Deora's assets are considerably lower than Hema Deora's pegged at around Rs. 31 crore.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath holds movable and immovable assets worth around Rs. 3 crore.
His wife Alka's assets are valued at Rs. 1.5 core. Mr. Kamal Nath and his family have business interest in at least 22 firms.
The total assets of Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Anand Sharma are valued at Rs. 2.5 crore. He has not reported the assets held by his wife. Union Minister for Chemical and Fertilizers M.K. Alagiri has movable and immovable assets worth about Rs. 9 crore.
This is apart from the holdings of his wife and son worth about Rs. 6 crore.
One of the richest members of the Council of Ministers, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel holds immovable assets worth nearly Rs. 35 crore.
This is besides assets totalling Rs. 40 crore in the name of his wife Varsha. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia has assets estimated at over Rs. 30 crore which excludes inherited property worth crores from the royal Scindia family.
This exclusive club also has its poor members, among them Union Minister for Railways Mamata Banerjee (Rs. 6 lakh), Union Minister for Defence A.K. Antony (Rs. 1 lakh) and, surprisingly, Union Minister for Communications and IT A. Raja (Rs. 88 lakh).
The information was compiled from data obtained under the Right to Information Act by S.C. Agrawal and election affidavits filed by the Ministers.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
- 7:06 PM
- c.sunish
- By Sunish
- No comments
On 7th September General Strike:
The National Convention of AILRSA held at Acharia Atre Rang Mandir,Kalyan on 31.08.10 decided to express solidarity for the September 7 th General strike.
The resolution called upon the entire working class irrespective of affiliations to make the General Strike a massive success and prepare for heightening the united struggle in the days to come for reversal of neo-liberal economic policies pursued by the UPA-II Government.
On Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS)
Trade unions expressed very serious concern at the deplorable state of condition of the EPS. The pensionery benefit has gone down at atrociously low level. At the time introduction of the scheme the Government refused to accept of demand to link the pension benefit with price index and instead had decided to undertake review at regular interval. But actually no worthy name review to revise the benefit neutralising the rise in prices has taken place at all. The fan fare with which the EPS was imposed on the workers by the Government, now it cannot arrogantly avoid to act with financial contribution to keep the corpus of the EPS viable and ensuring benefit to the senior citizens of the country for a decent retired life. After all it is an all important matter of social security.
Against Privatisatioin, Opening up and Deregulations :
On the continued onslaught of privatization through dinvestment, it is noted that shares in blue chip PSUs is being carried on and already shares are being off-loaded at a price much below the price ruling in the share market in all cases disinvested so far. The Govt has already entered into free trade agreement with the ASEAN countries and recently similar free trade agreement is being negotiated with the European Union. Both together will mean almost total and unrestricted opening of our market for both industrial and agricultural products from abroad which is going to severely affect the domestic industries and already crisis-ridden agriculture. Hundred per cent FDI in retail trade including multi-brand products is also being actively considered by the Govt.
All these are going to create grievous consequences for the national economy and many more such steps for deregulation of the financial sector are on the anvil as the trend indicates. The ruling polity in India is in a hurry to completely deregulate the national economy and the domestic market to force upon similar opening and deregulation in other developing economies—all to facilitate a quicker recovery of the crisis ridden economies of the rich industrialised nations. The project of strategic alliance of Indian ruling polity with imperialism is in action through such hectic move of deregulation and disinvestments which needs to be understood comprehensively and propagated intensively among the people.
Deregulation of Petroleum Pricing:
The increase in the price of petrol, diesel, LPG and Kerosene as a step towards complete deregulation of petroleum pricing will further aggravate the inflationary situation. The plea taken by the Govt that petrol/diesel/kerosene prices are raised owing to increase in international price of crude oil is totally untrue. Even on date the international price of crude oil, if converted into rupees per litre adding together refining cost and other incidentals is less than half the price of petrol diesel etc at the domestic market. Fact remains that the present high level of prices of petrol and diesel etc is because of heavy tax and duties extracted by the Governments from mass of the people. Whatever little subsidy still being given to people by the Govt in Kerosene and LPG, four times more is being extracted by the govt from the same people in the form of high tax and duties. In fact in case of petroleum products, mass of the common people have in fact subsidising the Govt.
It is further noted that deregulation of petroleum pricing will be the source of constant increase in prices and more and more burden on the common people in one hand and on the other hand the private operators both indigenous and foreign shall deploy all foul means to derive undue advantage out of the deregulated regime and the oil PSUs shall be put to serious disadvantage threatening commercial viability in the long term. Naturally the trade union movement of country must address this issue with this perspective understanding.
The National Convention of AILRSA held at Acharia Atre Rang Mandir,Kalyan on 31.08.10 decided to express solidarity for the September 7 th General strike.
The resolution called upon the entire working class irrespective of affiliations to make the General Strike a massive success and prepare for heightening the united struggle in the days to come for reversal of neo-liberal economic policies pursued by the UPA-II Government.
On Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS)
Trade unions expressed very serious concern at the deplorable state of condition of the EPS. The pensionery benefit has gone down at atrociously low level. At the time introduction of the scheme the Government refused to accept of demand to link the pension benefit with price index and instead had decided to undertake review at regular interval. But actually no worthy name review to revise the benefit neutralising the rise in prices has taken place at all. The fan fare with which the EPS was imposed on the workers by the Government, now it cannot arrogantly avoid to act with financial contribution to keep the corpus of the EPS viable and ensuring benefit to the senior citizens of the country for a decent retired life. After all it is an all important matter of social security.
Against Privatisatioin, Opening up and Deregulations :
On the continued onslaught of privatization through dinvestment, it is noted that shares in blue chip PSUs is being carried on and already shares are being off-loaded at a price much below the price ruling in the share market in all cases disinvested so far. The Govt has already entered into free trade agreement with the ASEAN countries and recently similar free trade agreement is being negotiated with the European Union. Both together will mean almost total and unrestricted opening of our market for both industrial and agricultural products from abroad which is going to severely affect the domestic industries and already crisis-ridden agriculture. Hundred per cent FDI in retail trade including multi-brand products is also being actively considered by the Govt.
All these are going to create grievous consequences for the national economy and many more such steps for deregulation of the financial sector are on the anvil as the trend indicates. The ruling polity in India is in a hurry to completely deregulate the national economy and the domestic market to force upon similar opening and deregulation in other developing economies—all to facilitate a quicker recovery of the crisis ridden economies of the rich industrialised nations. The project of strategic alliance of Indian ruling polity with imperialism is in action through such hectic move of deregulation and disinvestments which needs to be understood comprehensively and propagated intensively among the people.
Deregulation of Petroleum Pricing:
The increase in the price of petrol, diesel, LPG and Kerosene as a step towards complete deregulation of petroleum pricing will further aggravate the inflationary situation. The plea taken by the Govt that petrol/diesel/kerosene prices are raised owing to increase in international price of crude oil is totally untrue. Even on date the international price of crude oil, if converted into rupees per litre adding together refining cost and other incidentals is less than half the price of petrol diesel etc at the domestic market. Fact remains that the present high level of prices of petrol and diesel etc is because of heavy tax and duties extracted by the Governments from mass of the people. Whatever little subsidy still being given to people by the Govt in Kerosene and LPG, four times more is being extracted by the govt from the same people in the form of high tax and duties. In fact in case of petroleum products, mass of the common people have in fact subsidising the Govt.
It is further noted that deregulation of petroleum pricing will be the source of constant increase in prices and more and more burden on the common people in one hand and on the other hand the private operators both indigenous and foreign shall deploy all foul means to derive undue advantage out of the deregulated regime and the oil PSUs shall be put to serious disadvantage threatening commercial viability in the long term. Naturally the trade union movement of country must address this issue with this perspective understanding.
- 6:51 PM
- c.sunish
- By Sunish
- No comments
Bill to hike MPs salaries tabled in Lok Sabha
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: A bill proposing a salary hike for members of Parliament from Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 50,000 and doubling their key allowances to Rs. 40,000 was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2010 seeks to raise the daily allowance for members from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000 and the constituency and office expense allowances from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 40,000.
Introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, the bill also enhances pension for former members from Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 20,000 with effect from the constitution of the present Lok Sabha on May 18 last year.
The proposal to hike the salaries received much attention lately as the MPs from Opposition parties, particularly the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janta Dal, and the Bahujan Samaj Party rejected the government earlier proposal. The proposal had been approved by the Union Cabinet but the MPs from these three political parties wanted their salaries to be one rupee more than that of the Cabinet Secretary, which is Rs. 80,001, as recommended by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
However, the government did not accept that and instead decided to raise the constituency and office allowances by Rs. 5,000 each.
The Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of MPs headed by Congress' Charandas Mahant had recommended a hike in salary from Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 80,001 — one rupee more than that of the Secretary to the Government of India.
In the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, the Minister said the government, after going through the report of the Joint Committee, had decided to accept certain recommendations.
The government's decision on the Joint Committee report had brought protests in Parliament from a section of MPs led by Lalu Prasad (RJD) and Mulayam Singh (SP) who dubbed it as an “insult” to members and organised a mock Parliament.
The Minister said the provisions for raising salary, daily allowance and minimum and additional pension would involve a recurring annual expenditure of Rs. 103.76 crore. A one time expenditure of Rs. 118 crore would be incurred on account of arrears.
MPs may get Rs.10,000 more
Smita Gupta
New Delhi: The government appears to have achieved a compromise with the Opposition parties on the issue of increasing the salary and allowances of members of Parliament.
Top sources told The Hindu that while the government had rejected the demand to increase the salary from the current Rs. 16,000 to the Rs. 80,001 recommended by a Parliamentary Committee, it was willing to add another Rs. 10,000 to the allowances that MPs get.
The formula arrived at, the sources said, was that the current salary would be increased to Rs. 50,000 – as recommended by the Union Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, and which was earlier rejected by the Opposition parties as being a dilution of the parliamentary committee's recommendations — but that the constituency allowance which was being upped from Rs. 20,000 a month to Rs. 40,000 a month could now be pegged at Rs. 50,000 – an increase of Rs. 10,000 over what the government had proposed.
Alternatively, the constituency allowance will be hiked by Rs. 5,000 and the secretarial allowance by Rs. 5,000, adding up to Rs. 10,000 a month.
This emerged after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh on Saturday morning.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, Bharatiya Janata Party deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Dara Singh Chauhan were also present at the meeting.
The changes agreed upon will have to be taken to the Cabinet again.
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: A bill proposing a salary hike for members of Parliament from Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 50,000 and doubling their key allowances to Rs. 40,000 was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2010 seeks to raise the daily allowance for members from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000 and the constituency and office expense allowances from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 40,000.
Introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, the bill also enhances pension for former members from Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 20,000 with effect from the constitution of the present Lok Sabha on May 18 last year.
The proposal to hike the salaries received much attention lately as the MPs from Opposition parties, particularly the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janta Dal, and the Bahujan Samaj Party rejected the government earlier proposal. The proposal had been approved by the Union Cabinet but the MPs from these three political parties wanted their salaries to be one rupee more than that of the Cabinet Secretary, which is Rs. 80,001, as recommended by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
However, the government did not accept that and instead decided to raise the constituency and office allowances by Rs. 5,000 each.
The Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of MPs headed by Congress' Charandas Mahant had recommended a hike in salary from Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 80,001 — one rupee more than that of the Secretary to the Government of India.
In the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, the Minister said the government, after going through the report of the Joint Committee, had decided to accept certain recommendations.
The government's decision on the Joint Committee report had brought protests in Parliament from a section of MPs led by Lalu Prasad (RJD) and Mulayam Singh (SP) who dubbed it as an “insult” to members and organised a mock Parliament.
The Minister said the provisions for raising salary, daily allowance and minimum and additional pension would involve a recurring annual expenditure of Rs. 103.76 crore. A one time expenditure of Rs. 118 crore would be incurred on account of arrears.
MPs may get Rs.10,000 more
Smita Gupta
New Delhi: The government appears to have achieved a compromise with the Opposition parties on the issue of increasing the salary and allowances of members of Parliament.
Top sources told The Hindu that while the government had rejected the demand to increase the salary from the current Rs. 16,000 to the Rs. 80,001 recommended by a Parliamentary Committee, it was willing to add another Rs. 10,000 to the allowances that MPs get.
The formula arrived at, the sources said, was that the current salary would be increased to Rs. 50,000 – as recommended by the Union Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, and which was earlier rejected by the Opposition parties as being a dilution of the parliamentary committee's recommendations — but that the constituency allowance which was being upped from Rs. 20,000 a month to Rs. 40,000 a month could now be pegged at Rs. 50,000 – an increase of Rs. 10,000 over what the government had proposed.
Alternatively, the constituency allowance will be hiked by Rs. 5,000 and the secretarial allowance by Rs. 5,000, adding up to Rs. 10,000 a month.
This emerged after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh on Saturday morning.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, Bharatiya Janata Party deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Dara Singh Chauhan were also present at the meeting.
The changes agreed upon will have to be taken to the Cabinet again.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
- 5:03 PM
- c.sunish
- By Sunish
- No comments
The national convention of AILRSA was held at Acharia Atre Ranga Mandir, Kalyan, Mumbai ,on 31.08.10 ,to decide future course of action on the long pending demands. The convention was attended by more than 1000 delegates from different parts of India. Presided by Com. L Mony ,and NB Dutta.
The convention adopted the following resolutions.
1. The convention demands to fill up all the vacancies in a war footing level.
2. The convention Protest against the casual and negative attitude of Railway Administration towards the grievances of Loco running staff, and urge the railway to concede the demands positively within one month as committed before RLC/NDLS in writing on 27.08.10. We also caution the administration that the RB alone will be responsible for any disruption of Traffic that may happen in this regard.
3. Solidarity to General Strike by working class on Sept 7th.
4. The National convention entrust the Secretary General to declare the date of Hunger fat in front of Railway Ministers residence during the winter session of parliament. All the MP’s should be appraised the position through detailed letters and in person by respective branch, Division and Zones. Mobilize maximum strength for this hunger fast at New Delhi and simultaneously observe Hunger fast on duty.
5. The convention authorize the CWC to decide the date of stoppage of work, if warrented.
The convention adopted the following resolutions.
1. The convention demands to fill up all the vacancies in a war footing level.
2. The convention Protest against the casual and negative attitude of Railway Administration towards the grievances of Loco running staff, and urge the railway to concede the demands positively within one month as committed before RLC/NDLS in writing on 27.08.10. We also caution the administration that the RB alone will be responsible for any disruption of Traffic that may happen in this regard.
3. Solidarity to General Strike by working class on Sept 7th.
4. The National convention entrust the Secretary General to declare the date of Hunger fat in front of Railway Ministers residence during the winter session of parliament. All the MP’s should be appraised the position through detailed letters and in person by respective branch, Division and Zones. Mobilize maximum strength for this hunger fast at New Delhi and simultaneously observe Hunger fast on duty.
5. The convention authorize the CWC to decide the date of stoppage of work, if warrented.
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