World’s first semi high-speed rail corridor got approved by Railway board and Maharashtra government
The world’s first semi high-speed corridor over broad gauge, which will allow trains to run at a speed up to 250 kmph between Pune and Nashik, has been given a green signal by the Railway Board and Maharashtra government. The detailed project report for the high-speed rail corridor was completed by the state-run Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (MRIDC) in February.
Pune and Nashik are two of the fastest-growing cities in the state and collectively account for 18% of the population of the state and contribute 19% of the Gross Value Added to the state. A sharp rise in the volume of movement of goods between Pune to Nashik route has occurred over the past few years.
Source: Times Now
Malls in Noida and Ghaziabad are scheduled to open after two months
Shopping malls in Noida and Ghaziabad will open on Monday after two months but most operators expect subdued openings and low footfall due to travel restrictions from Delhi. Moreover, most of the employees come from Delhi. Even though essential employees can get passes to cross the borders, the system is not functioning smoothly, causing huge traffic delays at the borders.
Noida and Ghaziabad are the only places in the national capital region (NCR) where malls will operate from Monday by adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Centre, as Delhi and Haryana have decided to keep them shut for the time being. Mall operators said essential upkeep of the facilities is going on, but rents and common area maintenance charges are being received intermittently. They said the issues with retailers over rent during the lockdown period have been resolved.
Source: The Economic Times
Telangana High Court notice over metro ticket fare
A division bench of Telangana High Court, on June 3rd, issued notices to the State and Central governments, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited and Larsen and Toubro Metro Rail Limited, for filing counter affidavits in four weeks. It came as a response in the PIL filed, alleging fixation of ticket charges of city metro rail in contravention of the Concession Agreement entered between Telangana government and HMRL.
The petitioner contended that the fare chart published by the Larsen and Toubro Metro Rail Ltd is illegal, arbitrary and contrary to the concession agreement signed during the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh government in the year 2010. The Central Government had provided viability gap funding (VGF) to the tune of Rs 1,458 crore and the L&T Metro Rail had received the same; hence it is not entitled to fix the ticket price at more than what has been prescribed under the Concession Agreement.
Source: The New Indian Express
Complete weekend lockdowns in Dehradun for sanitization drive
On June 4th, Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announced a complete lockdown in Dehradun every Saturday and Sunday, during which sanitization drives will be conducted throughout the city. He added that only essential services would be allowed to function on these two days. Presently, there are 39 containment zones in Uttarakhand —18 in Dehradun, 17 in Haridwar, and two each in Pauri and Tehri.
In view of a large number of COVID-19-positive cases emerging from Niranjanpur Vegetable Market, the CM directed the closure of the wholesale vegetable market temporarily and asked officials to make alternative arrangements. The wholesale market has been declared a containment zone till June 11th. District Magistrate Ashish Srivastava said that all the blocks of the market would observe total lockdown.
Source: The Times of India
Hotels to be closed in Shimla till August end
The Shimla Hotel Restaurant and Association has decided not to re-open hotels till August-end or September .The hoteliers noted that the cases were likely to continue to increase in June and July and advised the state government not to open state borders.
Shimla hotel and restaurant association has said that it will take at least two to three months for hoteliers to build capacities of the staff to take care of the guests and property during the pandemic. The association has also suggested the government to market the mountain state of Himachal as a hub for wellness, adventure, environmental, cultural, health, religious and culinary tourism.
False alarm on gas leak in Powai, Mumbai
BMC’s disaster control room received emergency calls over a foul odour noticed by residents in the eastern suburbs and Powai. It was reported that a gas leak had taken place at a unit of US Vitamin Company, near Indira Apartment, Govandi (East). Soon fire engines reached the spot and conducted an extensive search but no leakage was detected.
“No leakage was found at US Vitamin Company and nearby areas,” said PS Rahangdale, Chief Fire Officer. “No need to panic, stay indoors and close the windows. BMC is actively monitoring the situation,” tweeted Aditya Thackeray.
The unit was checked by the safety team last night and there is absolutely no foul smell emanating from the facility in the Govandi, said a statement released by the Company. It also requested media to refrain from reporting fake news regarding the incident.
Source: The Times of India
Compiled by Rishabh Shrivastava