Derailment of 14 bogies of Patna-bound Indore-Rajendranagar Express leaves at least 145 dead

The number of dead in the derailment of the Patna-bound Indore-Rajendranagar Express has climbed at least 145 on Monday, with 123 bodies being identified so far. Another more than 200 are injured and are in various hospitals. The accident is likely to have been caused by rail fracture.
However, the Sabarmati Express had crossed the same track nine minutes earlier and it had not reported any fault. Its driver felt no jerks. Hence, it is difficult to pinpoint any reason at this moment.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 21 November 2016.

The accident occurred early morning at around 3am shortly after the train left Kanpur Central station. Over 200 people were also injured as 14 bogies of the Patna-bound Indore-Rajendranagar Express went off the track in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh.
The location of the derailment was between the Pukhrayan and Malasa stations along the Jhansi-Kanpur section. Two of the sleeper coaches S3 and S4 were thrown off on to the nearby fields. S1 and S2 in front of them bore the brunt when the coaches smashed into each other leaving behind mangled iron. The third AC coach B3 was also heavily damaged.


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Seven youths killed while clicking selfie in the River Ganges in Kanpur

Clicking selfies is the latest craze among youngsters and several deaths have been reported while clicking selfies. And, in the latest instance, seven youths of Kanpur lost their lives due to this. Clicking a selfie turned into a disaster for a 19-year-old and six of his friends - all of them drowned in the Ganga while trying to save one another.
This has been reported in ndtv.com dated 23 June 2016.

The incident happened when seven youngsters, most of them in early twenties, went for a swim in the Ganges river after rainfall. One of them was clicking a selfie while bathing when he lost his balance and started drowning. His friend tried to save him but he too lost his balance due to the high level of water level and high current following heavy rainfall.
Subsequently, all the other friends jumped in one after another to save them but drowned in the attempt. A team of divers retrieved the bodies of the seven youths after two hours. All of them have been identified. There was a similar incident in Mumbai in January when three girls had fallen into the Arabian Sea while clicking selfies on a rock jutting out of the sea near Bandra Fort. A man who was nearby had jumped in to save them and had drowned in the attempt.


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Summer sees high occupancy rates in Kanpur cinema halls

Summer in the city of Kanpur means intolerable heat and when the temperature soars to 40 degrees Celsius, it is time to find out some means to beat the heat. And, one of these is to lock oneself up in a air conditioned cinema hall for the afternoon shows. As a result, the occupancy rate has gone up to 70 per cent, even during week days. The multiplexes and cinema halls in the city are not complaining but are raking in the profits.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 8 April 2016.

As the manager of a multiplex has agreed - in these past few days the occupancy of their halls has increased substantially because many people are coming to watch movies and beat the heat. Almost 70 per cent of the hall is occupied the noon shows between 1.30 to 5 pm.
Another manager admitted that youngsters are spending afternoons watching movies and are visiting the multiplex at least twice or thrice a week to spend time at a place that is cool during the day. The occupancy that was just around 40-45 per cent in March has shot up to 75 per cent in the afternoons of April.
And this situation is not just for multiplexes but also single screen theatres in the city. Jagdish Kumar, manager at Sapna Palace, says, "Mostly it is students and youngsters who come for the afternoon shows watching a film in an air conditioned hall.


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India commits hara-kiri in Kanpur – lose 1st ODI to South Africa

#INDvsSA #RohitSharma #abdevilliers #msdhoni #kanpur It was sheer hara-kiri that the Indians committed in Kanpur when the gifted away the 1st ODI of the series away to the visiting South Africans. First the home team allowed the visitors to pile up a huge 303 runs and then lost their nerve to fold up tamely – Indians lost the game by 5 runs.
This has been reported in dnaindia.com dated 11 October 2015.

Rohit Sharma (150 runs off 133 balls) made a brave effort to win despite the odds being stacked against the team but, when he left and India needed 22 off the last two overs with Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the crease, it was hoped that India would script a win.
But, that did not happen – and Dhoni failed to rise to the occasion. He just could not hit a sixer that could have made the difference.
Rohit Sharma's eighth ton in ODIs went in vain.
AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 104 off 73 balls and was named the Man of the Match.
The 303 scored by South Africa was the highest score at this venue – it surpassed 294 made by the hosts in 2007.
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Ban on water bottles in Green Park Stadium, Kanpur, for October 11th ODI

The incident of bottle throwing in the T20 match in Cuttack has left a bad taste in the mouth and has sent alarm bells ringing and the crowd trouble there has forced the Kanpur police to go in for banning all water bottles from being brought into the stadium for the opening ODI on October 11 between South Africa and India.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 7 October 2015.

The crowd trouble in Cuttack marred the second Twenty20 International between India and South Africa and the Kanpur police does not want to face any such incident. Hence, the ban on bringing water bottles and tiffins into the stadium for the opening ODI.
How effective such a ban would be is debatable because, an ODI is a 50-over-a-side match and goes on for at least 9 to 10 hours – the game itself is of 8-hours duration plus the break and fans arrive much before the start. Obviously, the administration would have to make suitable arrangements to provide water to the fans.
As an additional preventive measure, a 10 feet high net is being installed in front of the stands. That would ensure that even if any object is thrown by fans, it does not reach the ground.
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Clean Ganga mission – 700 tanneries of Kanpur pollute the River Ganges

#tanneries #kanpur #cleanganga #pollution The Clean Ganga mission is a mission that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to pursue with vigor and he has named Uma Bharati as the minister who should follow up and ensure implementation. But, the extent of pollution due to the tanneries in Kanpur, situated on the banks of the Ganges, poses a major challenge.
In this context, the warning of the National Green Tribunal has come not a day too soon – it has warned of complete closure of 700 tanneries in Kanpur located on the banks of the Rive Ganges because these are one of the "highest sources of pollution". These pollutants were injurious to human health and bio-diversity apart from ecology of the river.
Moreover, the tribunal has also observed that unless effective steps are taken to curb the pollution level then the tanneries would be closed because the lives of millions who reside in the region would be in anger and that should not happen.
The NGT is serious about the matter and a bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, has issued directions for inspection of the entire tannery industrial cluster. This should be undertaken by a team consisting of reps of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).
The bench was quite clear on what was needed - life of millions cannot be put at stake for carrying out a commercial activity of a group of individuals and a proper balance must be maintained between development and environment.