Japan to give India her first Bullet Train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad

Japan has landed the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project. The proposal of China was not accepted because of the bullet train accident in China four years ago in the south-eastern city of Wenzhou in which 40 people died and close to 200 were injured. Japan has offered low-cost finance and a promise to have a substantial 'Make in India' component and transfer of technology. These ensured that Japan get the contract.
The first high-speed Bullet Train would run initially between Mumbai and Ahmedabad and, in future, could be extended to Delhi.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 10 December 2015.

The Rs 98,000 crore project was cleared by the cabinet and is set to be announced during the visit of Japanese premier Shinzo Abe's later this week.
Incidentally, the Shinkansen System had the best safety record with no fatalities in addition to the fact that delays on a trip did not exceed a minute.
Nearly 70-80% of the components could be manufactured in India and the Japanese government has offered technical support and was willing to drive the local manufacturing and technology transfer initiative within a specified period.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Violence in Gujarat, the land of Gandhi and Modi – 9 killed as Army called in

#NarendraModi #HardikPatel #GujaratViolence #AnandibenPatel Gujarat is once again seeing violence and, this time it is on the issue of reservation - it was apparently sparked off by police crackdown on Patidar protesters in Ahmedabad. The Anandiben Patel government had no alternative but to call in the Army to help maintain law and order. The Police and leaders of the ruling BJP were the prime targets of the rioters.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 27 August 2015.

The police action followed the arrest of protest kingpin Hardik Patel. There was also lathicharge at the venue of the Patel rally and at least nine people have been killed in the violence. The deaths were four in Ahmedabad, three in Banaskantha and one in Mehsana and a police constable in Surat. Another 100 have suffered injuries.
In order to contain the situation, five columns of the Army carried out a flag march in violence-hit areas of Ahmedabad where curfew was imposed in nine areas.
The demonstrators attacked policemen, damaged buses, ransacked government buildings and blocked highways - 140 state transport buses were set on fire and another 152 damaged.
The agitation had been going on for nearly a month and, finally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the issue of recognizing the Patidars as OBCs – he made a fervent appeal for calm.
Hardik Patel, the convener of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, has warned that the agitation to secure OBC status for Patels would only intensify. He has also told his supporters not to indulge in violence and also threatened to resign if they did not heed his call.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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At least 34 dead in heavy rains in Gujarat – Rajkot and Amreli face floodlike situations

Gujarat is in the grip of the monsoons and at least 34 deaths have been reported, as a result of heavy rains coupled with squally winds parts of Gujarat like Rajkot and Amreli are faced with flood-like situation, besides claiming 34 lives due to continuous downpour.
In Ahmedabad, the heavy rainfall has left many parts inundated while few of the areas are worst-affected due to water-logging.
This has been reported in zeenews.com dated 24 June 2015.

Teams of NDRF, Indian Air Force and SRP have been pressed into service at Rajkot and Amreli to rescue the stranded people. The heavy rains have led to disruption of electricity supply in many villages. Approximately 1,500 people have been shifted to safer locations.
The Met department had already cautioned earlier that a "depression" had formed over the Arabian Sea, a second time in a month, which could turn into a "deep depression" and bring heavy rains in the state of Gujarat. Districts of heavy rains include -- Gir Somnath, Amreli, Rajkot and Ahmedabad. The city of Surat recorded more than 100 mm rain-fall and Ahmedabad, more than 200 mm.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Life in Delhi, the capital of India, is not all a bed of roses – a study has shown that it is one of the metros that is least bothered about its old people. Neither do most of the metros. Family life as depicted in popular TV serials are far removed from reality because, in real life, it is all about nuclear families where there is no space for parents or elders.
As per statistics revealed by HelpAge India, 92% youth of Delhi are unwilling to act followed by 64% in Chennai, 45% in Hyderabad, 41% in Ahmedabad, 37% in Bengaluru and 35% in Mumbai.
This has be reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 16 June 2015.

The survey was carried out in 200 households selected from 20 middle and upper class localities in 10 cities. The country head of HelpAge India has said that financial reasons were the most perceived factor for elderly abuse.
Moreover, 'attitudinal and relationship issues' also played a prominent role.
Incidentally, the reasons of elderly abuse in the past had been attributed to son and daughter-in-law.
The survey report was released at India International Centre, New Delhi and many elderly persons were present on the occasion. As one of them has lamented – the children have no time to talk because the son and daughter-in-law are busy with work and the grandchildren are busy with their mobile phones. As a result, the elders feel isolated at home.
Another elderly person lamented that he had spent most of his savings in buying a house for the family and children's education. Now, when he approaches them for money for small things, they often refuse.
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India’s first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad would be cheapest in the world

India’s first bullet train is gradually taking shape – at least on paper. It would cost Rs 98,000-crores, would have 10 stations and the fare for the 534-Km journey would tentatively be in the region of Rs 2800 – the current fare in AC-I class is Rs 2800. Moreover, the distance would be covered in two hours against eight hours as at present. This has been reported in indianexpress.com dated 3 June 2015.

The fare charged by Japan’s Tohoku Shinkansen (Hayabusa trains) for a 713-Km journey on the Tokyo-Shin-Aomori sector is about Rs 8,000. And, a second class ticket on China’s Jinghu High Speed Railway for the Beijing-Shanghai route comes to over Rs 5,000.
The feasibility report would probably be submitted to the Railways Ministry in July. On initial estimates, about 40,000 people would be using the corridor every day by 2023.
It is of interest to note that this corridor, along with 5 other corridors, had been introduced for feasibility study in the 2009–2010 Rail Budget by then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. An impression is gaining ground that it is being done at the initiative of the Modi government.
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Palace On Wheels to get a new lease of life with a Gujarat link

The Palace on Wheels used to be a prestigious train for foreign tourists coming to India because while on board this luxurious train, one could feel like a Maharaja. It is a part of Rajasthan tourism but, of late, it was not able to attract tourists. Hence, it has been rented out to a firm in Ahmedabad and the Palace would now originate from Gujarat.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 3 June 2015.

The train will now be seen in an Indian avatar – it will be converted to host board meetings, product launches apart from marriage parties on the move. The new version would provide a new experience to the travelers.
A Gujarat-based travel company has concluded an agreement with the Rajasthan state tourism department and Indian Railways to bring the Palace on Wheels to Gujarat. The company would run the train, which includes finalizing its itinerary as per bookings.
The Palace on Wheels would make a new beginning in August when it would carry its first marriage party on board. The train has been booked initially for a year. The itinerary would be as per the needs of the clientele. The tentative plan is to begin from Ahmedabad, and head to Udaipur, Jaipur, Savai Madhavpur, Delhi and, finally, to Agra. There are also plans to host dinner for the passengers on the lawns near Taj Mahal, subject to permission being granted.
The company has indicated that even though the train will originate from Ahmedabad, it would have to market Rajasthan state tourism and, therefore, the guests would be booked into hotels run by the Rajasthan tourism department. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Who will give India the Bullet Trains – China or Japan or both?

Delhi-Chennai bullet train - on 27 November 2014, a news report in thehindu.com indicated that China was hoping to bag the contract of a possible bullet-train deal with India along the 1,754-Km Delhi-Chennai high speed rail corridor.
In the report, it was also revealed that Japan also had its eyes on the market and had pledged to offer India a more attractive funding scheme. Moreover, based on a report there were apprehensions that the Sino-Indian partnership in the field of high-speed rail was not well-received by the Indian public.

An Indian delegation had gone to China to work out the “terms of reference” of the feasibility study. This would be undertaken by the Chinese authorities to establish a high-speed rail corridor between Delhi and Chennai. Once completed, it would reduce travel time between Delhi and Chennai to around 6 hours.
Of course, mere finalization of the study was no guarantee that the Delhi-Chennai corridor high-speed rail contract would go to a Chinese company.
Mumbai- Ahmedabad bullet train – a strong contender for this sector appears to be Japan. As reported in asia.nikkei.com dated 5 March 2015, its shinkansen bullet train technology is the leading candidate for the 500-Km bullet train that would connect the western city of Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
The Indian and Japanese governments had initiated a joint feasibility study in late 2013 before the Modi government came to power in 2014 and a final report is to be released in July 2015. As indicated by a top official in India's Ministry of Railways, Japan's technology is the best in the world and that India is hopeful of linking up with Japan to work on this project.
On a rough estimate, this link will cost 700-800 billion rupees ($11.3 billion to $12.9 billion) and would include 12 stations to be built along the route. The train is expected to have a top speed of 320-Kmph and would drastically travel time to around two and a half hours from the eight hours it takes now.

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