Railways’ Tatkal Reservation Scheme

(PIB NEWS) Tatkal Scheme was initially introduced in December 1997 on a few trains by attaching additional coach and the same was defined in computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) as separate train by suffixing word “T” to the train number. The Tatkal Scheme was comprehensively reviewed in 2004 and revised Tatkal Scheme was introduced extending the same to Sleeper, Air-Conditioned Chair Car, AC-3 tier, AC-2 tier classes in all Mail/Express trains including Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi Express trains by earmarking the following accommodation as Tatkal :AC-2 tier -4 berths per coach,AC-3 tier-6 berths per coach, AC Chair Car-6 seats per coach, Sleeper Class - 10 per cent of the accommodation or one coach whichever is less. The Tatkal coaches running in the trains were, however, included in the train service composition. Since the revised Tatkal Scheme was extended to all Mail/Express trains including Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Jan Shatabdi Express trains and in various classes, the availability of general accommodation got reduced to that extent. However, the Tatkal quota so earmarked was also available for the general passenger with the only difference of comparatively reduced Advance Reservation Period. Based on the demand pattern, the berths/seats under Tatkal Scheme were increased in phases on certain trains during the period from 2004-05 to 2008-09 resulting in increased percentage. Simultaneously, general reservation quota also increased during this period on account of introduction of new trains, increasing the frequency and augmenting the load of existing trains etc., which required investment in production of additional coaches. This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways, Shri E. Ahamed in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
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Political parties welcome death sentence to Kasab

Political leaders cutting across party lines Thursday welcomed the death penalty given to terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab for the 26/11 attack and said the Pakistani gunmen must be hanged as soon as possible.Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan welcomed the verdict and said: “I am thankful to the court for taking such a fast decision and that too in a transparent way. Thanks to (Special Prosecutor) Ujjwal Nikam, (police officer) Rakesh Maria, Deven Bharti and the entire team of Mumbai Police.”“Kasab must be hanged as soon as possible,” Chavan added.Deputy Chief Minister Chagan Bhujbal said Kasab’s “heinous crime warranted stricter punishment than capital punishment”.“But he has got what he deserved,” added Bhujbal.“The way Indian law and judicial system conducted this case was simply outstanding. The decision will be welcomed by all Indians and is a warning to India’s enemies,” said Bhujbal.
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Hang Kasab, Afzal Guru together: Togadia

Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab as well as Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri sentenced to death for the 2001 terrorist attack on the Indian parliament, should both be hanged, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia said Thursday.Welcoming the death sentence given to Kasab by a court in Mumbai, Togadia said: “This is a welcome first step towards bringing Bharat’s culprits to proper justice.”He added: “So also, Afzal Guru has been playing with Indian democracy for long now. Mercy to such people is an insult to Indian democracy. Therefore both Kasab and Afzal Guru must be hanged together and immediately.”Afzal Guru has sought clemency after his death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court.Togadia also urged the Indian government to cut off diplomatic relations with Pakistan for its involvement in terrorist activities in India.
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Hang Kasab as soon as possible – is the popular sentiment

Now that Ajmal Amir Kasab has been awarded the death penalty he should be hanged soon, was the unanimous sentiment of people everywhere, especially in Mumbai where the 26/11 carnage took place, after the death sentence to the Pakistani terrorist was given Thursday.

In Mumbai, there were celebrations on the streets as people burst firecrackers and distributed sweets to express their joy on Kasab getting the death sentence, while in the national capital most people said the terrorist should be hanged without any delay.As soon as the judgement was given by the Special Court in Mumbai, people began distributing sweets, burst firecrackers and shouted in joy. Kasab, the lone gunman captured alive during the Mumbai terror attack, along with nine other terrorists held the country’s commercial capital to siege in November 2008, killing 166 people and injuring 244.Celebrations were also held outside Special Public Prosecutor Ujjawal’s Nikam hotel in the CST where firecrackers were burst along with the beating of drums. People gathered outside his hotel with garlands and bouquets to felicitate him for his feat.At the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, where Kasab and his associate Abu Ismail massacred over 50 people, many commuters lit a lamp in front of a memorial to the victims.“We are glad Kasab has been awarded the death sentence. It comes as a tribute to all those who lost their lives in the terror attacks at the CST,” said Anil Parmar, a daily commuter.Party workers of the Shiv Sena also burst firecrackers at various places to welcome the death penalty.Members of the National Institute of Jihad Against Atrocities and Terrorism (NIJAAT) distributed sweets to passers by near the Maratha Mandir in Mumbai Central, south Mumbai. “We are glad he has been sentenced to death,” said NIJAAT convenor Haji Hyder Azam.In Mumbai and in New Delhi most people sought immediate execution of the death sentence, with some even saying he should be shot by a firing squad in public.In the western suburbs of Mumbai, people celebrated by distributing sweets to passers by. “This is our way to welcome Kasab’s death sentence. We just hope his execution also takes place soon,” said Ameya S. from suburban Goregaon.Fauzan Umar, 23, a resident of Darya Ganj in the old quarters of Delhi, said that Kasab should have been hanged 17 months ago. “Why have we waited for so long,” said the student who is pursuing software engineering.Speaking in the same vein, Umar added the judgement showed that “justice has been done to those people who had died in the Mumbai massacre. This shows our judicial system is still effective and credible.”Simmy Hasija, 21, demanded that both Kasab and Afzal Guru, sentenced to death in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, be hanged together as “both are cold blooded murderers”.“He (Kasab) should be hanged immediately. No punishment can ever suffice his actions. Even after killing so many people he used to shamelessly smile in the court. Moreover, crores of taxpayers money has been spent on his security. It’s high time that we should put an end to this nonsense,” Hasija said.Kriti Mehra, a HR trainee with a private company, said she hoped that Kasab’s appeals in various courts should not become a way to give him more time to live.“He may appeal in a higher court which will again take many more years. People of India will be satisfied the day he is hanged,” he added.

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Family of Indian student killed in US car crash shocked

Hyderabad, May 7: A pall of gloom has descended on the residence of Praneetha Devi Kasani, an MS student who was killed in a car accident in West Virginia in the US.The family of the 22-year-old student is in a state of shock after learning that she died while driving back home to Ohio from West Virginia. Five others accompanying her were also injured in the crash that occurred Thursday morning. Puneeth Reddy Amarella, who was driving, reportedly lost control of his car and crashed it into another vehicle. Praneetha's father Ramarao Kasani, who works as a circle inspector of police in Falaknuma traffic police station here, was inconsolable. He could not believe that his daughter, who had gone to the US only six months ago, was no more. Dozens of relatives and family friends reached his house in Karman Ghat neighbourhood to console Praneetha's parents and her sister. Family members said Praneetha had gone to the US in December last year after completing her B.Tech here. She had enrolled for MS Electrical Engineering at Wright State University, Ohio. Family members of Praneetha said they hoped that the body would be flown home by next Tuesday.
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AP govt withhelds retirement benefits of corrupt official

Hyderabad, May 7 : The Andhra Pradesh government has withheld pension and gratuity in full of a Mandal Education Officer in Athmakur in Nalgonda district and dismissed from service a Mandal Revenue Inspector following conviction in graft cases.The Mandal Education officer, Mohamed Shamshad Ali, was sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,500 and in default six months simple imprisonment each by the Additional Special Judge for SPE and ACB cases here. The officer was trapped by the officials of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on April 18, 2002 when he demanded and accepted a bribe of Rs 3,000 from the complainant, for doing an official favour in signing on the Group Insurance Claim file of the father of the complainant who retired as Primary School Head Master from Chada. In another case, A Kasiram, Additional Mandal Revenue Inspector, formerly of Hayatnagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy District was dismissed from service following his conviction in ACB trap case, a release said here.
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Mass marriage for poor Sikh youths

Hyderabad, May 7 : The Prabhandak Committee of Gurudwara Saheb Barambala will perform 'Samuhik Vivaha' (Mass marriages), free of cost for economically poor Sikh youths on May 8 and 9.''Sagai'' for brides and bridegrooms will be performed on May 8, at 1100 hrs and 1900 hrs, followed by ''Lawan Phere'' (solemnising of marriage) at 1130 hrs on May 9, at Gurudwara Saheb Barambala, Sikh Chawniat, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh Nagar, Kishanbagh here, a Prabhandak Committee release said here today.Committee President S Harbans Singh said only Gurmukh and Amrit Dhari Sikhs would be allowed for marriages.
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BJP wants separation of NPR from census

Hyderabad, May 7 : Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and MP M.Venkaiah Naidu today urged the Centre to seperate of the ongoing census survey from the process of collecting information for compiling National Population Register to 'prevent infiltrators from across the border getting into NPR and claim citizenship later.' Addressing a press conference here, he said 'there is every scope for individuals from other countries entering the NPR by declaring themselves as Indian national.' 'The provision for self-declaration is very dangerous,' he said.It was unfortunate that the Centre had put the onus on a complainant to prove that a particular person is not an Indian national, he said and feared that indigenous people would become minority in their own country if this was allowed.He contended that infiltrators from across the border in a systematic manner first get their names enrolled in ration cards and voters list in the country before getting citizenship.The then Home Minister Inderjit Gupta had told Parliament that there were one crore infilitrators living in the country, he said, adding their number would have now increased several folds.
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Ensure speedy execution of Kasab, Venkaiah urges Centre

Hyderabad, May 7 : Criticising the Centre for the 'prolonged' delay in execution of death sentence awarded to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, Senior BJP leader and MP M Venkaiah Naidu today urged the Centre to ensure speedy execution of Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab sentenced to death by a special court in Mumbai.Expressing happiness over the judiciary awarding punishment to Kasab quickly and in a transparent manner yesterday, he told a press conference here that ''Kasab deserves no mercy. Political leadership should not come in the way of hanging Kasab.'' In the case of Afzal Guru, more than six years has lapsed, he noted.President Pratibha Patel was bound by advice of the Union Cabinet and it should expedite execution of the death sentence, he said, adding that it was unfortunate that religious colour was being given even to terrorist strikes.
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