Fire on Tamil Nadu Express; 32 dead, several injured

Hyderabad: Coach S-11 of the Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express caught fire early this morning, near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh; 32 people have died and several others have been injured.

The injured have been taken to the Nellore civic hospital.

The fire started due to a short circuit near a toilet of the coach at about 4:28 am. The coach that seats 72, was full. The bodies of those who died are bring recovered now; most are charred beyond recognition and identification will be difficult. 


Early reports say the doors of the coach were jammed and so many people could not escape as the fire spread. Some were asphyxiated, fell unconscious and were burnt to death. Among those who did was a mother who in death still clutched her little baby. 

The burnt coach has been detached from the train.  The coach had 17 people from Delhi, 11 from Bhopal.

In the morning, an alert deputy station master spotted the fire as the train passed train passed Nellore station. The train was then brought to a halt. Passengers were evacuated immediately and no other coach was affected. 

A special train will leave for Nellore from Chennai at 9.30 am.

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has expressed shock and anguish at the fire accident. Mr Reddy will leave for Nellore to take stock of the situation.

Here are the helpline numbers:

Secunderabad: 040-27786723, 27700868; Vijayawada: 0866-2345863, 2345864 and Nellore: 0861-2331477, 2576924; New Delhi: 011-23342954, 23341072, 23341074; Hazrat Nizamuddin: 011-24359748

Massive power failure in northern India since 2:30 am

New Delhi:  There has been a massive power breakdown in northern India; it's the worst northern grid failure since 2001. The power failure has majorly hit metro services in Delhi along with the water and electricity supply across seven states in north India.

1. There has been no power in seven states - Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal - since 2.30 last night, when the northern grid collapsed.
2. Officials in the power ministry say that the situation will return to normal by noon. Power returned to parts of east, west and south Delhi by 9 am. 
3. Delhi's metro service was not running this morning, leaving thousands of rush-hour passengers scrambling. By 9:30 am, the situation returned to normal at all six lines on the Delhi Metro. 
4. Delhi's six water treatment plants were shut since power failed; five of them are now operational. All Delhi Jal Board water pumping stations have also been affected. Power companies are giving priority to the Jal Board.
5. Traffic signals in Delhi were also down. The Traffic Police says that the areas where power has not been restored will be physically manned till the situation is normal.
6. Essential services at the Delhi airport have been shifted to generator mode. There is back- up to last 48 hours. 
7. AIIMS and the Prime Minister's house are on hydel power.
8. Preliminary enquiry shows the collapse happened due to a fault near Agra.
9. All NTPC, state generator units tripped. The collapse led to an auto shut down of all power generation across seven north Indian states.
10. In Uttar Pradesh, none of the NTPC or state units are on stream till now.

Two women killed in blast on a tourist bus in Kashmir's Anantnag district

Anantnag: Two women died and six others were injured in a blast in a tourist bus in Anantnag district of South Kashmir today. Police said the bus was carrying tourists from Mumbai. 

The attack comes on a day when Defence Minister AK Antony is in the Kashmir valley to review the security situation there. 

During his two-day visit to the state beginning today he is expected to interact with troops deployed in the forward locations.


This is Mr Antony's first visit to the state in the last 18 months. He will also interact with the state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The Defence Minister is also expected to discuss the issue of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the state with top commanders.

Normal life in the valley has also been affected today due to a strike called by hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to protest the killing of a youth in army firing on Tuesday.

Mr Geelani had called for a strike to protest the killing of Hilal Ahmad Dar in Army firing at Ashtengoo Naar in Bandipora district on Tuesday night.

While the Army maintained that the victim was killed following an exchange of firing with militants, the family of the deceased claimed that he was taken into custody and later shot dead

Can Delhi Metro deal with blasts, earthquakes?

New Delhi: All Metro trains came to a grinding halt at 11 am today and commuters were given different reasons for it - bomb blast, earthquake and terrorist strike, but everything was normal in less than an hour.

This was because of a major mock drill in 11 Metro stations across the National Capital Region to check the preparedness of various agencies in case of an emergency. This is the first time that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) undertook such a major exercise without making public the exact timing of the drill.

Thousands of passengers were stranded at various Metro stations and trains were delayed due to the mock drill, but constant announcements were made both on trains and at stations about the exercise. Trains stopped on tracks for over 45 minutes as the exercises were conducted prompting passengers to complain about the delay.


Busy stations like Laxmi Nagar, Nirman Vihar, Rajiv Chowk and Central Secretariat were flooded with people as thousands waited to catch a train.

Between 11 am and 11.50 am, entry into the 11 stations was closed as a part of the standard emergency procedure. Incidents like bomb blast, strong earthquakes, fire and terrorist strikes were enacted to check the response mechanism.

Ramya, a software professional, said she went to Qutub Minar Metro station at 10.55 am and was there till a little before 12 noon for a Metro train. "I was aware that there is a drill today, but not about the timing. I had a very harrowing time at the station," she said. 

Karol Bagh, Dwarka Sec-11, Central Secretariat, Pitampura, Azadpur, Badarpur, Kirti Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Shahdara, Noida City Centre and Guru Dronacharya in Gurgaon are the stations where the drills were conducted. 

DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal said the aim of this drill was to check the preparedness of DMRC staff and coordination between Delhi Metro's staff, the police, medical staff and the fire brigade in such a disaster scenario.

Mock drills are regularly conducted at Metro premises to check preparedness to tackle different situations.

ND Tiwari DNA test confirms he fathered the man who took him to court

New Delhi: ND Tiwari's DNA test has confirmed that he is the biological father of Rohit Shekhar, the 32-year-old man who filed a paternity suit against him. 

Mr Shekhar had taken Mr Tiwari to court in 2008, claiming that he was Mr Tiwari's son. The former Andhra Pradesh Governor and veteran Congress leader denied that he fathered Mr Shekhar. The DNA test was ordered by the Delhi High Court to settle the matter. This morning, the court rejected Mr Tiwari's appeal that the result of the DNA test be kept confidential. 

Mr Tiwari, who is a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, had moved both the High Court and the Supreme Court yesterday seeking to keep the test report confidential till the conclusion of hearing in the paternity suit against him. He was appealing against a July 20 High Court order which said the DNA test results would be made public today. 


On July 20 too, Justice Reva Khetrapal had dismissed Mr Tiwari's plea that the report be kept confidential saying, "You cannot misinterpret the Supreme Court order. It was for the purpose of collection of blood sample for DNA test." 
 
The Congressman had tried different legal routes to avoid submitting a blood sample. He finally did furnish a sample on May 29 this year at his Dehradun residence, following a court order. The High Court had directed Mr Tiwari to undergo the DNA test on April 27. Mr Tiwari was also fined Rs. 25,000 for delaying legal processes.