Austerity drive already on in railways: Mamata BanerjeeSeptember 12th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday said that her ministry has already begun an austerity drive and taken several cost-cutting measures to reduce additional expenditure. "I'd issued an order to cut all additional expenditure and it's already been implemented in the railways," Banerjee said while flagging off two new trains -- Sealdah-Ajmirsharif Express and Farakka-Nabadwip Express -- from Sealdah station here.
Railway exams in all regional languages: MamataSeptember 6th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railway recruitment examinations will now be conducted in all major Indian languages, including Urdu, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said here Sunday. Speaking to newspersons at an iftar party hosted by union Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed, Banerjee said: "Those appearing at Railway Recruitment Board examinations can opt for any regional language, including Urdu."
RRB examinations have so far been conducted only in English and Hindi.
Railway women employees to test food in trainsSeptember 5th, 2009 KOLKATA - Call it the influence of a woman railway minister or an acknowledgement that the fairer sex is a better homemaker - the South Eastern Railway (SER) has deployed a team of its female employees to test the quality of food and beverages served in trains. The initiative is a brainchild of SER general manager A.K Jain who constituted the team comprising five women officials spearheaded by assistant commercial manager Indrani Bandyopadhyay.
Appeals court reverses earlier ruling, says Conn. postal facility can display religious itemsAugust 21st, 2009 Court: Religious items OK in Conn. postal facilityMANCHESTER, Conn.
Eastern Railway runs century-old steam locomotiveAugust 16th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Eastern Railway (ER) Sunday ran a heritage train pulled by a century-old steam engine to commemorate the trip of the first passenger train from Howrah station 155 years back during the British rule. The engine, called Shahenshah (WP-7,200), chugged out from Howrah at 11.55 a.m.
Facing billions in losses, postal officials consider closing or consolidating post officesAugust 4th, 2009 Postal Service considers closings, consolidationWASHINGTON — A pillar of U.S. communities since the nation's founding, the post office is facing the prospect of closings or consolidation of services at hundreds of locations amid a sharp decline in business due to e-mail.
Federal judge rules that NYC discriminates against black, Hispanic firefighter recruitsJuly 22nd, 2009 Judge: NYC unfair to minority firefighter recruitsNEW YORK — A federal judge has ruled the predominantly white Fire Department of New York used recruitment exams that discriminate against blacks and Hispanics. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis (GAR'-uh-fis) ruled against New York City on Wednesday, finding the discrimination occurred in written exams given to thousands of firefighter candidates from 1999 to 2007.
Russia tells postal workers to let security agents open the mail; rights advocates complainJuly 22nd, 2009 Russian postal workers to let police open mailMOSCOW — The Russian government has issued an order telling postal workers that police and security agents have a right to open mail, causing alarm among rights advocates who fear a return to the Soviet-era tactics of the KGB. The Communications Ministry said the order, which went into effect Tuesday, does not expand the powers of investigators, since they still need to obtain a court's permission as required by law if they want to open letters or packages.
Ten killed as bus plunges onto railway track from bridge in KolkataJuly 4th, 2009 KOLKATA - Atleast ten persons, including three women, were killed and 40 others injured when a mini bus carrying passengers fell from the over bridge onto a railway track of the Howrah station here on Saturday. Survivors of the accident have been rescued and shifted to a nearby hospital.
122 woman candidates in fray for first phaseApril 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - There are 1,715 candidates, including 122 women, in fray for the first round of the five-phase Lok Sabha elections. The Election Commission Wednesday said on an average 13 candidates are contesting at each of 124 seats in the first phase of polling April 16.
Congress, BJP have just six women candidates in Madhya PradeshApril 6th, 2009 BHOPAL - Women may comprise 47 percent of Madhya Pradesh's electorate, but the two main parties together have fielded just six candidates for the 29 Lok Sabha seats - the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) four and the opposition Congress two. The two parties have also been advocating 33 percent reservation for women in all bodies.
Women MPs number yet to touch 50 in Lok SabhaMarch 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - So much for woman power. The number of women MPs in India's 545-member Lok Sabha has never touched 50, the Election Commission said Friday.
Political parties rope in postman to reach votersMarch 16th, 2009 RANCHI - Political parties have found a new way to campaign this general elections. They are turning to the traditional postman for delivering pamphlets and other campaign materials to the voters in rural areas.
Now, postman will deliver messages of political partiesMarch 15th, 2009 RANCHI - After distributing medicine kits and condoms in Jharkhand, the postman will now deliver pamphlets and other messages of political parties to the voters. 'We have been approached by some political parties and probable candidates to deliver their messages to voters through our Direct Post services,' an official in Ranchi postal department told IANS.
Students upbeat over high court ruling on answer sheetsFebruary 5th, 2009 KOLKATA - Students in West Bengal now have the right to see their exam answer sheets if they are not satisfied with the marks received, thanks to a ruling by the Calcutta High Court. While the students are understandably happy, educational authorities wonder how to handle the deluge of applications they expect.
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