Pak targets 40 border outposts with mortar shells

October 7, 2014

Jammu, Oct 7: Breaching the ceasefire for the 17th time this month, Pakistan Rangers targeted 40 Border Out Posts and 25 border hamlets by resorting to heavy mortar shelling and firing along the International Border in Jammu and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir, leaving three persons injured.

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BSF troops gave a befitting reply to four ceasefire violations by Pakistan resulting in exchanges, which are still on in some areas.

"Pakistani Rangers again resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling and heavy firing on BSF posts along the International Border (IB) since 2100 hours last night", BSF Spokesman Vinood Yadav said today.

"As many as 40 BSF BoPs were affected by the firing from Pakistan side", he said, adding that firing and shelling was targeted on areas along IB in Arnia, R S Pura, Kanachak and Pargwal sub-sectors along IB in Jammu and Samba districts.

Giving further details, he said almost all the BSF posts in Kanachak and Pargwal were targeted by the Pakistan Rangers.

BSF Posts in Arnia and R S Pura sub-sectors were also also targeted by the enemy, the Spokesman said.

"BSF troops at all the places gave a strong and befitting reply to firing from Pak", the spokesman said, adding that firing in some places, particularly Pargwal is still on.

"There is no loss of life or damage to BSF ", he said.

There has been heavy firing and mortar shelling on 20 to 25 border hamlets along the IB in Arnia, R S Pura, Pargwal, Ganjansoo and Kanachak belts of Jammu district since last night, District Magistrate, Jammu, Ajeet Kumar Sahu told PTI.

He said that in the firing and shelling, three persons have been injured in border areas of Jammu and have been hospitalised.

Over 1000 people have been accommodated in camps overnight. This was the 17th ceasefire violation along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir since October one.

Six persons have been killed and 50 others including BSF jawan injured in Pakistani shelling and firing along LoC and IB in Jammu and Poonch districts in the ceasefire violations this month.

There have been nine ceasefire violations along the LoC and eight along the IB in Jammu. These include seven in Poonch along LoC, eight along International Border in Jammu and two in Gulmarg sector of Kashmir.

On October 6, Pakistan had violated the ceasefire thrice in Bhimber Gali, Kerni and Balakote-Mankote in Poonch district.

On October 5, there were two ceasefire violations. Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked and heavy firing and shelling in Arnia belt along IB in Jammu in which five persons were killed and 34 others were injured.

There was another ceasefire violation during the day when Pakistani troops targeted forward India posts along LoC in Balnoie sub-sector of Poonch district.

On October 4, Pakistani troops resorted to heavy firing and mortar shelling along LoC in in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing equal retaliation from the Army.

Pakistani Rangers violated the ceasefire four times on October 3 by shelling forward areas and villages along LoC and International Border in Gulamarg sector of Kashmir Valley and Poonch and Jammu sector in which a girl was killed and six persons were injured.

On October 1 and 2, Pakistani troops had violated the ceasefire twice along the LoC in Poonch district resulting in injuries to six persons.

Pakistani troops had targeted civilian hamlets on October two, leaving six persons injured.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has condemned the shelling on civilian areas in Arnia belt.

"They (the Pakistani leadership) have nothing else to speak, but only Kashmir. Whenever they go abroad, they try to raise only Kashmir issue, but every time they miserably fail to get international attention. The cross-border shelling is an indication of their frustration," he had said yesterday after meeting civilians injured in the shelling at the Government Medical College Hospital here.

"Either we are unable to understand Pakistan's motive behind the increase in the incidents of ceasefire violations or the internal situation in Pakistan is so bad that by targeting Indian side they want to divert the attention of their own people from their internal turmoil," he had said.

DG BSF D K Pathak, who rushed to R S Pura yesterday and reviewed the situation, had said that he did not expect shelling on Eid day. BSF is professional force and will take retaliatory action, he had said.

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News Network
December 6,2025

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New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced major operational turbulence this week after failing to prepare for new pilot-fatigue regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The stricter rules—designed to improve flight safety—took effect in phases through 2024, with the latest implementation on November 1. IndiGo has acknowledged that inadequate roster planning led to widespread cancellations and delays.

Below are the key DGCA rules that affected IndiGo’s operations:

1. Longer Mandatory Weekly Rest

Weekly rest for pilots has been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours.

The government says the extended break is essential to curb cumulative fatigue. This rule remains in force despite the current crisis.

2. Cap on Night Landings

Pilots can now perform only two night landings per week—a steep reduction from the earlier limit of six.

Night hours, defined as midnight to early morning, are considered the least alert period for pilots.

Given the disruptions, this rule has been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo until February 10.

3. Reduced Maximum Night Flight Duty

Flight duty that stretches into the night is now capped at 10 hours.

This measure has also been kept on hold for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilize operations.

4. Weekly Rest Cannot Be Replaced With Personal Leave

Airlines can no longer count a pilot’s personal leave as part of the mandatory 48-hour rest.

Pilots say this closes a loophole that previously reduced actual rest time.

Currently, all airlines are exempt from this rule to normalise travel.

5. Mandatory Fatigue Monitoring

Airlines must submit quarterly fatigue reports along with corrective actions to DGCA.

This system aims to create a transparent fatigue-tracking framework across the industry.

The DGCA has stressed that these rules were crafted to strengthen flight safety and align India with global fatigue-management standards. The temporary relaxations are expected to remain until February 2025, giving IndiGo time to stabilise its schedules and restore normal air travel.

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News Network
December 20,2025

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At least seven elephants were killed and one calf injured after a herd collided with the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai on Saturday morning, leading to disruption of rail services. 

The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express struck a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. No passenger casualties or injuries were reported, officials said.

The New Delhi-bound train met with the accident around 2.17 am, PTI reported. The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram's Sairang (near Aizawl) to Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi). 

Railway has issued helpline numbers at the Guwahati Railway Station:-

•    0361-2731621
•    0361-2731622
•    0361-2731623

The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. Following the incident, accident relief trains and railway officials rushed to the spot to initiate rescue operations.

Train Services Disrupted

Sources said that due to the derailment and elephant body parts scattered on the tracks, train services to Upper Assam and other parts of the Northeast were affected.

Passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths available in other coaches of the train. Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be attached to accommodate all passengers, after which the train will resume its onward journey.

The incident occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. The loco pilot, upon spotting the herd on the tracks, applied emergency brakes. Despite this, the elephants dashed into the train, leading to the collision and derailment.

Last month, an elephant was killed after being hit by a train in Dhupguri in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. The incident took place on November 30. 

The adult elephant was killed on the spot, and a calf was discovered lying injured beside the tracks. 

Over 70 Elephants Killed In Train Collisions Over Last 5 Years

At least 79 elephants have died in train collisions across the country in the last five years, the Environment Ministry had informed Parliament in August.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh had said the figure is based on reports from state governments and Union Territory administrations for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.

He said that the ministry does not maintain consolidated data on the deaths of other wild animals on railway tracks, including in designated elephant corridors.

Singh confirmed that three elephants, including a mother and her calf, were killed on July 18 this year after being hit by a speeding express train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section in West Bengal's Paschim Midnapore district. The incident took place near Banstala between Jhargram and Banstala stations.

The minister said several measures have been taken jointly by the Environment Ministry and the Railways to prevent such accidents.

These include imposing speed restrictions in elephant habitats, pilot projects such as seismic sensor-based detection of elephants near tracks and construction of underpasses, ramps and fencing at vulnerable points.

The Wildlife Institute of India, in consultation with the ministry and other stakeholders, has also issued guidelines titled 'Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure' to help agencies design railways and other projects in ways that reduce human-animal conflicts.

Singh added that capacity-building workshops were conducted for railway officials at the Wildlife Institute of India in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness on elephant conservation and protection.

A detailed report titled 'Suggested Measures to Mitigate Elephant & Other Wildlife Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in India' had also been prepared after surveys across 127 railway stretches covering 3,452 km.

Of these, 77 stretches spanning 1,965 km in 14 states were prioritised for mitigation, with site-specific interventions suggested. 

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