Hajipur becomes zonal HQ

At midnight today, putting all controversies aside, Hajipur started functioning as the zonal headquarters of the new East Central Railways. The control of five zones — Sonepur and Samastipur of the North-Eastern Railway and Danapur, Mughalsarai and Dhanbad of the Eastern Railway — passed into the hands of 75 officials and 400 staff members at Hajipur.

‘‘We have linked central control with the divisions and by midnight, we will start controlling,’’ East Central Zone GM S.C. Gupta said.

	Mamata’s black day
KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress will observe a black day tomorrow all over the state in protest against the bifurcation. Party chief Mamata Banerjee, however, won’t severe tie with the NDA. ‘‘The working committee will meet after the pujas to take a decision,” she said. (ENS) Story continues below this ad

Post-Rajdhani Express derailment, the plans to hold a lavish function were shelved. Earlier, a variety of programmes, including a cultural show, had been planned. Union Railways Minister Nitish Kumar and Railway Board members attended the inaugural function.

But opponents continued their protests till the last. Lok Jan Shakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan has vowed to launch a state-wide agitation against the non-implementation of railway projects from October 2.