-PTI No impact in Kerala, lukewarm response to the stir in Tamil Nadu The nationwide bandh called by the NDA and Left parties to protest the petrol price hike today evoked a mixed response amid incidents of stone pelting, arson and road blockades in Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal. In the national capital, the bandh did not evoke much response though party supporters blocked traffic in some places. Small shops were seen open...

-The Telegraph Dispur is determined to launch a “constructive” television channel, stung by the “adverse” coverage of the recent Ulfa bandh during the Prime Minister’s visit by the local electronic media. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi revealed the government’s intention during an interaction with reporters here this afternoon, explaining how most local TV channels had gone overboard with the bandh coverage on April 20. Incidentally, a day later, on April 21, West Bengal chief...

Free travel is becoming an acceptable norm in former railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s signature train — the non-stop Duronto. Launched in 2010 during Banerjee’s tenure, the Duronto was the only Indian train that did not permit free rail travel. However, things changed after Banerjee quit as the railway minister to take charge as the CM of West Bengal in May 2011. At first, MPs inched their way into the Duronto on free...

The Supreme Court will examine the constitutional validity of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, which limits the liability of an operator in the event of a nuclear disaster to Rs. 1,500 crore. A Bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices A.K. Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar on Friday issued notice to the Centre on a writ petition filed jointly by Common Cause; the Centre for Public Interest Litigation;...

-The Times of India Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi on Wednesday did what none of his predecessors had done for almost a decade - he hiked passenger fares across the board, following up on the increase in freight charges announced immediately after the recent round of assembly elections. While biting the bullet in hiking fares, he chose to couch the increase as ranging from a mere two paise per km for second class...