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Konkan Railway : The 760 km long scenic sojourn is an adventure on rails. The route connects Roha (near Mumbai) to Mangalore. The construction completed on 26 Jan 1998 after a 8 year long period. The route is over formidable terrain with 179 major bridges, 1819 minor bridges, 92 tunnels (aggregate length of 84 km). The longest bridge (2.065 km) on the route is over river Sharavati near Honavar. The tallest viaduct is near Panval Nanadi near Ratnagiri with a height of 64 m. The longest tunnel (6.5 km) is at Karbude near Ratnagiri.

The modern track has concrete sleepers and the trains can run at even 160 kmph. Of the 59, the important stations are Veer, Khed, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Rajapur road, Kankavali, Sawantwadi, Thivim, Karmali, Verna, Madgaon, Karwar, Kumta, Bhatkal, Udipi and Surathkal. This route reduces the travel time from Mumbai to Goa (10 hour), Mangalore (26 hour) and Kochi (12 hour) by train.

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Indian Waterways

Mohenjodaro, the site of Indus Valley civilisation had found with a two masted ship. Rig Veda has refernce to ships. Naval expeditions and merchants praying to sea before starting the voyage were common in old times. King Vijaya (56-48 BC) went to Sri Lanka with horses and elephants crossing the sea is depicted in Ajanta fresco.

Under Akbar big ships and boats were built. During Mughal times shipping and internal navigation had a department of its own. According to 15th century traveller, Nicoli Conti, Indian ships were longer than the Italian ones. Kozhikode was the greatest shipbuilding centre and executed even foreign orders.

Inland water system : It provides transport and communication for the common man. The three National waterways are Allahabad-Haldia on Ganga Bhagirath-Hooghly river (1620 km, NW 1), Sadiya-Dhubri Bangladesh border (891 km, NW 2) on Brahmaputra river, Kollam-Kottapuram (168 km), Champakara canal (14 km), Udyogamandal canal (23 km) and stretch of the west coast canal were declared as National Waterways number 3.

[Perfection]

Ports in India

About 1000 BC, from Ophir (Sopara, near Mumbai) goodes were taken for Hiram, king of Tyre in his ships. About 25 BC, ports like Bharakachha (Broach), Muzris (Kodangallur), Poduca (Pondicherry), saptanea (Chennai), Puhar, Tamarlipti were well known and traded with Greece, Rome, west Asia and Gulf countries. In 17 th century KOzhikode and Kochi were become important ports of trade with Europe, Iran and other Gulf countries.

India has 6100 km of coastline and 11 major ports apart from 139 minor ports.

1. Mumbai, Arabian Sea, natural and biggest port, handles one fifth of the total traffic, major naval base.
2. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Arabian Sea, newly opened port.
3. Kochi, Arabian Sea, largest natural harbour.
4. Kandla, Arabian Sea-Gulf of Kutch, tidal port.
5. Mormugoa, Arabian Sea, second largest port.
6. Mangalore, Arabian Sea, a tidal port.
7. Chennai, Bay of Bengal, oldest port and largest artificial habour.
8. Tuticorin, Indian Ocean, shallow port.
9. Visakhapatnam, Bay of Bengal, deepest protected port, major naval base.
10. Paradeep, Bay of Bengal, newly opened port.
11. Kolkata, Bay of Bengal On Hooghly river, the biggest terminal port of South Asia.

The four major shipyards are Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineering Ltd Kolkata, Mazagaon dock Ltd Mumbai, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd Visakhapatnam, Cochin Shipyard Kochi. In addition there are 32 small shipping yards in private sector.

[Perfection]

Indian Polity

India become a Republic by adopting a constitution on 26 Jan 1950. The constitution offers 6 fundamental rights to all citizens viz., right to equality, right to freedom of speech and expression, right against exploitation, right to freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion, right of any section of citizens to preserve their culture and right to constitutional remedies.

National flag : The National flag is a horizontal tricolour deep saffron at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion. In the centre of the white band is a wheel with 24 spokes in navy blue - it's design is that of a wheel which appears on the abacus of Sarnath lion stupa of Emperor Ashoka. The design of the National flag was adopted by the constituent Assembly of India on 22 July, 1947. Its use to display is regulated by the Indian flag code.

[Perfection]

National Anthem : The song Jana-Gana-Mana, composed in Bengali by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the national anthem of India on 24 Jan 1950. It was first sung on 27 Dec 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. The first stanza contains the full version of the National Anthem.

Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga.
Tava shubha name jage,
Tava shubha asisa mage,
Gahe tava jaya gatha,
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharata-bhagya-vidhata.
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!

Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52 seconds. A short version consisting of first and last lines of the stanza (playing time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions.

The following is a translation of Rabindranath Tagore's rendering of the stanza:

"Thou art the ruler of the minds of all people,
dispenser of India's destiny.
The name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat and Maratha,
of the Dravid and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of the Yamuna and Ganga
and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The salvation of all people is in thy hand,
thou dispenser of India's destiny.
Victory, victory, victory to thee."

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National Song : The song Vande Mataram, composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. It has an equal status with National Anthem. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.

National bird : The Indian peacock, the national bird, is a colourful swan-sized bird, with a fan shaped crest of feathers, a white patch under the eyes and a long, slender neck. It is fully protected under the Indian Wildlife protection Act 1972. Peacocks perform spectacular dance when rain clouds appear.

National Animal : The magnificent tiger has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes. The combination of grace, strength, agility and enormous power has earned the tiger its pride of place as the national animal of India. Tigers are endangered species and numbering only 3500 in India.

National flower : Lotus

National calendar : Saka era with Chaitra as its first month.

[cainfool]

Hey Hey! Welcome to the Random Fact Thread

But, pretty good facts. lol

[Perfection]

Medical Termination of pregnancy Act, India

Pregnancy can be terminated even after 20 weeks, if there is a fatal risk to the mother and not the foetus.

A foetus (fetus, United States) is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate, after the embryonic stage and before birth.

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Pregnancy

Pregnancy (latin graviditas) is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female human. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets. Human pregnancy is the most studied of all mammalian pregnancies. Obstetrics is the surgical field that studies and treats pregnancy. Midwifery is the non-surgical field that cares for pregnant women.

Pregnancy occurs as the result of the female gamete or oocyte (egg) being penetrated by the male gamete spermatozoon in a process referred to, in medicine, as "fertilization", or more commonly known as "conception". The fusion of male and female gametes usually occurs through the act of sexual intercourse. However, the advent of artificial insemination has also made achieving pregnancy possible in such cases where sexual intercourse is not potentially fertile (through choice or male/female infertility).

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Medical signs of pregnancy

Signs include the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in the blood and urine, missed menstrual period, implantation bleeding that occurs at implantation of the embryo in the uterus during the third or fourth week after last menstrual period, increased basal body temperature sustained for over two weeks after ovulation, Chadwick's sign (darkening of the cervix, vagina, and vulva), Goodell's sign (softening of the vaginal portion of the cervix), Hegar's sign (softening of the uterus isthmus), and pigmentation of linea alba - Linea nigra, (darkening of the skin in a midline of the abdomen, caused by hyperpigmentation resulting from hormonal changes; it usually appears around the middle of pregnancy).