1st woman def minister on Sukhoi, Sitharaman breaks records

Agencies
January 17, 2018

Jodhpur, Jan 17: In an olive green pilot's G-suit and a helmet on her head, Nirmala Sitharaman today soared high on a Sukhoi-30 MKI jet, the first Indian woman defence minister to go on a sortie on the all-weather, long-range fighter.

The supersonic jet took off from the Air Force station at Jodhpur, where one of the Sukhoi squadrons is based, at 1 pm, rose to a height of 8000 metres and broke the sound barrier.

After a 45-minute flight on the India Air Force (IAF)s frontline jet over the Western sector of Rajasthan bordering Pakistan, Sitharaman was back at the Air Force station."It was a memorable experience ... and a smooth ride," the 58-year-old minister told reporters here later.

Sitharaman had earlier landed at the air station on a bright and sunny day in an IAF aircraft, ready for the sortie by the Jodhpur-based Sukhoi squadron.

After being greeted and welcomed by senior IAF officers and a brief meeting with the air warriors, she donned the fighter pilots G-suit -- which can withstand high acceleration and sharp manoeuvres, preventing loss of consciousness -- and was then briefed about the planes operations and functioning.

The minister entered the cockpit and sat on the seat behind the pilot, Group Captain Sumit Garg.She was then familiarised with the supersonic jet, which forms an integral part of the nations air power.

Looking calm, the country's first woman defence minister waved from inside the cockpit and showed a thumbs up sign as the aircraft moved for the much awaited take off.

Within seconds, the fighter jet was flying high with the countrys first full-time woman defence minister on it.After the 45-minute sortie towards the south-west region, the jet returned to the base, and she thanked the pilot for a wonderful" experience."It was a memorable experience," she later said, adding that the "smooth ride" underlined the pilot's expertise.

I had a very memorable and great experience in the SU-30 MKI which is a made in India fighter. It was a smooth ride and the Group Captain made me feel absolutely at ease but showed his excellence in the flying, the minister told reporters after returning from the sortie.

The plane crossed the speed of Mach 1 and rose to an altitude of 8000 metres, she pointed out."So, in a way, (it went) higher than Mount Everest and crossed the speed of sound.

It just shows the excellence in our fighter pilots' training, she said.

Mount Everest is at a height of 8,848 metres.

The defence minister said the level of preparation and alertness exhibited by the pilots was an "eye opener".

I am very proud and thankful that I have gone through this experience because it tells me the rigour in practice and the level of readiness and how quickly they have to respond to situations, Sitharaman said.

During her visit to the Jodhpur air base, she reviewed operational and combat preparations and she was also briefed on the employment of air power in the defence of the country.

The minister has been visiting various establishments of the armed forces to gauge their operational capabilities and preparedness.

She is the second defence minister and second Indian woman leader to fly in a Sukhoi-30 MKI after then president Pratibha Patil did so in 2009. When he was the president, A P J Abdul Kalam had also flown in the fighter jet, an Air Force official said.

In 2003, then defence minister George Fernandes had also taken a sortie aboard an SU-30 jet, the official said.The Sukhoi-30 MKI is capable of carrying nuclear arms and can penetrate deep into enemy territory.The BrahMos supersonic Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) was successfully test fired from the formidable fighter jet against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal in November last year.

The IAF has also successfully fired the Astra Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air-to-Air missile from the jet.

The SU-30 MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russias Sukhoi and built under licence by Indias Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force.

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News Network
May 15,2020

Vishakhapatnam, May 15: LG Chem on Thursday said following the gas leak at its Visakhapatnam polymers plant, the company has started support measures and has begun the transportation of the Styrene Monomer inventory to South Korea to eliminate all risks factors.

The company would continue to work with government agencies to ensure all possible support for bereaved families and victims, LG Polymers, a step-down firm of LG Chem, said in a statement.

"We confirm the status-quo of the plant remains completely controlled by all measures. We have begun the transportation of the Styrene Monomer (SM) inventory within the plant as well as in the styrene tanks at the port by vessels to South Korea to prevent and eliminate all risks factors," the statement said.

The South Korean chemicals giant has sent an eight-member team from Seoul to investigate the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident and rehabilitate the victims of the tragedy that killed at least 11 people and forced the evacuation of thousands.

"The team of production, environment, and safety experts are currently investigating the cause of the incident and already supporting responsible rehabilitation which is their main objective," the statement said.

Furthermore, the team is working closely with related authorities to analyze the cause of the incident, prevent a recurrence, and support damage recovery in a prompt and expedient manner, it added.

On the support measures, the company said a special task force is currently supporting the bereaved victims and families and visiting them at the hospitals and their homes.

Besides, food and medical services have been organized for the returning residents. Various support activities such as supplying medical and household goods and sanitation of homes will be continued, it said.

"We assure everyone we will do our best to resolve the situation and prevent any incident in the future," the company said.

The company further said that "our teams will carry out mid-to-long-term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects that can contribute to the local community based on suggestions of the residents.

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News Network
April 19,2020

Shimla, Apr 19: A man, who had recovered from the novel coronavirus, was again found suffering from the infection in Himachal Pradesh, officials said.

The man, a Tablighi Jamaat member, tested positive for the infection on Saturday within a week of his two reports coming out negative, they said.

Residents of different places in Mandi district, the man along with two other Jamaatis had been staying in a mosque of Nakroh village in Una'a Amb tehsil and all tested positive on April 2.

They were admitted to Tanda's Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC) in Kangra district on April 3.

As per the available information, they had tested negative for the first time on April 10 and they were declared as cured as per protocol after they tested negative for the second time on April 12.

Subsequently they had been discharged from the RPGMC and were kept in institutional quarantine.

However, with the man again testing positive, the total number of active cases in the hill state has increased to 23 out of the total 40 positive cases.

Four persons have been shifted to a private hospital outside the state. Eleven have recovered while two others have died.

A total of 16 confirmed cases were found in Una and health department statistics now shows 14 active cases and two cured.

Officials said 11 patients — three each from Chamba, Kangra, and Solan districts and two from Una district — have recovered.

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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police will file 12 chargesheets against 536 Tablighi Jamaat members from three countries, officials said on Thursday.

Till now, the police has already filed chargesheets against 374 foreigners from 32 countries.

The officials said the charges against the Tablighi Jamaat members pertain to violation of visa rules, government guidelines regarding the Epidemic Disease Act and acting negligently in a way that was likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life.

The Tablighi Jamaat, a religious organisation in Nizamuddin in South Delhi, had allegedly organised a congregation in March in violation of mass gatherings.

The Tablighi Jamaat’s Nizamuddin Markaz (centre) had become a coroavirus hotspot in the national capital.

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