2 pilots killed in Mirage crash: Rajeev Chandrasekhar seeks transparent probe

Agencies
February 6, 2019

Bengaluru, Feb 6: BJP's Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday sought a transparent inquiry into the crash of the upgraded IAF Mirage-2000 fighter in Bengaluru on February 1, resulting in the death of two ace test pilots.

"We need a thorough and transparent inquiry into the crash of an HAL-upgraded IAF Mirage in Bengaluru and the loss of life of its two brave warriors," said Chandrasekhar in a statement from New Delhi.

Although the lawmaker submitted a request for discussion on the crash in the Upper House, disruption of the proceedings by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) members did not allow the Zero Hour.

"Though I had submitted a Zero Hour mention on the issue, it could not be taken up due to disruption of the proceedings by the TMC members," lamented the member in the statement.

The test pilots -- Squadron Leader Samir Abrol from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and Squadron Leader Siddartha Negi from Dehradun in Uttarkhand died from fatal injuries after the fighter crashed while taking off from the military airport on an acceptance sortie after an upgrade by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

The pilots, commissioned in the air force a decade ago, were on deputation as test pilots at the IAF's Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) in this tech hub from their respective air bases.

"I appeal to those in the political class who dithered in the modernisation of the IAF combat fleet for over a decade whilst they bought helicopters for VIPs -- to not obstruct modernisation to score brownie points," he said.

"Doing so (politicking) would be to put our brave young aviators at risk unrelated to the enemy or combat mission," the lawmaker said.

Recalling that many brave air warriors had lost their lives in similar test flights or regular sorties, Chandrasekhar said the government should fix accountability for the mishaps.

"It is our collective duty to ensure the brave combat aviators fly the latest aircraft and not continue with 35-40-year-old aircraft to fulfil their missions in peace and war for our nation," the member added.

A joint inquiry by HAL and IAF will be held to ascertain the causes that led to the fatal crash of the ill-fated French fighter on a test flight.

Comments

ma Bakth
 - 
Thursday, 7 Feb 2019

i dont think indian can defend from sri lank attak the reason we have all marons filled with top position in all sector. this is one example.

there is old says : one dog leading with 100 lion will face defet rather than one lion leading 100 dogs.

 

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 2,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 2: A BJP MLA in Dakshina Kannada has tested positive for covid-19.

Dr Bharat Shetty, who represents Mangaluru North Assembly constituency, took to Twitter to confirm the news.

“I have been tested covid-19 positive. With all your blessings, I'm recovering and will be under treatment for few days,” he tweeted. 

He also requested the people to maintain social distancing, wear masks while going out and wash hands frequently.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 11: Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda claimed the lockdown decision was taken in 'haste' without forethought because of which farmers and the working class were 'suffering' and suggested measures to mitigate the impact. The state government should have consulted experienced citizens, officials, progressive farmers, farmer organisations and wholesale traders about the pros and cons before lockdown, he said in a letter to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, while highlighting that 61 per cent of the state's population depended on agriculture.

Because of the "hasty decision taken without any preparations", farmers of the country and the state are facing financial distress," he said in the April 9 letter, a copy of which was released to media here on Friday. The JD(S) patriarch suggested taking up some measures, including ensuring no restrictions on agriculture activities, procurement of horticulture produce at a fair price, relaxing export curbs on it, to provide relief to farmers, agriculture labourers, and daily wage workers.

On Sunday, Gowda had said he has assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his support in the nation's battle against COVID-19 pandemic when the latter called him to discuss the situation. In his letter to the chief minister, Gowda said: "...the lockdown implemented to control the spread of coronavirus has led our farmers into despair and put their lives into a burning fire.

This lockdown looks like a decision taken at haste without proper thinking and forethought for our farmers, agriculture labourers, and daily wage workers." He said the lockdown decision was taken after remaining 'quite' for about two months since the first corona infection was reported in the country on January 30. Among the suggestions made by the former prime minister include, procurement of horticulture produce at a fair price like in the case of milk from villages by the government through related organisations like Karnataka Horticulture Federation, HOPCOMS among others.

As horticulture produce was perishable, there should be no restriction on its procurement, transportation and marketing; all processing related activities of horticulture produce should be given relaxation from the lockdown, he said. Gowda also called for relaxation on exports for horticulture produce and its processed items. There should be no restriction on agriculture activities; a national grid has to be set up for marketing of horticulture produce, he said.

If such measures were not taken up immediately, the government will have to pay compensation to farmers for losses. Lack of remedial measures would lead to a shortage of supply, leading to rebellion from the people and may result in farmers' suicides and bringing about a situation that might be more grave than coroanvirus, he said.

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News Network
July 25,2020

Dharward, Jul 25: In a shocking incident, a man reportedly killed his wife and daughter by feeding them poison and ended his life by hanging in his house. The incident took place in Dharwad on Saturday. 

The deceased have been identified as Mounesh Pattar (36), his wife Arpita (28) and their four-year-old daughter Sukruta. 

Mounesh was working in a private company in Dharwad and was depressed from the last one week fearing job loss. 

It was alleged that he might lose his job as the management decided to remove more than 40 employees due to covid -19 lockdown.

On Friday late night, he reportedly gave poison to his wife and daughter and later committed suicide by hanging self. The incident came to light on Saturday morning.

A case is registered at Sub Urban police station and further investigation is on.

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