Indian family offloaded from British Airways flight 'over crying 3-yr-old'

New Delhi, Jan 17: Airports in Srinagar and Jammu are to be “immediately” brought under the security cover of the CISF in view of the arrest of DSP Davinder Singh, a Jammu and Kashmir government order has said.

The two sensitive airports are to be “handed over” to the CISF by January 31, the order of the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department to the Director General of Police (DGP) said.

“This issue (CISF security at Srinagar and Jammu airports) has acquired immediacy in view of the recent developments relating to the arrest of Davinder Singh, DSP airport security, for trying to assist militants to travel to other parts of the country,” the order issued on Wednesday said.

Police had arrested Singh, a deputy superintendent of police, at Mir Bazar in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Saturday, along with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists Naveed Baba and Altaf, besides a lawyer who was operating as an overground worker for terror outfits.

The two airports are guarded by the CRPF and the J-K Police at present.

The Union government had last year decided that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will be handed over security of these two airports along with the one in Leh in view of their sensitive and strategic location and the threats it faced related to possible terrorist and hijack attempts.

CISF is the national civil aviation security force and at present it guards 61 airports including the ones at Delhi and Mumbai.

News agency had on January 13 reported that the Union home ministry sanctioned about 800 personnel to the CISF in order to take over security duties at the three airports of the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

As per the original plan, the CISF was to take over Jammu airport by next month and the Srinagar and Leh airports after the spell of severe cold ends.

However, officials said, keeping in mind the arrest of the DSP and his alleged links, the latest order has been issued which also directs the J-K Police to make arrangements for accommodation, transport and other logistical requirements of the armed contingent of the CISF on a quick basis.

Once inducted at the most-sensitive Srinagar airport, the CISF will secure access control at both city and air side (tarmac area) while the CRPF will be responsible for securing the outer periphery. At the Jammu airport, the peripheral security duties will be rendered by the JK Police.

An assortment of surveillance and security gadgets like CCTVs, observation monitors, hand-held metal detectors, bullet-proof patrol vehicles and bomb detection and disposal equipment are also being provided by the airport operator, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), to the CISF.

The Union government sometime back made it clear that CISF will be the only civil airports guarding force and all such facilities in the country will be gradually brought under its command to bolster aviation security and tighten anti-terror and anti-hijack protocols.

New Delhi, Jan 24: Under attack for doling out subsidies, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said freebies in limited dose are good for the economy as they make more money available to the poor and boosts demand.

Opposition parties have been attacking the AAP-led Delhi government for giving "freebies" ahead of polls after it announced schemes like free bus rides for women and 200 units of free electricity.

"Freebies, in limited dose, are good for economy. It makes more money available to poor, hence boosts demand. However, it should be done in such limits so that no extra taxes have to be imposed and it does not lead to budget deficits," Kejriwal said in a tweet.

Slamming the BJP, Kejriwal said he is happy that the people of Delhi have forced the Saffron party to ask for votes on the basis of CCTVs, schools and unauthorised colonies.

Reacting to a tweet of the BJP Delhi in which Home Minister Amit Shah had asked how many schools have been constructed and cameras installed by the AAP government, Kejriwal said he is happy that Shah saw some CCTV cameras as earlier he had claimed that he could not find a single one.

"I am happy you saw some CCTV cameras. A few days back you said there was not a single camera. Take out some time we will show you our schools also. I am extremely happy that the people of Delhi have changed the politics by which the BJP has to ask for votes on CCTV, schools and raw colonies here," he said in a tweet.

Responding to Shah's allegation that he could not find WiFi in Delhi as promised by Kejriwal and that his battery drained out in the process, the Delhi chief minister said along with free WiFi they have also made arrangement for free charging points.

New Delhi, Jun 13: Veteran Urdu poet Anand Mohan Zutshi 'Gulzar' Dehlvi passed away on Friday afternoon, five days after he recovered from COVID-19.

He died at his Noida home, and was a month shy of turning 94.

"His corona test came negative on June 7 and we brought him home. Today he had lunch and at around 2.30pm he passed away," his son Anoop Zutshi told PTI.

"He was quite old, and the infection had left him very weak. So doctors are thinking it was possible a cardiac arrest," he added.

A freedom fighter and a premier 'inquilabi' poet, Dehlvi was admitted to a private hospital on June 1 after testing positive for coronavirus.

Born in old Delhi's Gali Kashmeerian in 1926, he was also the editor of 'Science ki Duniya', the first Urdu science magazine published by the Government of India in 1975.

Remembering her fond memories of Dehlvi, historian-writer Rana Safvi recalled seeing the poet at most 'mushairas' in Delhi.

"I cannot express how big a loss it is. We used to see him at every 'mushaira' in Delhi. It's a big loss to Delhi and the world of poetry," Safvi said.

She also took to Twitter to express her condolences.

"Sad to hear about Gulzar Dehlvi saheb's demise. He was the quintessential Dilli waala. May he rest in peace," she tweeted.

According to Delhi-based poet and lawyer Saif Mahmood, Dehlvi was "the presiding bard of Delhi", following in the footsteps of iconic poets like Mirza Ghalib, and Mir Taqi Mir.

His death is the "end of an era", he said.

"No one knew the nooks and crannies of Mir and Ghalib's Delhi like him. Gulzar saheb claimed that his father, Allama Pandit Tribhuvan Nath Zutshi 'Zaar Dehlvi', was a disciple of the renowned poet Daagh Dehlvi," he said, while reminiscing his meeting with Dehlvi three years back.

The poet had recited a still unpublished 'sher' (couplet) then, Mahmood said, which seems more relevant now in the aftermath of his demise.

"Mere baad aane waalon, meri baat yaad rakhna/ mere naqsh-e-pa se behtar, koi raasta nahin hai". (Those who come after, remember what I say/ there’s no better way than to follow my footprints).

"He was a true exemplar of not just the Urdu language but also of the Urdu culture. In fact he was a living and breathing form of Urdu tehzeeb," Mahmood said.