Kolkata airport radar develops snag, flights hit

February 1, 2013

kolkata-airport Kolkata, Feb 1: The radar of the Air Traffic Control at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here stopped functioning, leaving the monitors which detect the planes blank, following a major technical snag and the entire flight operation was halted for two hours on Thursday.

“ At 6:55 pm, the radar which captures the movement of the flights developed some technical problem and the monitors went blank. Flight operation was suspended for more than two hours and the problem was addressed around 9:15 pm,” a senior airport official said.

“ During this period, one Jet Airways plane was diverted to Bangladesh and two planes - one belonging to Air India and another to Indigo - were diverted to Bhubaneswar,” the official said.

“Some flights which were supposed to land at the airport could not land and were asked to hover over the sky as an emergency measure which resulted in air traffic jam,” the official added.

“At 9:15 pm, however, the glitch was addressed and things started to get normal. At present, the situation is well under control,” the official said.

Sources said there could have been a major disaster as many flights – other than those scheduled to land or had taken off from the airport – use the route.

With the monitors going blank, had two aircraft taken the same height, there could have been a major problem.

The same thing happened on September 24 during President Pratibha Patil’s flight to Aizawl when the airport’s west radar went off for five minutes shortly after take-off.

The aircraft took off at 10:57 am and the radar tripped around 11:07am. It took five minutes to connect the flight to the east radar, during which time the plane was off radar. “This is a recurring problem in Kolkata airport and it is sheer luck that there has been no major disaster,” another senior official said.

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AAI issues SOP for domestic flights; Aarogya Setu not mandatory for children below 14

News Network

May 21,2020

New Delhi, May 21: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to airport operators on Wednesday for recommencement of domestic flights from May 25 onwards, saying Aarogya Setu app is not mandatory for children below 14 years of age.

"Passengers shall compulsorily walk through screening zone for thermal screening at a designated place in the city side before entering the terminal building," the AAI said in its SOP, which has been accessed by news agency.

Airport operators must make appropriate arrangements for sanitisation of a passenger's baggage before his or her entry into the terminal building, said the SOP dated May 20.

The AAI manages more than 100 airports across the country. However, major airports like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are managed by private companies.

Civil Aviation Minister had announced on Wednesday that domestic flight services would resume from May 25 onwards in a calibrated manner.

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India's 2020 gold demand may hit 26-year low as prices rally: WGC

Agencies

July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.

"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.

Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.

India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.

Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.

Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.

The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.

"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.

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Kerala BJP slams CM Vijayan for not attending PM's video conference on COVID-19

News Network

April 27,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 27: BJP's Kerala state President K Surendran on Monday said it is 'highly irresponsible' of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to not attend PM's video conference with all chief ministers on prevailing COVID-19 situation earlier today.

"The Kerala Chief Minister not attending the important conference regarding a pandemic in the country is not good for the state," Surendran said.

The BJP state President believes Vijayan has sent a wrong message by not attending the conference.

"It is the irresponsible behavior of the Chief Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that team India is fighting this pandemic together. By not attending the meeting, the Kerala CM has sent a wrong message, " he added.

Surendran said that the meeting was of high priority as PM was meeting the state CM's regarding the important decision of lockdown in the country.

"From the last meeting, many things have changed. Other chief ministers who did not get a chance to speak, participated in the meeting. But Kerala CM chose not to attend the meeting and BJP condemns it, " he said.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had not participated in the PM's video conference held earlier today and instead Kerala Chief Secretary Tom Jose represented the state in the meet.

According to sources, Kerala has given its suggestions in writing.

This was the fourth such interaction of the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers, the earlier ones had been held on March 20, April 2, and April 11.

PM Modi in the meeting said the lockdown has yielded positive results as the country has managed to save thousands of lives in the past one and a half months.

Comments

Yes he is qualified and not chaiwala brand CM. During these critical period his every minutes more valid and he spend his precious time for the sake of Keralians Life and not to light lamp or for any other use less topic. Well Come Trumph was mainly the casue for this panademic in Gujarat and Maharastra,

During trumph visit a lot of foreigners travelled in these TWO status very much is the roor cause for the present convid 19 spread. Godi media kept every thin under carpet but peoples all aware,