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‘Big moment in India-Pak relationship’: Manmohan Singh on Kartarpur corridor

News Network
November 10, 2019

Kartarpur, Nov 10: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Prakash Singh Badal were among the Indian leaders who described the inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor as momentous occasion in ties between India and Pakistan.

"It is a big moment in India-Pakistan relationship. It is good for both the countries that the corridor has been opened. The ties will improve significantly as a result of this new beginning,” Singh told reporters.

Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said those expressing apprehension that the corridor may be used to encourage separatism in Punjab do not have faith in the “great” Guru Nanak Devji, the founder of Sikhism.

The Kartarpur corridor facilitating Indian pilgrims to visit one of Sikhism's holiest shrines in Pakistani town of Narowal was thrown open by Prime Minister Imran Khan amid fanfare and presence of several thousands Sikhs.

The corridor links Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak. “The apprehensions are by those people who do not have faith in the great Guru Nanak,” Badal said on the sidelines of the inauguration of the corridor while replying to a question.

Earlier this week, Indian government sources said the Pakistan Army was pushing for the Kartarpur corridor with an aim to encourage Khalistani elements in Punjab.

SAD leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal also hailed the initiative of setting up of the corridor and said it will result in better people-to-people ties between the two countries. “Today is the happiest day in my life,” Singh told news agency.

Harsimrat said the entire Sikh community is grateful to both the Indian and Pakistani governments for implementing the Kartarpur Corridor project. “It is a very positive beginning which I am sure with the grace of Guru Nanak Devji will lead to better relations between the two countries. It is a corridor of peace,” she said.

"We have been praying for this for last 72 years. Many governments have come and gone. It has taken Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan-ji and our Prime Minister Narendra Modiji to make this a reality,” she said.

Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri also hoped that the initiative will lead to better ties between the two neighbours. “Hope it will provide an opening for mature counsels to prevail so that peace and brotherhood can be facilitated,” he said.

Member of the European Parliament Neena Gill lauded both India and Pakistan for the initiative. “It is a very auspicious occasion today,” the first woman Sikh MEP said.

Several Indian pilgrims who were part of the first jatha to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor said USD 20 facilitation fee was taken from each of them and that passport had to be shown to enter Pakistan.

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News Network
August 8,2020

The Kozhikode International Airport located at Karipur is not safe for the landing of flights in rainy season, according to an air-safety expert, who had warned the aviation ministry and the civil aviation regulator about this in 2011. 

The warning was particularly about the dangers of permitting passenger aircraft to land on runway 10 of the airport during rains and unfavourable wind conditions. 

Nine years later, on August 7, 2020, the warning became a reality when an Air India Express pilots landed in tailwind conditions and the aircraft overshot the tabletop runway to drop off the end and crash.

 “An aircraft landing on runway 10 in tailwind will experience poor braking action due to heavy rubber deposits … All such flights … are endangering the lives of all on board,’’ said Capt Mohan Ranganathan, in a letter sent on June 17, 2011 to then director general of civil aviation Bharat Bhushan and Nasim Zaidi, chairman of a civil aviation safety advisory committee, which was formed after the May 2010 Mangaluru air crash which killed 158 people.

“My warning issued after the Mangaluru crash was ignored. It is a table-top runway with a down slope. The buffer zone at the end of the runway is inadequate,” Capt Ranganathan said. Given the topography, he pointed out, the airport should have a buffer of 240m at the end of the runway, but it only has 90m (which the DGCA had approved). “Moreover, the space on either side of the runway is only 75m instead of the mandatory 100m,” he added.

Capt Ranganathan said there is no guideline for operations on a table-top runway when it is raining. “Runway 10 approach should not be permitted in view of the lack of runway end safety area (RESA) and the terrain beyond the end of the runway. RESA of 240m should be immediately introduced and runway length has to be reduced to make the operations safe,” his letter said.

If an aircraft is unable to stop within the runway, there is no RESA beyond the end. The ILS localiser antenna is housed on a concrete structure and the area beyond is a steep slope. “The Air India Express accident in Mangalore should have alerted AAI to make the runway conditions safe. We have brought up the issue of RESA during the initial Casac-sub group meetings. We had specifically mentioned that the declared distances for both runways have to be reduced in order to comply with ICAO Annex 14 requirement,” Capt Ranganathan said.

He said the condition of the runway strip was known to DGCA teams that have been conducting inspection and safety assessments. “Have they considered the danger involved? Did the DGCA or the airlines lay down any operational restrictions or special procedures?”

The letter also refers to Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) training, which is supposed to be mandatory before every monsoon, but airlines don’t follow it, he said. “70% of accidents take place during approach and landing and that is why this training is essential,” he added.

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News Network
May 11,2020

May 11: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said many states were amending labour laws, but the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic cannot be an excuse to exploit workers, suppress their voice and crush their human rights.

Gandhi said there cannot be any compromise on the basic principles by allowing unsafe workplaces.

"Many states are amending labour laws. We are together fighting against corona, but this cannot be an excuse to crush human rights, allow unsafe workplaces, exploit workers and suppress their voice," he said.

"There cannot be any compromise on these basic principles," he added.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also said it would be dangerous and disastrous to loosen labour, land and environment laws in the name of economic revival and stimulus.

"In the name of economic revival and stimulus, it will be dangerous and disastrous to loosen labour, land and environmental laws and regulations as the Modi govt is planning.

"The first steps have already been taken. This is a quack remedy like demonetisation," Ramesh tweeted.

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News Network
March 4,2020

New Delhi, Mar 4: The Supreme Court on Wednesday revoked the ban of cryptocurrency imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2018.

Pronouncing the verdict, the three-judge bench of the apex court said the ban was 'disproportionate'.

The bench included Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice V Ramasubramanian.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), whose members include cryptocurrency exchanges, and others had approached the top court objecting to a 2018 RBI circular directing regulated entities to not deal with cryptocurrencies.

Advocate Ashim Sood, appearing for IAMI, submitted that Reserve Bank of India lacked jurisdiction to forbid dealings in cryptocurrencies. The blanket ban was based on an erroneous understanding that it was impossible to regulate cryptocurrencies, Sood submitted.

The petitioners had argued that the RBI's circular taking cryptocurrencies out of the banking channels would deplete the ability of law enforcement agencies to regulate illegal activities in the industry.

IAMAI had claimed the move of RBI had effectively banned legitimate business activity via the virtual currencies (VCs).

The RBI on April 6, 2018, had issued the circular that barred RBI-regulated entities from "providing any service in relation to virtual currencies, including those of transfer or receipt of money in accounts relating to the purchase or sale of virtual currencies".

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