Govt mulls using highways in far-flung areas for flight landing

June 17, 2016

Mumbai, Jun 17: Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari today said the government was working on a scheme under which highways in far-flung areas can be used for aircraft landings and take-offs, and airports can be made where none exist.flight

"Along with Defence Ministry, we are thinking on a proposal. We are making our national highways of cement and concrete. We can use them as airports and are identifying sites. The vehicular traffic will be stopped when an aircraft will be landing and once it leaves, the vehicle traffic will resume," Gadkari said at an event by Forum for Integrated National Security (FINS) here.

He clarified that the plan was to use the highway network to handle both civilian and military aircraft movement.

The discussions are being held with the Defence Ministry because many of these sites can be near the border areas, he said.

Even as he declined to disclose the sites which can be used for such aircraft movements or the number of such sites, Gadkari cited pockets in Arunachal Pradesh, which can benefit from such an arrangement.

He added that the traffic was also low in Arunachal Pradesh which can easily facilitate the flight movements as is being envisaged.

When asked if the roads will be able to take the aircraft, Gadkari said a majority of the new highways are being built of cement and concrete, which can comfortably take such loads.

It can be noted that a few years ago, the Indian Air Force had landed one of its frontline fighter aircrafts on a highway in north India to assess defence preparedness.

Gadkari elaborated that separate holding areas can be created along a highway where the aircraft can taxi to after landing, and can come back on the highway for take off after de-boarding and boarding.

He said having such an arrangement, where the road was put to use for multiple uses will be very cheap as compared to erecting a full-fledged airport.

Gadkari said the government has accorded high priority for expanding air connectivity and wants to build 350 airports across the country.

Meanwhile, making a case for ending corrupt practices at ports, Gadkari said the network of "liasoning and servicing agents" which ensure passage of containers should be destroyed. He also welcomed complaints in this regard.

Gadkari also said that the country was interested in building a road in Myanmar, which can be further extended into Thailand and can help serve India's interests deeper in the south east Asia.

Having clinched the Chabahar Port in Iran, India will also be looking at helping create road and rail connectivity in Iran so that its interests in Afghanistan and further into Central Asia can be served, he said.

He said the national highway network, which spans 1.55 lakh kms at present, will touch 2 lakh kms in the next 2-3 months.

Gadkari said he has requested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to relocate some of the logistic parks on the upcoming bypasses which will help reduce pollution in the national capital.

He said amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act are also being planned and added that one of the plans is to make it compulsory to have air conditioned cabins for trucks, given the large amount of time drivers spend in the vehicles in hot condition.

A car scrapping policy is also in the works, which will come into effect along with switching to lower polluting engines, Gadkari said, adding that the scrapping of cars has the potential to make the country as the number one car manufacturing hub in the world.

While impressing the need for the people to be more aware, Gadkari said accidents like the one on the Mumbai-Pune expressway which killed 17 people could have been avoided if people were not mending a car puncture in the middle of the road.

Comments

arm
 - 
Saturday, 18 Jun 2016

Gadkari thinks this is Sugar Cane Farm, Where he can go and relieve him self.

suleman beary
 - 
Saturday, 18 Jun 2016

Talking non sense.

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IBTimes
June 3,2020

A pregnant elephant in Kerala ate a pineapple, which was filled with country-made bombs or dynamites. It led to a painful death as the elephant was pregnant and died standing in the Velliyar River in Palakkad in Kerala. People are venting out their anger and concerns all over social media about the gruesome incident.

Yesterday, it was reported that the pregnant elephant was killed after locals allegedly fed her a pineapple stuffed with crackers.

However, when International Business Times, India, reached out to Dr Ab Qayoom, who is an Indian Forest Service Officer, for his comments about what actually must have happened, we got to know that no one have fed the pineapple to the elephant.

Snares used for keeping animals away

Dr Qayoom stated that pineapples filled with firecrackers are used as a snare for catching wild boars. He said, "No one would have fed the pineapple to the elephant. The animal must have found it lying somewhere and must have consumed it herself not knowing what lies ahead for her."

He also stated a second possibility. He said, "Some people actually do such insane things as they consider wild animals as a threat to their property and life. Such incidents do happen at places where wild animals create problems for human beings."

Snares are often found around farms, coffee plantations

He added that wild boars often spoil crops and people use snares as a way to protect their farms and crops. This year, it was reported that the government would soon permit farmers with licensed firearms to shoot wild boars that wander into their lands. The problem is that people do not limit their snares to only wild boars and there have been several incidents when tigers, leopards and other animals have fallen prey to these haphazardly placed snares around farms, coffee farms and wildlife corridors.

Elephant kept standing in water before dying

The pregnant wild elephant originally belonged to Silent Valley National Park (SVNP), Palakkad. As the elephant died, she remained calm despite being in excruciating pain. The elephant kept standing and died at Velliyar River, Malappuram, with its trunk in the water.

The elephant was 15-years-old and was probably getting some relief as it stood in the water after her tongue and mouth exploded. Mohan Krishnan, Section Forest Officer, Nilambur, shared the sad incident on his Facebook page where he had acted as the Rapid Response Team official to rescue the elephant, which was in distress.

When a postmortem examination was carried out, it was learnt that the reason for the elephant's death was due to asphyxia where water had got into her lungs and trachea. Dr David Abraham, Assistant Forest Veterinary Officer, Thrissur, carried out the postmortem.

Dr David said, "I have so far done more than 250 postmortems of elephants alone in my more than two decades career. But this was the first time I was so moved as I could hold the foetus of the baby in my hands. Initially, none of us was aware that the elephant was pregnant. After seeing her heart, I spotted the amniotic fluid and realized that she was pregnant."

Claim reviewed :

Fact checking Palakkad elephant death

Claimed By :

Twitter, Facebook and Youtube posts.

Fact Check :

False

https://t.co/uR4p7rDUli

Comments

Peta
 - 
Thursday, 4 Jun 2020

Still killed by human, what this media want to justify the killing will be filing suit on this media soon...u will be in trouble soon.

MOHAMMED MOOLU…
 - 
Wednesday, 3 Jun 2020

A very cruel, henious and inhumen act. This culprit should be with murder and punished sevierly. 

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News Network
July 21,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 21: A man was arrested on Tuesday for riding his high-end bike up to a speed of almost 300 km per hour on a flyover here during ongoing lockdown, police said. After a selfie video of the man's reckless ride went viral on social media, police arrested him for putting his life and that of others at risk and seized his 1000 CC bike.

Identified by police as Muniyappa, he rode his bike on the nearly 10-km long Electronic City flyover, accelerating almost to 300 KMPH as he whizzed past some vehicles, including cars autorickshaws and trucks that were moving in both directions.

"This video made viral by the rider...going at a dangerous speed of almost 300 kmph at Ecity flyover putting his own & others life at risk..CCB traced the rider & seized bike Yamaha 1000 CC.. handed over to traffic (police)," Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil tweeted, tagging the video.

A case of reckless driving has been registered against him, police said. They said the incident occurred during the week-long lockdown in force in the city and outskirts till Wednesday morning to contain the spread of coronavirus, leaving most roads deserted as people remained indoors. However, it was not known when exactly he undertook the ride. A fortnight ago, three youths who were doing wheelies on the city roads met with a ghastly mishap and lost their lives.

Click here for video

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News Network
June 23,2020

Bengaluru, June 23: A head constable from Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) committed suicide on board a bus after testing positive for COVID-19 in the city.

As per sources, the 50-year-old head constable had tested positive for coronavirus last evening and today he was being taken to a hospital in KSRP bus.

It is learned that he hanged himself to death inside the bus as there was no one else.

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