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Cong hints at second term for Ansari as VP

June 18, 2012

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New Delhi, June 18: Congress appears to be considering giving a second term to Vice-president Hamid Ansari, who narrowly lost out to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the race for UPA nomination for the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

An indication to that effect came on Sunday, when Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said in a TV interview that the party leadership could continue Ansari as VP. To a question about the possibility of a second term for Ansari as VP, Singh said, "It is not a bad idea. Ansari has conducted himself admirably as a vice-president".

Singh also confirmed that Congress, assured of majority support, does not intend to leave the post of VP for the Opposition in order to ensure Mukherjee's unanimous election as the President. "It looks unlikely because we already have the numbers," he said.

Besides SP and BSP, who have often rescued it from sticky situations, the Congress can also expect to get the Left Front's backing for Ansari in case the leadership decides to retain him. Although the Left, which had sponsored the VP five years ago, was unhappy with the way he handled the debate on Lokpal in the Rajya Sabha in the winter session, they are likely to support his second stint as well.

However, Congress sources are not sure whether Ansari would agree to have another term, something which is sure to be viewed as a consolation trophy for the former diplomat who in the race for the Congress ticket for the Rahstrapati Bhawan appeared to be snapping at Mukherjee's heels until the last lap.

Singh's TV interview was marked by tough talk against Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, although he stressed that the Congress on its own would not want her to leave the ruling coalition and does not favor "throwing her out".

Reflecting Congress's annoyance with Banerjee's defiant opposition to Mukherjee's choice for the Rashtrapati Bhawan, he said there is a "limit" to which one can "bend" as certain eventualities have to be faced if they cannot be avoided. Singh was replying to question as to whether the Congress is ready to bend over backwards to prevent Banerjee's exit from the UPA-II if she chooses to leave the ruling alliance.

In contrast, the Congress leader was all praise for SP boss Mulayam Singh, who had teamed up with Banerjee to block Congress nominees but de-coupled himself in 24 hours to clear the way for Mukherjee's elevation.

Singh called the SP chief as a "pragmatic political person", stoutly rejecting suggestions of a "deal" between the Congress and the SP such as the promise of some relief to Mulayam in CBI cases or a financial package for UP.

Justifying the party's tough response to Banerjee, he said: "All efforts have been made to console her, accept her views, accept her tantrums...beyond a certain limit, the decision is hers...there is a limit to which you can bend to...there are certain eventualities, which if it cannot be avoided have to be faced." He said that it was "very embarrassing" for party chief Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh that Trinamool boss not only rejected the names of both UPA nominees but joined hands with the SP and announced three more names, including that of the PM when they "did not have consent of any of the three".

Singh felt that the step taken by the "erratic" Banerjee was "extremely immature" and appealed to her that she should reconsider her decision and respond to the "magnanimity" shown by Mukherjee and support his candidature. To questions on why Banerjee resorted to such an action, Singh said that the Trinamool chief "miscalculated".

"She has been erratic in some way...That is Mamata...nothing is impossible, nothing is unexpected as far as Mamata is concerned" was his refrain to a volley of questions about Banerjee's behaviour.

He also felt that Banerjee continuing to back Kalam is a "mistake" which she should "avoid".

Regarding the challenge before the Congress to find a replacement for Mukherjee as the finance minister and as the Leader of the Lok Sabha, Singh admitted that there could be choppy days for a while as "we do not have many people of his stature and abilities". However, he expressed confidence that the vacuum will be filled as UPA has "no dearth of talent".

Asked about the possibility of a new finance minister from outside the political domain like Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Congress leader said," it is for the PM to decide...the PM has every right to appoint anyone even from outside" as the finance minister.

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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
March 29,2020

Mumbai, Mar 29: Virologist Minal Dakhave Bhosale led from the front to create India's first coronavirus testing kit even when she was in the last stage of her pregnancy.

Bhosale's efforts paid the price with her team delivering the testing kit in a record time of six weeks.

Bhosale gave birth to a baby girl just a day before submitting the kit to the authorities for evaluation.

"It was like giving birth to two babies," Bhosale told PTI over the phone.

The virologist said both the journeys - that happened in parallel - were not without challenges.

"There were complications in the pregnancy while work on the test kit was on. The baby was delivered through cesarean," she said.

Bhosale said she felt that it was the right time to serve the people to help them in combating the coronavirus threat.

"I had been working for five years in this field and if I don't work in emergency situations when my services are needed the most, then what is the use?" she said.

Though Bhosale was not able to visit the office due to the pregnancy, she was guiding a team of 10 persons working on the project at Mylab Discovery in Pune.

The strong bonds forged with the team over the years and their support made it possible, she said.

Company's co-founder Shrikant Patole said just like drug discovery, test kits too go through a lot of quality checks to improve the precision.

He credited Bhosale for the success of the project.

The COVID-19 testing kit delivered by Bhosale's team will reduce the time taken for delivering a result to 2.5 hours from the prevalent practice of eight hours.

A pioneering approach to testing without compromising on the results was adopted, Bhosale said.

The Maylab test kit will cost Rs1,200, a quarter of Rs 4,500 per kit that the government has been spending on testing so far.

"I'm happy that I could do something for the country," Bhosale said.

As of Friday, only 27,000 of the 1.3 billion people were tested for the virus in the country.

According to experts, high scale testing is essential because it alone can ensure an early diagnosis of COVID-19 and lower down the fatalities.

The company is confident of ramping up the capacity at its plant in Lonavala to deliver 100,000 kits a week, Patole said.

He said the authorities are helping the company, including giving priority for shipping of the raw materials.

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News Network
April 25,2020

Chennai, Apr 25: Civic authorities on Saturday turned down a plea for exhuming the body of a doctor who died of COVID-19 here and burying it in another cemetery, citing health experts' view that it was unsafe to do so. Citing a request from the wife of the deceased doctor to allow exhumation and then re-burial at a cemetery in Kilpauk, the Greater Chennai Corporation said it sought a report from a committee of public health experts to ascertain the feasibility of entertaining her plea.

The spouse of the doctor had appealed to the GCC on April 22 to exhume and bury again her husband's body. She had said that burial in the Kilpauk cemetery here was her husband's last wish and he had conveyed it to her before he was put on a ventilator.

The report of experts has said that "it is not safe" to exhume and again bury the body of a COVID-19 victim and hence "it is not possible to accept her request," the GCC said in an official release. On April 19, a city-based 55-year-old neurosurgeon died of coronavirus and his burial at the Velangadu crematorium here was marred by violence.

A mob which falsely feared that the burial may lead to the spread of contagion had attacked the corporation health employees and associates of the deceased doctor. The doctor's wife and son also had to leave the burial ground in view of the violence.

The body was brought to Velangadu as people of Kilpauk area had opposed his burial there. Over a dozen men involved allegedly in violence were arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Later, in a video message, the surgeon's wife had said that it was her husband's last wish to be interred at the Kilpauk cemetery as per Christian rituals

Chief Minister K Palaniswami and DMK president M K Stalin had spoken to her on Wednesday over the phone and condoled her husband's death.

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