Govt move to privatise 6 airports: AAI employees begin strike

October 22, 2013
New Delhi, Oct 22: Thousands of employees of Airports Authority of India (AAI) today started a relay hunger strike across the country to protest against the government's move to privatise six airports.

airports

The employees associated with various unions of AAI have formed a joint forum and started the three-day-long strike in front of the Civil Aviation Ministry at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan here and at AAI offices across the country.

"We are protesting against the Civil Aviation Ministry's move to privatise six airports of Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. These were being after the AAI invested crores into modernisation of these airports," said B S Ahlawat, General Secretary of Airports Authority Employees' Union, which is leading the agitation.

The government in early September had decided to allow private parties to pick up 100 per cent equity stake in operation and management of the six airports through the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The successful bidder is supposed to enter into partnership with the state-run airport operator AAI on a 30-year lease to operate, manage and develop facilities at these airports. The scope of the project includes the entire airport, including the airside and city side facilities.

Ahlawat said Civil Aviation Ministry's move is unwarranted as employees at the Delhi and Mumbai airports are still to be deployed after both the airports were privatised.

"And the government is again trying to destabilise the employees of these six airports," he said, adding "if they fail to listen to us, then we would be forced to intensify our action by going on strike or gherao of AAI officials."

These six airports have already been modernised by state- run AAI at a high cost to the exchequer. The modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports alone has cost the AAI Rs 2,325 crore and Rs 2,015 crore respectively.

The government's move has come under severe criticism from several quarters, including airlines and their global representative body, International Air Transport Association, primarily on the grounds that it would lead to massive hike in airport costs and charges.

Ahlawat said AAI took up the project based on the government's assurance that Chennai and Kolkata terminal won't be privatised and would be managed by AAI.

Chennai and Kolkata are the only two metro airports that are being run by the AAI and has been a major revenue earner.

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Agencies
June 27,2020

Mumbai, Jun 27: The Shiv Sena on Saturday hit out at the BJP over its charge that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) had accepted donations from the Chinese embassy, and asked it whether the issue had any connection with intrusion by the neighbouring country in Ladakh and the martyrdom of 20 Indian soldiers.

The Sena also alleged that those raising questions against the government over the standoff with China were being labelled as Chinese agents by the BJP.

BJP chief J P Nadda had on Thursday targeted the Congress and the Gandhi family saying that the RGF had allegedly accepted donations from the Chinese embassy. Hitting back, the Congress had said that the RGF issue raised by the BJP government was a "manufactured charge" and "diversionary tactic" to deflect attention from the LAC crisis.

"What do you mean by Congress gets money from China? Instead of responding to the issues raised by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over the Chinese incursions, the BJP leaders accused the Congress of receiving funds from China," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"Will BJP's revelations about the donations stop the Chinese activities along the border? The BJP should tell what connection does these donations have with the Chinese incursion and the martyrdom of 20 soldiers," it added.

"In our country, many political leaders and parties, and not just the Congress, are beneficiaries of foreign countries. The BJP speaking about this is like throwing stones in the mud," it said.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party said that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India twice in the last six years.

"He was hosted in Gujarat. But it is a fact that China has betrayed. Holding talks on the one hand and continuing with the offensive along the border on the other hand is China's old policy," it said.

In the present scenario, the entire country stands firmly with PM Modi. This crisis is not for the BJP or the Congress, but for the entire country, whose prestige is at stake, it said.

"The BJP can fight with the Congress any time later.

But now is the time to fight against China. It should speak on that," the Sena said.

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News Network
January 18,2020

New Delhi, Jan 18: Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal has granted the power of detaining authority to the Delhi Police Commissioner under the National Security Act (NSA), according to a notification. The NSA allows preventive detention of an individual for months if the authorities feel that the individual is a threat to the national security, and law and order, sources said.

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor is pleased to direct that during the period January 19 to April 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act, the notification stated.

The notification has been issued on January 10 following the approval of the LG.

It comes at a time when the national capital has been witnessing a number of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

However, the Delhi Police said it is a routine order that has been issued in every quarter and has nothing to do with the current situation.

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News Network
June 16,2020

New Delhi, June 16: Tensions along the Line of Control border between India and China have spiked with an Indian army officer and two soldiers killed in the Galwan area of Ladakh, the Indian army said in a statement on Tuesday.

This is the first time in decades that a clash involving casualties has taken place on the 3,488 kilometre border between India and China.

"During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation," said an official statement.

The two sides had made headway in talks last week with army chief General MM Naravane saying disengagement was in progress. The development had come after weeks of tension, including an incident in which patrolling soldiers from the two sides came to blows on the banks of Pangong Lake, resulting in injuries.

The two armies have since thinned out some forces in a positive signal but soldiers, tanks and other armoured carriers remained heavily deployed in the high-altitude region, an official had said.

India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and have not been able to settle their border despite two decades of talks. Both claim thousands of kilometres of territory and patrols along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control - the de-facto border - often run into each other, leading to tensions. 

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Angry Indian
 - 
Tuesday, 16 Jun 2020

where is our angry desh bakth RSS and sanghi...hiding in rat hole or @%#hole...now you can show your 56 inch chest to chinese...when pakistan destroyed our two fighter jet that time i relised we are making an monkey army not indian army...still time exist, still we have courage army...but we lack leader...we have maron PM...and some dog follower..they only know to bark in media and whatsapp...in reality they are just real na pustak...

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