16 killed as AIE flight skids off Kozhikode runway, splits into 2

16 killed as AIE flight skids off Kozhikode runway, splits into 2

Plane Falls Into Valley; Pilot & Co-Pilot Dead

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kozhikode/New Delhi: 8.8.2020

An Air India Express flight from Dubai trying to land in torrential rain with 191 passengers on board overshot the tabletop runway at Kozhikode’s Calicut International Airport in Kerala on Friday and fell into a 35-foot-deep gorge at 7.41pm, killing at least 16 people.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737, broke in two. The deceased include flight commander Deepak V Sathe and co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar. According to flight tracking sites, the aircraft made two attempts to land before touching down the third time, leading to the accident.

The flight was part of the Vande Bharat repatriation mission and most passengers were stranded non-resident Keralites returning home from the UAE following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sources said at the time of the third attempted landing the wind speed was 15 knots and there was heavy rain. The aircraft was high on approach, possibly due to strong tailwinds. It landed beyond the touchdown point on the runway, which was why it failed to stop in time.

The impact snapped the plane fuselage into two

Red alert issued for Coimbatore, Nilgiris

A red alert has been issued for Coimbatore and The Nilgiris districts following IMD’s forecast of intense rain on Saturday. The two districts had been already battered by four days of intermittent rain. Fields in many parts of the two districts are completely submerged in water. Heavy winds had uprooted trees, disrupting power supply in several areas. Meanwhile, inflow into the Mettur dam surged from 6,000 cusecs on Thursday to 45,000 cusecs on Friday evening, raising the water level in the reservoir by nearly four feet. P10

Many passengers suffered serious injuries due to crash impact

The nose of the aircraft and the cockpit area were completely destroyed and the fuselage had broken into two pieces. Many passengers suffered serious injuries, including to the head and fractures, due to the crash impact. Fortunately, the plane did not burst into flames.

Aviation minister H S Puri said he was “deeply anguished and distressed at the air accident in Kozhikode... We are in touch with local authorities. State police have reported 11deaths. Relief teams from Air India & AAI are being immediately dispatched from Delhi & Mumbai. All efforts being made to help passengers. A formal enquiry will be conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).”

“Pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to Kerala CM @vijayanpinarayi Ji regarding the situation. Authorities are at the spot, providing all assistance to the affected.” Prime Minister Narendrs Modi tweeted.

Firefighting personnel and hundreds of rescue workers immediately reached the airport and the injured were taken to government medical colleges in Kozhikode and Malappuram and private hospitals in Kozhikode and Kondotty. State health minister K K Shailaja said many passengers had serious injuries.

According to Air India, there were174 passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and five cabin crew on board the aircraft. It is the first major accident at Calicut International Airport in its 32-year history.

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Educational institutes cannot be treated as retail outlets: HC

Educational institutes cannot be treated as retail outlets: HC

Asks PU To Again Decide Case For Extension Of Affiliation For MBA Course

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:7.8.2020

Coming down heavily on the Panjab University (PU) over denial of extension of affiliation for MBA course conducted by the DAV Institute of Management, the Punjab and Haryana high court has observed that “educational institutes cannot be treated as retail outlets of a licensed commodity that can be commissioned or de-commissioned anytime.”

“Here discontinuation/ withdrawal of temporary affiliation of petitioner institute is stated to be on account of overall loss of brand equity of the MBA course, apart from alleged non-compliance of the pre-requisite conditions for getting extension of affiliation. Illustratively, it has been pointed out that the Regional Management Centre of PU at Ludhiana, imparting MBA course, has been a failure. Educational institutes, to my mind, cannot and ought not to be treated as retail outlets of a licensed commodity. It is not a gas station/petrol retail outlet which can be commissioned or de-commissioned, in any manner, as the licensing authority so wishes, depending upon its business exigencies,” the high court observed while setting aside the inspection report of the PU regarding affiliation to the DAV Institute of Management to run the MBA course.

The high court was also of the view that for every student, alma mater carries a certain sense of pride for the rest of their life. “In the present case, a peculiar situation has arisen owing to the institutional clash of the country’s two premier institutions, the alumnae of 2nd academic sessions are facing the paradox of no alma mater. If the stated stand of the respondent university (PU) is to prevail, the management institution shall have to shut down. The students who have already graduated would naturally be awarded degrees but, for the rest of their lives, will be products of a defunct institution,” observed the HC.

Justice Arun Monga of the HC has passed these orders while disposing of a petition filed by DAV Institute of Management, Chandigarh. The management had approached the HC against the decision dated April 10, 2019 of the university syndicate conveyed vide letter dated May 2, 2019 asking the petitioner institute to fulfil the deficiencies pointed out by inspection committee constituted by the university and further directions for grant of temporary affiliation to the petitioner-institute for its academic session 2018-19.

The petitioner had applied to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for approval to start the course of MBA, which was granted on April 30, 2017 subject to the obtaining necessary affiliation/permission from the PU.

Accordingly, petitioner then applied to the PU for affiliation (temporary), which though was granted, but later denied to extend owing to alleged non-compliance of the contingent conditions/deficiencies pointed out by PU’s inspection committee. Aggrieved from denial of extension of affiliation, the management had approached the HC.

The counsel for the management, advocate R D Anand, submitted that the university was still considering the grant of extension of affiliation for the session 2018-19 till May 2, 2019 but the session had already started in July/August 2018.

Contesting the plea, the university pleaded that the petitioner had failed to remove the deficiencies pointed out by the inspection committee for extension of affiliation, therefore, the petition should be dismissed.

After hearing both the parties, the HC observed that the university allowed the students to take the examination on May 2, 2019, which amounts to implied grant of extension for 2018-19. “It was mandatory for the university to grant or refuse the extension of affiliation by May 15, 2018 for the ensuing session 2018-19. This entire lackadaisical approach/ demeanour of the university in such a nonchalant manner does not inspire confidence, to say the least. The university ought to be mindful of the students whose future life and career is at stake,” observed the HC.

The HC also set aside the inspection reports of PU regarding the petitioner management observing that the inspection committees constituted in the present case and their inspection reports forming the basis for refusal of temporary extension of petitioner’s affiliation are not in accordance with law.

The university has also been asked to constitute a fresh inspection committee strictly in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 4.6 of the UGC (Affiliation of Institutes by Universities) Regulations 2009 and on receipt/consideration of its inspection report, to decide the petitioner’s case afresh for extension of the petitioner’s affiliation.

Flight from UAE brings back 179

Flight from UAE brings back 179

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mohali:7.8.2020

In continuation to the Vande Bharat mission of evacuating stranded Indians from various countries, a flight from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) arrived at the Chandigarh International Airport with 179 Indians on Thursday.

With this, a total of 27 flights have arrived so far under the Vande Bharat evacuation mission. Flights from the US, Ukraine, Auckland in New Zealand, Kuwait, two flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sharjah and four flights from Dubai have so far arrived with approximately 2,400 passengers.

Spicejet Flight Number SG-9302 from the UAE arrived at the Chandigarh International Airport at 2.45 pm with 179 passengers on board. This is the sixth flight connectivity to the UAE.

Mohali civil Surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said all the passengers arriving from Sharjah and the UAE have been asked to undergo strict institutional quarantine at their respective districts and their passports have also been taken into possession by the administration.

Recently, the government of India had permitted airline operators from the Middle East and the Gulf counties to bring stranded Indians back to their home country. These foreign airlines will operate along with Air India or Indian-based airline operators.

Foreign-based airline operators like Qatar Airways, Kuwait Airways, Air Arabia, Jazeera Airways, and SalamAir, so far have been given permission to operate their flights to Chandigarh International Airport in Mohali.

Covid can cause temporary facial paralysis: Docs

Covid can cause temporary facial paralysis: Docs

Mumbai:7.8.2020

Novel coronavirus can cause temporary facial paralysis — called Bell’s palsy — in some patients, doctors treating patients for five months said.

Neurologist Rajesh Benny, with Fortis Hospital (Mulund) said he saw an unusual number of cases of Bell’s palsy between April-July.

“The incidence seems to have reduced in Mumbai now, but neurologist in areas where the infection is at its peak or reaching it, say they are seeing a surge in Bell’s palsy cases,” he said.

In other countries too doctors noted the link between Covid-19 and neurological manifestations such as Bell’s palsy. In April, doctors from China reported in a peer-reviewed journal, Neurology, Bell’s palsy as a symptom.

“Covid-19 patients may present with Bell’s palsy at an initial stage. Bell’s palsy may be attributed to an immune response, caused by SARSCoV-2,’’ they wrote.

Patients with facial paralysis — usually on one side of face — would go to a neurologist if they had typical Covid symptoms such as fever, breathlessness or cough. It is only when the neurologist finds a normal MRI that a CT scan and/or a Covid-19 test are ordered. “It’s only then that Covid is identified as the cause,” said a doctor.

Generally, Bell's palsy takes a month or two to disappear but could in some cases leave behind residual weakness, said Dr Sangeeta Ravat, who heads the neurology department of KEM Hospital, Parel. Patients may need physiotherapy to recover fully. TNN

Pay fine 24/7 at virtual traffic court

Pay fine 24/7 at virtual traffic court

Bengaluru: 7.8.2020

A virtual court for traffic challans inaugurated on Thursday will enable an offender pay the fine online any time, without requiring him/her to appear before the court.

Cases of drunken driving, riding vehicles without licence and display board-related offences can be settled at this virtual court; its jurisdiction combines the city’s all six traffic courts.

Inaugurating the court along with e-filing facilities at the high court and district courts, Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud said the legal system has to keep pace with exponential growth in information technology.

Justice Chandrachud, who is chairman of the Supreme Court’s ecourt committee, said considering the country’s technological divide, 3,000 e-seva kendras will be set up in courts across the country.

Police commissioner Kamal Pant said the facility will help save time for police, prosecutors, judicial officers and litigants. With the city’s population and vehicles increasing, serving summons and challans had become a problem for police. TNN