Delhi-bound IndiGo flight suffers bird hit in Ranchi, passengers safe

Source: hindustantimes.com

More than 140 passengers had a close shave after a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight suffered a bird hit at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport on Wednesday which forced it to abort take off, officials said.

The pilot aborted the take-off soon after the damage was detected. Airport sources said engineers were called to ascertain if there had been any damage due to the bird strike.

The airline made arrangements for the passengers to leave for their destination by another flight.

Birsa Munda Airport director Vinod Kumar Sharma said, “Indigo flight 6E-398 was scheduled to take off from the airport at 9.30 am. There were 144 passengers in the flight. As it started taxiing on the runaway, a bird hit its turbine.”

He said all passengers were safe.

Sharma claimed that bird hits have come down this year at Ranchi airport.

“This is the second incident of bird hit from January to August this year, while the number was five in the previous year,” he said.

Sharma also said they have engaged hired Birsa Agriculture University (BAU), Ranchi to study bird hits and suggest measures to eliminate the threat. “The university will study the reason of bird gathering near the airport and suggest ways on how to make it a bird free zone,” he said.

Environmentalists, however, say mushrooming buildings around the airport has jeopardized aircraft safety as kitchen wastes disposed by the residents attract birds.

Roadside eateries, shops selling meat and fish and irregular picking of garbage from nearby Birsa Chowk, Tupudana road and Hinoo area are aggravating the threat. The tall trees surrounding the airport provide a safe nesting place for the birds, they said.

Decomposed bodies of woman, daughter recovered from tank in Ranchi

Source: hindustantimes.com

The police on Monday recovered decomposed bodies of a 26-year-old woman and her five- year-old daughter from the soak pit tank of the house in which she was living as tenant in Ranchi’s Argora area, police said.

The police have registered a named FIR under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against prime suspect Samim, the deceased woman’s live-in partner.

“On information passed on by house owner Bhairow Tigga, we reached the spot and recovered the bodies of Rekha Tigga, a widow, and her daughter Priyanshi Tigga from the soak pit. It appears that the accused, in order to destroy the evidence, had thrown the bodies in pit, put bricks over them and cover the pit’s opening with the cemented slab. The bodies, which were found in almost decomposed condition, have been sent for postmortem,” said Hatia deputy superintendent of police Prabhat Ranjan Barwar.

He added that police suspect that the murders were committed between August 21 and August 22 as the deceased were seen last on August 21. A manhunt has been launched to arrest Samim who is now absconding, the DySP said.

“The woman, who originally hails from Hurhuri in Ranchi’s Ratu block, was a daily wage earner and living with her daughter in the rented premises at Uppar Kocha, Pipartoli in Argora. As per the information gathered from different sources, Samim, a mason, lived with them in the same house,” Barwar said.

According to the house owner Bhairow Tigga, who lives in a nearby separate quarter, Samim, Rekha and her daughter had been residing in his house on a monthly rent of Rs 1500 since April 28.

“On August 21, I saw her working as labourer in an under construction house in our locality. But, thereafter, I never saw her. Next day, Samim informed me that Rekha and her daughter had permanently left for their village. Two days later, Samim vacated the house. When I came here on Monday to clean the premises, I encountered a foul smell emanating from the house. We then informed the police,” Bhairow said.

Rekha’s elder sister Panchmi informed that Rekha, after the death of her husband, shifted to Ranchi’s Argora area for better upkeep of her daughter.

“Meanwhile, she befriended a mason Samim. After taking the present house on rent, both were living together like husband and wife. I had talked to her last on August 21 over phone. She disclosed about her poor health condition and her dispute with Samim. Next day, she didn’t pick up my phone despite repeated calls,” Panchmi said.

Birsa airport ready for more planes

Source: telegraphindia.com

Ranchi airport will throw open six additional parking bays from next month enabling passengers to board or alight from 11 aircraft at a time, the expansion mirroring a surge in air travel that the state capital has seen in the last four years.

“We received an approval from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) this month for operating six additional parking bays at Birsa Munda Airport. We will start using these within a week in September,” Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar Sharma told The Telegraph on Thursday.

Currently, the airport also uses two aerobridges that allow passengers to board aircraft directly from the terminal waiting area. These were introduced in 2013 when the new international terminal building was opened.

Sharma said two more aerobridges were being planned, but these would take another six months to come up.

“The work to install two more aerobridges was delayed due to technical reasons. We are in the final phase of awarding tenders for construction of aerobridges. Construction would be completed in the next six months. We hope to make these operational in 2020,” he said.

Sharma said marking and installation of lights for the additional parking bays, or apron area, had been completed in February-March. Subsequently, DGCA officials conducted an inspection. Its approval reached Ranchi earlier this month.

As of now, the apron area of Ranchi airport can accommodate three Airbus (A-320) and two 19-seater ATR planes. The new apron facility can accommodate five Airbus and one ATR plane at one time.

This means, as many as eight Airbus and three ATR planes can be parked at one time at the airport.

As per data shared by the transport department, while there were only 11 flights carrying 6 lakh passengers annually in 2014, 2018 saw 30 flights operating out of Ranchi.

The number of passengers is estimated to touch 22 lakh during 2018-19.

“With the airport witnessing increasing passenger footfall it was necessary to provide facilities for accommodating more planes. Once the new apron area functions, we expect more planes to serve Ranchi which, in turn, would lead to greater passenger flow. The new apron would make it possible for nearly 80 flights to operate from the airport in a day,” said a senior official in the Ranchi Airport.

Ranchi airport, spread over 1,568 acre, handled 6 lakh passengers in 2014-15. But the number increased to 10 lakh in 2015-16, 13 lakh in 2016-17 and 16 lakh in 2017-18.

New JPCC chief gets thunderous welcome

Source: dailypioneer.com

A sea of supporters gave a thunderous welcome to Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee’s (JPCC) newly appointed president Rameshwar Oraon amid loud beats of Dhols and Nagadas at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi on Wednesday. Oraon, a former IPS officer, who replaced another former IPS officer Ajoy Kumar at the helm in the Congress party here, was accompanied by the five executive presidents, who will take the reins of the party in their hand along with Oraon in Jharkhand.

Even though the Congress party had to face a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, Oraon seemed to be oozing with confidence on Wednesday as he walked out of the airport along with his team and greeted the party workers. “Sonia Madam Ki Lalkar, Badlo Badlo Yeh Sarkar (Sonia Madam has challenged to uproot this Government). This will be our slogan for the upcoming Assembly elections in Jharkhand,” said Oraon.

Interestingly, the new team on the driving seat for the Congress party here has representatives from Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, Minority and even General caste. Manas Sinha, Rajesh Thakur, Keshav Mahto Kamlesh, Sanjay Paswan and Irfan Ansari –made executive presidents of the JPCC to maintain unity among workers and add a new spark of life to the otherwise ailing party—also seemed visibly enthusiastic about the polls.

“The sea of supporters here is evidence to Congress party’s growing support. Our role hereon will be to unite all our workers and put in all our efforts in winning the upcoming elections,” said Oraon as chants of Rahul Gandhi Zindabad and Sonia Gandhi Zindabad reverberated at the Congress party’s State headquarters in Ranchi later in the day.

Oraon admitted that the party has failed to gather all its workers and translate their electioneering into votes in the past. He, however, said that Congress party still found several supporters in the rural areas of Jharkhand and the party will cash on this support. “If you travel to the interiors, you will notice that people are unhappy with the ruling Government and they have a soft corner for the Congress party. I know that if we put in efforts, the results will be visible in the next elections,” said Oraon.

He added that the tribal community in Jharkhand is unhappy with the Government’s constant efforts of making changes to the Chottanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act (SPT). “We will go to the interiors and inform the people about the failures of the incumbent Government,” Oraon said.

Oraon and his team of five executive presidents were appointed by party’s National President Sonia Gandhi on Monday. The position of President in JPCC remained vacant since former MP Ajoy Kumar’s resignation on August 9. Kumar, in his resignation, ridiculed his fellow leaders in the party which left many senior leaders red faced here. Oraon, however, said on Wednesday that he did not wish to talk about the past and only wants to focus on the future.

The party took out a huge rally from airport to Congress Bhavan via Rajendra Chowk, Mahatma Gandhi Road and Albert Ekka Chowk on Wednesday. During the rally, Oraon and his team garlanded statues of freedom fighters, including tribal hero Birsa Munda, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and BR Ambedkar.

Pipe gas and CNG push in Ranchi

Source: telegraphindia.com

Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Arjun Munda and chief minister Raghubar Das will launch the piped natural gas supply and compressed natural gas-run vehicles at Prabhat Tara Maidan here on Friday.

Two CNG supply stations and a de-compression unit at Shyamali colony from where PNG will be supplied will also be made operational simultaneously, said K.B. Singh, executive director (eastern region) of GAIL India.

“While PNG will be supplied to 3,000 houses initially, we have a plan to increase the number by 7,000 more within a year,” Singh said.

PNG, he said, will be 10 to 15 per cent cheaper compared to using LPG for cooking.

“In Jharkhand, 551km of natural gas pipelines are being laid at an estimated cost of Rs 4,366 crore that aim at supplying PNG to 10.46 lakh households in 12 districts when completed,” Singh said.

Of the two CNG supply stations that will start on Friday, Khukri petrol pump is near Rajendra Chowk in Doranda within the city while the other is at Madhuban near Ormanjhi, about 25km outside the city limits, he added. “GAIL plans to commission 11 CNG stations in Ranchi within a year that will supply CNG to over 75,000 vehicles,” he said.

“Three auto manufacturers, Piaggio, Bajaj and TVS, have agreed to supply CNG-run autos,” Singh said.

He said they were also conducting awareness programmes for auto-rickshaw owners and drivers for smooth transition to CNG.

He said they would also organise meetings with bankers, vehicle suppliers and operators so that a conversion scheme (of existing vehicles) can be introduced.

Jharkhand Reissues 2 MW Solar Canal-Top Tender Amid Lukewarm Response

Source: mercomindia.com

The Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (JREDA) has reissued its tender for 2 MW of grid-connected canal-top solar power projects at Sikidiri Canal in Ranchi.

The last date for the submission of bids is September 11, 2019. Earlier, the bid-submission deadline was February 11, 2019.

“The tender received a very low response due to which it has been reissued,” said an official from JREDA.

The general scope of work for the 2 MW canal-top solar PV power project involves the design, engineering, procurement, supply, and construction (EPC) of the grid-connected canal-top solar project, along with the testing, commissioning, and evacuation of a 33 kV solar power substation.  The bidder should be aware that the capacity utilization factor (CUF) should be considered with an AC capacity of 2 MW, and the power should be evacuated at 33 kV voltage level. A metering point should also be included at the solar power substation.

The work also involves the development of a 33 kV switchyard capacity for a minimum of 2 MW of solar evacuation at the generation substation. However, the transmission line from solar project switchyard to the pooling substation will be developed by the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL).

The successful bidder will also be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the project for ten years.

The estimated cost of the project is ₹150.7 million (~$2.1 million), and the work needs to be completed within six months. The date for the technical bid is scheduled for September 13, 2019.

Interested bidders need to pay a sum of ₹3.14 million (~$42,126) as the earnest money deposit (EMD).

Interested bidders should have prior experience in the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of solar photovoltaic-based grid-connected power projects of a cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or above in or outside India.

The bidders should be able to submit the list of projects commissioned along with their work order, the commissioning certificates, and the certificate stating the project’s operation timeline.

According to the JREDA, the financial criteria for the bidders state that their average annual turnover for the last three financial years should be at least ₹50 million (~$698,839).

The canal bank and canal top solar project programs were launched in the financial year 2014-15. Under this program, solar projects have been commissioned in different states including Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

In a bid to promote these installations, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is also providing a subsidy of ₹30 million (~$0.45 million)/MW of installed capacity for canal bank projects and a subsidy of ₹1.5 million (~$0.22 million)/MW of installed capacity for canal top projects.

In July, Mercom reported that Shivamogga Smart City Limited in Karnataka also issued a Request for Proposal for the construction of 25 MW of solar power projects. The SSCL will develop the solar power project on top of the Tunga canal that passes through Shivamogga city.

Earlier this year, Haryana Power Generation Corporation had invited an expression of interest to set up 16 MW of canal top solar projects at WYC Hydel Power Station at Bhudkalan, in Yamuna Nagar.

Theft accused kills himself in Ranchi’s Ratu police station, family cries foul

Source: hindustantimes.com

In yet another custodial death in Jharkhand this month, a 24-year-old man, arrested in a theft case, allegedly died by killing himself on Thursday night in Ranchi’s Ratu police station.

According to the police, the deceased Naisar Ansari was kept in the police station’s lock-up along with another accused Amar Naik. He went to the bathroom attached with the lock-up late at night with a piece of blanket and hanged himself from the rod fixed in the ventilator. The other accused in the cell, who was then sleeping, raised the alarm around 4 am when he noticed the incident, police said.

Ansari’s family members, however, cried foul play. “We got information that Naisar was arrested on Tuesday. When we reached the police station the next day, we were not allowed by the policemen to meet him. On Friday, we saw his body. This is not a case of suicide,” said, Guljaan Bibi, mother of the deceased, alleging that his son has been murdered.

Ansari originally hailed from Lawalong area of Simaria’s sub-division in Chatra district. A daily wage earner, he had been residing with his in-laws at Ratu’s Alkamar colony for the last six months.

Ansari, along with three others, were wanted by the police in connection with a theft case. It was alleged that the four accused had stolen Rs 70,000 in cash and a mobile phone from the house of one Nazir Ansari of the same Alkamar colony on August 20.

The police, however, said Asnari was arrested on Thursday and not Tuesday as being alleged by the family. “Naisar was arrested on August 22 (Thursday) evening in the theft case, in which his father-in-law too was an accused. He was then put up in the police lock-up where he killed himself. His body has been sent for autopsy and an inquiry has been set up,” said Ranchi superintendent of police (rural) Ashutosh Shekhar.

“As per the information gathered from family members, the deceased was under stress due to several problems on family front. He was currently residing at his in-laws house due to this.”

Later in the day, hundreds of residents of Alkamar colony assembled at Ratu police station, demanding a fair probe into the matter.

Earlier in the month, a 30-year-old man Ashish Tudu, arrested for planning to execute a robbery, had allegedly killed himself on August 5 at a vacant flat of a three-storey police quarters under Sikaripara police station in Dumka district. Tudu had, reportedly, hanged himself from the ceiling of the kitchen in the night.

The incident, however, had exposed the functioning of the police, which kept the accused in a police quarter instead of a lock up.

Taking serious note of the matter, the Dumka SP had transferred Sikaripara police station officer-in-charge Satyendra Narayan Singh to police lines as a punishment posting.

Transfusion hub for thalassemia in Ranchi

Source: telegraphindia.com

Ranchi became the first district in Jharkhand to get the latest thalassemia pumps and medicines at a day-care integrated centre for thalassemia, sickle cell anaemia and haemophilia at the Sadar hospital after Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) funded Rs 16 lakh to set up a Thalassemia Wellness Centre.

The Wishing Factory, an NGO set-up by 24-year-old youth Partth Thakur from Mumbai, who is a patient of thalassemia, is executing the project on behalf of IRCTC.

State health secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni, IRCTC deputy general manager Tarum Kumar and Partth Thakur inaugurated the advanced centre with the pump library.

“This is the third centre funded by IRCTC in the country after Pune and Jaipur. This will come as a great help for thalassemia patients. These pumps, also called iron chelation pumps, are used to maintain iron level and remove additional iron from the body in a way increasing their life span. I have asked Sadar hospital to submit a requisition of medicines and equipment to IRCTC for the future. The state government would also launch a special drive across Jharkhand to identify patients of thalassemia and sickle cell so that they can be given proper treatment,” said Kulkarni.

Deputy general manager of IRCTC informed that besides eight pumps, 4,000 vile of Desferal, 200 leucocyte filters and 2,000 butterfly needles have been provided.

“We will sustain the centre for at least one year and during this period we will provide financial support to the centre. This is the third centre IRCTC has funded and we are going to open some more in other states,” said Tarum.

Sabana, who had come to the day-care centre for the treatment of her 11-year-old child Irfan Ansari who is suffering from thalassemia, said: “My younger son Jisan died last year because of thalassemia. My husband works at a bicycle shop and we can’t afford the cost of the treatment. Somebody told me that my son can get good treatment here,” she said.

After ‘triple talaq’, Jharkhand woman accuses husband of rape, forced conversion

Source: hindustantimes.com

A woman has lodged a police complaint in Ranchi alleging that she was duped into marriage by a man who allegedly coerced her into embracing Islam and eating beef, raped her for six years, administered her sedatives to get her to have sexual relations with others, video graphed the act and finally divorced her by way of triple talaq.

She has identified the accused as Sonu alias Md Abul Kaish.

Based on the woman’s complaint, the police have registered an FIR under Sections 376 (rape), 376 (2) (g) (gang rape), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and various other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

“We have started the investigation. As per our information, the accused is not in Ranchi. However, we will find out the truth and appropriate legal action will be taken,” Ranchi SP (rural) Ashutosh Shekhar said.

The accused, who is in Delhi, however, denied the allegations when contacted on phone.

According to the FIR, the woman, a resident of Ranchi, had joined an NGO as a counsellor in June 2013 where she came in contact with the accused.

“Sonu always used to put tilak on his forehead. In August, when I was ill, Sonu came to my residence and took me to see a doctor. On return, he gave me some pill after which I became unconscious,” the woman has alleged in the FIR. “Two days later, I found myself naked at Sonu’s house in Ranchi. When I tried to escape, he showed me some videos in which I was in lying naked with some other man.”

“Threatening to make these videos public, he asked me to follow his commands. One day, he asked me to wear a burqa (veil) and took me to a Qazi at Ranchi’s Doranda area. The Qazi made me to accept what he uttered. He then told me I had become a Muslim and my ‘nikah’ was solemnised with Md Abul Kaish,” the woman has said in her complaint.

“I then realised that Sonu was not a Hindu and I was converted into a Muslim. He later forced me to eat beef. After losing his job in Ranchi, he took me to Delhi in August 2016. There, I experienced worst form of torture. He used to come with some other person every night to commit gang rape,” the complaint reads.

In May this year, the accused had gone somewhere else, leaving her alone in Delhi. “I then came to my village and after some days, I went to Sonu’s ancestral house in Rajmahal. There, his family members refused to accept me saying Sonu already had a legitimate wife from the same community,” the complaint says.

The woman alleged she finally traced Sonu in Ranchi but he refused to accept her. In fact, he divorced her by way of triple talaq on July 27, 2019, she alleged.

Sonu (37) said, “I am a lawyer in Delhi. Baseless allegations have been levelled against me. When I was working with the NGO in Ranchi, the woman was introduced to me along with her brother. Her bother and I developed a good bond. When I shifted to Delhi, he once visited me seeking some job. I helped him to find a job in a cloth factory. Later, he had taken a loan of Rs 3.75 lakh from me to open a cloth shop in Ranchi. When I demanded the money back, they started threatening me with lodging a false case.”

Ranchi to get supply from Aug 23; Jamshedpur next, from Sept 8

Source: hindustantimes.com

Around 3,000 households in Ranchi’s Mecon Colony will get piped cooking gas supply from August 23 while over 2,000 households of Jamshedpur will receive the same from September 8, GAIL officials said .

The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), which has been carrying out the infrastructure development and pipeline work from last one year, is preparing a roll-out the project in Jharkhand’s two biggest cities. It would benefit over 5,000 households in the initial phase.

“We have received the launch date for Ranchi on August 23 and September 8 for Jamshedpur. Pipeline connections have been provided to 3,000 households in Ranchi, while 2,000 in Jamshedpur,” said GAIL executive director (eastern region), KB Sinha.

“Two CNG stations, one at Khukri in Doranda and another at Madhuban (Ormanjhi), will also be inaugurated on August 23 in Ranchi. Since the CNG and PNG will be transported from Patna through cascading system, it might be little costlier in Ranchi. However, the GAIL’s Ranchi authority is yet to announce the rates of the gases,” he said. A cubic metre PNG costs around Rs 31, while as one kilogramme of CNG costs around Rs 61 in Patna. The GAIL officials said, PNG price would be more or less same in Ranchi , while CNG might cost Rs 8 to Rs 9 higher in Ranchi than Patna.

The prices, however, will drop after the Centre’s ambitious Jagdishpur-Haldia and BokaroDharma gas pipeline projects reach Ranchi.

The main gas pipeline would reach Ranchi through Chatra, Hazaribag, Bokaro and Ramgarh. It will cover 551-km in Jharkhand comprising 362 villages in 12 districts.

As per the calculation of GAIL, PNG would be 6% to 10% cheaper than LPG, and CNG would be around 40% cheaper than petrol and 25% lower than diesel.

In a meeting with Jharkhand chief minister, Raghubar Das, and union petroleum minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, in Ranchi on Tuesday, the progress of the city’s gas distribution was discussed. Pradhan said, the gas pipeline projects in two cities would be started by first week of September.

The GAIL has set the target to cover 30,000 households in Ranchi and 25,000 households in Jamshedpur in next five years.

In Jharkhand, merely 18.9% households use clean energy such as LPG and electric kitchen appliances, while 81% are still dependent on wood, coal and cow dung cakes for fuel in kitchens.

The national average for usage of clean energy in household is 43.8%, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) officials had said during a road show in Ranchi in January this year.

The CNG-run vehicles are expected to lower down the vehicular pollution in Ranchi and Jamshedpur. However, operation of such vehicles would take some time, as mere two CNG stations would not serve the purpose, experts said.