The Prayagraj airport in India is experiencing a surge in air traffic due to the Maha Kumbh, a major religious festival. The airport is handling an average of 40 non-scheduled charters and private jets daily, with figures reaching 70 on weekends. This is in addition to the average 148 scheduled commercial passenger aircraft operating daily. The airport recently received a contingent of about 180 politicians from Rajasthan and has seen corporate bigwigs like the Ambani brothers, Gautam Adani, and Pawan Munjal pass through. The airport has also hosted four international flights since the beginning of the Maha Kumbh, including a flight carrying Laurene Powell Jobs, the wife of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The airport is currently undergoing an upgrade and expansion, and officials are looking forward to the government's plans to integrate Prayagraj with the airports at Kashi and Ayodhya to promote tourism in the region.
The self-styled godman, who is called Baba Narayan Hari and Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, is not named in the list of the accused in the FIR filed in the incident though his name is in the complaint.
The Delhi government has ordered half of its staff to work from home, urging private organizations to follow suit as the national capital faces an alarmingly high level of air pollution. The move comes as Delhi recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 426 in the "severe" category, with residents reporting health issues. Essential services will continue to operate at full capacity. The government has also advised companies to provide shuttle bus services for employees and suggested that private entities consider shifting office hours to reduce traffic congestion.
The threat message was received on the Mumbai traffic police helpline and an officer read it around midnight, the official said.
Singapore-based Smitha and Raghavendra Ramachandra made a spontaneous decision to attend the Maha Kumbh. They did not expect what followed.
According to the police, Delhi-Ghazipur border remains closed for traffic due to the farmers' protests. The commuters are suggested to take alternate routes via Anad Vihar, Chilla, DND, Apsara, bhopra and Loni borders, it added.
All borders of the national capital will be sealed for the entry of commercial and heavy vehicles by Thursday midnight apart from heavy police deployment, they said.
'Dense' to 'very dense' fog prevailed in parts of Punjab, Haryana, west Rajasthan, Bihar, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Assam.
Despite recent fatal stampedes at the Kumbh Mela and a Delhi railway station, pilgrims, driven by faith, continue to participate in the holy gathering in Prayagraj. Despite safety concerns, pilgrims from across India are undeterred by the tragedy and are taking the holy dip at the Triveni Sangam.
'If hundreds of VIPs are allowed to roam with passes and roads blocked for their movement, then that will cause trouble for the public and disrupt the Mela.'
Thousands of farmers from around 100 villages of Noida and Greater Noida on Thursday took to the streets seeking hiked compensation, bringing traffic to a standstill in several parts of Delhi-NCR as they made an unsuccessful bid to march towards Parliament.
The police deployed tear gas and water cannons for a second day to stop the farmers from marching to Delhi.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, was brought to India on Thursday after being "successfully extradited " from the US, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said. The 64-year-old Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin landed in Delhi in a special plane on Thursday evening, ending days of speculation of when and how he will be extradited, officials said. The NIA said in a statement that it had secured the successful extradition after years of sustained and concerted efforts to bring to justice the key conspirator behind the 2008 mayhem that claimed 166 lives. Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, and operatives of designated terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI) along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the the three-day terror siege of India's financial capital.
'While suppression of information is acceptable for the government, the Opposition's efforts at pinning the government and its leaders is labeled anti-national,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The accident took place at the Tungi-Morh in the Chowki Chora belt of the district, the officials said, adding that the bus rolled around 150 feet down into the gorge.
A 29-year-old man in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida has been arrested for allegedly abducting an on-duty traffic policeman, who had stopped him to check the documents of his car, officials said.
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also joined Bharat Jodo Yatra in Seelampur.
Around 29 trains have been delayed by two to five hours due to foggy weather, a railway official said.
The city's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 417, making it the worst in the country. On Friday, the AQI level was 396.
The response was tepid in other parts of the country even as several INDIA bloc parties as well as other non-BJP outfits extended their support to the bandh.
Seema Haider, a Pakistani national, recently entered India illegally to marry her lover Sachin Meena, a resident of Greater Noida. The two had become friends while playing online game PUBG.
Twenty coaches of the Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Express passenger train derailed near Govindpuri station in Kanpur early Saturday after the engine hit an 'object placed on the track'.
At least 28 people died in rain-related incidents Sunday as heavy downpours lashed north and northwest India, causing landslides, traffic chaos and house collapses, as well as a dam breach which inundated several villages in Haryana.
The Hathras SP said the investigation also revealed that some political parties had contacted him some time back.
In yet another reversal of previous Mayawati government's decision, the Uttar Pradesh government has changed the colour of state traffic police's uniform from blue to khaki.
Air, rail and road traffic was severely affected in New Delhi on Monday as dense fog reduced the visibility to almost zero. According to senior officials of the Indian Metrological Department, the disruption is likely to continue for a few more days. There is little hope of the weather improving and it is likely to hit traffic in Delhi and neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, officials said.
These farmers, belonging to various districts of western Uttar Pradesh, have come for the demonstration on the call of farmers' union Kisan Sena and want to go to Delhi to meet Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, according to the outfit's conevnor Thakur Gauri Shankar Singh.
A spectacular aerial display showcasing the prowess and manoeuvrability of the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft over the iconic Marina sky captivated the hearts of Chennaiites who turned up in thousands on a sultry Sunday and witnessed the IAF's range of new aircraft including Rafale, roar in action.
The victims were part of the crowd of thousands that had gathered near Phulrai village in the Sikandrarau area for the 'satsang' by religious preacher Bhole Baba.
Five boggies of a goods train on Tuesday derailed in Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh affecting rail traffic on the Etawah-Kanpur section, a senior railway official said in Etawah.
Enterprising creator, Ishwar Deen who poured in over two-and-a-half lakh rupees into his labour of love was ordered to dismantle the rotor that he had welded on to the roof of an old car to make it resemble a chopper.
The launch of 5G services in India turbocharged mobile download speeds here, pushing the country's ranking 72 notches higher to 47th spot in Speedtest Global Index, ahead of nations like Japan, the UK and Brazil, according to Ookla. India's speed performance has zoomed up 3.59 times since the introduction of 5G, it said dubbing the country's 5G advancement as "remarkable". In this global pecking order, India ranked not only ahead of its neighbours like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, but also some G20 countries, such as Mexico (90th), Turkey (68th), the UK (62nd), Japan (58th), Brazil (50th place), and South Africa (48th place).
French president Emmanuel Macron arrived on Thursday in a decked-up Jaipur city, where he will spend several hours savouring the sites -- and perhaps some roadside chai -- before engaging in talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on strengthening India France ties.
The year began with Ayodhya getting ready for the Ram temple consecration ceremony. Almost four months later, the excitement has settled down and some voters are crediting the Bharatiya Janata Party for fulfilling its promise while others feel that development should reach every corner of the district.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer organisations that spearheaded the 2021 protest, adopted the resolution to "intensify the fight against the policies of the Union government to save farming, food security, land and livelihoods of the people".
With protesting farmers seeking to march to the national capital, security remained tight on Wednesday with personnel deployed in huge numbers and barricades regulating movement in central Delhi and at border points with Haryana, which can cause hardships to commuters.
Vehicles piled up and many people were seen reasoning with the police as they were not allowed to enter Delhi from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Police personnel checked vehicles and conducted flag marches at various places in Punjab on Wednesday while central forces maintained a tight vigil in Tripura.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer organisations that spearheaded a protest at Delhi's borders in 2020-21 against three agriculture laws that have since been repealed, has said a resolution will be passed at the 'Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat' to 'intensify the fight' against the Centre's policies.
The BJP may win more seats in the February 5 assembly election, but not enough to trump AAP, notes Ramesh Menon.
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