Statue of Unity sees record 27,000 visitors on Saturday
Rajpipla, Nov. 10 (PTI): Over 27,000 people Saturday visited the Statue of Unity in Gujarat’s Narmada district, the highest since the Sardar Patel memorial was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31 and opened to the public on November 1. The statue, built on an islet near the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Kevadiya, at 182 metres is the tallest such structure in the world. With the capacity of the high-speed lift which takes tourists to the viewing gallery inside the statue being 5,000 persons per day, the state government asked people to plan their trip to the memorial keeping this aspect in mind. The viewers’ gallery inside the statue is at a height of 135 metres and can accommodate up to 200 persons at one time.
Maharashtra tigress killing: Thackeray calls probe panels a farce
Mumbai, Nov. 10 (IANS): Embarrassing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, its ruling ally Shiv Sena on Saturday termed as a ‘farce’ the inquiry committees set up yesterday to probe the killing of alleged man-eater tigress Avni and demanded a judicial probe into the incident. Speaking to mediapersons, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said the very same people who supported the killing of Avni and, even hired a hunter to kill her, will now sit as ‘judges’ to probe her death. “This is sheer drama. Those people who gave the contract (supari) to kill the tigress will now investigate her death. The committees must be dissolved and the probe must be conducted by a retired or sitting judge,” Thackeray said.
Pilot’s error triggers hijack scare on Kandahar-bound plane at Delhi airport
New Delhi, Nov. 10 (PTI): A hijack scare on a Kandahar-bound flight sent security officials at the Delhi airport into tizzy on Saturday after the pilot “mistakenly” pressed the ‘hijack button’ when it was taxiing for take-off, sources said. The Ariana Afghan Airlines plane took off nearly two hours later after “satisfactory” security checks, they said. While there was no immediate official reaction, the sources said the pressing of hijack button had pushed all agencies concerned, including the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), into action. NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said. After a two-hour operation that created panic among passengers on board the aircraft, the plane was cleared for take-off, the sources said.
