Tuki inaugurates helicopter service in Arunachal Pradesh

Naharlagun, Jan 24 (ANI): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki inaugurated the regular passenger helicopter service at the helipad here on Thursday.

A 26-seater brand new Mi-172 helicopter of the Pawan Hans Helicopter Limited (PHHL) after a gap of 20 months took to the sky with 9 passengers on its inaugural flight to Guwahati.

Its six-day schedule (except Sunday) will be departure and arrival - Naharlagun at 8 am and Guwahati at 9.20 am, Guwahati at 11 am and Naharlagun 12.20 pm, Naharlagun at 1 pm and Mohanbari 1.55 pm, Mohanbari 2.45 pm and Naharlagun at 3.40 pm.

Rajya Sabha member Mukut Mithi, Education Minister Bosiram Siram, legislators Techi Kaso and Karya Bagang, officers of PHHL and civil aviation department including secretary Manoj Kumar Sahoo, assistant directors Adil Toko and R N Pathak were present. 

The Global Vectra helicopter with a Bell 407 chopper also has been operating in the state including flying to Guwahati, Anini, Dambuk, Menchuka, Pasighat, Roing and Vijoynagar. Its service to Anini, Menchuka and Vijoynagar is likely to continue.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had suspended the PHHL service in the North Eastern region from May 5, 2011 after two helicopter crashes - one on April 19, 2011 of a Mi-172 and the second on April 30, 2011 of an AS350 B3."

In the first accident, the Mi-172 helicopter with 23 persons on board flying on the Guwahati-Tawang sector crashed at the Tawang helipad while landing, killing 17 persons, including two crew members and two others had succumbed to their injuries, while the other on April 11, 2011 had claimed the lives of five, including then chief minister Dorjee Khandu.

PHHL is presently providing helicopter support services to Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Sikkim governments, union ministry of home affairs, Guwahati and Oil India Limited. The company has deployed Dauphin N and N3, Bell 206L4 and 407 and Mi-172 helicopters for the service. (ANI)

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Gadkari threatens I-T officials with revenge when BJP comes to power

Nagpur, Jan 24 (ANI): Former Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari, who was given a rousing reception on his arrival in Nagpur on Thursday, described the charges against him as a conspiracy by the Congress-led UPA Government, and threatened to sort out the income tax officials involved in conducting raids on his firms.

Officials of the income tax department had raided the offices of Gadkari''s Purti group of companies. His companies are under the scanner for alleged financial irregularities.

Gadkari said he knew who all were conspiring against him, and said where would income tax officials hide when the BJP comes to power.

"Congress is on its way out of power and IT department should realize this. Once the Congress will be out of power, where will you go. There will be no Sonia or Chidambaram to protect you," he said on his arrival in Nagpur.

Gadkari said it was a political conspiracy to malign his image by highlighting issues to which he was not connected.

"False allegations were made against me with issues that I had nothing to do with. I am going to fight it out till I come clean," he said.

Gadkari said there was only one ruler in Congress while the others were her (Sonia Gandhi''s) servants.

The BJP has alleged that the ruling Congress Party misused the income tax department to target opponents, as it had done with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

This is the second time Gadkari has threatened I-T sleuths. (ANI)

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