News Reports : Delhi airport Terminal 1 halts operation after roof collapse, one dead

Delhi airport Terminal 1 halts operation after roof collapse, one dead

A cab driver died and six people were injured after a portion of a canopy at Delhi airport’s Terminal-1 collapsed on cars amid heavy rain early on June 28, leading to suspension of flight departures, according to officials.

Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu visited Terminal-1 (T1) to take stock of the situation. He said he was monitoring the situation and the injured had been hospitalised.

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officials said three fire tenders were rushed to Terminal-1 (T1) of the airport after a call about the incident was received around 5:30 a.m.

Besides the roof sheet, the support beams collapsed, damaging the cars parked in the pick-up and drop area of the terminal. A search operation was conducted to make sure no one was trapped inside the damaged vehicles, they said.

The injured have been admitted to Medanta Hospital near the airport. One of them was rescued from a car on which an iron beam had fallen. He was later identified as Ramesh Kumar, they added. Work was underway to clear the debris.

“At around 5 a.m., due to heavy rains, the shed outside Terminal 1 of IGI, spanning from departure gate no. 1 to gate no. 2, collapsed, in which around 4 vehicles were damaged and around six persons have been injured and one person has died. All injured persons are stable. Legal action is also being taken,” DCP (IGI) Usha Rangnani said.

Following the incident, the terminal 1 was completely evacuated. It will remain closed till tomorrow until inspections are concluded, Minister Naidu said. All flights arriving at and departing from Terminal 1 till 2 p.m. were cancelled, while flights later in the day will be accommodated in Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, a senior official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

Delhi airport operator DIAL said it has set up a technical committee to probe the roof collapse at the airport’s Terminal 1 and the primary cause of the incident seems to be continued heavy rainfall.

The Minister also announced an ex gratia of ₹20 lakh compensation for the deceased, and ₹3 lakh for the injured. IndiGo cautioned that the incident could also impact flights across the network. “Customers are advised to keep a track of and confirm their flight status before leaving for the airport,” it said in a press statement.

The Departure hall of Terminal 1 was inaugurated in March 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after being reopened following expansion works that started in 2019. However, Minister Naidu clarified that the portion of the building that collapsed on Friday morning was built in 2008-2009, and the work was awarded by GMR to private contractors.

Parliament should discuss NEET issue first, says Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha adjourns amid uproar
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on June 28 urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold “respectful” and good discussion in Parliament on the issue of alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam as it concerns the country’s youth.

“We thought that we will give a message to the students from both sides. The Opposition Benches as well as the government side,” he said while asking for a separate discussion on NEET.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon on Friday amid an uproar in the House as the Opposition demanded a discussion on the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the medical entrance exam. As soon as the House met, Opposition members were on their feet seeking the acceptance of an adjournment motion to suspend all business and discuss matters related to the NEET.

However, Speaker Om Birla said that he could not allow it as the House was about to take up the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on Thursday.

The Opposition MPs were unrelenting and were pressing for the discussion on NEET. Then, after laying of papers, Birla adjourned the House. “The NEET issue is the most important issue of the day, and the Opposition parties have agreed that it should be taken up for discussion before anything else,” the Congress leader told reporters in Parliament complex.

“This is the issue concerning the youth, and the INDIA bloc thinks this is the most important issue,” he said. “Parliament should send message to the youth that the government and Opposition are together in raising concerns of students. I urge PM Modi to hold respectful, good discussion on NEET issue in Parliament as it concerns the country’s youth,” he added.

Congress MP Deepender Hooda on June 28 said that Gandhi’s mic was switched off when the latter raised the issue of alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam as it concerns the country’s youth.

The NEET-UG was conducted by the NTA on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates taking part in it. The results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in states such as Bihar, besides other irregularities.

The Education Ministry also cancelled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and NEET (postgraduate) examinations after receiving inputs that the exams’ “integrity may have been compromised.

T.N. Assembly urges Centre to pass NEET exemption Bill and scrap test at national level
With widespread irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) that have come to the fore recently giving spotlight to Tamil Nadu’s sustained opposition to the medical entrance exam, the State Legislative Assembly on Friday, June 28, 2024, unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to “immediately approve of T.N.’s NEET exemption bill” and “make necessary amendments to the National Medical Commission Act” in order to abolish NEET at the national level.

While the BJP’s MLAs staged a walkout, the DMK’s allies, Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI (M), MDMK, MLAs T. Velmurugan, M.H. Jawahirullah, Manoj P. Pandian and the BJP’s ally, PMK, supported the resolution in the floor of the State Assembly.

Delivering a speech while proposing the resolution, Chief Minister Stalin said that while the admission system based on marks obtained in class 12 had ensured social justice and equal opportunities for students hailing from various sections of the society, enabling doctors to emerge from every part of the State, NEET has been marred with many irregularities, including an unprecedented number of students scoring full marks, exams being delayed and as a result, grace marks being awarded in a manner not outlined in the rules, and reports of the question paper being leaked before the exam in various centers.

“Various allegations of corruption, including invigilators filling in answer sheets at the exam centers, have left students and their families, who have worked hard and spent a lot over many years to prepare for these competitive exams, in shock. The Union government, which initially denied these allegations, saying that no mistakes had occurred, replaced the head of the NTA (National Testing Agency) that conducts the exam, only after being reprimanded by the Supreme Court. A CBI inquiry has been ordered to investigate the allegations of exam malpractices. The entrance exam for postgraduate medical courses has also been cancelled,” he observed.

CM Stalin pointed out that while Tamil Nadu and its people have been “fighting alone against NEET” for many years, the opposition to NEET has now gained momentum in various States who have realised the problems caused by it.

“West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has written a letter to the Prime Minister stating that the old system in which State governments decided on admissions to medical courses should be reinstated. Many leaders, including the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, and Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav, have written letters asking for the cancellation of NEET,” he said.

CM Stalin said that Tamil Nadu has been pioneer in India in the field of medicine and in various indicators of public health due to its admission system. “Based on the recommendations of the committee headed by Dr. Ananthakrishnan, the entrance exams for all professional courses, including medicine were abolished by Kalaignar (former CM M. Karunanidhi) who laid the foundation for these achievements,” he said.

Stalin added, “However, after the Union government made NEET mandatory for medical admissions in 2017, this situation has completely changed, making medical education an unattainable dream for poor and rural students. Students from rural and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, who cannot afford coaching classes, cannot succeed in this exam. Moreover, NEET will affect the medical services provided in rural and backward areas in the future.”

Stalin further said that an “unshakeable consensus” has emerged among the people of Tamil Nadu, political parties and intellectuals with regard to this issue and said this consensus and the recommendations of retired Justice A.K. Rajan were the reason behind the unanimous passage of the Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Courses Act, 2021, in the Assembly in September, 2021.

“However, despite the long legal struggle for this, the Honorable Governor did not grant approval to the Bill and sent it back for reconsideration. In this situation, under my leadership, an all-party meeting was held on February 5, 2022, and a resolution was unanimously passed to reintroduce this bill in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. The bill was reintroduced and passed again on February 8, 2022. It was then sent to the Union government by the Governor for the assent of the President of India. Despite the Tamil Nadu government providing timely and appropriate responses to all clarifications requested by the Union government, the approval to the Bill is still being delayed,” he pointed out.

In Brief:
Deputy NSA Vikram Misri named next Foreign Secretary

Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) Vikram Misri was on June 28 named as the next Foreign Secretary, according to an official order. Misri, a 1989 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has been appointed to the post with effect from July 15, it said. He will succeed Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who was in March this year given a six months’ extension. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Misri, Deputy NSA in the National Security Council Secretariat, to the post of Foreign Secretary with effect from July 15, said the order issued by the Personnel Ministry. It also approved the curtailment of Misri’s tenure as the Deputy NSA.

Congress member faints in Rajya Sabha

A Congress member fainted in the well of Rajya Sabha on June 28, 2024, while protesting against the Chair’s decision of not allowing a discussion on NEET paper leaks. As soon as the upper House re-assembled after recess, a number of Opposition members, including Congress member Phulo Devi Netam, trooped into the well of the House shouting slogans against the government and demanding a discussion on alleged irregularities in NEET. Netam, who was elected from Chhattisgarh in September 2020, suddenly felt dizzy and fell in the Well. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, who saw Netam fainting, asked fellow members to help her and adjourned the House till 2.30 pm. She was then taken to RML Hospital in an ambulance.

Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.

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