Wife and family members of CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Manhas celebrate after hearing the news of his release, in Jammu on Thursday. PTI

Jammu, April 8

Days of anxious silence gave way to relief and celebration at the house of CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas here as the news of his release from Maoist captivity broke on Thursday.

Family members and relatives of the commando were moved to tears as they saw visuals of him stepping out of an ambulance on a news channel.

Soon neighbours joined the family in its celebrations, and cheers and chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” filled the air. Everyone who visited Manhas’ house was greeted with sweets and smiles.https://0f061510f0aad7f0ab786626fe3a0a4f.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

“This is the happiest moment of my life. I always remained hopeful of his return and want to thank the central and Chhattisgarh governments and everybody else who stood by us during the testing time,” Manhas’ wife Meenu said.

The commando’s five-year-old daughter Raghvi was seen kissing his picture on a mobile phone. “I had prayed for my father’s release,” she said. — PTI

Photo for representation only. – File photo

Tribune News Service

Ambala, April 7

More than two years after the civil airport project was approved under the Udan 3.0 scheme, the district administration and the air force authorities have agreed to construct airport on the land adjoining the air force station on Jagadhri road in Ambala Cantonment.

Ashok Kumar, Ambala DC

Discussion held with officials concerned

A civil airport was approved for Ambala Cantonment and efforts were being made to identify and finalise a suitable land for the project. A detailed discussion has been held with the officials concerned regarding the airport project.

In December 2018, the civil airport project was approved but the project has been hanging fire ever since, as the land for the project was not finalised. The runway of the air force station is to be used for the airport. It will have flights for Srinagar and Lucknow.

As per information, Ambala Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar, Air Officer Commanding Prashant Arya along with officials from the air force, Cantonment Board Ambala, Civil Aviation, Revenue Department and other district officials held a meeting in Ambala on Tuesday evening and agreed to use the land near Mama-Bhanja Peer, adjoining the air force station for the airport.

While one gate of the airport will be towards Jagadhri road, the other gate will open inside the air force station. The officials of civil aviation who were present in the meeting have been asked to prepare and submit their project report so that it could be forwarded to the higher authorities.

Anil Vij, Home Minister

To be ready in couple of years

All stakeholders have principally agreed on the land identified on the Jagadhri road. The air force has agreed to give passage for the runway. The land will be transferred to the Haryana Government and the state government will pay the cost of the land. If everything goes right, the airport will be ready in a couple of years.

Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sharma said “A civil airport was approved for Ambala Cantonment and efforts were being made to identify and finalise a suitable land for the project. A detailed discussion has been held with the officials concerned regarding the airport project.”

State Home and Health Minister Anil Vij has been taking a keen interest in the project and he has repeatedly raised the issue with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Vij held a meeting with the Defence Minister in February and sought his intervention in the issue pertaining to land requirement for a domestic airport in Ambala.

Speaking to The Tribune, Home Minister Anil Vij said, “All stakeholders have principally agreed on the land identified on the Jagadhri road. It is a 15-acre defence land. The air force has agreed to give passage for the runway. The land will be transferred to the Haryana Government and the state government will pay the cost of the land. We have asked the Civil Aviation Department to prepare and submit the project report. We have taken defence land in the past too for Civil Hospital. After getting approval from the Ministry of Defence, the project will be started. If everything goes right, the airport will be ready in a couple of years. The land identified is suitable for the project as it is near the national highway, bus stand and railway station.”

Farmers asked for land on rent, but man give it free of cost on ‘humanitarian grounds

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Punjab farmers work on the field at the Tikri-Bahadurgarh border in Jhajjar district. Photo: Sumit Tharan

Ravinder Saini
Tribune News Service
Jhajjar, April 8

A retired customs officer residing at Balor village on the Tikri-Bahadurgarh border has provided two acres of his agricultural land to a group of agitating farmers from Amritsar to grow vegetables.

“These farmers have been camping adjacent to my fields for the last four months. Earlier, I provided them with the facilities of bathing, toilets, besides offering them milk and food on many occasions. Recently, they approached me to take the land on rent for cultivation to meet the shortage of vegetables. But I gave them land free of cost on humanitarian grounds as they are fighting the battle for the entire farming community,” said Nar Singh Rao.

Rao, who owns four acres of agricultural land, said the farmers could use the land till their agitation ended. 

“We are prepared for a long haul. Since we have no other work here except participating in the protest, we decided to grow vegetables such as bottle gourd, pumpkin and peppermint etc to meet the daily demand. The residents of Haryana have been extending every kind of help for the last four months, but the supply of vegetables has gone down for the last couple of days,” said Shamsher Singh of Amritsar. 

He said they had ploughed the field and asked kin back home to bring vegetable seeds. The vegetables would be ready to use in 45 days. Thereafter, these would be distributed to the farmers at Tikri, he added. 

Will make direct payments and work out some protection for arhtiyas: Punjab ministers Manpreet Badal and BB Ashu

Punjab delegation talking to mediapersons after meeting with Food Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Thursday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 8

Punjab farmers can look forward to direct online MSP payment from the upcoming procurement season after the Centre on Thursday rejected the state’s demand for yet another exemption from the DBT route.

“We have no option and choice,” Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal said after a nearly two-hour meeting with Food minister Piyush Goyal who categorically told the state that the Centre will make procurements and reimburse related costs only if the state pays directly to farmers and not through arhtiyas.

“The minister has rejected our requests for exemption from the DBT route and we are now left with no choice. The minister said the state would have to make its own procurement arrangements if it wishes to pay farmers through arhtiyas. So we have no choice,” Badal said.

Punjab food minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu said the state will find a way to pay directly to farmers and will ensure some protection for arhtiyas.

He said the CM has called a meeting with arhtiyas tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Centre has agreed to grant Punjab six month extension to link land record to the national e-procurement portal.

The Centre today said 15 procuring states had started DBT payments to farmers and no further exemption was possible for Punjab which had already got three exemptions in the past.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting in New Delhi. PTI

New Delhi, April 8

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for research and documentation of the Sikh spirit of service and the evolution of Gurdwaras as living centres of public service.

Centre will give fitting tribute

The Centre will give a fitting tribute to the ninth Sikh Guru whose life is an example of sacrifice and wisdom. We are blessed to have the opportunity to contribute to this historical occasion. — Narendra Modi, PM

Addressing a high-level committee meeting to plan the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur virtually today, the PM said the government will give a fitting tribute to the ninth Sikh Guru whose life was an example of sacrifice and wisdom.

He sought written suggestions from committee members on yearlong celebrations the government plans.

The PM said no segment of Indian history in the last four centuries was such as could be imagined without the impact of Guru Teg Bahadur.

“He gave us the mantra of equality, simplicity and sacrifice. It is our duty to take this lesson to everyone,” he said

Stressing the use of digital technologies to spread the message of the Guru, the PM said, “ We must research how Sikhs are following the path of service. We must document this spirit of service.” — TNS

The visit comes less than two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the neighbouring country

Army Chief General MM Naravane inspects a guard of honour at Shikha Anirban in Dhaka. PTI

Dhaka, April 8  

Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane on Thursday paid tributes to the fallen heroes of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War after arriving in the country on a five-day visit to further strengthen the close and fraternal ties existing between the armed forces of the two nations.

Naravane is visiting Dhaka at the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart, Gen Aziz Ahmed.

The visit comes less than two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the neighbouring country.

The Chief of Army Staff paid tributes to the fallen heroes of the 1971 Liberation War by laying a wreath at the altar of Shikha Anirban in Dhaka Cantonment.

“Gen Narawane on 1st day of his 5-day visit to #Bangladesh paid tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War at the #ShikhaAnirban today,” Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of MoD (Army), tweeted.

He was welcomed with a guard of honour at Senakunj.

“#COAS will be meeting the three Service Chiefs of Bangladesh’s #ArmedForces,” it tweeted.

The Indian Army chief will share his experience during the seminar on United Nations Peace Support Operations. He will also witness the culmination exercise, hardware display and closing ceremony of the joint military exercise ‘Shantir Ogroshena’, a multilateral UN-mandated counter-terrorism exercise from April 4 to 12, the Indian Embassy here said in a statement ahead of the visit.

Besides the armies of Bangladesh and India, the exercise is being participated by Bhutan and Sri Lanka along with observers from the US, the UK, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The visit will further strengthen the close and fraternal ties existing between the armed forces of the two countries, it said.

The Army chief will also interact with Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on April 11

“This visit from April 8 to 12 will further deepen the bilateral relationships between the two armies and act as a catalyst for closer coordination and cooperation between the two countries on a host of strategic issues,” Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said in New Delhi.

The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

In reflection of close ties, India is also hosting a number of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1971 war that led to the liberation of Bangladesh.

Around 93,000 Pakistani troops had surrendered before the joint forces of the Indian Army and the “Mukti Bahini” on December 16, 1971 that paved the way for the birth of Bangladesh.

The Army chief is also scheduled to visit the Mujibur Rahman memorial museum in Dhanmondi where he will pay tributes to the founding father of that country. PTI

Manhas’ five-year-old daughter was seen kissing her father’s picture on a mobile phone

A screen grab from video.Jammu, April

Days of anxious silence gave way to relief and celebration at the house of CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas here as the news of his release from Maoist captivity broke on Thursday.

Family members and relatives of the commando, who was abducted by Maoists after an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh on April 3, were moved to tears as they saw visuals of him stepping out of an ambulance on a news channel.

Also read: Abducted CRPF commando released by Maoists in Chhattisgarh

Manhas’ five-year-old daughter was seen kissing her father’s picture on a mobile phone.

“This is the happiest moment of my life. I always remained hopeful of his return and want to thank the Central and Chhattisgarh governments and everybody else who stood by us during the testing times,” Manhas’ wife Meenu told reporters at their house in Burnai on the Jammu-Akhnoor road.

Twenty-two personnel from various security forces like the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) of the Central Reserve Police Force, its Bastariya battalion and those from the District Reserve Guard and STF of the Chhattisgarh Police were killed in the ambush.

Thirty-one security personnel were also injured in the encounter. PTI

Bhadauria visits Bengaluru, interacts with test crew of Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment and engineers of Software Development Institute

Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria. PTI file

New Delhi, April 8

Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Thursday flew a Su-30MKI fighter jet in Bengaluru to witness its “capability enhancement”, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said.

“CAS (Chief of Air Staff) visited Bengaluru and interacted with test crew of Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) & software engineers of Software Development Institute,” it said on Twitter.

The ASTE conducts flight testing of aircraft, airborne systems and weapons prior to their induction into the IAF.

Bhadauria reviewed ongoing projects during his visit on Thursday and flew a Su-30MKI aircraft to “witness the capability enhancement on successful completion of one such project”, the IAF stated. PTI

Rafale: French media house cites confidential documents from ED; Dassault rejects allegations

New Delhi, April 8

In a startling revelation, a French media house has claimed that an Indian business intermediary was secretly paid millions of euros by Dassault Aviation, maker of Rafale fighter jets, and French defence electronics firm Thales. The French team had succeeded in removing the anti-corruption clauses from the fighter contract.

French media house ‘Mediapart’ published the third and final part of the series on the Rafale deal. It said: “Mediapart has obtained a number of confidential documents from the ED (Indian Enforcement Directorate) case file, which shed new light on the behind-the-scenes events of the Rafale deal”.

“Dassault and Thales paid Sushen Gupta several million euros in secret commissions to offshore accounts and shell companies, using inflated invoices for software consulting,” said the report. These payments were besides the questionable contract, , worth 1 million euros, with Dassault for making replica models of Rafale jets.

According to information gained by Mediapart, Gupta obtained confidential documents from the Indian Defence Ministry on the dispute between India and France over the purchase costs of Rafale.

The report said, in August 2015, “Indian negotiators concluded, in a confidential report, that the overall purchase price for the jets, including their weaponry, should be 5.06 billion euros. But in January 2016, Dassault proposed more than double the price: 10.7 billion euros, excluding the missile equipment.” “For the French camp, Sushen Gupta’s assistance was to prove precious. He obtained confidential documents from the Indian Defence Ministry on the subject of the dispute over the purchase costs. These included the minutes of meetings by the Indian negotiating team.

The report said the Indian Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that there were insufficient grounds for opening an investigation into the matter. But that decision was made without the information gathered in the probe by the ED in another case. — TNS