Leh- Manali Highway opens for traffic

In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the night flight operation from Srinagar International Airport started. The aviation regulator of India, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)  gave approval to the night flight operations at the Srinagar International Airport. Director, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Srinagar, Santosh Dhoke said that the regular night flights at the Srinagar Airport started from March 28. It may be recollected that GoAir and IndiGo were among the airlines that operated successful test run of night flights last week at the Srinagar Airport. With its start, the summer season of Kashmir valley will see a substantial increase in the number of flights. The commencement of regular night flight operations from Srinagar International Airport will certainly help in the economic growth of J&K as the Tourism sector forms the core of the economy of Kashmir.

-CBI has arrested an absconding accused at Delhi who was deported from Riyadh. He was involved in five cases registered in CBI at Chennai. CBI had got a Red Notice issued through INTERPOL against the accused. The accused was located in Saudi Arabia and was deported back to India with the close assistance and coordination with the authorities in Saudi Arabia through INTERPOL channels.

-Strategically important Leh- Manali Highway is opened for traffic on Sunday. In a ceremony at Sarchu, border point between Himachal and Ladakh, Leh Executive Councillor Stanzin Chosphel, BRO Himank project Chief Engineer Brig Arvinder Singh and Deepak Chief Engineer Brig MS Baghi together cut the ribbon to open the road for traffic.Last year Leh-Manali road was opened on 18th of May 2020 and was closed on 5th December 2020. The 428 kilometre highway is always a challenge to operate, for the engineers and workforce of Himank and Deepak projects of Border Road Organisation (BRO). Border Road Organization was created history this time by opening Leh Manali axis almost two months in advance. EC Stanzin Chosphel thanked the BRO engineering teams for the efforts to open the road much early. He said, this route will help ensuing tourism season in Ladakh.

-Four people were killed and two injured in a collision between a car and a bus on the Yamuna Expressway on Sunday, Mathura  police said.While three persons were killed on the spot, the fourth succumbed to injuries in the hospital, a police officer said.According to police, the accident took place after the over-speeding car veered off the road and hit a divider. The vehicle then collided with the bus coming from the opposite direction.SP (rural) Srish Chandra said the deceased include a father-daughter duo and two others.The injured, who have been admitted to the hospital, are in a serious condition, he said.The victims were heading towards Farrukhabad from Delhi to celebrate Holi festival, the officer added.

-India has made a landmark achievement of administering  over 6 crore COVID-19 Vaccine doses in record time. Continuing with its largest vaccination drive in the world, the nation administered over 21 lakh 54 thousand doses yesterday alone. India is one of the countries in the world to administer over 6 crore 2 lakh 69 thousand COVID vaccine doses in a short span of only 71 days. The nation commenced the world's largest vaccination drive in on 16th January this year with vaccination of healthcare workers. Vaccination of front line workers began from 2nd February whereas the most recent phase began from 1st of this month encompassing vaccination of everyone aged above 60 years and above 45 years with specified co-morbidities. Health Ministry has informed that in just 27 days of the current phase nearly 2 crore 75 lakh senior citizens above 60 years and around 65 lakh people above 45 years with co-morbidities have been administered the first shot of the COVID-19 Vaccine.