LUCKNOW: For two winter mornings, dense fog over Lucknow turned the skies into a maze for an Air India Express Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating flight from Delhi.On January 2 and January 4, the aircraft circled the city 28 times, spending around 171 minutes hovering above Lucknow, only to return to Delhi without landing.On January 4, IX217 flight reached Lucknow at 6.42 am. But the runway visual range (RVR) was only 125 metres, far below the DGCA-mandated minimum of 150 metres required for a safe landing.Hoping the fog would clear, the pilots kept the aircraft in a holding pattern. For 78 minutes till 8.01 am, the jet looped over the city 11 times. When conditions didn’t improve, the aircraft turned back, landing in Delhi at 8.55 am.SalamAir OV705 from Muscat landed over 90 minutes late at 5.16 am, while two Air India Express flights – IX2048 from Bengaluru and IX1026 from Mumbai – arrived one to three hours behind schedule.On January 2, IX2171 faced nearly identical conditions. It reached Lucknow at 6.18 am, and for the next 93 minutes, it circled over the city 17 times, waiting for a break in the fog that never came.

NEW DELHI: In a bid to improve connectivity to Kedarnath, reduce travel time by road and enhance pilgrims’ safety, the govt has zeroed in on the construction of a 7-km tunnel connecting Chaumasi in Kalimath Valley near Guptkashi to Sonprayag, the starting point of the ropeway project which will take pilgrims to the shrine.The twin tube tunnel will not just be an alternative but also serve as an escape route in case of emergency and bad weather. The govt will also carry out a feasibility study for a walkway and pedestrian tunnel from Chaumasi side for better connectivity to Kedarnath shrine.At present, all vehicles heading to Sonprayag and Gauri Kund take NH-107.As per the plan, the existing one-lane road in Kalimath Valley, which is under the Uttarakhand govt, will be expanded to two lanes to cater to increased traffic once the tunnel becomes operational.

Traffic to Sonprayag, P 10

TOI has learnt the road transport ministry held a detailed discussion last week with Uttarakhand govt on the proposal. It took note of the increased number of pilgrims and tourists in Kedarnath, which stood at 17.7 lakh last year and is estimated to rise to 25 lakh in 2030 and 40 lakh in 2040.Taking lessons from the Sylkiyara tunnel episode, detailed geological and hydrological investigations will be carried out. The govt has awarded to Adani Enterprises the 12.9-km Sonprayag-Kedarnath ropeway project, which is likely to be operational in 2031-32.It will have the capacity to carry 1,800 pilgrims per hour, and pilgrims will be able to complete a one-way trip in just 40 minutes.

DEHRADUN: A youngster from Bihar, misled by forged Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) results and a fake selection letter, reached the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie with his parents to begin training as an IAS officer, only to discover he had been duped by cybercriminals.Pushpesh Singh, 28, a resident of Saran district working for a private company in Gurgaon, told police he was contacted by unknown persons claiming to be from UPSC. They conducted a fake online exam, declared him selected, and shared a forged merit list and training schedule on WhatsApp. Convinced, he paid Rs 30,000 to the accused before travelling to Mussoorie with his family.LBSNAA officials stopped Pushpesh at the entrance and alerted Mussoorie police after spotting discrepancies in the documents. A team reached the spot and upon verifying the documents and questioning him, found he had fallen prey to an elaborate scam. The local intelligence unit and Intelligence Bureau were also informed.Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh said, “The documents appeared genuine at first glance, with official stamps and rank listings. Since the fraud occurred while he was in Gurgaon, we registered a zero FIR under BNS section 318(4) (cheating) at the Mussoorie police station. The case has been transferred to Gurgaon police which will now carry out the investigation in the case.”The case follows a pattern of similar cybercrimes targeting civil service aspirants, particularly those from smaller towns. In May 2023, Jharkhand police uncovered a racket offering fake IPS postings for Rs 2 lakh. “Pushpesh holds a degree and had no doubts about the documents. He had no reason to suspect anything was wrong until he was turned away at the gate,” said an officer who is part of the inquiry.

NEW DELHI: In a landmark advance for thalassemia care, US FDA has approved Mitapivat, the first oral treatment for anaemia in adults with thalassemia, covering both transfusion-dependent and non-transfusion-dependent alpha and beta disease. Clinicians and patient groups in India have welcomed the decision as a potential game changer for a lifelong genetic blood disorder that currently depends largely on repeated blood transfusions and iron chelation. The drug, however, is not yet available in India, as it has not received approval from DCGI.

Calling the approval a historic shift, Dr Rahul Bhargava, director and head of hematology and hemato-oncology at Fortis Institute of Blood Disorders, said Mitapivat targets the disease at its cellular core by correcting red-cell metabolism rather than only managing consequences. From a transfusion-medicine perspective, Dr Rishiraj Sinha from AIIMS said adult patients have long borne the clinical and quality-of-life burden of lifelong transfusions and chelation. “The approval of the first oral therapy for both transfusion-dependent and non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia is a meaningful shift in disease management. Beyond improving haemoglobin, an oral option could reduce fatigue, treatment burden and long-term complications, moving care toward a more patient-centred and livable model-though access, affordability and safety monitoring will be critical,” he said.Experts said the next challenge is regulatory clearance and affordability in India.

PRAYAGRAJ: A Class 10 student being investigated for rape based on a complaint by the parents of a pregnant minor was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a field early Sunday, a day after police visited his village home in UP’s Kaushambi district to interrogate him.The boy’s family said he stepped out unnoticed the previous night after brooding over the FIR against him under sections 69 of BNS and 3 and 4 of Pocso Act (sexual assault on a minor). Kaushambi SP Rajesh Kumar told TOI the survivor’s family approached police after discovering that she was four months pregnant. She alleged the 18-year-old-boy coerced her into a relationship and got her to keep it a secret by promising to marry her. The FIR was registered on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: Getting rid of the “mentality of slavery” and the thrust on “reform, perform and transform” are likely to be the central themes of the President’s address at the joint sitting of Parliament ahead of the budget session.TOI has learnt that different ministries have been asked to give their inputs based on these themes for the President’s speech. People in the know of the development said an informal group of ministers is holding deliberations on this agenda.They added that the themes have been chosen considering govt targets’ focus to achieve the goal of a developed nation by undertaking major reforms to push growth.Removing traces of colonialism has become the talking point for the government since Aug 15, 2022, when PM Narendra Modi spoke about it from the ramparts of the Red Fort. This was also one of the five pledges (Panch Pran). “When we see even the smallest thing related to colonialism in us or around us, we have to be rid of it… Indians should shed ‘colonialism’ from their minds and habits,” Modi had said.Last week, speaking at the Veer Baal Diwas programme, the PM had said that by 2035, people will ensure that the nation is completely “free from the mentality of slavery”. He has increasingly invoked the theme of colonialism and the need to shed its lingering impact on the national psyche and development.Construction of the new Parliament building, changing the name of Rajpath to Kartavya Path and shifting the seat of power from the South and North Blocks are also being seen as part of this government’s bigger plan to put an end to the colonial past.Similarly, the government has projected that the economic growth and improved ranking in ease of doing business are results of its agenda of reforms.Officials said that while the ministries will share the steps they have taken so far, they will also provide some details of the future steps to improve ease of living and doing business.

LUCKNOW: A delegation of the Canadian Hindu Chambers of Commerce on Sunday met Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and expressed interest in investing in the state’s MSME, religious tourism and hospitality sectors. According to an official statement, welcoming the 24-member delegation led by founder President Naresh Kumar Chawda, the chief minister assured them of all possible support from his government. The chief minister stressed the need to promote new initiatives in trade, technology and tourism in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, and said Uttar Pradesh offers immense potential with strong security, good governance and a favourable investment climate. Adityanath highlighted initiatives such as the One District-One Product (ODOP) scheme, which has strengthened traditional enterprises and supported nearly 9.6 million MSME units, benefiting around 25 million families. He said that Chinese products have disappeared from local markets, and ODOP items are now branded and presented as official gifts. The chief minister said that Uttar Pradesh ranks among the top states in economic contribution and has received investment proposals worth Rs 40 lakh crore at the Global Investors Summit, with projects worth Rs 15 lakh crore already underway. He also underlined rapid infrastructure growth, improved connectivity, expanding airport network and emerging sectors such as data centres, logistics and advanced technologies. Chawda said the ‘Invest India, Invest Canada’ initiative will be organised on three occasions in Canada in 2026, with two events focused on Uttar Pradesh. He said the Chambers will work in the state in MSMEs, religious tourism and hospitality, and also plan initiatives such as healthcare and senior citizen facilities.

NEW DELHI: Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said on Sunday that 22 Indian crew members of a merchant ship were arrested after 31.5 kilograms of cocaine were discovered aboard the vessel at Lagos’s main port.The seizure took place on Friday aboard the MV Aruna Hulya, which “originated from Marshall Islands,” NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said in a statement.Nigeria has long been considered a trafficking and production hub for drugs, with narcotics often destined for Europe and other African countries.The NDLEA highlighted previous operations at Lagos port, noting that in November, 20 Filipino sailors were arrested while carrying at least 20 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil.Earlier that month, the agency said it was working with US and British anti-drug agencies to investigate a cartel linked to the importation of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine discovered in a container at the port.This is a developing story…