75 flights cancelled at Mumbai airport
Mumbai: As many as 75 flights have been cancelled at the Mumbai airport on Wednesday following the closure on the main runway after a SpiceJet plane skidded and overshot two days ago, an official said.
The Mumbai airport operator has obtained NOTAM (notice to airmen) till midnight for the main runway, where Air India engineers and technicians are working to remove the Boeing 737-800 aircraft that skidded on Monday night. The NOTAM is given to pilots and includes information on potential hazards on a flight route.
"A total of 75 flights have been cancelled till late this evening. While 40 arrivals have been cancelled by various operators, 35 flights that depart from here are also not being operated due to partial operations," the official said. "Besides cancellations, the operations are going on smoothly."
The operations from the secondary runway are being carried out since Monday night, the official said, adding that the aircraft recovery would take some more time.
The main runway of the Mumbai airport is likely to remain closed for flight operations till Thursday. Heavy rains in the city had disrupted operations at the airport Tuesday.
The airport has obtained NOTAM for the main runway, which was ending on Wednesday noon, for another 12 hours from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the official added.
A team of engineers and technicians from Air India has started work to remove the stuck SpiceJet plane with the disabled aircraft recovery kit (DARK). The kit, used to remove stuck aircraft, is only available with the national carrier.
"A 150-metre long ramp is being prepared to push the aircraft out of the grassy area," an official of the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), the airport operator, had said.
The Mumbai airport has two runways and the second one can handle only up to 35 aircraft movements per hour, while the main runway can handle 48 plane movements during the same period, according to MIAL. The airport is the second busiest in the country, handling around 1,000 arrivals and departures per day.
Monday's incident occurred a day after another SpiceJet aircraft veered off the runway at the Surat airport due to heavy rainfall.
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Massive turnout in assembly polls across states, women voters outnumber men: EC data
New Delhi (PTI): The recently-concluded assembly elections witnessed exceptionally high voter participation across states, with women voters outnumbering men in turnout percentages, according to Election Commission data.
West Bengal recorded the highest voter turnout among states, with 93.71 per cent polling in 293 constituencies where counting has been completed. The state saw over 6.38 crore votes cast, including postal ballots, against a total of more than 6.81 crore electors.
Women voters recorded a turnout of 93.8 per cent in the West Bengal Assembly polls, slightly higher than the 92.06 per cent participation among men.
The data for West Bengal does not include the figures for the Falta assembly constituency, which is scheduled for repolling.
Tamil Nadu registered an 85.01 per cent turnout, with nearly 4.8 crore votes polled from an electorate of 5.74 crore. Women voters recorded a turnout of 86.2 per cent, higher than the 83.77 per cent among men.
Assam also witnessed robust participation, with the final turnout touching 85.74 per cent. More than 2.15 crore votes were cast in the state, while female turnout at 86.53 per cent marginally exceeded the 84.95 per cent recorded among male voters.
Kerala registered a turnout of 78.11 per cent, with over 2.12 crore votes polled. Female voter participation stood at 81.17 per cent against 74.9 per cent among men.
Puducherry recorded a turnout of 89.82 per cent, with women voters again leading participation at 91.39 per cent. More than 8.5 lakh votes were polled in the Union territory.
Yet, women's representation among elected candidates remained modest.
Tamil Nadu elected 23 women MLAs (9.83 per cent) out of 234 members, West Bengal elected 37 women legislators (12.62 per cent) out of 293, while Kerala returned only 11 women MLAs (7.85 per cent) in the 140-member House.
Only two third-gender candidates contested the elections - one each from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and both lost, forfeiting their deposits.
The elections also reflected extensive electoral mobilisation infrastructure. West Bengal had the highest number of polling stations at 85,092, followed by Tamil Nadu with 75,064 and Assam with 31,490.
In terms of candidates, Tamil Nadu saw the largest contest with 4,023 candidates in the fray across 234 constituencies, averaging 17 candidates per seat and peaking at 79 contestants in one constituency.
West Bengal pitted 2,920 candidates for 293 constituencies, while Kerala had the fewest contestants among the major states, with 883 candidates for 140 seats.
The data also showed relatively low NOTA votes across states. Tamil Nadu recorded the lowest NOTA share at 0.4 per cent of total votes polled, while Assam recorded the highest at 1.23 per cent. In West Bengal, 0.78 per cent of the total votes polled were NOTA, while it 0.77 per cent and 0.57 per cent of the electorate opted for None of the Above (NOTA) in Puducherry and Kerala, respectively.
