Airports owe Rs 970-cr security dues to CISF
New Delhi, Oct 8: Dues amounting to about Rs 970 crore are pending against various airports in the country in lieu of providing CISF security to them, a top official of the paramilitary force said Monday.
CISF Director General (DG) Rajesh Ranjan told reporters during an interaction here that while an amount of Rs 880 crore is pending against 'joint venture' airports or the privately-run facilities, about Rs 90 crore is due against those airports which are operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Out of the Rs 880 crore amount, the maximum Rs 788 crore is pending against the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital, run by the DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited), he said.
"We have communicated this to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Home Affairs as they are the expert ministries to figure out (the solution)," the DG said.
Ranjan added that any call on withdrawal of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) from these airports, owing to the dues, can be taken by the two ministries as they are "authorised to take a call on that."
The CISF is tasked as the security force to guard civil airports in the country but as of now only 60 such facilities are under its cover.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
