Kolkata, Mar 27: An IndiGo aircraft grazed the wings of an Air India Express plane at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday, leaving wings of both aircraft damaged, officials said.

The IndiGo flight was headed to Darbhanga, while the Air India Express plane was scheduled to leave for Chennai.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched a probe and de-rostered two IndiGo pilots involved in the incident, a senior DGCA official said.

Both aircraft had passengers on board at the time of the accident but no injuries have been reported.

Air India in a statement said the aircraft has returned to the bay and further investigations are underway.

"The wingtip of a taxiing aircraft of another airline grazed one of our aircraft, which was stationary and awaiting clearance to enter the runway at Kolkata for a scheduled operation to Chennai," an Air India Express spokesperson said in a statement.

The aircraft has since returned to the bay and further investigation is underway, "for which we are coordinating with the regulator and airport authorities," the airline said.

The incident took place on the taxiway near the runway around 11 am, sources at the airport said.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) said in a statement that the wingtip vortices of both planes were badly damaged.

"A minor graze between a taxiing IndiGo aircraft and that of another carrier was reported from Kolkata Airport. The aircraft returned to bay for inspection and necessary action, as per protocol," IndiGo said in a statement.

Consequently IndiGo flight 6E-6152 between Kolkata and Darbhanga has been delayed, it said, adding that an alternate aircraft has been arranged to minimise delay and inconvenience to passengers.

IndiGo also said that "an incident report will be submitted to DGCA in due course, as per protocol".

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Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.

AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.

“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.

He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.

“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.

According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.

In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.

AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.