Gold at six-year highs on festive season demand
New Delhi, Nov 3: Gold strengthened for the sixth straight week and gathered further grounds to hit almost
six-year high of Rs 32,780 and ended at Rs 32,650 per 10 gram at the bullion market amid pick-up in buying activity ahead of Diwali.
Silver, however, lacked necessary buying support and shed some grounds.
Bullion traders said persistent buying by ornament makers, triggered by upcoming festive and wedding season lifted the gold prices to trade at almost six-year high of Rs 32,780 per 10 gram.
Globally, gold after moving both ways, ended the week a shade lower at USD 1,233.20 an ounce as against previous week's level of USD 1,233.80. Silver too ended almost flat at USD 14.82 an ounce.
In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity commenced the week steady at Rs 32,550 and Rs 32,400 per ten gram, respectively on scattered support.
Later, on pick-up in buying activity, driven by upcoming festivals, it surged to trade at near six-year high of Rs 32,780 and Rs 32,630 per ten gram and finally settled Rs 100 each higher at Rs 32,650 and Rs 32,500. This is the highest level since November 29, 2012 when the precious metal had closed at Rs 32,940.
In contrast, silver ready after shuttling both ways on alternate bouts of buying and selling, finally ended the week Rs 70 down at Rs 39,530 per kg but silver weekly-based delivered managed to close Rs 110 higher at Rs 38,820 per kg on speculative activity.
On the other hand, silver coins strengthened by Rs 1,000 to Rs 76,000 for buying and Rs 77,000 for selling of 100 pieces on increased demand ahead of Diwali.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
