IndiGo introduces female-only seating option amid safety concerns
New Delhi: India's largest budget airline, IndiGo, has introduced a new feature allowing female passengers to choose seats next to other women, an initiative aimed at enhancing safety and comfort during flights. The airline began testing this feature in May, enabling women to select seats marked in pink, indicating they will be seated next to another female traveler.
This option is visible only to female passengers during the seat selection process, with the airline's system requiring passengers to identify their gender while booking. IndiGo’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, reported to CNBC’s "Street Signs Asia" that the initiative has garnered positive feedback, particularly on social media platforms. However, the feature has also sparked debate, with some labeling it discriminatory.
The move comes in the wake of several incidents, including a 2023 case where an intoxicated male passenger urinated on a female traveler during an Air India flight, leading to widespread outrage. IndiGo has defended the new option, emphasizing its commitment to making flying more comfortable for female passengers.
The airline has not confirmed whether this feature was directly influenced by recent incidents involving inappropriate behavior by male passengers. The debate continues online, with some users supporting the measure for enhancing female safety, while others question its implications for gender identity and discrimination.
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Emotional tributes paid to cops killed in blast at gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Emotional scenes were witnessed on Sunday as wreaths were laid on the mortal remains of three of the four police personnel killed in an explosion in a gunpowder dump of Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district.
The grieving family members were inconsolable, while security personnel tried to comfort them.
Amid chants of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram," public representatives, along with senior police and administrative officials, paid tributes to the deceased personnel.
The wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to Inspector Sukhram Vatti (40), constables Krishna Komra (35) and Sanjay Gadhpale (29), killed in the explosion on Saturday, was held at the Police Lines in Narayanpur district, neighbouring Kanker.
The mortal remains of constable Parmanand Komra (29), who succumbed to injuries during treatment in Raipur, will be shifted to Kanker, where a separate wreath-laying ceremony will be held, police said.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam, after paying homage, told reporters that the four police personnel made the supreme sacrifice while protecting the region.
"I pay my homage to them," he added.
The four personnel were killed while they were attempting to dispose of a gunpowder dump hidden earlier by Maoists in a forest near Aadnar village under Chhotebethiya police station limits in Kanker district, according to police.
It was the first explosion linked to Naxalites in the state since it was declared free from armed Maoists on March 31, and also the first instance this year in which security personnel engaged in anti-Naxal operations lost their lives.
District Reserve Guard (DRG) official Vatti, who was leading the team, hailed from Bijapur district. Constable Krishna Komra of the district force and constables Gadhpale and Parmanand Komra of the Bastar Fighters were residents of different villages in Kanker.
