Dindori/Jabalpur (PTI): A man has alleged that he was forced to carry the body of his newborn baby boy in a bag and travel in a passenger bus after a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur, where he died during treatment, refused to provide any mortuary vehicle saying no such facility was available.

The incident occurred on June 15, he said.

A state health department official, however, said that the baby boy was alive when his parents took him out of the hospital even as doctors asked them not to do so as the child's condition was serious.

Sunil Dhurve, a resident of Sahajpuri village in Dindori district of the state, said his wife Jamni Bai delivered the baby boy on June 13 in a government hospital and since the child was weak, the case was referred to the Jabalpur-based government medical facility.

"The baby was admitted to the government-run Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College Hospital in Jabalpur, where he died during treatment on June 15. The hospital, however, did not provide a mortuary vehicle to carry the body to my native place. Due to financial constraints, I had to travel by bus carrying the body in a bag," he said.

Talking to PTI, state Health Department Joint Director Dr Sanjay Mishra said the baby boy was alive he when discharged from the government hospital in Jabalpur

The baby was referred to the Jabalpur hospital from a medical facility in Dindori district, he said.

"The newborn baby was admitted and his treatment was started. But his parents made a request to the hospital to discharge their child although the doctors asked them not to do so as the condition of the baby was serious," Mishra said.

On whether any mortuary vehicles were available to carry the deceased persons, he said that no such facility was available at the government hospital.

Dindori is located around 140 km from Jabalpur.

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New Delhi (PTI): Noida International Airport on Friday announced the appointment of its Chief Financial Officer Nitu Samra as the interim Chief Executive Officer after authorities denied permission for foreign national Christoph Schnellmann to be at the helm.

"This change follows directions issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that the Chief Executive Officer of an airport in India is required to be an Indian national," NIA said in a statement.

Samra will replace Schnellmann, a Swiss national who has led Noida International Airport (NIA) as the CEO since August 2020.

The regulatory issue related to the requirement of having an Indian national as CEO has been delaying the start of commercial operations of the airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28.

Schnellmann will join the airport's Board of Directors as Executive Vice Chairman. In this role, he will continue to support the project and its transition to operations, the statement said.

With immediate effect, NIA said Samra has been appointed as the CEO on an interim basis until the Board of Directors can conclude a formal selection process.

Samra has been serving as the CFO since October 2021 and was closely involved in the airport’s development journey, overseeing financial stewardship, governance, and strategic planning during a key phase of the project, the statement added.

NIA will be operated by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, under a public-private partnership.

Originally scheduled to commence passenger services in September 2024, NIA is being developed in four phases, along with a dedicated cargo terminal. It received an aerodrome license from the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in March.

YIAPL Chairman Daniel Bircher said that since the inauguration of the airport by the Prime Minister, the goal was to enable the start of operations as early as possible.

"This management change brings the airport into compliance with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security requirements while maintaining continuity in the airport’s leadership team. The newly structured team will support a smooth transition into operations, guided by clear and transparent governance and a strong corporate culture," he said.

On March 28, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said commercial flight operations from the airport would start in the next 45 to 60 days.

Among the largest greenfield airport projects in the country, NIA will initially have a capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum.

Once fully developed, the airport will have a total passenger handling capacity of 70 million.

The first phase of NIA has been developed at an investment of around Rs 11,200 crore. 'DXN' is the code for the airport.

The airport features a 3,900-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft, along with modern navigation systems, including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and advanced airfield lighting.

The peak handling capacity in the first phase will be 30 flights per hour.

In the first phase, there will be 28 aircraft stands, and the projected cargo capacity is around 2.5 lakh tonnes.

Terminal 1 of the airport is spread across 1,37,985 square metres with 48 check-in counters. Over 40 acres of land have been earmarked for developing MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facilities at the airport.