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New Delhi, Nov 26: The government on Tuesday introduced in the Lok Sabha a bill to merge Union Territories Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli into one.

The proposed legislation -- The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill 2019 -- was introduced in the House by Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy.

The move comes three months after Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

"In view of the policy of the government to have 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance", considering small population and limited geographical area of both the Union Territories and to use the services of officers efficiently, it has been decided to merge the UTs of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu into a single UT," Reddy said.

The merged Union Territory will be named as Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

The merger of the two UTs, located along the western coast near Gujarat, is done for better administration and check duplications of various work.

So far, both the Union Territories have separate budgets and different secretariats even though they are just 35 km apart.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli has just one district while Daman and Diu has two.

Both UTs were under the Portuguese rule for a long time. They were liberated from Portuguese rule in December, 1961. Since 1961 to 1987, Daman and Diu was part of the UT of Goa, Daman and Diu. In 1987, when Goa got statehood, Daman and Diu was made a separate UT.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli was occupied by the Portuguese in June 1783. Residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli got liberated themselves from the Portuguese rule on August 2, 1954. Since 1954 to 1961, the territory was administered by a citizen's council called the Varishta Panchayat of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

In 1961, it was merged with the Republic of India and made a Union Territory.

According to the bill, on and from the appointed day, there shall be allocated two seats to the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in the House of the People (Lok Sabha).

The Bombay High Court shall continue to extend to the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

The members of each of the All India Services borne on the existing Union territories cadre immediately before the appointed day shall continue to be in the cadre of the same service of the existing Union territory in which they stand allocated before the appointed day.

Every person employed in connection with the affairs of the existing Union territories and serving immediately before the appointed day in the existing Union territories shall, on and from that day continue to serve in connection with the affairs of the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

On August 5, the central government had announced the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and its division into two Union Territories.

The country currently has nine Union Territories after the creation of the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. However, with the merger of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the number of UTs will come down to eight.

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Mumbai/Kolkata/Silchar: A shocking incident aboard IndiGo flight 6E138 from Mumbai to Kolkata has gone viral, sparking outrage after a video emerged showing a man being slapped mid-flight while reportedly suffering a panic attack. The victim, identified as Hossain Ahmed Mazumdar from Assam, has since gone missing, and his family is seeking urgent answers.

The video, widely circulated on social media, shows Hossain in visible distress, attempting to leave his seat and reportedly requesting to deboard. As flight attendants tried to calm him down, another passenger suddenly approached and slapped him. The incident triggered immediate protest from fellow travellers.


Hossain, a gym trainer based in Mumbai, was en route to his hometown Katigorah in Cachar district via a connecting flight from Kolkata to Silchar. However, he never boarded the Silchar flight, and his mobile phone remains unreachable. His family, who had gathered at the Silchar airport, are now in distress. Zubairul Islam Mazumdar, a relative, said, “We have no idea where he is. We’ve contacted the police and airport authorities but haven’t received any concrete information.” His father, Abdul Mannan Mazumdar, who is undergoing cancer treatment, said tearfully, “He was our only hope. Now we don’t even know if he’s safe.” In a statement issued on August 1, IndiGo Airlines said: “We are aware of an incident involving a physical altercation on board one of our flights. Such unruly behaviour is completely unacceptable, and we strongly condemn any actions that compromise the safety and dignity of our passengers and crew. Our crew acted in accordance with established procedures. The individual identified as unruly was handed over to the security authorities upon arrival. Regulatory agencies have been informed as per protocol.”

However, the airline's statement has been criticised for failing to clarify what happened to Hossain after the incident, whether he received medical help, was detained, or was allowed to continue his journey.

The video triggered widespread anger on social media, with many users interpreting the slap as a possible hate-driven act. However, aviation journalist Jagriti Chandra of The Hindu offered a clarification on X, stating: “The passenger who assaulted a co-passenger aboard IndiGo flight was handed over to law enforcement agencies for unruly conduct. Incident occurred after one passenger was feeling uncomfortable in the flight and wanted to deboard. Both belong to the same religious community.”

Despite this clarification, concerns remain about the airline's handling of a visibly distressed passenger, particularly in the context of mental health. Unverified posts circulating on social media claim that Hossain was later found, though there has been no official confirmation from authorities or the airline.

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