Heavy rainfall in Rajasthan due to Cyclone Biparjoy
Jaipur (PTI): Several places in Rajasthan received heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours due to Cyclone Biparjoy, which moved further towards the desert state following its landfall in Gujarat, officials said on Saturday.
A rainfall of 210 mm was recorded in Mount Abu, 136 mm in Sedwa in Barmer, 135 mm in Mount Abu tehsil, 110 mm in Raniwada of Jalore, 76 mm in Bidasaria in Churu, 68 mm in Reodar, 59 mm in Sanchor, 57 mm in Pindwara, 49 mm each in Gogunda and Girva, 47 mm in Jalore, 46 mm each in Sindri and Jaswantpura of Jalore, 40 mm in Jhadol, 38 mm in Abu Road, 35 mm in Kotda, 30 mm in Sirohi, 26 mm in Kumbhalgarh and 25.7 mm in Udaipur till 8.30 am, they said.
Many other places in the state recorded rainfall ranging from 1 mm to 22 mm during the period due to the effects of the cyclone, the officials said.
The meteorological department has issued an "Orange" alert for Barmer, Jalore, Sirohi, Pali districts, with strong winds expected at a speed of 30-50 kilometres per hour.
A "Yellow" alert has been sounded for Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Churu, Sikar, Nagaur, Jhunjhunu, Ajmer, Udaipur and Rajsamand districts.
The cyclone is in the form of deep depression in Rajasthan and will further reduce to the depression category, an official said.
The rainfall activity in parts of the state will continue till Monday, he added.
Meanwhile, the minimum temperature in the state was recorded between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius.
On Friday, Bundi recorded the highest maximum temperature of 41.4 degrees Celsius in the state, followed by 39.9 degrees Celsius in Sriganganagar.
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Noida International Airport appoints Nitu Samra as interim CEO
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.
