Kerala's 4th international airport at Kannur to open in September
New Delhi/Kannur, June 23 : Union Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu on Saturday, following a meeting with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, announced the opening of the Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL) in September.
Vijayan had met Prabhu in the morning along with his team of officials to discuss the finalisation of the Rs 1,892 crore-airport located at Mattanur, near Kannur, fast nearing completion in 2,000 acres of land.
"I have asked the Chief Minister to see that he posts someone in Delhi to follow-up on things connected with the Kannur airport.
"I have also asked my officials to see that everything goes forward and the airport can open in September," said Prabhu to the media in Delhi soon after the meeting.
With this, Kerala will be the only state in the country to have four international airports with the others at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.
The Kerala government has 35 per cent stakes, 25 per cent by public sector undertakings, 10 per cent with the Airport Authority of India and the remaining 30 per cent is with Cooperatives, banks and individual shareholders.
The first trial operation took place in February 2016, when an Indian Air Force aircraft landed for the first time at the airport and was received by then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
Once completed the apron of the airport will have parking bays for 14 Code E aircraft or 20 Code C aircraft.
The airport will be able to handle at a time 2,000 passengers and it is anticipated that KIAL will serve more than 1.5 million international passengers annually, besides changing the face of north Kerala with tourism and business activities especially handloom, textiles and floriculture.
This airport will start off with a runway of 3,050 metres and in another 18 months after it opens, it will see its runway length increase to 3,400 metres and eventually it will touch 4,000 metres, making it one of the four biggest airports in the country, an official said.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
