Old Western Railway coach set ablaze to enact Godhra incident for Modi Biopic
Vadodara, Mar 4: An unused railway coach was Sunday set ablaze during the enactment of the 2002 Godhra train burning incident for a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The coach, which a Western Railway official called a "mock drill bogie", was set on fire though instructions to the documentary film crew was that it was to be returned after shooting in the same condition as it was provided.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Vadodara Railway Division spokesperson Khemraj Meena said, "The coach provided for the documentary was an unutilised mock drill bogie. It was given to the crew with the stipulation it would be returned in the same condition that it was given. We have charged money for its use."
The Godhra train burning scene was shot at WR's Pratap Nagar station and a set was built for it near the Coach Care Centre there, said the documentary's director Umesh Shukla.
The producers of the documentary had been given four-day permission for shooting on the broad and narrow gauge routes in Pratapnagar and Vishwamitri stations, Meena said.
Monday is the last day for shooting at WR stations, he added.
Jayraj Gadhvi, supervising executive of the shoot in Gujarat, said the coach was used to shoot the train burning scene from outside.
The enactment of the scenes that took place inside the coach during the 2002 Godhra incident will be shot at a set constructed for the purpose in Mumbai, Gandhvi added.
Fifty-nine 'karsevaks' were killed in the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002, triggering the worst communal riots in the history of Gujarat in which over 1,000 people, mostly belonging to the minority community, were killed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat chief minister at that time.
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Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London faces tech issue; returns to Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London Heathrow returned to the national capital due to a technical issue on Thursday afternoon after being airborne for nearly seven hours.
The same A350-900 aircraft VT-JRF had faced a technical issue on March 15, following which the plane operating the flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to the Irish town of Shannon, sources said.
An Air India spokesperson said its flight AI111, operating from Delhi to London on Thursday, made a precautionary air-return to the national capital following a suspected technical issue.
"The aircraft landed safely and consistent with Air India's high safety standards, it is currently subject to extensive technical evaluations, which will require additional time to complete," the spokesperson said in a statement.
According to the sources, noises were heard in the aircraft following which it was diverted.
The spokesperson also regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the unforeseen situation and said the airline was making every effort to ensure passengers are able to continue their journey to London at the earliest.
Details about the number of passengers onboard could not be ascertained.
The aircraft operating the flight AI111 was airborne for around four hours before the decision was taken to divert the plane when it was in the Saudi Arabia airspace. In total, the plane was airborne for nearly seven hours before landing back in the national capital, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
The flight had taken off from Delhi around 6 am on Thursday and landed back at about 12.30 pm.
Air India started operating A350-900 planes from January 2024.
