Parts of Port Blair Airport building's ceiling collapse days after inauguration by PM Modi
Port Blair, Jul 24: The Andaman airport, which is being enlarged, witnessed a portion of the false ceiling falling off due to heavy winds after it was loosened to allow CCTV cameras to be fixed.
The false ceiling in front of the ticketing counter, outside the terminal building, had been loosened for the adjustment of CCTV works and final alignment, officials said on Sunday.
The airport's new integrated terminal, which is yet to be made functional, was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few days back.
"It is a minor incident. The installation of CCTV cameras was going on. The wiring for such cameras needs to be done behind the panels and there might be some fixing issues. We have addressed the issue, and the matter has been resolved," an airport official told PTI.
PM Modi had on July 18 virtually inaugurated the new integrated terminal building of the Veer Savarkar Airport in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In a statement, the airport authorities said the false ceiling in front of the ticketing counter, outside the terminal building, has been loosened for the adjustment of CCTV works and final alignment.
"On the night of July 22, there was heavy wind, which uplifted the false ceiling from the bottom since the wind was not able to escape towards the ticketing counter area.
"Due to this, around 10 sqm of false ceiling became dislocated, but the same has been rectified. The false ceiling inside the terminal building is intact, and no damage occurred to any of the installations inside the terminal," the statement issued by the airport said.
After inaugurating the new terminal building, PM Modi had on Tuesday said that tourist inflows to Andaman and Nicobar Islands have doubled since 2014 and will increase manifold in the coming years due to the development of infrastructure in the archipelago.
The terminal building is shaped like a shell, depicting the natural environs of the archipelago.
Due to a surge in passenger traffic, the Airports Authority of India constructed the new terminal building at an estimated cost of Rs 707.73 crore, another official said.
With a total built-up area of 40,837 sq metres, the new building will have the capacity to handle 1,200 passengers during peak hours and around 40 lakh passengers annually.
Not so good news ... the ceiling of the new Veer Savarkar International Airport drops. #Andaman pic.twitter.com/yhjUOnXfQF
— Andaman Chronicle (@AndamanNews) July 23, 2023
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Tamil Nadu Assembly to meet on Jan 20
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Assembly's first session for the year 2026 is all set to commence on January 20 with Governor R N Ravi's customary address to the House on schedule.
With the Assembly election due by April this year, the session is expected to be more tumultuous than during non-election years and the main opposition AIADMK is set to aggressively target the government.
The Assembly session is set to commence at 9.30 AM in the Fort St George Secretariat campus.
It remains to be seen whether Governor Ravi will deliver the address, having walked out of the House for the third consecutive year in 2025. Ravi had said the national anthem should have been played at the commencement of the session. In 2022, when Ravi made his maiden address to the House, the main opposition AIADMK had walked out of the House.
Ravi, who has locked horns with the DMK regime over several issues, assumed office as the 26th Governor of Tamil Nadu on September 18, 2021, and the DMK assumed power that year after being in opposition for a decade (2011-21).
According to officials, traditionally, in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the 'Tamil Thai Valthu', the invocation to Mother Tamil is sung at the commencement; following which the Governor would read out the address and the national anthem is played at the end.
In 2025, Ravi walked out of the House without reading the address and the Lok Bhavan had said: "When the national anthem was not sung or played at the commencement of the Governor's address, Governor respectfully reminded the House of its Constitutional duty and fervently appealed to the Chief Minister and Speaker for singing or playing the national anthem."
The Bhavan had said the request was not complied with. Not singing or playing the national anthem at the beginning of the Governor’s address was a blatant disrespect to the Constitution and the national anthem. "In deep anguish, Governor left the House," the Governor's office had said.
In 2024, Ravi declined to read out the customary inaugural address of the House, prepared by the DMK government, and also walked out of the Assembly. The Lok Bhavan, later said the address had numerous passages with misleading claims far from truth and and "reading them would have amounted to the Governor’s address becoming a constitutional travesty."
The Governor's office had also said Speaker M Appavu had launched a tirade against Ravi and called him a "follower of Nathuram Godse and more."
In 2023, Ravi walked out of the House abruptly while CM Stalin pointed to deviation from the government prepared text as the Governor avoided references like the Dravidian model of governance. The chief minister piloted a resolution to have on House record only the pre-approved, state prepared text and it was adopted.
