Politicians from across party lines, express condolences on passing away of NDTV’s Kamal Khan
Ravish Kumar releases video tribute for Khan
Lucknow: Politicians from across party lines, journalists, and activists on Friday condoled the demise of senior NDTV journalist Kamal Khan, who passed away in Lucknow this morning due to cardiac arrest.
Kamal Khan was with NDTV for over three decades and was the channel’s Lucknow Bureau Chief. He had also won Ramnath Goenka Award for Journalism.
Khan was known for his “outstanding reportage of Uttar Pradesh politics and elegant language” NDTV wrote in its report.
“He will be remembered as a legendary reporter whose work stood out for its perceptiveness and integrity, and the way in which he delivered hard truths with poetic dexterity.” The channel further wrote.
His last report was on the high-profile exits of BJP MLAs ahead of the UP Assembly election that was aired on Thursday.
Khan’s colleague and senior NDTV Journalist Ravish Kumar released a video tribute to him and expressed his condolences over the sudden death of Khan.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s office also issued a statement to condole the death of Khan. The statement read "Yogi Adityanathji has condoled the death of senior journalist Kamal Khan. Praying for the peace of the departed soul, the Chief Minister expressed his condolences to the bereaved family members."
Others prominent politicians who condoled the Khan;s passing away included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Arvind Kejriwal, Nawab Malik, and Mayawati.
"The passing of Kamal Khanji, who emerged as a serious voice of journalism, is very sad! The deep voice of his truth will always remain... My heartfelt tribute!" Samajwadi Party leader and former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
"Shocked to hear about the passing away of senior journalist Kamal Khanji. I met him just a few days ago and we discussed many thing. He kept alive the values of truth and public interest in journalism. My deepest condolences to his family members" - Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
"The news of Kamal Khan's demise is sad. He was a good and respected journalist. My condolences to his loved ones," - her brother, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
"The news of the sudden demise of renowned TV journalist Kamal Khan, associated with NDTV, is a very sad loss to journalism. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. May God give everyone the strength to bear this sorrow..." - Former UP Chief Minister Mayawati.
This is very sad. The sudden demise of famous journalist Kamal Khanji is a big loss for the world of journalism. I pray to God to give his family strength to bear this loss. My humble tribute..." - Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
"Received the sad news of the untimely demise of senior journalist Kamal Khanji. His departure has caused an irreparable loss to the fourth pillar of democracy. May God give peace to the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family to bear this grief," - Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
"Received the news of the sad demise of senior and renowned journalist Kamal Khan. My condolences to the family. May God give him a place at his feet and strength to his family to bear this sorrow" - former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
"We belong to Him and to Him we return. The passing away of senior journalist Kamal Khanji is deeply saddening and leaves a huge void. My sincerest condolences to his family, friends, admirers & colleagues. May God give them strength to bear this irreparable loss" - Housing and Urban Affairs Minister and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
"It is very sad to hear about the demise of eminent journalist Kamal Khanji... my deepest condolences. Praying to God to grant peace to the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family members to bear this loss" - Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
"Shocked by the news of the passing of Kamal Khan saheb, a great journalist (and) a wonderful human being. May God give strength to his family and friends to bear this immense sorrow," - Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
"I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of a friend and senior journalist Kamal Khan saheb. Many of my talks with him were very refreshing. There was poetry in his reporting... with a gentle but unmatched grip on facts. Will miss hearing 'Kamal Khan from Lucknow, for NDTV India'," - former Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MP Raj Babbar.
"Deeply saddened by the demise of veteran journalist Kamal Khanji. May Almighty grant him the highest rank in Jannah. Strength and condolences to the family," - Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
