Former MLC Ivan D'Souza demands to remove 'Adani' tag from arch of Mangaluru airport
Mangaluru, Apr 14: AICC secretary and former MLC Ivan D'Souza on Wednesday demanded that the Adani brand name be removed from the welcome arch of the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA).
Addressing reporters here, he said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) should take immediate steps to remove the 'Adani' tag from the airports name as it violated the agreement with the company which has only been given permission to operate and maintain the airport.
He said details obtained through an RTI query have revealed that the operating company cannot tag its name with the airport, which is fully under the Civil Aviation Ministry.
D'Souza alleged that due to the neglect shown by the AAI, the MIA has witnessed a slump in its growth over the years.
The facilities at the airport have not been improved and the number of flights have come down.
He said the Congress would launch a 'Save Airport' movement if the authorities continued to show neglect towards the MIA.
The number of flights to Mumbai have been reduced and the only flight to Mysuru has also been cancelled.
D'Souza said though 16 years have passed since MIA received international airport status, no flights have so far been operated to tourism destinations like Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand.
Presently, MIA has flights only to the Gulf countries, he said.
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EC will leave no stone unturned to hold free, fair elections in West Bengal: CEC Kumar
New Delhi (PTI): Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday asserted that the Election Commission will leave no stone unturned in holding free, fair and transparent polls in West Bengal where the first phase of voting is scheduled to be held on April 23.
Interacting with officials involved in poll management, the CEC said the elections will be fear-free, violence-free and intimidation-free.
Officials said the poll authority will ensure elections are also inducement-free and "booth jamming free".
No employee of the state government, local bodies or autonomous bodies will be allowed to influence the electoral process, they said.
The ruling TMC in the state has accused the EC of playing in the hands of the BJP, a charge vehemently rejected by the election watchdog.
The EC and the TMC have also been at loggerheads over the special intensive revision of voters' list with the party accusing the poll authority of deliberately disenfranchising voters to benefit the BJP. Both the EC and the BJP have rejected the charge while dubbing it as baseless.
The second phase of voting in West Bengal will be held on April 29 and votes will be counted on May 4.
