BJP Yuva Morcha activists protest during Shivamogga district in-charge minister's meeting
Protesters opposed revision in Karnataka textbooks, deletion of Savarkar, Hedgewar chapters
Shivamogga: On Wednesday, a sudden protest erupted at the Zilla Panchayat hall, where District In-charge Minister Madhu Bangarappa was conducting a meeting on handling natural disasters in the district. The protest was organized by BJP Yuva Morcha activists, who were voicing their opposition to the revision of textbooks by the state government.
As Minister Madhu Bangarappa chaired the meeting, members of the BJP youth forum entered the Zilla Panchayat hall, displaying black banners and raising slogans in protest. The activists objected to the recent removal of lessons on Veer Savarkar and RSS founder Hedgewar from school textbooks during the revision process conducted by the government. The protests also specifically targeted Madhu Bangarappa, who holds the position of Minister for Primary and Secondary Education in Karnataka.
The situation at the Zilla Panchayat hall was brought under control by Shivamogga District Superintendent of Police Mithun Kumar and other policemen, who detained the protesters to restore order.
The incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of the Intelligence Department in obtaining prior information regarding potential disturbances during the Minister's meeting. Many have regarded the protest with black banners and slogans against the District In-Charge Minister as an indicator of the Intelligence Department's failure to anticipate such a ruckus during the official event.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
