Caste census: Allocate sufficient funds, fix time limit, Kharge tells centre
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Bengaluru (PTI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday urged for allocation of sufficient funds and fixing of a time limit for the caste enumeration in the next census, which has been announced by the Central government.
The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said, Congress and other opposition parties demanded for caste census and had staged agitation for it throughout the country, and now they are happy that they have achieved what they intended for.
"I had written a letter two years back on caste census along with general census, they did not agree then, but now the government has taken a decision to conduct a caste census along with general census. It is a good thing and we will fully cooperate for this, but they (BJP) should not comment unnecessarily on Jawaharlal Nehru saying he was opposed to it, this and that," Kharge said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, Jan Sangh and RSS by birth are against reservation, and such people are talking about Congress not being in favour of caste census.
"If we were against the caste census, would I have written the letter two years ago or would we have done many agitations for it? They (BJP) try to create confusion in the minds of the people and try to project that they are the only people interested in the country's welfare. It is bogus. I don't agree. For political purposes they always do such things," he added.
In a major decision, the union government on Wednesday decided to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census exercise in a "transparent" manner.
Urging the government to fulfill the announcement made, Kharge said, as of today the government has not allocated sufficient money for it, and asked without money how the survey can be conducted?
He said, "they should also give a time limit. If the time limit is not there, it will take a long time. Therefore my suggestion is that they should give special attention to this and within two-three months or whatever time limit fixed by the government, as early as possible, they should conduct the survey and fulfil the promise and what the people wanted."
The AICC chief in response to a question said, he doesn't think that the caste census was announced keeping in mind the upcoming Bihar polls.
"I don't want to go into politics. Whatever is good I welcome it, whatever is bad I oppose, because ultimately the country is important, people are important. As people wanted caste census, we agitated demanding it....all opposition parties pressured and agitated for it throughout the country, and Rahul Gandhi took a lead in demanding for caste census, we have achieved it and we are happy," he said.
Reiterating that he welcomes the decision to include caste enumeration in the forthcoming census, he further said, "it should be done soon, it should not be a showoff, and the economic and educational survey should be done in a perfect manner satisfying everyone."
On caste surveys done by some states including Karnataka being criticised as unscientific, Kharge said, "let's see, now that they (Centre) are doing it."
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32 airports shut for civilian flight operations till May 15: DGCA
New Delhi, May 9 (PTI): Thirty-two airports across northern and western parts of the country, including Srinagar and Amritsar, have been closed for civilian flight operations till May 15, according to the civil aviation regulator.
The decision, announced early Saturday, comes in view of the military conflict between India and Pakistan that continued unabated since India's May 7 strikes on terror camps and Pakistan's subsequent shelling of border areas.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and relevant aviation authorities have issued a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) announcing the temporary closure of 32 airports across northern and western India for all civil flight operations.
The closure will be effective from "May 9, 2025, to May 14, 2025 (which corresponds to 0529 IST on 15th May 2025), due to operational reasons," DGCA said in a release.
The airports include Adhampur, Ambala, Amritsar, Awantipur, Bathinda, Bhuj, Bikaner, Chandigarh, Halwara, Hindon, and Jammu.
Other airports are Jaisalmer, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Kandla, Kangra (Gaggal), Keshod, Kishangarh, Kullu Manali (Bhuntar), and Leh, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Ludhiana, Mundra, Naliya, Pathankot, Patiala, Porbandar, Rajkot (Hirasar), Sarsawa, Shimla, Srinagar, Thoise and Uttarlai are the remaining airports to be shut, the release said.
Earlier, at least 24 airports had been ordered shut for civilian flight operations till May 10.
Meanwhile, the AAI has extended the temporary closure of 25 segments of Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes within the Delhi and Mumbai Flight Information Regions (FIRs) due to "operational reasons."
"The 25 route segments will remain unavailable from ground level to unlimited altitude until 2359 UTC on 14th May 2025 (which corresponds to 0529 IST on 15th May 2025)," DGCA said.
Because of the closure of these segments, the regulator has advised airlines and flight operators to plan alternate routes.
The temporary closure is being managed in coordination with relevant ATC units to ensure safety and minimise disruption, it added.
On April 30, India shut its airspace for Pakistan airlines as part of retaliatory measures in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
On April 24, Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian carriers.
On Friday, Air India in a post on X said that due to the continued closure of multiple airports in India, its flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Rajkot were being cancelled till 5.29 am on May 15.
In a post on X, IndiGo said all flights to and from 10 destinations will remain cancelled until May 15 same time.
An armed conflict rages on between India and Pakistan following India's strike on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK) under Operation Sindoor early Wednesday in retaliation for the Pahalgam massacre.
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Following a notification from aviation authorities on continued closure of multiple airports in India, Air India flights to and from the following stations – Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Rajkot – are being cancelled till…
#6ETravelAdvisory: In line with the latest directives, the flights to/from the following cities will remain cancelled until 0529 hrs on 15th May. We’re here to help you. Check flight status https://t.co/rpnOvAOxQl To rebook or claim a refund, visit https://t.co/t9jVUTnmxZ pic.twitter.com/y16QBpZ4R9
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