Indigo crisis: Shivakumar urges Centre to act immediately, bring situation under control
Bengaluru (PTI): With large scale flight cancellations by Indigo airlines leaving passengers stranded, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday urged the Centre to act immediately and bring the situation under control.
He called the IndiGo fiasco a the direct result of the govt's monopoly model.
Taking to social media platform 'X', Shivakumar said India is witnessing the worst aviation meltdown in its history. "Thousands of flights cancelled - leaving our people stranded everywhere".
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"The IndiGo fiasco is the direct result of the govt's monopoly model. And as always, it is ordinary Indians who are paying the price," he said.
Shivakumar said that the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, which is India's 3rd busiest airport with nearly 40 million travellers a year, is in complete chaos.
"This is hurting families, businesses and our national reputation. I urge the Union Government to act immediately and bring this situation under control. Our people deserve better," he added.
Domestic carrier IndiGo cancelled over 800 flights on Saturday, the fifth day of the ongoing crisis, even as the government imposed a cap on airfares and directed the airline to process all refunds by Sunday evening.
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India submits nomination of Meghalaya's living root bridges for UNESCO World Heritage site
Shillong (PTI): India has submitted to UNESCO in Paris the nomination dossier of Meghalaya's living root bridges for consideration to include in the World Heritage list 2026-27, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Thursday.
The dossier was handed over by India's Ambassador Vishal V Sharma to UNESCO's World Heritage Centre Director Lazare Assomo Eloundou, a statement said.
"We are hopeful that the living root bridges will be inscribed this year, ensuring that the indigenous communities, the true guardians of this living heritage, receive the global recognition they so richly deserve," Sangma said on X.
While submitting the dossier, Sharma, the Permanent Representative to UNESCO, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Meghalaya CM for their support to the nomination, the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO said in a statement.
Sharma also acknowledged the role of Meghalaya Principal Secretary Frederick Kharkongor, officers of the Archaeological Survey of India, the Ministry of External Affairs, experts and the local communities in safeguarding the property and preparing the nomination.
Located across the southern slopes of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of the northeastern state, the nominated property represents a living cultural landscape shaped over centuries by indigenous Khasi and Jaintia communities.
"The landscape reflects a deep-rooted and harmonious relationship between people, nature and spirituality, embodied in traditional systems of land use, governance and ecological stewardship," the statement said.
The indigenous worldview underpinning the cultural landscape is anchored in principles of respect, reciprocity and responsibility towards Mei Ramew (Mother Earth), it said.
"The submission of this nomination underscores India's commitment to recognising and preserving living cultural traditions and indigenous knowledge systems, and to advancing global heritage conservation efforts through UNESCO," the statement added.
