Nepal PM Prachanda directs effective rescue operations following Pokhara plane crash
Kathmandu (PTI): Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda on Sunday instructed security personnel and all government agencies to carry out effective rescue operations after a Nepalese passenger plane with 72 people onboard crashed near the Pokhara airport.
The prime minister held an emergency meeting of the Cabinet as soon as a Yeti Airline ATR-72 aircraft crashed while landing near the Pokhara airport.
He instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs, security personnel, and all government agencies to carry out effective rescue operations in the tragic accident, My Republica newspaper reported.
The prime minister left for Tribhuvan International Airport to understand the details of the accident of the plane flying from Kathmandu to Pokhara with 4 crew members and 68 passengers, including 10 foreigners, onboard.
So far 32 bodies have been recovered from the accident site, the report said.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10.33 am and crash-landed at the airport in Pokhara -- a major tourist destination in the Himalayan nation.
The aircraft crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport.
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Make polling hours 6am-7pm for May 7 LS polls, Karnataka BJP urges EC citing heatwave
Bengaluru, May 3: Citing the ongoing heatwave in the state, Karnataka BJP on Friday petitioned the Election Commission with a request to modify the polling hours to the 6am-7pm period in the 14 parliamentary constituencies in the state that goes to polls on May 7.
Polling is currently scheduled to be held in the second phase in the state in 14 segments in the northern districts between 7am to 6pm on May 7.
"It has become hard to come out and vote between hours 10.00 to 17.00 due to uncontrollable heat. The average heat in those parts (north Karnataka) covering 14 parliamentary constituencies are between 37 and 42 degree (Celsius). The mercury is rising at an alarming level and it would become hard for the electors to come out and vote," BJP's petition said.
The petition highlighted the alarming rise in temperatures, which are expected to go beyond 40 degree Celsius, and also stated that the number of voters over the age of 40 is high and that they are vulnerable to the heatwave.
"To keep up the good spirit of voting, necessary action should be taken," the BJP petition urged the Election Commission, saying, "In this background, it is requested to modify the time of voting in the 14 parliamentary constituencies from 06.00 to 19.00 hours on May 7".
Polling was held between 7 am and 6 pm during Karnataka's first phase of the Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies on April 26.
