Page 5 - Arunachal Pradesh

Death toll in Army helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh rises to 5

The toll in the Army helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh rose to five with the body of the last missing personnel recovered on Saturday, a defence spokesperson said. The advanced light helicopter (ALH), carrying five Army personnel including two pilots, was on regular sorties when it crashed at 10.43 am on Friday near Migging, around 25 km south of Tuting, he said. The bodies of the four other personnel were recovered on Friday evening from the crash site in a densely wooded mountainous area, around 35 km from the border with China, defence spokesperson Lt Col A S Walia said. The deceased Army personnel were identified as pilots Major Vikas Bhambhu and Major Mustafa Bohara, CFN Tech AVN (AEN) Aswin K V, Havildar (OPR) Biresh Sinha and NK (Ppr) Rohitashva Kumar, he said. The cause of the crash is not yet known and details are being ascertained, the officer said. "It is reported that the weather was good for flying operations. The pilots had more than 600 combined flying hours on

Army helicopter sent distress call to ATC before crash in Arunachal: Report

Before it went down in the mountainous region of Migging in Arunachal Pradesh, the Army's Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) sent a distress call to the air traffic control suggesting a technical failure, military sources said on Saturday. Mortal remains of four personnel out of five on board the Weapon System Integrated (WSI) version of the indigenously-built helicopter were retrieved by rescue teams on Friday evening, hours after the aircraft crashed. "Prior to the crash, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) received a May Day call suggesting a technical or mechanical failure," said a source. 'May Day' call refers to distress signal conveyed to an aircraft crew to the ATC or ground staff. "It is reported that the weather was good for flying operations. The pilots had more than 600 combined flying hours on ALH-WSI and over 1,800 service flying hours between them," the source cited above said. The helicopter was inducted into service in June 2015. The Indian Army offered deepest condolence

Three die in Army helicopter crash in Arunachal; search ops underway

An Army helicopter crashed at Migging in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Friday morning, a defence official said. The advanced light helicopter, carrying Army personnel, was on regular sorties, he said. The incident took place at 10.43 am, and search operation is underway, the official said. Further details are awaited.

IndiGo flight to Arunachal soon as Donyi Polo Airport gets operation ready

The foundation stone of the Donyi Polo Airport was laid in 2019. Situated nearly 14 km south of the city centre, the airport will serve Itanagar

Rains in Arunachal trigger flood-like situation, high alert in East Siang

A high alert was issued for the low-lying areas of East Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh with the Siang river in spate, following incessant rains over the last few days. East Siang Deputy Commissioner (DC) Tayi Taggu, who took stock of the situation on Tuesday, appealed to the people living in these areas to refrain from venturing into the river. He, however, asked people not to panic as the water resources and disaster management departments are keeping a close watch on the situation. "Any impending danger would be informed to the people in advance," he said. Taggu directed officials to not leave the district headquarters and stay alert to deal with the emerging situation. District Disaster Management Officer Tsangpa Tashi said Pasighat recorded 482 mm of rainfall on Monday and 480 mm on Tuesday, the highest in the last 25 years. "The water level in the Siang is rising but it is flowing below the danger mark," he said. SDRF teams are monitoring the situation closely and have

Pilot killed in army helicopter crash near Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang

A Cheetah helicopter of the Indian Army crashed in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh near the boundary with China on Wednesday morning, killing one of the two pilots onboard, a defence spokesperson said. The incident happened around 10 am during a routine sortie in a forward area, defence spokesperson Col AS Walia said. The two pilots on board were rushed to the nearest military hospital, he said. One of the pilots who was critically wounded succumbed to the injuries during treatment, he added. The other pilot is undergoing treatment, Col Walia said. The cause of the crash was not immediately known, he said.

Arunachal to hand over APPSC exam paper leak case to CBI: CM Pema Khandu

Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said his government will hand over the probe into the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) exam paper leak case to the CBI. The question paper of the exam for the Assistant Engineer (Civil), conducted on August 26 and August 27 by the APPSC, was leaked. Police have so far arrested five people in the case. Speaking to reporters in Ziro in Lower Subansiri district after inaugurating a slew of projects on Monday, Khandu said the state government has decided to hand over the investigation to the CBI. "The APPSC is considered to be the highest recruitment institution of the state and such kind of corruption in the recruitment process will not be tolerated," he said. Unemployed youths of the state have a lot of expectations from the APPSC, he added. Khandu said the paper leak has created a negative impression among job aspirants about the APPSC and the state government. "The officers involved in the corruption will not be spared under any

Chandigarh University video case: Army man held from Arunachal Pradesh

The Punjab Police on Saturday said it has arrested an Army man in connection with the Chandigarh University case, in which it was alleged that a hostel recorded several objectionable videos of girl students in the common washroom. Punjab Director General of Police Guarav Yadav said Sanjeev Singh was nabbed from Arunachal Pradesh. He will be produced before a Mohali court. "Crucial breakthrough in the #ChandigarhUniversity case with the assistance of the #Army, #Assam & #Arunachal Pradesh Police. Accused Army personnel Sanjeev Singh arrested from Sela Pass, Arunachal Pradesh. Transit remand obtained from Ld CJM Bomdilla for production before Mohali court," said the DGP in a tweet. He was suspected of blackmailing the accused woman student, said the DGP. Yadav said based on forensic and digital evidence, a Mohali police team was dispatched to Arunachal Pradesh to arrest the accused. Police also obtained a two-day transit remand of the accused from the court of chief judicial ...

Arunachal releases Rs 79 cr basic grants to Panchayati raj institutions

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday released the basic grant for this year to the Panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) amounting to Rs 79.21 crore. The amount accounts for 70 per cent of the basic grant to state PRIs, while the rest 30 per cent, which will be performance based, would be released after review of performances of the PRIs in their respective jurisdictions. Handing over the amount to the concerned department at a function held here by All Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Parishad (AAPPRP) as 'thanksgiving' to the state government, Khandu informed that the grant amount is from the state-owned resource tax revenue. "Instead of looking for help from the Centre for each and everything, we have allocated Rs 123 crore from our internal resources to PRIs for this year and this is the basic grant we are releasing today," he said. Stating that as per the 73rd Constitutional amendment, the state government has decided to devolve power to PRIs on 29 subjects, Kha

Liquor rates to rise as govt hikes excise duty by 15% in Arunachal Pradesh

Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) in Arunachal Pradesh is set to become costlier, as the state cabinet has decided to increase the existing rates of excise duty by 15 per cent on all types of hard liquor (IMFL and bottled in original products) to be paid before the import or removal from the manufacturer. The rates of excise duty in respect of military or paramilitary units shall be 50 per cent of the rates of excise duty fixed to be paid before the import or removal from the manufacturer, the cabinet headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu decided on Wednesday, a communique from the CMO said. Among a slew of decisions, the cabinet also reviewed the ongoing exercise of resolving the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary and decided to amicably resolve the matter at the earliest. The cabinet approved the proposal of taking over of the DBT-APSCS&T Centre of Excellence for Bioresources and Sustainable Development (DBT-APSCS&T Centre of Excellence for BRSD) established under the aegis of .

PM Modi to visit Arunachal; dedicate airport, hydro electric power project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the country's eastern most state Arunachal Pradesh and dedicate the greenfield Itanagar airport and 600 mw Kameng hydro electric power project to the nation, a communique by the chief minister's office said on Friday. The convenient date for the visit will be informed by the prime minister's office (PMO), Modi told Chief Minister Pema Khandu during a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday. Khandu had called on the prime minister and apprised him of the two developmental initiatives, which are complete and ready for operationalisation, the communique said. The chief minister informed Modi of the development projects undertaken in the north eastern state in the eight years of the government helmed by him.. The airport will be the first in the northeast to have the capacity to land big aircraft, he informed the prime minister. The decks for operationalisation of the Itanagar airport have been cleared with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ...

Amit Shah urges Assam, Arunachal to resolve boundary dispute at earliest

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday appealed to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh governments to resolve their boundary dispute at the earliest in order to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a peaceful and prosperous Northeast. Shah said this here while chairing a meeting of chief ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh Himanta Biswa Sarma and Pema Khandu to resolve the boundary issues of the two states. The home minister assured both the chief ministers of maximum possible assistance from the central government in this regard. Shah urged both the chief ministers to resolve the boundary dispute at the earliest in order to fulfil the vision of the prime minister of a peaceful and prosperous Northeast, sources said. As many as 12 panels were formed by the governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, following discussions between the two chief ministers on July 15. The two states, as per the declaration, decided to restrict the number of 'disputed villages' to 86, inst

Woman arrested for child trafficking of 4-month-old in Arunachal's Itanagar

The Itanagar Capital Police, with the help of ChildLine Service, on Tuesday, arrested a woman for her alleged involvement in child trafficking and rescued the 4-month-old baby

Army's forward posts along LAC in Arunachal Pradesh to have helipads

Almost all forward posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh will have one large helipad each for swift mobilisation of troops and military equipment as part of a mega push for infrastructure development, senior military officials said on Friday. Each of the forward posts and Army units are also being linked with optical fibre network and all of them will have separate satellite terminals for bolstering overall surveillance and communication, they said. The Army has already deployed a large number of indigenously-built remotely piloted aircraft, Switch, in the forward posts to monitor Chinese activities across the LAC. "We are now giving a big push to the infrastructure development in the forward areas in the eastern sector," Brigadier TM Sinha, commander of a Mountain Brigade in eastern Arunachal Pradesh, told a group of visiting journalists. As part of the capability development initiative, the Army has powered its units in Arunachal Pradesh with a sizeabl

Army 'reorienting' forces along LAC in Arunachal Pradesh sector

The Indian Army is effecting a major "reorientation" and "rebalancing" of its troops in the strategically sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh with a top General saying its overall combat readiness in the region is of a "very high order." The measures being taken by the Army to boost its overall combat readiness come amid the over two-year long military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. From construction of roads, bridges, ammunition depots to bolstering its air assets and surveillance apparatus, the Army is also ramping up military infrastructure on a war footing for quicker mobilisation of troops in the strategically sensitive RALP (Rest of Arunachal Pradesh) region of the northeastern state, senior military officials told PTI on Wednesday. The General-Officer-Commanding(GOC) of the 2 Mountain Division Major General MS Bains said the focus of the Army in the region has been fully shifted towards the frontier with China and that almost al

Assam's initiative of installing N-E freedom fighters' statues gets praises

The Assam government's move of installing statues of freedom fighters from other Northeastern states at a newly inaugurated park in Guwahati has drawn applause from the chief ministers of the neighbouring states. The chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Manipur have expressed their gratitude through Twitter to their Assam counterpart for this initiative. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had on Tuesday inaugurated a park, Amrit Udyan, and unveiled statues of eight tribal leaders of the region. Among the eight leaders is Moje Riba, a freedom fighter from Arunachal Pradesh who was arrested by the British for resisting colonial rule. Welcoming the gesture, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu tweeted: My special thanks to Hon CM of Assam Shri @himantabiswa Ji for unveiling the statue of Arunachal Pradesh freedom fighter Moje Riba at #AmritUdyan, Guwahati, today. Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga thanked Sarma for honouring Rani Ropuiliani, who had spoken against Bri

Medicine from sky: Arunachal gets drone-based healthcare services

Arunachal Pradesh on Monday successfully launched the first flight of drone service - 'medicine from the sky' from Seppa to Chayang Tajo in East Kameng district

Inauguration of Doni Polo Airport in Arunachal Pradesh deferred to October

Inauguration of the newly constructed Donyi Polo Airport at Hollongi near Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh has been postponed till October due to non-receipt of flight schedule from DGCA

Assam to set check posts along Arunachal border to stop illegal liquor

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has directed Excise officials to set up temporary check posts along the state's boundary with Arunachal Pradesh to check illegal influx of liquor.

10 of 19 Assam labourers who fled construction in Arunachal site rescued

A total of 10 labourers out of the 19 who went missing from a road construction site in Arunachal Pradesh's Kurung Kumey district, have so far been rescued, a senior official said