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Business Standard
15-06-2025
- General
- Business Standard
Helicopter crashes on Char Dham Yatra route occurring at alarming frequency
Helicopter crashes or emergency landings are occurring at an alarming frequency on the Char Dham Yatra route in Uttarakhand, causing concern among people and the administration. The latest crash of an Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd chopper returning from Kedarnath near Guptkashi on Sunday morning, which killed all seven people on board, is the fifth mishap involving a helicopter on the pilgrimage route this year. A Kestrel Aviation helicopter en route Kedarnath made an emergency landing on the highway in Rudraprayag district on June 7 after developing a technical snag shortly after take-off. It made a hard landing on the road close to populated buildings, with its tail rotor hitting a parked car. All pilgrims on board, as well as the pilot, escaped narrowly. The hard landing of the helicopter came about a month after another private chopper on its way to Gangotri temple crashed near Gangnani in Uttarkashi district on May 8, killing six people, including five women and the pilot, and leaving one male passenger seriously injured. On May 12, a helicopter returning from Badrinath to Sersi with pilgrims on board had to make an emergency landing in a school playground in Ukhimath due to poor visibility. All pilgrims were safe. The helicopter took off again after about an hour when the weather improved. On May 17, a heli ambulance from AIIMS Rishikesh crash-landed near the Kedarnath helipad in Uttarakhand due to damage to its rear part. Fortunately, all three occupants on board a doctor, a pilot, and a medical staff member escaped unharmed. "This was the fifth mishap involving a chopper on the Char Dham Yatra route within less than one-and-a-half months of the commencement of the pilgrimage this year," state Congress vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana said. "It shows that the state government has no control over the aviation firms operating on the route. There is no SOP for chopper operations. In the mad rush for making money, the heli companies have thrown all caution to the wind. There is no cap on the number of sorties being undertaken by them in a day," Dhasmana said. Social activist Anoop Nautiyal said it appears that the state government is not learning lessons from the recent mishaps involving choppers on the Yatra route. "Four days ago, news came that there will be strict norms guiding heli operations now only 3- 4 passengers will be allowed to board a chopper, not 5- 6. However, four days later, seven people, including the pilot, died in yet another helicopter accident," Nautiyal said. If you don't want to change the system, why do you tell lies to the people? Will anyone who played with people's lives be suspended? Will anyone take responsibility? Will these helicopters be reined in after five accidents in little over a month, or will they keep crashing like this," he asked. Soon after the crash on Sunday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held an emergency meeting and asked senior officials to prepare a strict SOP (standard operating procedure) for heli services in the state, making a thorough check of the technical condition of the choppers mandatory. The Uttarakhand chief secretary has been directed to constitute a committee of technical experts, which will prepare the SOP after thoroughly reviewing all technical and safety aspects of heli operations. The committee will ensure that the operation of heli services is completely safe, transparent, and as per the prescribed standards, an official statement said. Heli operations on the Yatra route have been suspended for two days, Dhami said. Operations will resume only after the safety of all passengers is ensured. The safety of the Yatris cannot be compromised, he said. Dhami also said that weather status should be checked before heli operations. The chief minister has directed a committee constituted to investigate helicopter accidents to thoroughly probe every aspect of Sunday's crash and earlier accidents and submit a report. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Doon teen tops NEET in U'khand after acing boards
Dehradun:Seventeen-year-old Saransh Mittal from Dehradun has topped NEET-UG in Uttarakhand, securing an All India Rank of 69. Earlier this year, he also emerged school topper with 99.5% in his ISC board exams, declared on April 30. Saransh, whose father is an orthopaedic surgeon and mother a paediatrician, says medicine felt like a natural path. "My interest in becoming a doctor developed gradually, but physics is still my favourite subject. I hope to become a neurosurgeon someday," he said. His secret? Consistency. "I never set rigid targets—some days I studied more, some less. What mattered was showing up daily and staying focused," said the teen, who unwinds with piano or lawn tennis in his free time. Despite also clearing JEE Advanced this month, Saransh never wavered from his goal of pursuing MBBS from the best institute possible. "We are very proud of his achievement and will support him wherever he goes," said his father, Dr Shashank Mittal. This year, over 12 lakh candidates qualified NEET nationwide, with the highest numbers from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Uttarakhand had 11,207 qualifying candidates. The state has 625 seats in five government medical colleges, 600 in private colleges, and 150 at AIIMS Rishikesh. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
NDTV
07-06-2025
- General
- NDTV
Video: Chopper Makes Emergency Landing On Road, Tail Crushes Car
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. A helicopter headed to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on a highway in Uttarakhand due to a technical issue, damaging an unoccupied car. Five pilgrims were safe, but the pilot suffered minor injuries. The incident did not disrupt helicopter services. A helicopter on its way to Kedarnath was forced to land on a highway in Uttarakhand as it developed a technical snag during take-off, coming dangerously close to buildings and its tail rotor damaging an unoccupied car. The five pilgrims on board came out safely, while the pilot sustained minor injuries. The helicopter had taken off from from the Barasu base at 12.52 pm and was to fly the pilgrims for a duration of 45-50 minutes to the Kedarnath pilgrimage. Within minutes of taking off, the pilot reported a suspected issue with the collective control getting stuck. In response, he executed a controlled force landing on the road adjacent to the helipad. Kedarnath heli service nodal officer Rahul Chaubey told PTI that the incident did not affect the helicopter shuttle service to the Himalayan temple. Efforts are underway to remove the helicopter from the highway. The hard landing comes a month after a helicopter on its way to Gangotri temple crashed near Gangnani in Uttarkashi district on May 8, killing six people including five women and the pilot, and leaving one male passenger seriously injured. On May 12, a helicopter returning from Badrinath to Sersi with pilgrims on board was forced to make an emergency landing due to poor visibility in a school playground in Ukhimath. All pilgrims were safe. The helicopter took off again after about an hour when the weather improved. On May 17, a heli ambulance from AIIMS Rishikesh crash-landed near the Kedarnath helipad in Uttarakhand due to damage to its rear part. Fortunately, all three occupants on board - a doctor, a pilot and a medical staff member - escaped unharmed.
India Today
26-05-2025
- Health
- India Today
New Covid-19 variants NB.1.8.1 and LF.7 detected in India: Should you be worried?
India has reported fresh cases of Covid-19 as new sub-variants NB.1.8.1 and LF.7, both part of the evolving Omicron lineage, are being detected in different parts of the to data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), one case of NB.1.8.1 was found in Tamil Nadu in April, while four cases of LF.7 were reported in Gujarat in latest to join the list is a 55-year-old woman from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, who tested positive for Covid-19, marking the district's first confirmed case in the current surge. The woman, who had recently travelled by train, is in home isolation and her close contacts have tested negative, according to the Gautam Buddha Nagar Chief Medical Officer, Dr Narendra AIIMS Rishikesh also reported three Covid-19 cases, one of whom has been discharged, while the others remain under to Dr Meenu Singh, Director of AIIMS Rishikesh, the current variant "is not very harmful," but caution is still advised, especially for people with are NB.1.8.1 and LF.7? Are they more transmissible?Both NB.1.8.1 and LF.7 are sub-lineages of the JN.1 variant, which remains the most dominant strain in India, accounting for 53% of all sequenced sub-variants are being monitored by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as 'Variants Under Monitoring,' meaning they have mutations that could influence virus behaviour, but they are not yet classified as 'Variants of Concern' or 'Variants of Interest.'Studies in initial stages and expert assessments suggest that these sub-variants are more transmissible and have a greater ability to evade immune defences compared to earlier strains. A medic at a ward prepared for Covid-19 patients at Gandhi Hospital in the wake of several states reporting Covid cases in Hyderabad. (Photo: PTI) For instance, NB.1.8.1 carries notable spike protein mutations called A435S, V445H, and T478I, that could enhance both its infectiousness and immune evasion JN.1 lineage itself carries the L455S mutation, which is estimated to make it 1.5 times more infectious than previous these traits, the severity of illness caused by these subvariants appears to be low."Most cases remain mild with low hospitalisation rates,' said Dr. Arup Halder, Consultant Pulmonologist at CMRI Hospital, added that the rise in cases is largely due to waning immunity, uneven booster coverage, and increased detection due to improved you be worried?As of May 19, India had 257 active Covid-19 cases. States like Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu emerged to be hotspots, with cities like Mumbai, Pune, and Thane reporting the most cases. Kerala alone logged 273 cases in has also issued advisories to hospitals to ensure the availability of beds, oxygen, medicines, and vaccines in view of the rising numbers. As of May 19, India had 257 active Covid-19 cases. () Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant in Internal Medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, told ANI, 'At the moment, the situation is under control. There is no need to panic.'Although new variant-specific vaccines are not yet available in India, existing boosters can still offer strong protection. According to Dr. Halder, these boosters can reduce the risk of symptomatic infection by 50% and severe disease by up to 80%.India has administered more than 2.2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far, according to the expert, but booster uptake remains inconsistent, especially among vulnerable hesitancy, driven by misinformation and logistical challenges, is a lingering issue," Dr. Halder recommend that high-risk individuals, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, get their booster doses promptly."It's crucial that high-risk individuals get boosted immediately, continue masking in crowded places, and follow basic hygiene practices," Dr Halder InMust Watch
India Gazette
24-05-2025
- Health
- India Gazette
"No need to panic": Haryana Health Minister on COVID cases in state
Jhajjar (Haryana) [India] May 24 (ANI): Haryana Health Minister Arti Singh Rao on Saturday assured that the government has made all the arrangements in view of the recent COVID cases in the state and said that there is no need to panic. 'Some cases of COVID have been is no need to government has made all the arrangements.' According to a statement on May 23, Haryana currently has four active COVID-19 cases -- two in Gurugram and two in Faridabad, with no international travel history. All four cases (two male and two female patients) are mild in nature and are currently under home quarantine. There has been no requirement for hospitalisation, and all patients are under regular medical supervision. Notably, all four individuals were previously vaccinated against COVID-19, which has helped keep symptoms minimal. A person from Gurugram district who was earlier detected with the virus has already recovered. Meanwhile, AIIMS Rishikesh has reported three COVID cases, adding to the recent surge in cases across the country. Speaking with ANI, Rishikesh AIIMS Director Meenu Singh informed that one of the three patients has already been discharged. 'Three COVID patients have been reported in the AIIMS... One has been discharged... Another patient is one of our residents. She has been kept in isolation. Another patient is from Gujarat who came here for the Badrinath Yatra,' Dr Meenu Singh said. Dr Singh also mentioned that this variant of COVID is not very harmful, but people should be cautious. 'The state has kept us on alert. We have implemented COVID-appropriate behaviour in our institute... This variant is not very harmful, but if someone has any comorbidities,...then they should get themselves checked,' she said. As of May 19, the number of active COVID-19 cases in India stands at 257 -- a very low figure considering the country's large population. Almost all of these cases are mild, with no hospitalisation required. The country also has a robust system for surveillance of respiratory viral illnesses, including COVID-19, through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and the ICMR. (ANI)
