Chennai, Aug 24: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Monday announced that the state government would abandon the proposed greenfield airport project at Parandur and identify an alternative site that would cause minimal disruption to farmers and residents.

Making a statement in the Legislative Assembly, CM Vijay said the decision was taken following concerns about the project’s potential impact on agricultural lands, waterbodies and residential settlements in Parandur and surrounding villages.

The Chief Minister acknowledged that Chennai required a second airport because of the rapid expansion of the metropolitan region, rising passenger traffic and increasing demand for cargo transportation. However, he said such a major infrastructure project should not come at the cost of farmers’ livelihoods or result in the large-scale displacement of residents.

The existing Chennai airport at Meenambakkam, operated by the Airports Authority of India, can currently handle about 30 million passengers annually.

CM Vijay accused the previous government of attempting to proceed with the Parandur project despite sustained opposition from residents. He recalled visiting Ekanapuram and nearby villages on January 20, 2025, to meet people protesting against the acquisition of their land for the airport. The Chief Minister said he had publicly opposed the project during a meeting at Vikravandi in October 2024.

While reiterating his government’s support for industrial growth and improved aviation infrastructure, he maintained that Parandur was unsuitable for the airport.

CM Vijay said the government arrived at its decision after consulting senior officials, aviation specialists, academicians and other experts. Technical feasibility studies will now be conducted at alternative locations before the new airport site is finalised.

“As promised, the measures initiated to establish the new airport at Parandur will be abandoned by this government,” he told the Assembly.

Meanwhile, the state government will work with the Airports Authority of India to expand the Meenambakkam airport.

A new Terminal 5 has been proposed in the airport’s northwestern section, along with additional roads and flyovers to improve connectivity. The ongoing construction of Terminal 3 is expected to increase the airport’s annual passenger-handling capacity to 35 million. Terminal 5, once operational, could add another 20 million passengers, taking the overall capacity to 55 million annually.

CM Vijay said the expansion would help Chennai manage its growing aviation requirements until the proposed second airport becomes operational at a suitable alternative location.

Ahmedabad, Aug 24: A container carrying 32,392 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), packed in around 1,200 boxes, was seized by Sanand GIDC police near Virpur Patiya on the Sanand-Viramgam Highway, with the total value of the seized goods and vehicle estimated at Rs 1.36 crore.

The operation was carried out on August 23 by a team led by Police Inspector A.M. Desai of Sanand GIDC Police Station under Ahmedabad Rural Police.

Acting on information about the movement of an IMFL consignment, police intercepted the container and searched it, recovering liquor valued at Rs 1,11,03,388.

Police also seized the truck and container valued at Rs 25 lakh, three mobile phones worth Rs 15,000 and Rs 1,300 in cash. The total value of the seized property was put at Rs 1,36,19,688.

The container driver, Kartaram Meghwal, 30, a resident of Purava in Dhorimana taluka of Rajasthan’s Barmer district, was arrested in connection with the seizure.

According to the police investigation, the consignment was allegedly dispatched by Surendra Yadav, a resident of Ajmer district in Rajasthan.

The container owner, Mehraram Manaram of Dhola Der in Barmer, has also been named in the investigation.

Police have identified three people from Sudamda in Surendranagar district as allegedly involved in receiving or procuring the consignment in Gujarat — Devendra alias Dendu Boricha, Nagaraj Khachar and Devayat Khartani. In total, five persons have been sought in connection with the case.

Investigators are now examining the entire supply chain, including the procurement of the IMFL, financial transactions, loading, transportation and intended delivery of the consignment.

Police are also attempting to establish whether other people were involved in the network.

The seizure comes amid heightened police action against illegal liquor networks in Gujarat following the recent spurious liquor tragedy in Bhavnagar district which claimed 13 lives.

Separate units of police department have also recorded seizures of large IMFL consignments in the state in recent months.

Police said efforts were continuing to trace the remaining persons allegedly involved and establish their respective roles in the transportation and distribution of the consignment.

New Delhi, Aug 24: The Anti-Burglary Cell of Delhi Police’s South-West District has arrested two alleged burglars and a receiver of stolen property in connection with multiple house theft and burglary cases, recovering 42.11 grams of melted gold, two country-made pistols and a cache of house-breaking tools, police said in a press release issued on Monday.

The arrested accused have been identified as Mohd. Arif, Afsar and Inzamam Sheikh alias Raja Sheikh. According to the police, their arrests have helped resolve four cases of house theft and burglary registered in different parts of Delhi.

The police said the operation was launched after the Anti-Burglary Cell was directed to gather intelligence and take action against burglars operating in South-West District. A dedicated team comprising SI Bachchu Singh, HC Anshu, HC Kanti Lal, HC Sunil Kumar, HC Himmat Singh, HC Sanjay Kumar, HC Bhagirath, Ct. Ravinder, Ct. Lalit and Ct. Sachin was constituted under the leadership of Insp. Ram Kumar, I/C Anti Burglary Cell/SWD, and under the supervision of Sandeep Ghai, ACP/Operations/SWD.

During the investigation of two burglary cases registered at PS Palam Village, police analysed footage from around 700 CCTV cameras installed in and around the crime scenes. The footage allegedly showed the same group of suspects arriving at the locations on a motorcycle and committing the burglaries.

Police said technical analysis helped identify two suspects as Mohd. Arif and Irshad alias Bhanu, following which manual and technical surveillance was intensified.

On August 5, Mohd. Arif was arrested from Maujpur, Delhi. During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed that he and his associates had committed the two Palam-area burglaries using a stolen motorcycle. He also allegedly revealed that he and Irshad had stolen the motorcycle from the Keshav Puram area.

According to the police, a country-made pistol and house-breaking tools were recovered at Arif’s instance. The recovered tools included a hammer, iron pipe, pair of pliers, two spanners, screwdriver, key and wire cutter. Subsequently, co-accused Afsar was arrested from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, and another country-made pistol was allegedly recovered from his possession.

The investigation also led police to Inzamam Sheikh alias Raja Sheikh, who was allegedly receiving stolen gold ornaments from the burglars. Police said 42.11 grams of melted gold, obtained from the stolen ornaments, was recovered from his possession.

The press release stated: “The team of Anti Burglary Cell, South-West District has arrested three accused persons, including two burglars, namely Mohd. Arif and Afsar and one receiver of stolen property, Inzamam Sheikh alias Raja Sheikh.”

Police further said that the accused are linked to four cases registered at PS Palam Village, PS Govind Puri and PS Keshav Puram.

Police said further investigation into the cases is underway.