Visakhapatnam, Aug 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district, near here, on Saturday.

After landing at the runway of the Greenfield Airport, the Prime Minister inaugurated the passenger terminal building and undertook a walk-through along with Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu.

The top leadership of GMR Group and the Civil Aviation Minister explained the special features of the airport to the Prime Minister.

The terminal was decorated to showcase the culture, traditions, and arts of Andhra Pradesh.

PM Modi had a close look at large-scale Etikoppaka artwork displayed at the airport’s welcome gate.

When the PM stepped out of the airport and headed towards the venue of the public meeting on a special vehicle along with Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and others, tribal women performed the traditional ‘Dhimsa’ dance to welcome him.

According to officials, the ‘Dhimsa’ dance by 13,500 tribal women created a Guinness World Record.

The Prime Minister was seen clapping to appreciate the colourful and impressive dance performance by tribal women.

At the public meeting venue, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone, inaugurate and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth over ₹17,900 crore in Bhogapuram and address the gathering on the occasion.

Developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode at a cost of over ₹5,640 crore, the Greenfield airport has been designed to handle 6 million passengers annually.

The airport is expected to provide a significant boost to tourism, trade, investment and employment generation in Andhra Pradesh while strengthening air connectivity in the region.

The passenger terminal building has been designed to provide a modern, seamless and efficient travel experience.

The airport incorporates advanced infrastructure, cutting-edge technologies and sustainable features to enhance operational efficiency and meet future aviation requirements.

The airport has been equipped with advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Building Information Modelling (BIM), Airside 4.0 technologies, Airport Predictive Operations Centre (APOC), biometric passenger processing, automated baggage handling systems and intelligent operational monitoring solutions. These systems are expected to enhance operational efficiency, improve passenger convenience and safety, and optimise resource utilisation.

Patna, Aug 1: The Congress has launched a two-day fact-finding mission to investigate the police action during student protests linked to the recent NEET paper-leak controversy in Bihar.

The party has constituted six teams comprising MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and senior Congress leaders, which will visit Patna, Jehanabad, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Purnea and Siwan on August 1 and 2.

Madan Mohan Jha, the MLC and senior Congress leader of Bihar, told media that the objective of the exercise is to establish the facts surrounding the student protests, police action and the condition of students allegedly affected during the police action.

According to a letter issued by the party, the teams will meet the District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police in the respective districts and raise questions regarding the police action during the protests.

The teams will also meet students and youths who were arrested, detained or otherwise affected.

Wherever possible, they will meet students currently lodged in jail and speak to their families to understand the circumstances surrounding the incidents.

The Congress teams are also expected to visit the locations where police action took place.

“The fact-finding teams will collect available documentary and other evidence, including FIRs and case documents, medical reports, videos and photographs, statements from eyewitnesses, information from lawyers and civil society representatives, accounts of affected students and their families, and statements from public representatives and government officials,” Jha, who is part of a team visiting Darbhanga, said.

The teams will specifically examine allegations of excessive use of force by police, as well as claims that students were wrongfully implicated, arrested or harassed.

Jha said each team would prepare a detailed report covering the sequence of events, arrests and detentions, criminal cases registered, and allegations of police excesses.

The reports will also include medical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts and recommendations from the respective teams.

After the six district reports are completed, the Congress plans to prepare a consolidated Bihar Fact-Finding Report.

According to the party, the findings will subsequently be made public through press conferences in Patna and New Delhi.

The Congress has assigned specific district-wise responsibilities to different leaders, with the two-day exercise aimed at documenting the events surrounding the student protests and assessing the allegations made against the police.

New Delhi, July 31: The Supreme Court has ruled that a married daughter cannot be denied consideration for compassionate appointment merely because a state government policy allows such appointments only to divorced or deserted daughters, holding that such a classification is unconstitutional and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale allowed an appeal filed by Sayara Khatoon and her daughter against a Patna High Court order, which had upheld the rejection of the daughter’s claim for compassionate appointment following the death of her father.

The appellants had questioned the Bihar government’s December 10, 2014 policy, under which only a divorced or deserted daughter is eligible for compassionate appointment.

The state government had also rejected the claim on the ground that the deceased employee’s brother had objected to the appointment.

However, the Supreme Court recorded that the brother had earlier furnished a no-objection certificate, observing that “the said ground for rejection no longer survives”.

On the policy restricting compassionate appointment to divorced or deserted daughters, the Justice Sundresh-led Bench held that any distinction between sons and daughters in such matters is constitutionally impermissible.

“This Court has repeatedly held that any classification differentiating a daughter from a son is, per se, unconstitutional,” the apex court said.

It added that “classification restricting eligibility only to a divorced or deserted daughter cannot be sustained in the eye of law”.

Rejecting the presumption underlying the Bihar government’s policy, the Supreme Court observed: “There cannot be a presumption in law that, after marriage, a daughter severs her ties with her parental family and resides with her husband in her matrimonial home.”

The order noted that the appellant had specifically stated that although her divorce had not been formally recognised in law, she had been living with her parental family and enjoyed the support of her mother and brother.

“In any event, adopting a hyper-technical approach cannot be a ground to deny consideration of her claim for compassionate appointment,” the bench said.

Setting aside the Patna High Court’s order as well as the rejection of the compassionate appointment claim, the apex court directed the Bihar authorities to reconsider the appellant’s case on merits.

“The respondent (Bihar government) is directed to consider the case of the appellant for compassionate appointment on merits within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order,” it ordered.