National
President Kovind to inaugurate new Shirdi Airport on Sunday
Mumbai, Sep 27 (IANS) President R. N. Kovind will throw open Maharashtra’s newest airport – at Shirdi, the famous temple town housing the ‘samadhi’ of the revered Sai Baba – in the Ahmednagar district on Sunday, an official said on Wednesday.
The President will inaugurate the airport in a function scheduled at 10 a.m. on October 1 in the presence of top dignitaries including Governor C. V. Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other top Central and state government officials.
This will be Kovind’s second visit to the state within 10 days after his maiden trip to Nagpur on September 22.
The development follows the successful trial of an Alliance Air ATR-72-600 aircraft’s Mumbai-Shirdi flight completed in 45 minutes on Tuesday evening, said Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Kakani.
“There may be another trial flight after the inauguration and we expect regular commercial operations to be launched by first week of October,” Kakani told IANS.
Besides Air India subsidiary Alliance Air, Hyderabad-based TruJet is planning flights to Shirdi, while IndiGo has applied for permission to operate on the Shirdi sector which is awaited shortly, he added.
According to Kakani, initially, there will be six return flights daily to Shirdi, including four from Mumbai and one each from New Delhi and Hyderabad and more flights would be added in phases.
On September 21, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted an aerodrome licence to the Shirdi Airport for daytime flight operations.
The development would be a boon to Shirdi, which is launching from next month a year-long Shri Sai Baba Samadhi Centenary celebrations of the saint revered by all communities.
With a 2,500-metre runway, the airport can handle narrow-body aircraft like Airbus A-320 and Boeing B-737s, among others, on an area of around 400 acres.
A swank new 3,000 square metre terminal building, an Air traffic control (ATC) tower and all other communication and infrastructure are already in place, with the flights likely to start shortly.
The airport has been developed by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company in Rahata sub-district, around 240 kms north-west of Mumbai, at a cost of nearly Rs 350 crore.
With this, the travel time between Mumbai and Shirdi, which takes around five hours, would be slashed to 45 minutes.
A portion of the investment for the airport, nearly Rs 50 crore, was contributed by the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST), which is among the richest religious bodies in the country.
On an average, around 25,000 pilgrims visit the Shirdi temple daily which more than triples on weekends and special occasions.
During the centenary year celebrations, the Trust expects over 10 million people to visit Shirdi for which elaborate arrangements have been made.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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