CR Patil takes charge as new chief of Bharatiya Janata Party's Gujarat unit

CR Patil assumed responsibility as the new head of BJP's Gujarat unit at the gathering office on Tuesday. He is a Lok Sabha MP from Navsari.
Patil has been named instead of Jitu Vaghani, who finished his residency as gathering's Gujarat unit president.
"Congrats to Shri CR Patil on being named as the new leader of the BJP. All the best for Gujarat BJP to push ahead under your authority," tweeted Vaghani.
On Monday, the BJP named CR Patil and Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, both Lok Sabha MPs, as leaders of its Gujarat and Ladakh units."BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda has designated CR Patil and Jamyang Tsering Namgyal as leader of Gujarat and Ladakh BJP units individually," said an announcement gave by BJP national general secretary Arun Singh.

(Just the feature and image of this report may have been adjusted by the Business Standard staff; the remainder of the substance is auto-created from a coordinated feed.)

SpiceJet plane goes past runway, Air India jet veers off taxiway on landing

Company News

A SpiceJet plane Sunday overshot the runway while landing at the Surat Airport, while an Air India Express flight had a narrow escape when the aircraft that arrived from Dubai veered off the taxiway after landing at Mangaluru Internatioal Airport.
None of the passengers and crew members on board were hurt in the incident, an airport official at Surat airport said.The incident at Surat, which occurred around 8.15 pm, was a result of heavy rain and wind, the official said.
"A SpiceJet flight from Bhopal to Surat overshot runway at the airport here due to heavy rainfall and wind. All the 43 passengers and four crew members are safe and they are being handled by the SpiceJet officials," Surat airport director S K Panigrahi said.
The airport operations were suspended for the night following the incident, and three flights were diverted to Ahmedabad airport, he said.
Air India Express veers off taxiway on landing
As many as 183 passengers aboard an Air India Express flight had a narrow escape when the aircraft that arrived from Dubai veered off the taxiway after landing at Mangaluru Internatioal Airport on Sunday.
All passengers and crew members on board are safe, Air India Express said in a statement.The incident happened at around 5.40 pm after the aircraft landed at the airport."AI Express aircraft VT-AYA, operating IX 384, Dubai to Mangalore on June 30, after landing on runway 24 while vacating the runway to the right side has gone off the taxiway into soft ground," the airlines said.

Read our full coverage on SpiceJet

Drought-hit Gujarat has water for factories, but no water for Kutch farmers

Current Affairs

Bhavanbhai Patel stood facing his farm, as dry and cracked as his farming hands. The 65-year-old farmer lives in Dayapur village in Lakhpat taluka of southern Kutch, which has been receiving erratic rainfall since 2003. His farm comprises a few hectares of green, bright amid the sunburnt fields all around. “The rest belongs to my family, but now only I’m left here out of 10 brothers. Everyone else has gone,” he told IndiaSpend in early February.

Lakhpat is one of 10 talukas in Kutch, the least populated taluka of India’s largest district spanning 45,674 sq km, covering 22% of Gujarat (196,024 sq km). Lakhpat residents keep leaving because, as Patel said, “there is no way to make a living here”. He said his was a basti (hamlet) of 20,000 that is now down to 1,500 people.

“In places like Lakhpat, there is no water. Not even underground water is left that we could pull out and farm with,” said Patel, weary after working for six hours.

Dayapur is 520 km from the Narmada Main Canal, but has not received any water from the canal in the 71 years since its foundation stone was laid, promising to bring the waters of the Narmada river to the parched Kutch, Saurashtra and North Gujarat regions of the state. Already facing years of drought, these regions have seen no rainfall so far in 2019. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded that Kutch saw a 99% departure from normal climate conditions, while other regions’ rainfall deficit is 100%.


This is the third story in our series on drought that is affecting more than 40% of India’s land area. This story examines the situation in Gujarat’s worst-hit Kutch region, where scanty rainfall and rising temperatures have exacerbated competition for scarce water between farms on the one hand and cities and industries on the other, while raising questions over why the Narmada Valley Project’s raison d’etre--to irrigate farms in Kutch, Saurashtra and North Gujarat--remains unfulfilled 71 years on...Read More

Over 1,800 mementos received by PM auctioned, money to support Namami Gange

Current Affairs:

Over 1,800 mementos Prime Minister Narendra Modi received were auctioned in a fortnight-long exercise which began last month, the PM's office.

It is, however, not clear how much funds were generated through the auction, the proceeds of which will be used for the Namami Gange, a Central government project to clean the Ganga river.

During the auction organised at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), a specially handcrafted wooden bike, received a successful bid of Rs 5 lakhs. A similar bid was also received for a unique painting, which depicts Prime Minister Modi on a railway platform a uniquely artistic interpretation of Modi's special bond with the railways.

Other big ticket items include a Lord Shiva statuette which had a base price of Rs 5,000 but was auctioned for Rs 10 lakh, which is 200 times the base price, the statement issued by the PMO said.
A wooden replica of the Ashok Stambh, which had a base price of Rs 4,000 was sold for Rs 13 lakh, a traditional 'Horai', received from Majuli, Assam, (a traditional symbol of the State of Assam - an offering tray with a stand), which had a base price of Rs 2,000 went for Rs 12 lakh, a statuette of Gautam Buddha, which had a base price of Rs 4,000 was auctioned for Rs 7 lakh, the statement said.


 "Prime Minister Modi, even as Chief Minister of Gujarat, used to auction mementoes received by him, so that the proceeds could go for the education of girl children. Continuing the same practice, he has now enabled the collection of funds which will help clean up the Holy River Ganga," the statement said.