Exclusive: Drones used by police over protesting farmers were not authorised to fly
January 8, 2021
You’re reading it here first: The drones the police flew over farmers protesting against the recently enacted farm laws were illegal their use was never authorised by the Civil Aviation Ministry, or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), both entities which regulate drone use in the country, RTIs filed by MediaNama revealed. It’s a worrying example of the amount of discretion available to on-ground police personnel especially when it’s about using tech to carry out mass surveillance.
As the protests against the farm laws broke out in November last year, and as farmers started their march towards Delhi, the police had deployed drones to constantly monitor the situation. Both Delhi and Haryana Police were present at the protests. It isn’t clear which police force deployed these drones. We have reached out to both departments for more details. Multiple people r
Md Mokammel Hossain takes charge as secretary of civil aviation ministry
Md Mokammel Hossain. Photo: collected Star Online Report Star Online Report
Md Mokammel Hossain has taken charge as the new secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
A member of the 10th BCS Administration Cadre, Mokammel Hossain previously served as additional secretary in the Ministry of Public Administration, Civil Aviation Ministry said in a release today.
On December 24, the Ministry of Public Administration appointed him as the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Former senior secretary at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mohibul Haque has retired after completing his one year contract on January 5.
73 Indians infected with new UK strain of coronavirus so far: Health Ministry
The close contacts of all the 73 UK returnees who tested positive for the new strian of coronavirus have also been put under quarantine. January 06, 2021 / 06:21 PM IST
All the infected persons have been kept in isolation in single room at designated healthcare facilities run by the respective state governments.
The number of people who have tested positive for the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the country has climbed to 73, the Health Ministry informed on January 6.Currently, eight of the COVID-19 positive samples that were sent to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for genome sequencing have shown presence of the UK strain of the virus.
New Delhi [India], January 2 (ANI): Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday announced that flights between the United Kingdom and India will restart from January 6 with a limit of 30 carriers operational between the countries every week.