
'Lights, camera, construction!' say students protesting poor infrastructure at film institute in Arunachal Pradesh
NEW DELHI: Protesting against the crude infrastructure and lack of basic amenities, students of the inaugural batch of the Film and Television Institute (FTI) in Arunachal Pradesh have been boycotting classes and any kind of academic activity since May 15.
Presently attached to the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SFRTI) in Kolkata, which falls under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, it is set to become India's third FTI in the future. The Institute is located in Jollang-Rakap, 24 kms away from the capital Itanagar.
This is the second major protest this month.
'We decided to halt all academic activity since May 15. This is to demand urgent action to restore dignity, safety and basic infrastructure,' they said in a joint statement.
TNIE interacted with the protesting students, who were angered by the administration's inaction. They have paid Rs 1,20,000 for the first semester. A few have even resigned from jobs to pursue their passion for films.
A total of 45 students are pursuing these 2-year Diploma courses - Screen Acting, Documentary Cinema and Screen Writing here. Five students belong to Arunachal Pradesh while the rest are from Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Hyderabad and Maharashtra.

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Time of India
26 minutes ago
- Time of India
Samruddhi expressway to be linked to Vadhvan port
Mumbai: Maharashtra will connect the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi expressway corridor to the upcoming greenfield Vadhvan port, slated to be the country's biggest such facility, via the Nashik highway, the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai greenfield expressway corridor, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, the under-construction bullet train corridor, and the coastal road that is planned to be extended up to the port. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The Prosperity corridor will have up to 500 MW to 1,000 MW capacity solar plant along it with 200 MW starting soon, besides a huge gas pipeline that will supply PNG not only to cities but also to power and steel plants right up to Gadchiroli to achieve decarbonisation targets. Every 500 metres to a kilometre there is a groundwater recharge facility and ponds to hold rainwater," said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis soon after opening the 76 km last leg of Samruddhi between Igatpuri and Bhiwandi. He announced that very soon, work on the Rs 80,000 crore Shaktipeeth corridor from Nagpur to the Goa border via Marathwada and Western Maharashtra will also be started in full swing. Deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present at the Samruddhi inauguration, besides scores of ministers and legislators. The CM and his deputies also opened the south-bound arm of the Vashi creek bridge through an online event. "Samruddhi expressway is not just a road; it is a green corridor for Maharashtra's fast-emerging economy as 24 districts of Maharashtra have been connected to JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) and eventually to Vadhwan. Special wildlife infrastructure with 100 animal overpasses and underpasses have been constructed to ensure their safe passage. A total of seven tunnels have been built; the one between Igatpuri and Kasara being the widest in the country. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now We will break this record once the Pune-Mumbai missing link tunnel is completed. The interchanges on the Samruddhi expressway look like art work drawn on paper. Inside the tunnel, artificial rainfall will begin when the temperature crosses 60 degrees due to a fire incident and will stop when it drops to 30 degrees," he said while interacting with the media at Igatpuri. The tunnel was built by Afcons. Fadnavis said over 3.3 million plantations were done using local species. "While building the road, 1,000 farm ponds were created. We are prepared to generate 200 MW of solar power and 22 amenity centres have been set up. A gas pipeline will also reach from Konkan to Nagpur, providing gas to people and industries. Religious places like Shirdi, Shegaon and Trimbakeshwar will come closer. Now we want to construct the Shaktipeeth expressway as well on a fast-track basis," he said. Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde termed Samruddhi a game-changer. "It was one of the toughest and most challenging projects and will greatly benefit people and businesses. A journey that took 18 hours will now take only eight hours — saving both fuel and time. We paid attention to even the smallest details. Around 1.1 million large trees and 2.2 million small plants will be planted, making the expressway the most eco-friendly project ever," he said, pointing out that the road will boost agriculture, tourism, and industry. A farmer starting in the morning from Nagpur with produce used to reach Mumbai in three days. Now, he can reach by evening," he added. Shinde said the Shaktipeeth expressway will be a game-changer for Marathwada as farmers won't commit suicide anymore. After the inauguration, the chief minister and his deputies inspected the longest Igatpuri tunnel of the expressway and viaduct in the stretch. To conduct an inspection of the expressway, Dy CM Shinde drove a high-end car with CM Fadnavis sitting beside him in the front seat and Pawar occupying the back seat. The inspection lasted around 45 minutes, including the time taken for the journey between Igatpuri and Amane. On the way back, Fadnavis and Shinde swapped seats with the CM getting behind the wheel, while Pawar remained in the same seat. The newly-constructed third creek bridge near Vashi Sion-Panvel Highway was also inaugurated via video conferencing on the occasion. The earlier operational 625 km of the expressway stretch was used by nearly two crore vehicles in the last two years. The maximum speed limit on the expressway is 100 kmh in ghat sections and 120 kmh on flat terrain. The expressway traverses through 392 villages in 26 talukas across 10 districts in five revenue divisions. A smart integrated traffic management system (ITMS) will be installed on the expressway soon, the CM said, adding they gave the 'right of way' to the Gas Authority of India Ltd for laying the pipeline while making the access control road between Mumbai and Nagpur. Dy CM Ajit Pawar said many, including farmers from his party, opposed the Samruddhi project at the beginning, but when CM Fadnavis announced very attractive compensation, they all sided with the project and accepted money. "The project was estimated to cost Rs 55,500 crore but eventually went well above Rs 61,000 crore. Around 12 crore cement bags were used in the project. Fadnavis started the project when he was CM, and now it was inaugurated during his second term, and such continuity is rare in politics. And also let's not forget the contribution of Eknath Shinde," he said.
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Piyush Goyal calls Italian business enclaves in India to boost investment
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday proposed to develop an industrial conclave for Italian businesses in India to promote investments. Speaking here at India-Italy Business Forum meeting, he said Italian companies can consider setting up manufacturing units and offices in those enclaves. "I have a proposition for you. We can set up Italian enclaves where Italian businesses can set up shops... we can set up hotels, restaurants, healthcare for Italian people who would come to work there. It will be home away from home for them," Goyal said. These industrial parks can be set up in the proposed industrail corridors in different parts of the country. The minister is here on a two-day visit. He is meeting leaders and businesses to boost trade and investments between the two countries. India would invite Italian companies to certain locations in India such as Dighi near Mumbai and Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad) in Maharashtra to showcase potential locations for these enclaves. The government has announced to invest about Rs 28,000 crore to set up 12 industrial nodes, and build 100 industrial parks in the country. These industrial areas will be located at Khurpia in Uttarakhand, Rajpura-Patiala in Punjab, Dighi in Maharashtra, Palakkad in Kerala, Agra and Prayagraj in UP, Gaya in Bihar, Zaheerabad in Telangana, Orvakal and Kopparthy in Andhra Pradesh, and Jodhpur-Pali in Rajasthan.


The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Samruddhi Expressway corridor of Maharashtra's prosperity, says Fadnavis
Fadnavis said by connecting the expressway with the proposed Vadhvan port, they are planning to develop it as an 'economic corridor' of the state. Fadnavis described the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg as an 'engineering marvel' and said this 'economic corridor' would play a vital role in the state's development. Mumbai, Jun 5 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday inaugurated the final 76-km-long stretch of the Samruddhi Mahamarg, making the entire 701-km Mumbai-Nagpur corridor fully functional and bringing down the travel time between the two cities to 8 hours from around 18 hours. A smart integrated traffic management system (ITMS) will be installed on the expressway soon, the CM said. 'We have given right of way to Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) to lay a pipeline alongside the road from Konkan to Nagpur to Gadchiroli so that all the industries, including the upcoming Gadchiroli Steel City, situated alongside the road will use gas as fuel for their operations,' he said. Fadnavis said it is a moment of happiness and also an 'accomplishment of the dream' for his Mahayuti government. 'The Samruddhi Mahamarg is an economic corridor of Maharashtra's prosperity. It has connected 24 districts of the state with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) near Mumbai. Soon, the highway will be connected to the upcoming Vadhvan port,' Fadnavis said. The expressway has a frequency of 10 lakh vehicles per month at present and this will grow further, Fadnavis said, adding he was happy the project was started and completed under the Mahayuti government, and that all three of its top leaders (CM and two deputy CMs) were present. 'The proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway will similarly bring about economic turnaround of Marathwada. Work on it will begin soon,' the CM added. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde termed it a 'game changer' project for the state and urged people to use it by observing traffic rules and speed norms. The expressway project witnessed a cost escalation to Rs 61,000 crore from Rs 55,000 crore, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said. Pawar, at the start of his speech, referred to Shinde as CM before correcting his mistake, the faux pas bringing a smile on the faces of those assembled. 'This is the dream project of CM Fadnavis. It was started when he was CM and has been completed when he is CM again. It happens on rare occasions when those who start a project complete it. I remember those who opposed it at first later gave their land for the project and earned money (compensation),' Pawar added. Besides Fadnavis and the deputy CMs, Maharashtra ministers Dada Bhuse, Shivendraraje Bhosale and Narhari Zirwal attended the inauguration ceremony at Igatpuri, located about 140 km from Mumbai, that was held around 1.45 pm. After the inauguration, the chief minister also inspected the longest Igatpuri tunnel of the expressway and viaduct in the stretch. To conduct an inspection of the expressway, Deputy CM Shinde drove a high-end car with Chief Minister Fadnavis sitting beside him on the front seat and Pawar occupying the back seat. The inspection lasted around 45 minutes, including the time taken for the journey between Igatpuri and Amane. On the way back, Fadnavis and Shinde swapped seats with the CM getting behind the wheel, while Pawar remained in the same seat. Injecting humour into the proceedings, Pawar remarked that he was just observing if Shinde was driving well and was happy that everything went off smoothly. 'In the return leg, CM Fadnavis observed speed limits so we reached safely and I am now addressing this gathering. We could not use the insurance (cover) we had taken,' Pawar said as the gathering burst out laughing. The newly-constructed third creek bridge near Vashi Sion-Panvel Highway was also inaugurated via video conferencing on the occasion. With the inauguration of the final stretch between Igatpuri in Nashik district to Amane in Bhiwandi taluka of Thane district, this six-lane expressway, officially called 'Hindu Hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg', has now been opened for traffic since Thursday evening, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRDC) said. 'Previously, the journey from Nagpur to Mumbai via the old route would take 17 to 18 hours. The same distance (between Nagpur and Amane in Thane district) can now be covered in eight hours,' the MSRDC said in a release. After the opening of the final phase for traffic, pilgrims travelling from Thane-Mumbai region to Shirdi in Ahilyanagar district will benefit, while farmers from Shirdi, Ahilyanagar, Sinnar and Igatpuri (in Nashik district) can transport their agricultural produce to and from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region efficiently and in less time, it said. Samruddhi Mahamarg links Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (Navi Mumbai) and major tourist destinations like Shirdi, Ajanta-Ellora Caves (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) and Lonar lake (Buldhana). Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase covering 520 km between Nagpur and Shirdi on December 11, 2022. The second 80-km phase from Shirdi (Kokamthan) to Bharvir Interchange (Nashik district) was inaugurated on May 26, 2023. The third 25-km corridor between Bharvir Interchange to Igatpuri was thrown open for traffic on March 4, 2024. The expressway traverses through 392 villages in 26 talukas across 10 districts, namely Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Washim, Buldhana, Jalna, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ahilyanagar, Nashik and Thane. PTI KK COR NP GK BNM This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.