Latest news with #A.Shankar
News18
3 days ago
- Business
- News18
RCB Owners' Statement On Reports Of IPL Franchise's Sale: 'Like To Clarify...'
Last Updated: RCB's owners denied selling the IPL franchise. Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) owners, British distillery Diageo Plc through its Indian subsidiary, United Spirits Ltd., issued a statement after social media was abuzz with reports of sale of part or all of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise 'This has reference to your email communication dated 10th June 2025 seeking clarification from the Company on media reports in relation to potential stake sale of RCB. The Company would like to clarify that aforesaid media reports are speculative in nature and it is not pursuing any such discussions," United Spirits told the Bombay Stock Exchange and BSE Surveillance Department. Tragedy struck last Wednesday when approximately 2.5 lakh fans gathered in and around the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars, leading to a stampede that resulted in 11 fatalities and 56 injuries. Following the incident, A. Shankar and E.S. Jairam resigned from their positions as secretary and treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), respectively, taking 'moral responsibility" for the tragedy. Meanwhile, Nikhil Sosale, marketing head of Royal Challengers Bangalore, was arrested on June 6. Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi has strongly criticised the RCB franchise and the Karnataka state government for the tragic stampede. 'First and foremost, my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the stampede. This should never have happened. The entire event was poorly planned and executed," Modi told IANS. 'There is so much mudslinging and finger-pointing going on, but the issue is simple — the event should never have been allowed without proper arrangements in place. The authorities failed, and the team management should also have ensured fan safety before participating in the so-called celebrations." Modi criticised the event further, saying, 'The poor fans who died or were injured were simply passionate about the game and their team. They deserved better. This tragedy will haunt the RCB franchise and the players involved in the celebrations forever. Mark my words — even one death or injury is unacceptable. Heads must roll." He emphasised the need for accountability and prioritising fan safety, adding, 'The value of life and well-being of fans must be paramount. But sadly, it seems no one really cares. The government should have done far more to ensure the event was organised safely. We've seen major events across India handled successfully — why not this one?" (With inputs from Agencies)
The Hindu
24-05-2025
- The Hindu
Four bays at Chennai airport to be closed for upgradation
At the Chennai airport, four bays will not be open for boarding flights for about 45 days due to airside upgradation work. According to officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), they are strengthening taxiway H in the airport so that code E aircraft (wide-body aircraft that can accommodate as much as 300-400 passengers) can be handled in this taxiway. While this work is under way, four bays will be closed from June 1 in the T1 domestic terminal, where the majority of the domestic departures and arrival flights are handled. If these bays are closed, aircraft, aerobridges will not be available for some flights. Passengers of those flights may have to take the bus for boarding. 'This is an important and necessary capacity enhancement work that will greatly help in improving efficiency in handling wide-body aircraft. Except for a few, including a portion of taxiway H, most of the taxiways are compatible to handle code E aircraft. The inconvenience will be minor and only for a brief period. We will certainly complete the work within 45 days,' an official said. Only code C flights (like A320 which can handle nearly 140-200 passengers) will be affected by this work, officials said. A. Shankar, a frequent flyer, said, 'It is good if they are doing this to upgrade the airport, but for a senior citizen like me, it's definitely going to be difficult. It will be quite tiring to take the bus and then board the aircraft in the absence of an aerobridge. I hope they finish the work within the stipulatedtime frame and not delay it like the other projects.' But in a bid to decongest the T1 domestic terminal, they have now decided to shift the ATR departure flights of IndiGo (whose capacity is nearly 80-100 passengers) to the T4 domestic terminal while the arrival will continue in the T1 terminal. There are about 30-35 ATR departure and arrival flights of IndiGo at Chennai airport every day. Thus far, only Air India's domestic flights were handled in the T4 terminal. Frequent airport users feel that there should be clear signage put up to inform the passengers that IndiGo's ATR departures (flight numbers: 7000-7999) have moved to the T4 terminal.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
‘Savukku' Shankar moves Madras HC seeking CBI probe into alleged scam in manual scavenging eradication schemes
YouTuber 'Savukku' Shankar, alias A. Shankar, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition before the Madras High Court, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged illegalities in the implementation of entrepreneurship schemes for manual scavengers. The PIL plea is expected to be listed before the summer vacation Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and M. Nirmal Kumar on Wednesday (May 14, 2025). The petitioner had sought a direction to the CBI to register a First Information Report (FIR) based on his March 27, 2025, complaint. In his affidavit, the petitioner said, the Centre had introduced the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) and the Tamil Nadu government had come up with the Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme (AABCS) in 2023 to eradicate manual scavenging. The idea behind these schemes was to introduce mechanised solutions, such as automated jetting and suction machines, by offering bank loans with capital subsidies and interest subvention to manual scavengers for the purchase of sanitation-related equipment. According to the official guidelines and modalities of AABCS, the scheme should be implemented by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) department of the State government through the Industries Commissioner and Director of Industries and Commerce (ICDIC), the petitioner claimed. He further claimed that the implementation responsibilities were, however, illegally and arbitrarily delegated to the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), a private entity registered with the Registrar of Companies, and it had led to misappropriation of crores of rupees. Accusing Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K. Selvaperunthagai of having played a major role in this, the petitioner claimed that a huge amount of public money, meant for empowering sanitation workers, had not reached the real beneficiaries due to the illegalities. The petitioner alleged that most of the beneficiaries recommended by DICCI were members of the Congress party's Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Wing, and they did not belong to Below the Poverty Line (BPL) category to be eligible for the disbursement of loans under the entrepreneurship schemes. Claiming to have made a complaint in this regard with the CBI, the petitioner sought a direction to the central investigation agency to register a FIR and conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the illegalities allegedly committed under NAMASTE as well as AABCS before filing the final report. The petitioner also stated that his residence was vandalised after he exposed the alleged illegalities on his YouTube channel and that some hooligans, wearing the jackets of sanitary workers, dumped sewage mixed with human faeces in his house when his aged mother was alone at home.
