Latest news with #Mahakumbh-2025
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Flying tribute: Prayagraj skydiver unfurls ‘Op Sindoor' flag over Bangkok
Sangam city's Anamika Sharma, who became the youngest woman in the country to bag a professional skydiving license in 2022, jumped from the sky over Bangkok carrying the flag of 'Operation Sindoor' as a mark of support and to commemorate its success on Thursday. She made this leap from a height of approximately 12,000 feet successfully. The jump was executed at Drop Zone Thailand at approximately 11.30 hours IST. The aircraft took off from 150 kms north of Bangkok from a place called Khayo Yai, and the jump was carried out from a single-engine aircraft PAC 750XL, informed Anamika's father, Ajay Sharma, a trained former commando of the Indian Air Force and who, along with his daughter, is the only father-and-daughter duo who are professional skydivers in the country. The 25-year-old daredevil is the youngest skydiver of the nation to hold the United States Parachute Association (USPA) certified 'D' category skydiving license and is the only female skydiving coach of India. Be it her early schooling at Prayagraj or in different schools across the country followed by a BTech from Bengaluru, Anamika's passion for skydiving under the guidance of her father continues unabated. 'I am very happy with this jump. This was my humble salute to the Indian Armed Forces and its brave soldiers who have always defended the nation against all threats and dangers. Op Sindoor has once again proved their sheer ability to keep the nation safe by taking on the enemy on their home turf,' she said while speaking from Bangkok. Recently, on January 8, ahead of the Mahakumbh-2025, Anamika Sharma had carried the flag of 'Sarva Siddhi Prada Kumbh' and invited the world to attend the Kumbh by skydiving over the skies of Bangkok and unfurling the flag at a height of 13,000 feet in the sky. Anamika is also known for acquiring a skydiving licence at the age of 20 years and becoming the youngest female licensed skydiver of India. Anamika, the younger of the two daughters of Junior Warrant Officer (retd) Ajay Kumar Sharma, first jumped from a height of 10,000 feet when she was just 11 years old. Today, she has over 550 jumps to her name that were executed with 10 different types of parachutes and aircraft.
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
HC slams SRN Hospital for ‘pathetic condition', says better to call it ‘mortuary'
Coming down heavily on the Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital in Prayagraj for its 'pathetic condition', the Allahabad high court said that it would be better to call it a 'mortuary' instead of a hospital. 'Prayagraj is under the grip of medical mafia. Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital attached to Motilal Nehru Medical College is in a pathetic condition. The poor and helpless patients are being dragged by touts planted by the medical mafia to private medical setups, and are not being treated in the hospitals attached to the medical college,' the court said. 'The government medical setup is under a great threat by the private medical mafia of the city,' the court added. The high court took serious note of the report submitted by the two amici curiae, who inspected SRN Hospital and submitted their report highlighting inadequate facilities and non-availability of doctors in the outpatient department (OPD). Hearing a PIL, justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal on May 23 issued a slew of directions to improve the condition of SRN Hospital, directing the principal secretary, medical health, to apprise the state government of this order and place the same before the chief secretary and, if needed, before the chief minister for his due consideration. 'Prayagraj just witnessed Mahakumbh in the months of January-February, 2025. Swaroop Rani Hospital is just one km away from the mela area. According to a state estimate, around 66.30 crore pilgrims took holy dip at Sangam. The medical infrastructure of the city is in a shambles. It was by the grace of God that no untoward incident happened, otherwise there was no medical facility available for treatment of the patients,' the court said. 'Prima facie, this court finds that the nexus between private medical mafia, medical officers and staff of the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital has practically crippled the infrastructure and working condition,' the court noted. 'The state and district administration are totally failing in providing basic medical facilities to the residents of Prayagraj who have just witnessed the successful Mahakumbh-2025 in the city. The earlier affidavit filed by the principal secretary, medical health, demonstrates that cities like Lucknow, Kanpur and Gorakhpur have hospitals with a capacity of more than 2,000 beds, but Prayagraj has a capacity of only 1,750 beds despite the fact that the biggest religious fair on earth was held here in January-February, 2025,' the court added. The court also slammed public representatives hailing from Prayagraj, saying, 'The representatives of people in the parliament and state legislature from Prayagraj are also not taking any keen interest in the welfare and well-being of citizens. There are ministers in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet from Prayagraj, but they have not paid any attention to the deteriorating condition of the hospital attached to the medical college.' While issuing a slew of directions to improve the condition of SRN hospital, the high court also directed the district magistrate, who was present in the court, to constitute a team of officials to monitor and keep a tab on professors, assistant professors, associate professors, readers, and lecturers of the medical college indulging in private practice. Directing that the PIL be put up for the next hearing on May 29, the court also asked the DM to ensure that doctors attend the OPD regularly from 8am to 2pm.
Hindustan Times
07-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Sangam city enhances pilgrim comfort amid rising footfall
Sangam, the holy confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati—which hosts the Kumbh Mela and is recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, attracting thousands of pilgrims each year to its banks—is set to witness a major fillip to visitor-friendly services. A view of the Sangam area in Prayagraj (HT) The Prayagraj Mela Authority (PMA) has begun steps to introduce golf carts for the benefit of tourists and visitors, especially the aged and the differently abled, to visit various sites on the Sangam banks, including the banks of the sacred confluence, the Bade Hanuman temple corridor, the Akshayvat temple, etc. A 'Hop On-Hop Off' (HOHO) bus service, too, is set to be started by PMA to take visitors from Prayagraj Junction to all key tourist and religious attractions of Prayagraj at affordable rates. Requests for Proposal (RFP) for both these new initiatives have already been floated, with proposals invited till May 15, shared Vijay Kiran Anand, Mela Adhikari, PMA. 'Both services are now necessary to promote tourism in Prayagraj city. Our effort is to provide comfort and ease to every visitor coming here,' he added. After the Mahakumbh-2025, the number of devotees visiting Prayagraj has increased by 10 to 15%, claim officials. A large number of these devotees are elderly and some are differently abled. After somehow reaching Sangam, they often face a lot of difficulty in going to the temples. Many times, the vehicles they take are expensive and they have to walk for several kilometres. The golf carts would resolve this issue, they maintained. Officials said that the PMA seeks to engage agencies to provide, operate, and maintain a minimum of 20 golf carts in the Sangam area. The selected vendor shall operate golf carts with a minimum seating capacity of 8 (including the golf cart driver). E-rickshaws, three-wheelers, auto rickshaws, etc., shall not be considered as golf carts. The selected vendor will need to develop charging infrastructure with fast-charging capabilities, they shared. Likewise, qualified service providers have been invited to submit proposals for engagement of an agency for providing the Hop-On Hop-Off (HOHO) Bus service for key tourist destinations within Prayagraj. This service aims to provide convenient, efficient, and eco-friendly transportation options for tourists visiting major attractions in the city, said officials. This service will cater to tourists visiting the major attractions within the city, ensuring ease of access and a seamless experience for both local and international tourists, with the help of a fleet of buses operating on designated routes connecting prominent tourist sites, said officials. Meanwhile, PMA has also begun the process for acquiring trash skimmers and waste removal boats embellished with aquatic weed removal features for collecting floating waste and weeds on the waters of the Ganga and Yamuna near Sangam, as well as a towing boat. PMA has procured floating jetties with changing rooms which are to be arranged at Sangam to provide people with platforms for having a safe and secure bathing experience. A towing boat serves as a practical solution to tow the jetty platforms to the desired location during the Mela and move the jetties back to a safe location before the start of the flood, said officials.
Hindustan Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Maiden Prayagraj municipal bond oversubscribed 4.4 times
The maiden municipal bond issued by Prayagraj Municipal Corporation has been oversubscribed 4.4 times as it received bids worth ₹221 crore against the offer size of ₹50 crore, a senior official in the state government said and credited the success to the organisation of the Mahakumbh in the state earlier this year. The bond was issued on the Bombay Stock Exchange's Electronic Bidding Platform and achieved a cut-off coupon rate of 8.07%—the lowest ever for a municipal bond in Uttar Pradesh. The funds raised will be directed towards the construction of a ₹76.54 crore super-specialty hospital in Naini under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, with the bond covering ₹50 crore of the project cost, Principal secretary of the urban development department Amrit Abhijat said: 'The overwhelming investors' faith in the Prayagraj municipal bond is due to the effectiveness of our urban reforms and financial discipline. Mahakumbh-2025 demonstrated our ability to deliver world-class infrastructure and services, and this success is now translating into capital market trust.' The hospital, to come up in Naini, is expected to cater to over 1.5 million residents of Prayagraj and nearby regions and generate employment for 600–700 families. 'This facility draws on the globally acclaimed health infrastructure model of Mahakumbh 2025 and will further strengthen the city's capacity to manage large-scale events and health emergencies,' Abhijat added. So far in this fiscal year, urban local bodies in the state have collectively generated ₹5,550 crore in revenue, a sign of improving fiscal autonomy. The hospital project will generate ₹11–12 crore annually in revenue for the Municipal Corporation, ensuring a sustainable financial model while serving essential healthcare needs.
