Latest news with #NationalMission
Mint
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Operation Sindoor: Indian highways ready to support IAF with alternative runways
The Indian Air Force successfully executed a 'land and go' operation on a section of the Ganga Expressway in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on 2 May. The 3.5-kilometre landing site created on the highway can serve as a makeshift runway, allowing fighter jets to land during both during the day and at night. The development of such dual-use (military and civilian) infrastructure could come handy if the India-Pakistan conflict escalates following the launch of Operation Sindoor on Wednesday, in which India conducted military strikes on terror camps in Pakistan. The creation of such dual-use infrastructure is not new – it has been part of the PM Gati Shakti National Mission for providing multi-modal connectivity. According to people in the know, the ministry of road transport and highways has kept India's best and most strategically located highways in a state of readiness to effectively counter any action from across the border by providing emergency landing facilities for military aircraft. Close to half a dozen emergency landing facilities have already been developed on highways, and work on about two dozen more – some of which are close to the international border – is underway in collaboration with ministry of defence. According to one of the people cited above, 28 strategic locations have been identified to provide highway infrastructure for military aircraft. The cost of such infrastructure is negligible considering the advantages, said the people cited above, adding that additional costs may be shared with the defence ministry. Vaibhav Dange, an independent infrastructure expert, said, 'Our infrastructure is fully equipped to handle any eventuality and support the military in case such a need arises. The dual-use highways are not for regular use by the military but can be used in emergency situations such as conflicts." 'This is wonderful idea that will not only give India a strategic advantage to effectively counter any provocation from across the border, but also come handy in for disaster management,' he added. Query sent to the ministry of road transport and highways remained unanswered A strategy paper presented earlier by the road ministry said sites for emergency landing facilities on national highways had already been identified, and that such infrastructure would be developed in collaboration with the defence ministry. In 2022, the road ministry said 28 locations had been strategically identified for the development of emergency landing strips. Of these, civil work had been completed at one location and was in progress at four others, the ministry had said at the time. The pace of work has increased since then, and at least half a dozen such landing are now ready or close to ready. The ministry has not revealed the exact locations of these landing strips owing to their strategic importance, but most of them are in states that share borders with other countries. In late 2021, union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari inaugurated country's first emergency landing strip on a national highway at Gandhav Bhakasar section on NH-925 in Barmer, Rajasthan. Developed on 3 km of highway, it was meant to serve as an emergency landing facility for the IAF. Before that, the landing of aircraft on Indian roads was showcased in 2017, when IAF fighter jets and transport planes conducted mock landings on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway. Apart from landing facilities for aircraft, the road ministry will also ask NHAI to construct helipads at several of these locations, which could also facilitate the movement of both civilians and military personnel.
The Herald Scotland
02-05-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Will we ever see real action on chronic pain and drug deaths?
When Scotland declared a "national emergency" on drug deaths in 2019, the public was promised urgent action. Instead, what we received was an empire of taskforces, consultative collaboratives, stakeholder networks and endless glossy reports and strategy documents. The response to a human catastrophe was to create a self-replicating bureaucracy. In chronic pain, real patients were locked out of decision-making for two years, while officials congratulated themselves on "participation". In addiction recovery, real lived-experience voices were excluded in favour of state-funded charities and compliant partners who echoed official policy while deaths soared to record levels. In both cases, participation was a stage-managed performance – a theatre of inclusion designed to give the illusion of action while obstructing real change. The Drug Death Taskforce, the MAT Standards Collaborative, the "National Mission", the countless "action plans" and "frameworks" – all absorbed years of time and tens of millions of pounds. But frontline detox beds remained closed. Residential rehabs were starved of funding. Choice in treatment was narrowed, not expanded. And the Right to Recovery (Scotland) Bill – which would have guaranteed people legal access to treatment options – was met with bureaucratic hostility and delay. Exactly as with chronic pain, those who challenged the system – whether patients, advocates or independent charities – were either silenced, excluded, or had their funding threatened. This is not accidental. It is structural. It is the deliberate management of public outrage through consultation fatigue, policy jargon and bureaucratic complexity, while shielding officials and ministers from accountability. In both cases, the Scottish Government's own guidelines on transparency, participation and human rights are being openly breached. In both cases, ministers speak the language of rights and inclusion while presiding over systems that actively exclude the very people they claim to represent. How many more must die before Scotland confronts the uncomfortable truth? That we have built a public sector culture more skilled at managing public relations than at saving lives. That we have spent vast sums funding consultative industries while starving direct services. Scotland urgently needs a reckoning: a rebalancing of power in favour of patients, families, and front-line practitioners. Real independent oversight. Real accountability. Real choice in treatment. For those of us who have lived through these failures, it is already too late for many we loved. But it is not too late to light a fire under the culture of bureaucratic complacency that allowed it. Chronic pain patients. Addiction recovery advocates. Bereaved families. We are not separate battles. We are one fight: the fight for a Scotland that values life over bureaucracy. Annemarie Ward, CEO, Faces & Voices of Recovery UK, Glasgow. • The Scottish Government is under increasing pressure to address a crisis that is affecting many communities ("Organisations demand urgent action over rising alcohol deaths", The Herald, May 1). More than 70 organisations are imploring John Swinney to take significant action, and rightfully so. The Government must accept responsibility for failing to tackle alcohol misuse, which has reached alarming levels under its watch. It is time for a comprehensive strategy that goes beyond mere rhetoric. Immediate investment in public health initiatives, combined with effective community support, could make a transformative difference. Our society must not allow another generation to suffer the consequences of inaction. Action is needed now, because every life matters. Alastair Majury, Dunblane. A sonnet on the sexes At last some common sense on the ongoing, perverse focus on this issue from Eric Begbie ("Why all the fuss about sex and gender?", Letters, May 1). Brother and Sister, a sonnet by George Eliot, puts it in a lovely descriptive nutshell. In the first two lines, indistinguishable as infants: "I cannot choose but think upon the time/When our two lives grew like two buds that kiss." But soon, "He was the elder and a little man/Of forty inches, bound to show no dread. "And I the girl that puppy-like now ran,/Now lagged behind my brother's larger tread." The poet was, of course, Mary Ann Evans. Murdo Grant, Rosemarkie. The VAR killjoys As a football fan for 60-plus years I thought that VAR would enhance the game. Sadly no. During Wednesday night's excellent Inter v Barcelona Champions League match VAR intervened to chalk off an Inter match-winning goal for offside. By three inches! These ridiculous offside decisions are ruining the beautiful game. Football is all about goals and entertainment. However I'm sure that there are those who agree with the reported remark by Bobby Williamson: "If you want entertainment go to the cinema." Roy Gardiner, Kilmarnock. Is VAR in football detracting from the entertainment? (Image: PA) A lack of Scottish TV Homes Under The Hammer is credited as a BBC Scotland production, yet each month only about one property in Scotland is featured. The presenters are all very interesting but only one is a Scot. I note that there is concern over the cost of costume dramas. To my recollection there haven't been any Scottish ones for many years. River City, which gives pleasure to many people, must cost a fraction of what EastEnders does, and should be spared. Margaret Pennycook, Glasgow. Pint to ponder Donald M Manson's letter (May 1) regarding those of hard of hearing, reminds me of my late mother who would often ask me to get her some semi-skilled milk. Malcolm Parkin, Kinross.
Daily Record
30-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Lanarkshire MSP urges Scottish Government to do more following alarming rise in number of drug deaths
A Lanarkshire MSP has called on the Scottish Government to do more following an alarming rise in the number of drug deaths across the country. New figures showed there were 251 suspected drugs deaths between December 2 2024 and February 23 this year - an average of 21 per week. The figures cover the period when the UK's first safer drugs consumption room opened in Glasgow in January of this year. However the data, published by Public Health Scotland, showed that the number of suspected drug deaths over the December to February period was 17 per cent higher than the previous three months, when there were 215 fatalities. Labour Central Scotland list MSP Monica Lennon said: 'These figures show there is no room for complacency when it comes to Scotland's drugs death crisis. 'Scottish Labour welcomes the safe consumption room pilot, but this is not a substitute for a co-ordinated effort to stop the supply of drugs by criminal gangs who have no thought for the tragedies they unleash. 'The SNP government must work with Police Scotland, local authorities and health boards to ensure that those making money out of this misery are held to account while their victims have the best possible chance of recovery.' Health Secretary Neil Gray has warned of the dangers of an 'increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply'. Mr Gray, who is also MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, said: 'While this publication records a quarter-on-quarter rise in suspected drug deaths, it also notes the year-on-year fall. 'We continue to monitor the situation and are working hard to respond to the growing threat from polydrug use, including 'street benzos' and cocaine, and from highly dangerous synthetic opioids like nitazenes in an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply.' Mr Gray warned: 'Such synthetics increase the risk of overdose, hospitalisation and death and are being found in a range of substances.' He advised that 'because of their strength' people should 'carry extra life-saving naloxone kits' - which can be used to reverse an overdose. Stressing that every drugs death is a 'tragedy', the Health Secretary said ministers were 'determined to continue our efforts to reduce harm and deaths'. He added: 'We want every person experiencing harm from drug use to be able access the support they need and through our five-year £250 million National Mission on drugs we're taking a wide range of actions. 'These include working towards the opening of drug-checking facilities which would enable us to respond faster to emerging drug trends, opening the UK's first safer drug consumption facility pilot, and widening access to residential rehab, treatment and life-saving naloxone.' *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here . And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here .
STV News
29-04-2025
- Health
- STV News
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland up by 17%, new figures show
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland rose by almost a fifth between December and February – with Health Secretary Neil Gray warning of the dangers of an 'increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply'. His comments came as new figures showed there were 251 suspected drug deaths between December 2 2024, and February 23 this year – an average of 21 per week. The figures cover the period when the UK's first safer drugs consumption room opened in Glasgow in January of this year. However, the data, published by Public Health Scotland, showed that the number of suspected drug deaths over the December to February period was 17% higher than the previous three months, when there were 215 fatalities. But it also pointed out that such deaths were 17% lower than the three months commencing December 2023, when there were 304 suspected drugs deaths, and 12% down on the three months from December 2022, when the total was 285. The figures also showed a decrease in drug-related attendances at hospital emergency departments, with 977 of these recorded from December 2024 to February 2025. This was 9% down on the previous three months, and 14% lower than the three months commencing December 2023. However, the Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (Radar) report from Public Health Scotland noted that 'drug-related harms remained high during the most recent quarter', adding that there was a 'notable rise in suspected drug deaths compared to the previous quarter'. It added: 'Intelligence indicates Scotland's drugs markets are likely to be contaminated. Contamination is likely to involve toxic synthetic substances which increase the risk of overdose and death.' Gray said the Scottish Government was also 'working hard' to respond to the 'growing threat' from polydrug use – where users take more than one substance. The health secretary said: 'While this publication records a quarter-on-quarter rise in suspected drug deaths, it also notes the year-on-year fall. 'We continue to monitor the situation and are working hard to respond to the growing threat from polydrug use, including 'street benzos' and cocaine, and from highly dangerous synthetic opioids like nitazenes in an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply.' Gray warned: 'Such synthetics increase the risk of overdose, hospitalisation and death and are being found in a range of substances.' He advised that 'because of their strength' people should 'carry extra life-saving naloxone kits' – which can be used to reverse an overdose. Stressing that every drugs death is a 'tragedy', the health secretary said ministers were 'determined to continue our efforts to reduce harm and deaths'. He stated: 'We want every person experiencing harm from drug use to be able access the support they need and through our five-year £250 million National Mission on drugs we're taking a wide range of actions. 'These include working towards the opening of drug-checking facilities which would enable us to respond faster to emerging drug trends, opening the UK's first safer drug consumption facility pilot, and widening access to residential rehab, treatment and life-saving naloxone.' But Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said the latest figures showed that 'there is no room for complacency when it comes to Scotland's drugs death crisis'. She added: 'Scottish Labour welcomes the safe consumption room pilot, but this is not a substitute for a co-ordinated effort to stop the supply of drugs by criminal gangs who have no thought for the tragedies they unleash. 'The SNP government must work with Police Scotland, local authorities and health boards to ensure that those making money out of this misery are held to account while their victims have the best possible chance of recovery.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
