NGT to take up Visakhapatnam gas leak case
The National Green Tribunal has taken cognisance on its own about the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident that killed at least 11 people and affected about 1,000, many collapsing to the ground as they tried to escape the toxic vapours.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel will take up on Friday the matter titled "In re: Gas Leak at LG Polymers Chemical Plant in RR Venkatapuram Village Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh". A plea was filed seeking constitution of a high-level committee to investigate the gas leak incident.
An NGO, Centre for Wildlife and Environmental Litigation Foundation, has sought constitution of a high-level committee, comprising judges and officers, not below the rank of joint secretary, to probe the incident.
It has also sought direction to the state government to ensure the protection and security of the residents of the surrounding area and imposition of exemplary costs on violators.
Vande Bharat to continue
Air India is scheduled to conduct evacuation flights to ferry out stranded Indians from Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Singapore on Friday.
An Air India flight, AI 381, will reach New Delhi from Singapore around 11.35am on Friday. The flight is expected to carry around 250 people. Air India Express is scheduled to fly 179 NRIs from Abu Dhabi to Kochi. Air India will also operate flights from Riyadh to Calicut and Dhaka to New Delhi, respectively.
In addition, two Indian Navy ships, INS Jalashwa and INS Magar, are set to sail from the Maldives on Friday to Kochi, with a total of around 1,000 Indians.
Arun Gawli's daughter to get married
The daughter of former gangster Arun Gawli, Yogita, will marry Marathi actor Akshay Waghmare in a simple home ceremony at Dagadi Chawl in central Mumbai on Friday amid the COVID-19 lockdown. The Gawli family has informed the Agripada police about the ceremony and only three to four guests each from both families were expected to attend.
Gawli, who is serving a life sentence in the 2007 Kamlakar Jamsandekar murder case, is now out on parole.
159th birth anniversary of Tagore
Amid the ongoing lockdown to fight COVID-19, the West Bengal government has decided to celebrate the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore on Friday in a low-key manner. "Rabindra Jayanti will be observed by the state government at 4pm on May 8 at Cathedral Road in the southern part of the city [Kolkata]," an official said, adding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will attend the event.
ICC meeting on T20 World Cup
The ICC and Cricket Australia are expected to hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the future of the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held from October 18 to November 15.
Some former and current cricketers have expressed concerns on whether the event can go ahead as planned given continued coronavirus-related disruption. Furthermore, Australia had imposed a six-month closure of its borders, which will end only in mid-September, making preparations for the cricket event difficult. According to reports, Cricket Australia and the ICC are considering the possibility of postponing the T20 World Cup to 2021. Another option reportedly being considered is holding the T20 World Cup this year in closed stadiums.
Xiaomi to launch IoT product with Mi10
Chinese tech major Xiaomi has announced it would launch an IoT product during the launch of the Mi10 smartphone in India on Friday. According to Gadgets 360, the new IoT device could be a Mi Box or Mi TV Stick model that can turn a regular TV into a smart TV.