Minor fire at helipad near Baindoor before Karnataka CM’s helicopter was to land, put off immediately
The Hindu
Vasantha Kumar, Udupi District Fire and Emergency Services Officer, explained that dry grass close to the helipad caught fire from a spark that emanated from a smoke canister, which was placed to mark the spot for landing the helicopter
A minor fire was noticed close to Are Shiroor helipad, near Baindoor in Udupi district, before Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s helicopter was to land, on April 13. Fire and Emergency Services personnel put off the fire immediately.
Karnataka is in the midst of preparations and campaigning for the Assembly elections scheduled on May 10.
The copter carrying the Chief Minister landed at Are Shiroor helipad. Mr Bommai was heading from Mangaluru to Kollur Mookambika temple in Udupi district.
Vasantha Kumar, Udupi District Fire and Emergency Services Officer, told The Hindu that the fire was about 100 metres away from the helipad, at 11.30 a.m. The dry grass close to the helipad caught fire from a spark that emanated from a smoke canister, which was placed to mark the spot for landing the helicopter.
“It was a minor fire, which was put off immediately,” he said, adding that the helicopter landed safely and took off from the helipad at 12.10 p.m. with the Chief Minister who was heading back to Mangaluru.
Film actor Rishab Shetty, of Kantara movie fame, met Mr. Bommai at the temple. The actor-director was in the temple during the visit of the Chief Minister.
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.