Mumbai notes

According to airport officials, the commander of the Bhuj-bound Alliance Air flight, reported to Mumbai air traffic control (ATC) `an engine fire’, 20 minutes after take-off.

Capt Lakhan Pal, who got his command less than a year ago, landed the aircraft safely. The 71 passengers were later transferred to another Boeing and left for their destination after an hour’s delay. A detailed examination of the engine was being carried out.

Earlier, the commander of a Kuwait Airlines Airbus A310, flight to Delhi aborted take-off as he found the air speed indicator became `unserviceable’.

The flight, with 245 passengers and crew, was diverted to Mumbai early today due to bad weather at Indira Gandhi international airport. The snag was noticed when the aircraft was on its take-off roll, airport officials said.

As many as 25 international and domestic flights were diverted to Mumbai airport as Delhi airport was enveloped by a thick fog.

Hundreds of passengers, who arrived by the diverted flights, were accommodated in city hotels by the airlines and the flights started taking off for Delhi only in the afternoon after the crew of the respective airlines had `adequate rest’, officials said.

Joshi irked by EC’s ban

Chief Minister Manohar Joshi on Thursday expressed resentment over the Election Commission’s ban on providing medical assistance to needy from the Chief Minister’s fund till the mid-term polls were over. He said an extremely limited amount ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 and in rare cases up to Rs 50,000 was given as medical aid to needy persons who were sick or afflicted by major ailments . “Sometimes the model code is taken to extreme ends,” he said adding that the EC had allowed providing medical assistance to needy from the CM’s fund in the last Lok Sabha and assembly polls.

BMC education officer takes over

The Deputy Director of Education, Maharashtra, J M Abhayankar took over as the education officer in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation today. The post had been lying vacant after D U Dandavate was suspended for his alleged involvement in land scam.