In a swift operation, the Indian Navy today rescued 38 Indians from Socotra island in Yemen where they

were stranded for nearly 10 days after a severe cyclonic storm hit the area.

The Navy yesterday had diverted its ship INS Sunayna from the Gulf of Aden to Socotra as part of the
operation ‘NISTAR’ to rescue the Indians, Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma said.

He said that the stranded Indians were rescued off the coast of Socotra early this morning and are now
onboard INS Sunayna, adding that all of them were safe. The ship is bringing the Indians back home.

“The operation, code-named ‘NISTAR’, was carried out on the morning of June 3 off the coast of Socotra.
The evacuated Indians were embarked on board and immediately provided with medical care, food,
water and telephone facilities to call and reassure their families at home,” Sharma said.

He said the ship is proceeding towards Porbandar in Gujarat.

Cyclonic strom Mekenu had hit Socotra on May 24 leaving a trail of devastation.

“Three Indian dhows (vessel) at Socotra suffered damages/sank alongside in the harbour and another
Dhow, MSV Safina Al Khijar with 12 Indians onboard is reported to be missing,” said the Navy
spokesperson.

INS Sunayna was deployed for the humanitarian and disaster relief operation after the Navy received a
distress call from the Directorate General of Shipping and the Indian Sailing Vessels Association.

The Navy had undertaken two aerial sorties on May 28 and 29 to search for the missing Indians.

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NIPAH VIRUS GROUND ZERO THE HINDU METROPLUS MAGAZINEAn Indian Air Force plane carrying
Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj lost contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) for nearly 14
minutes on Saturday while flying in the Mauritian air space, according to the Airports Authority of India
(AAI). The Minister was enroute to South Africa for meetings of the BRICS and IBSA grouping.

“The Indian Air Force Flight IFC31 carrying Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, departed from
Thiruvananthapuram at 14.08 IST for Mauritius. Aircraft changed over from the Indian airspace to the
Male ATC, which then established contact with the aircraft at 16.44 IST. However, IFC 31 could not
contact the Mauritius ATC after entering the Mauritius airspace,” the AAI said in a statement.

“Later, at 16.58 IST, IFC 31 came in contact with the Mauritius ATC and landed,” the statement said.

The Meghdoot Embraer 135 aircraft was traced after the Mauritius ATC activated INCERFA, the code for
a situation in which uncertainty exists over the safety of an aircraft and its occupants.

The AAI said such warnings are normally issued only after 30 minutes of losing contact with the ATC. But
in this case it may have been generated earlier because the plane was carrying a VIP.

VHF failure

An IAF source, however, said loss of communication while flying long distance over seas is “normal”.

An AAI official, who termed the incident a grave security lapse, said communication can be erratic on
such routes due to the poor quality of Very High Frequency (VHF) communication over the radar system.

Failure of pilots to establish contact with ATC, snag in on-board equipment and frequency issues lead to
loss of contact, an air traffic controller said.

IAF pilots also do not maintain constant touch and often the ATC had to call to maintain contact while
operating in Indian airspace, he said.

Ms. Swaraj was on her way to South Africa for a five-day visit for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa) and IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) meetings.

She had arrived from Delhi in the same aircraft and took off after completing Customs and other
formalities, a senior AAI official told The Hindu.

Xcri

13 people were killed in Thoothukudi last week when the police opened fire on anti-Sterlite protesters.

The Tamil Nadu government issued a G.O. on Monday to seal and “permanently close” the Sterlite
Copper smelter plant in Thoothukudi. 13 people were killed in Thoothukudi last week when police
opened fire on anti-Sterlite protesters, who were marching to the Collectorate to seek the closure of the
“polluting” plant.

The G.O. was issued on the eve of the Assembly session that begins on Tuesday and it came against the
backdrop of injured people confronting AIADMK Ministers about its commitment to close down the
factory.

Following the G.O, officials in Thoothukudi sealed the unit. "We have sealed this plant as per the
directions of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu", Thoothukudi Collector Sandeep Nanduri said.

"The plant is permanently sealed. There is no more confusion. I request the people of Thoothukudi to
co-operate with the district administration to bring normalcy back in the district," he added.

Thoothukudi Tahsildar Sivagama Sundari sealed the main entrance of Sterlite Copper unit on Monday in
the presence of Collector Sandeep Nanduri, Superintendent of Police Murali Ramba and senior revenue
officials.

Thoothukudi Tahsildar Sivagama Sundari sealed the main entrance of Sterlite Copper unit on Monday in
the presence of Collector Sandeep Nanduri, Superintendent of Police Murali Ramba and senior revenue
officials. | Photo Credit: N. Rajesh

The G.O. issued by the Environment and Forests Department said, “Under sections 18(1)(b) of the Water
Act 1974, in the larger public interest, the Government endorse the closure direction of the Tamil Nadu
Pollution Control Board and also direct the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to seal the unit and close
the plant permanently.”

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Anti-Sterlite protesters laying siege to the Collectorate, demanding the closure of the copper
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Anti-Sterlite protests: In Thoothukudi, how copper came a cropper

A separate official release said the G.O. was issued after groups opposed to the functioning of the plant
met the Chief Minister, deputy Chief Minister, senior Ministers, Chief Secretary and other officials at the
State Secretariat on Monday, and sought a permanent closure of the plant.
In the order, the government said that the TNPCB did not renew the Consent to Operate to Vedanta
Ltd’s Copper smelter plant in its order dated April 9, 2018.

“Subsequently, on May 23, the TNPCB has also issued directions for closure and disconnection of power
supply to the unit. The power supply has been disconnected on May 24,” it said.

ALSO READ

Police burst teargas shells to disperse anti-Sterlite protesters marching to the Thoothukudi District
Collectorate.

The Hindu explains: Sterlite protests

Separately, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, said in a statement that the citizens of Thoothukudi
had been opposing the operation of the plant and were seeking a permanent closure of the plant as it
had violated the terms related to the environment set by the National Green Tribunal and the TNPCB.

“Based on requests made by various groups opposed to the operation of the plant in a meeting today,
the request to shut down the plant completely was considered in a rigorous manner,” Mr. Palaniswami
said.

He said the Tamil Nadu government was following in the footsteps of the late Jayalalithaa and hence has
taken the decision to close the plant in the interest of the public.

On Sunday, Minister for Information Technology, Kadambur Raju faced the ire of those injured and
relatives at the hospital. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit is likely to visit Thoothukudi on
Tuesday and review the situation.

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