New Delhi, Nov 07: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said it is actively engaged with authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the detention of Retired Major Vikrant Jaitley, assuring that all consular assistance is being extended to him and his family.

Responding to media queries, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “We are seized of the matter related to Indian national Major Vikrant Jaitley. Consular officials from our Embassy in Abu Dhabi have obtained regular consular access and met him on four occasions. Our Embassy continues to extend all possible consular assistance to him. They are in touch with the family, including the wife of the detainee. As directed by the Delhi High Court, our Embassy is providing all possible assistance.”

The statement comes amid widespread media reports that Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly, sister of Major Jaitley, has secured a judicial directive from the Delhi High Court instructing the Indian government to ensure legal aid and direct communication with her brother. Major Vikrant Jaitley, a decorated former paratrooper, has reportedly been detained in the UAE since September 2024 on unspecified charges. His family alleges the detention amounts to an “illegal abduction.” The High Court’s order, following Celina Jaitly’s plea seeking contact and legal support for her brother, has prompted the MEA to appoint a dedicated officer to coordinate assistance and monitor the case closely.

New Delhi, Nov 07: Delhi airport, the country’s busiest airport, plunged into chaos on Friday as more than 300 domestic as well as international flights were delayed due to technical problems with the air traffic control system, sources said.

All airline operations at the airport have been impacted and authorities are working to fix the issues.

IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa Air said there are delays in their flights at the Delhi airport due to the issues with the air traffic control system.

The national capital’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the country’s busiest airport, handles more than 1,500 flight movements daily.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) said flight operations at the Delhi airport are facing delays due to a technical issue in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which supports air traffic control data.

The state-owned AAI, which provides air traffic control and navigation services, said technical teams are working to restore the system at the earliest.

“All airline operations at Delhi Airport are currently delayed. Concerned authorities are working on resolving the issue at the earliest,” Delhi airport operator DIAL said in a post on X at 1:42 pm.

DIAL (Delhi International Airport Ltd) also said flight operations have been disrupted due to an ongoing technical issue with the AMSS that supports air traffic control flight planning process.

According to the sources, there were long queues near boarding gates and hundreds of passengers were waiting inside the airport terminals for flight updates.

The sources said air traffic controllers are unable to get flight plans automatically due to the technical issues since Thursday evening.

There are some issues with the AMSS that provides the information for the Auto Track System (AMS), which gives the flight plans, one of the sources said.

With the system issues continuing, air traffic controllers are preparing the flight plans manually with available data, which is a time-consuming process and as a result, many flights are getting delayed, the sources said.

They also said the issues are also causing air traffic congestion at the airport and authorities are working to fix the problems.

Information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed that over 300 flights have been delayed at the airport and the delay for departing flights is around 50 minutes at the Delhi airport.

“Due to an ongoing technical issue with the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) that supports Air Traffic Control data, flights across all airlines at #DelhiAirport and some other airports in the northern region are currently experiencing delays,” IndiGo said in a post on X.

New Delhi, Nov 07: In an apparent attack at the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said important stanzas of the national song “Vande Mataram” were dropped in 1937 which sowed the seeds of partition and asserted that such a “divisive mindset” is still a challenge for the country.

Modi made the comments while inaugurating the year-long commemoration of “Vande Mataram” to mark 150 years of the national song. He also released a commemorative stamp and coin on the occasion at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.

“Vande Mataram became voice of India’s freedom struggle, it expressed feelings of every Indian. Unfortunately, in 1937, important stanzas of Vande Mataram..its soul was removed. The division of Vande Mataram also sowed the seeds of partition. Today’s generation needs to know that why was this injustice done with this ‘maha mantra’ of nation building..this divisive mindset is still a challenge for the country,” he said.

Noting that “Vande Mataram” is relevant in every era, the prime minister, in an apparent reference to Operation Sindoor, said, “When the enemy dared to attack our security and honour using terrorism, world saw that India knows how to take the form of Durga”.

The prime minister said as the country marks 150 years of “Vande Mataram”, it give us new inspiration and fills people of the country with new energy.

“Vande Mataram is a word, a mantra, an energy, a dream, a resolve. It is the devotion to Mother India, the worship of Mother India. It connects us to our history and gives our future new courage. There is no resolve that cannot be achieved, no goal that we Indians cannot accomplish. We have to build a nation which is at the top on basis of knowledge, science and technology,” he said.

The programme marks the formal launch of the year-long nationwide commemoration — from November 7, 2025 to November 7, 2026 — celebrating 150 years of the timeless composition that inspired India’s freedom movement and continues to evoke national pride and unity.

The song was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterji on the occasion of Akshaya Navami, which fell on November 7 in 1875.

The song first appeared in the literary journal, “Bangadarshan”, as part of Chatterji’s novel, “Anandamath”.

New Delhi, Nov 07: The Supreme Court on Friday took note of the “alarming rise” in dog bite cases in institutional areas like educational centres and hospitals, and directed that such canines should be moved to designated shelters.

A three-judge special bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria passed a slew of directions in the stray dogs case, including asking the authorities to ensure removal of cattle and other stray animals from highways and expressways, and their relocation to designated shelters.

The bench directed the authorities to prevent the ingress of stray dogs into the premises of government and private educational institutions and hospitals, etc., to prevent dog bite incidents.

It directed that stray dogs picked up from such institutions shall not be released back in the same place.

The bench asked the authorities, including the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), to undertake a joint drive to identify stretches of highways where stray animals are frequently found.

It fixed the matter for further hearing on January 13.

On November 3, the apex court said it will pass interim directions to tackle the issue of “grave menace” of dog bites in institutional areas, where employees feed and encourage stray dogs.

The apex court is hearing a suo motu case, which was initiated on July 28 over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital.

It had expanded the scope of the stray dogs case beyond the confines of Delhi-National Capital Region, and directed that all states and Union territories be made parties in the matter.