Rishikesh

The Government has failed to enforce building regulations The rules prohibit residential buildings in a radius of 900 m from the air base The Government can deny permission for construction of buildings A circular issued by the Bidar Urban Development Authority is vague Minister plans to convene a meeting to discuss the issue Bidar: The State Government's failure to enforce the prohibition on civilian settlements in a radius of 900 m around the Air Force Training Base here has compromised safety. On March 18, an aircraft of the "Surya Kiran" aerobatics team of the Indian Air Force crashed on the outskirts of Bidar killing two pilots. The wreckage of the aircraft fell less than 40 ft from a college building and 200 m from a residential area. Air Force sources say the pilots avoided loss of civilian life by diverting the flight path just before the crash. Senior IAF officials say the Government should, without further delay, enforce the prohibition on civilia

BIDAR’S PRIDE, BANGALORE’S ENVY Bidar sees a silent revolution S Kushala & Rishikesh Bahadur Desai | Times of India  Bidar: The Advanced Jet Trainer Hawks fly above with deafening speed. Bulldozers and earth-moving equipment roar to life and mow down buildings. Partially demolished structures, rubble, men clearing debris — it looks like a warravaged zone.      On the other side, vast stretches of ring road lined with trees and manicured median, run parallel to the Air Force station. Wide roads with a row of palms in the middle, roads meandering through two huge mountains into a valley, and colourful Surya Kirans doing sorties in the clear skies.      A silent revolution has been happening in the most backward district over the past two years, with the mantra being infrastructure development. Change came to Bidar with young IAS officer Harsh Gupta, deputy commissioner, who set the ball rolling.      Bidar town is now being branded at the national level as a model city.

BIDAR: Preparations for receiving the `Hawk' Advanced Jet Trainer are almost complete at the Bidar Air Force Station. The first Hawk is expected to arrive from the British Aerospace Systems in 18 months. Air Force sources told  The Hindu  that 80 per cent of the Rs. 150-crore civil works at the Bidar base had been completed. They include upgrading the runway to international standards. There will also be a landing Instrument Landing System facility to enable planes land and take off in bad weather. Other works such as construction of three new hangars for parking planes is also nearly complete. Computer systems The computer systems are being overhauled and this includes upgrading the electronic and computer systems at the air base. Improved versions of Geographical Information System and Global Positioning System will be installed at the Air Traffic Control towers and at the base command and control offices. The non-technical works include construction of quarte