
BPL to offer free entry for cricket fans
BCA treasurer Sheetal Mehta announced that no entry fee would be charged for spectators. The title trophy for the league was unveiled on Thursday in the presence of team owners, players, and BCA officials.
BCA president Pranav Amin said the BPL would provide a valuable platform for local talent to shine and potentially catch the eye of national selectors.
As a mark of respect for the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash, the BCA refrained from organising an elaborate launch ceremony on Thursday.
However, Devendra Surti, BCA member and head of the Cricket Hitrakshak Samiti, urged the association to consider postponing the tournament in light of the tragedy.
This year's edition features five privately owned teams. Amin added that while the franchises were sold to owners for this season, the BCA may consider introducing a player auction system from the next edition if the league gains traction.
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New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Orissa High Court nullifies fraudulent land sale, protects SC heirs in Keonjhar case
CUTTACK: In a significant judgment, the Orissa High Court has nullified a series of disputed land transactions involving undivided joint property in Baniapat Khuntapada, Keonjhar district, citing serious irregularities, fraud, and violation of Scheduled Caste rights. Justice SK Panigrahi, in his order on July 18, held the sale deeds and all derivative rights arising from them as invalid, directing a freeze on compensation disbursement to the buyers of the land which was later acquired for a national highway project. He also directed the collector of Keonjhar to launch an inquiry into the lapses and initiate disciplinary action against erring officials, if necessary. The case revolves around 4.40 acre of ancestral not partitioned land jointly owned by three brothers and three sisters belonging to a Scheduled Caste family. The three sisters Srimati Sethi, Saraswati Sethy and Malati Behera approached the court after being excluded from a series of sales of portions of the land executed between 2011 and 2014 by their brothers without their consent. Advocate Dayananda Mohapatra represented the petitioners. The land was sold to Dillip Kumar Pati, a member of the general caste, via a dubious intermediary Balaram Patra, a daily wage labourer and BPL cardholder with no visible means to conduct transactions worth crores. The court noted that Patra's role raised serious concerns suggestive of a potentially orchestrated pattern of irregularity. The court found that original executants Tulasi and Maheswar Sethy were illiterate and likely unaware of the legal implications of the thumb impression-based sale deeds. The transactions, Justice Panigrahi stated, appeared to be part of a carefully engineered arrangement designed to exclude lawful coparceners (equal shareholders). The land was later acquired for a National Highway project in 2015, with Rs 6.96 crore initially disbursed as compensation which was later on appeal enhanced to Rs 21.08 crore. While disposing of the petition, the high court has now directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) not to release any compensation to Dillip or his nominees, and recover any funds already paid. NHAI has been asked to initiate an apportionment process with participation from all rightful heirs. Mutation entries in Dillip's name have also been suspended pending lawful partition.


Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
After crash, red flags, government & Air India brainstorm on safety
After crash, red flags, government & Air India brainstorm on safety NEW DELHI: Brainstorming is on at the highest levels of the Tata Group and the aviation ministry to put Air India back on track after the spate of bad news, led by the June 12 AI 171 crash and regulatory actions in the past few months. Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran met Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu and aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha on Friday after three days of detailed discussions between the airline management (headed by CEO Campbell Wilson) and officials (headed by the secretary) led to concrete suggestions. "We have discussed all issues threadbare, including those related to maintenance, leadership and communications. Something positive will come out of this. India needs strong carriers and govt will support airlines wherever needed. The results will hopefully be visible in coming days once the suggestions are implemented," said people in the know. Chandrasekaran said to have told govt about safety steps taken by AI One such meeting went on till well after 10 pm earlier this week. Sources say Chandrasekaran informed govt about steps being taken by the airline after the AI 171 crash and some recent incidents to bolster safety. "Basically, govt was informed how AI plans to win back flyers' confidence," they said. It is learnt that the areas identified during the recent meetings for immediate attention include airworthiness, engineering and maintenance. A lack of spares, for instance, often forces aircraft to fly under the "minimum equipment list" (MEL) for a long time. MEL is a list that conditionally allows aircraft to be used with some equipment inoperative, with the condition that the same does not impact safety and that it would be replaced within a certain timeframe. The main issue, say multiple people involved in the exercise, is of culture. "Vistara was merged into AI last Nov. Ideally, it should have been the other way round. But that is done. Both airlines have a very different culture and AI is now facing post-merger issues. During the meetings, solutions were suggested. The main issue is not operations but about engineering and maintenance," they said. For some time, having the better-run Singapore Airlines (SIA) - which holds a 25.1% stake in AI, with the rest with the Tatas - play a more visible handholding may be considered. It's not about the image of AI alone, which has taken a beating, but also of the Maharaja's new promoters: Tatas and SIA. The focus has to be on ensuring 100% safety, not on growing rapidly. AI has cut flights after the Ahmedabad crash. "The culture has to change to safety first, not just for AI but for all airlines. 'Sacrifice growth, but ensure safety' has to be the firm message across the board," they said. The example being cited is of Boeing, which went on a rollercoaster ride in recent years, from being a "marvellous organisation once celebrated for engineering excellence" to an airline cutting corners for commercial reasons when it tried to counter competitor Airbus' best-seller A320NEO planes with a hurriedly made B737 MAX. After two MAX crashes in quick succession, Boeing is now trying hard to win back customer airlines' and flyers' faith by again making safe planes.


Time of India
15 hours ago
- Time of India
High court glare on property deals
Cuttack: Orissa high court has struck down multiple land transactions involving portions of 4.40 acres of undivided ancestral property in Baniapat Khuntapada and Keonjhar, citing deliberate exclusion of heirs, as well as procedural manipulation. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Accordingly, the court directed Keonjhar district collector to conduct an inquiry into the irregularities and initiate disciplinary action against erring officers. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also been directed not to release any compensation for the land that was acquired for a highway project and recover any disbursed funds. In the order on July 18, Justice S K Panigrahi declared the sale deeds and all subsequent transfers "vitiated" and legally invalid, observing that the transactions appeared to be a "carefully engineered arrangement" to deprive lawful coparceners (equal shareholders) of their rights. Portions of the land — jointly inherited by three brothers and three sisters — were sold between 2011 and 2014 by two of the brothers without the consent of their sisters. Things became complicated after the land was notified for acquisition in 2015 for a national highway project. An initial compensation of Rs 6.96 crore was awarded, but on appeal, it was enhanced to Rs 21.08 crore. The three sisters then approached the court. The court took note of the fact that the land was routed through Balaram Patra, a daily wage labourer and BPL cardholder, to Dillip Kumar Pati, a buyer from the general caste. "It is difficult to reconcile how a person of limited means could execute crores-worth transactions in months," Justice Panigrahi observed. Justice Panigrahi also came down heavily on the revenue authorities for granting sale permissions and processing mutations without proper scrutiny. "The role of revenue officials reflects not just negligence, but raises a reasonable apprehension of institutional complicity," the court said.