Nat'l consultation to empower sanitation workers in Jodhpur
Jodhpur: A two-day national consultation titled "Samvaad evam Manthan – Empowering Sanitation Workers for Skills, Safety and Dignity" concluded here Friday. The event was jointly organised by the Panchayati Raj department of the state and UNICEF, Rajasthan.
Aimed at empowering sanitation workers, the conclave witnessed participation from representatives of 10 states – Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Odisha, and Bihar – including UNICEF officials, senior state govt administrators, civil society members, and sanitation worker representatives. The deliberations at the conclave revolved around the critical role sanitation workers play in the operation and maintenance of rural sanitation assets under the
Swachh Bharat Mission
Gramin Phase-2 – including toilets, soak pits, and drainage systems. tnn
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Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
Nat'l consultation to empower sanitation workers in Jodhpur
Jodhpur: A two-day national consultation titled "Samvaad evam Manthan – Empowering Sanitation Workers for Skills, Safety and Dignity" concluded here Friday. The event was jointly organised by the Panchayati Raj department of the state and UNICEF, Rajasthan. Aimed at empowering sanitation workers, the conclave witnessed participation from representatives of 10 states – Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Odisha, and Bihar – including UNICEF officials, senior state govt administrators, civil society members, and sanitation worker representatives. The deliberations at the conclave revolved around the critical role sanitation workers play in the operation and maintenance of rural sanitation assets under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin Phase-2 – including toilets, soak pits, and drainage systems. tnn
India.com
3 days ago
- India.com
Safest building in the world, it can't be destroyed by nuclear bomb, not White House, not Pentagon, it is..., located in..., name is...
Safest building in the world, it can't be destroyed by nuclear bomb, not White House, not Pentagon, it is..., located in..., name is... There is tension between Iran and Israel. Recently, US has also attacked Iran's nuclear sites with its B-2 bomber. Although there has been a ceasefire between the two countries, the tension does not seem to be reducing. In such a situation, people believe that the world seems to be on the verge of a big war. There is a lot of discussion about the Third World War in Western countries. Many people have even started preparing for how to keep themselves safe in the midst of destructive situations. In such a situation, people's attention is drawn towards which place can be safe in a situation like the Third World War and nuclear attack. There is a house in Britain which is more secure than the White House, the official residence of the US President. It is claimed that it is safe even in a nuclear attack. What is the name of this house? The name of this house is 'Doctor Who's mansion'. It is the only place in Britain that will remain safe even if the Third World War breaks out. With everyone worried about the possibility of a Third World War, a house has been described as the safest place in Britain in case of a nuclear holocaust. Whose property is this? Documents uncovered by the BBC in 2016 reveal that a mansion in the middle of the British countryside, which was once used to film Doctor Who, would be used as an escape route in case of any serious attack. Wood Norton Hall, located in the middle of the woodsof Worcestershire, was bought by the BBC before World War II. The BBC acquired this property to act as a backup broadcasting center at a safe distance from London and other sensitive cities as a result of attacks on Britain. It has been hardened to… In the 1960s, the estate was converted into a hardened section capable of withstanding a nuclear attack. It was named the Protected Area Wood Norton (Wood Norton Protected Area). The building thus became one of 11 protected facilities built to continue the wartime broadcasting service in the event of a nuclear means that this fort-like mansion built in the middle of Norton Forest can withstand a nuclear attack in a situation like the Third World War and from here, BBC will be able to easily broadcast its news uninterrupted.
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First Post
3 days ago
- First Post
Catnaps, a chemical toilet and more: Inside America's 37-hour B-2 bomber mission into Iran and back
Flying a 37-hour bombing mission to Iran, B-2 pilots faced extreme physical and mental stress. They prepared with sleep simulations, strict nutritional plans and chemical assistance — using sleeping pills pre-mission and amphetamines during flight. Inside a cramped cockpit, rest came in shifts, with only cots, 'piddle packs' and personal grit for support read more Seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers from the United States Air Force embarked on a 37-hour round-trip journey from Missouri's Whiteman Air Force Base to Iranian territory and back. The mission, targeting three fortified nuclear-related facilities in Iran, marked not just a display of military precision but also of extreme endurance. The mission's scale was enormous. Over 125 aircraft were mobilised, including multiple bombers, surveillance platforms, fighter escorts and aerial refuelling tankers. Of the seven B-2s involved in the strike, each aircraft carried two crew members, executing coordinated bomb runs within a tight 30-minute window over their targets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Although officials have not publicly confirmed specific mission details, parallels can be drawn with earlier long-range bomber operations such as the 44-hour sortie flown by now-retired US Colonel Melvin G Deaile in 2001 during the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom. Describing the Iran raid as 'an incredible feat,' CNN quoted Deaile who highlighted the uniqueness of seven B-2s operating over target areas simultaneously and executing independent bombing trajectories. What goes into a 37-hour B-2 mission Operating a B-2 Spirit over such long distances involves meticulous pre-flight conditioning for pilots. Crews assigned to missions of this length typically undergo days, sometimes weeks, of physical and mental preparation. These include regulated sleep cycles, nutritional planning, and simulator training. Pilots are also trained to manage digestion and hydration — factors that directly affect alertness and comfort in a cockpit with minimal amenities. 'The flight doc did have what we call 'go pills' authorised for use — amphetamines,' Deaile recalled of his own Afghanistan mission, though he acknowledged policy may have changed since then. He also described taking 'sleeping pills to help them rest in the days leading up to the bombings.' Retired Lieutenant General Steve Basham, a former B-2 pilot who flew combat sorties during the 1999 Kosovo conflict, confirmed that the physical strain is more than incidental. 'We go through sleep studies, we actually go through nutritional education to be able to teach each one of us: one, what wakes us up and then what helps us go to sleep,' he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Basham's preferred inflight meal was as unassuming as the mission was demanding: 'turkey sandwiches on wheat bread, no cheese,' to minimise digestion issues. The compact design of the B-2 limits crew mobility. Each cockpit includes a makeshift cot tucked behind the seats where one pilot can rest while the other remains alert. Pilots are required to be in their seats during takeoff, midair refuelling, time over hostile territory and landing — leaving little opportunity for extended rest. Even bodily functions require creative solutions. The cockpit includes a chemical toilet without partitions, leading Deaile to explain, 'Privacy is the guy looks the other way.' To manage hydration needs, pilots drink around a bottle of water per hour and use 'piddle packs,' absorbent bags designed to contain urine. Deaile and his fellow pilot once amused themselves by calculating the cumulative weight of their used packs midflight — one of the few ways to pass time on a multi-day sortie. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How the B-2 was able to stay in the air for 37 hours Despite the B-2's design capability to fly more than 6,000 nautical miles without refuelling, most long-duration missions necessitate multiple midair refuellings. This involves delicate manoeuvring at high altitude and in close formation with a tanker aircraft, whose refuelling boom must be blindly aligned with the bomber from behind. Pilots can't see the boom; instead, they rely on illuminated reference markers and practiced routines. 'Refuelling is done blind,' Basham explained. 'At night, especially on moonless flights, the task becomes what Basham called 'inherently dangerous.'' Fatigue exacerbates the difficulty of these manoeuvres, particularly on the return leg of such an extended operation. The pilots' concentration must remain razor-sharp despite dwindling energy levels and erratic sleep. 'The adrenaline goes away,' Basham said. 'You try to get a little bit of rest and you still got that one last refuelling.' Nevertheless, the prospect of returning to US airspace after hours over hostile terrain offers motivation. 'The one thing that's going to lift them up is they're going to enter the coast of the United States again and they're going to get that 'welcome home' from a US controller,' Basham added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The first combat use of US' most powerful bomb Saturday's operation marked a significant moment in US military history with the first-ever combat deployment of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). Weighing 30,000 pounds, the bomb is designed to destroy hardened underground facilities, such as the fortified installations reportedly targeted in Iran. Only the B-2 is capable of carrying these weapons due to their size and weight. Each of the seven B-2s in the raid is believed to have carried two of these munitions, totalling over a dozen MOPs dropped in the operation. Basham, reflecting on this unprecedented payload, remarked, 'It'll be interesting to hear from the pilots,' referencing the unusual shift in aircraft weight that occurs after releasing such enormous bombs. Despite the increased firepower and operational intensity, Pentagon officials reported no direct engagement from Iranian defence systems. Unlike earlier combat zones where B-2s flew amidst anti-aircraft fire or visible missile trails, this operation proceeded without a single shot being fired at either the bombers or their F-35 escorts. The human touch behind a $2 billion aircraft Despite its cutting-edge technology — including stealth capabilities that reduce detection by radar, heat, and sound — the success of any B-2 mission ultimately rests on its crew. The aircraft's two-person team assumes responsibilities once distributed across larger crews on older platforms like the B-1B or B-52. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The B-2's fly-by-wire control system, once lag-prone in its earlier iterations, has seen software improvements over the decades. These enhancements have made precision flight and refueling operations more responsive, but the human element remains irreplaceable. 'Our pilots make it look easy, but it's far from easy,' Basham noted. The complexity of a mission like this one extends beyond the cockpit. Hundreds of personnel on the ground worldwide are involved in mission planning, logistics, and maintenance. From simulator operators and intelligence analysts to aircraft technicians and mission briefers, a globe-spanning support infrastructure undergirds every moment in the air. What will replace the B-2 Spirit bombers Though the B-2 Spirit remains an elite symbol of US airpower, its era is winding down. The US Air Force plans to replace the B-2 and B-1 fleets with at least 100 B-21 Raiders over the coming decades. Still, with a per-hour operating cost of $65,000, the B-2 continues to deliver what other platforms cannot — deep-penetration stealth capability over great distances. The 37-hour Iran mission demonstrated the extraordinary resilience of its pilots. As Deaile reflected from his own record-setting flight decades ago: 'We just knew that if the president made the call, we were going to fly.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
