Indian Airlines and Air-India had to cancel or reschedule some of their flights today as pilots reported “sick” in the former and flight engineers did the same in the latter. According to Indian Airlines sources, a total of 53 pilots reported “sick” all over the country today leading to disruption of services. Six flights from Bombay to various destinations were cancelled. The pilots were initially demanding that those pilots who quit the national carrier and re-joined it should not be given their original seniority. Eleven pilots had come back to Indian Airlines after they had sent in their papers.

Rai spews wrath

In his inimitable style, the Food Minister, Mr. Kalpanath Rai, today virtually dismissed the Indian Sugar Mills Association’s (ISMA) demand for decontrol and delicensing of the sugar industry. Mr. Rai ridiculed the campaign on decontrol and delicensing. “After hearing your plea, I met the Prime Minister who said that the public distribution system has to continue. Your association claims that sugar is the cheapest source of energy. Then how can a country like ours deprive the poor of this cheap source of energy,” Mr. Rai asked.

‘Hong Kong NRIs can bring India and China closer’

The Vice-President, Mr. K. R. Narayanan, has asked the non-resident Indians in Hong Kong to play a crucial three-way role in joining in joint ventures with China and India and building closer economic ties between the two great Asian nations. Speaking at a reception accorded by the Hong Kong Indian associations at the Hong Kong Club on Friday, he said the NRIs here had made significant contributions in economic and technical fields.

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