Balloons, pigeon part of Pakistan's 'psychological operation'

October 5, 2016

Jammu, Oct 5: Balloons flying in with threatening and confusing messages post the Indian Army's surgical strikes are a form of "psychological operation" being carried out by Pakistan to unsettle those living in hamlets along the International Border in Jammu and Punjab, according to an officer of the border guarding force.

pigeon
The balloons and a pigeon with messages landed in Treva in Arnia sector of Jammu district, Raipur in Samba sector, Ghesal village in Dinanagar sector and Simbal post in Bamiyal sector in Pathankot along IB since October one.

"It is a type of psychological operation (Psy Ops) by people across the border to demoralise the border population and confuse security agencies", a senior BSF officer, who did not wished to be named, said.

Another officer wondered if Pakistanis were using the balloons to check India's response time. A balloon, which was carrying a message for someone to "carryout a task satisfactorily as we are sending you something," came from Pakistan and landed in Treva hamlet in the fields of Sunil yesterday.

"It was handed over to police by the villagers", a police officer said. Similarly on October 2, another such balloon landed up in Raipur border hamlet in Samba and was picked up by a child. It carried a message 'war is only revenge India', police said.

A pigeon, apparently flying in from across the border, was held after a letter written in Urdu and addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi was found with it by BSF personnel at the Simbal post in Bamiyal sector in Pathankot on Sunday.

Police said the message written on a piece of paper read: "Modiji, do not consider us the same people as we were during 1971 (Indo-Pak war).Now each and every child is ready to fight against India."

The pigeon was found by the BSF near their post, inspector of Narot Jaimal Singh Police Station (Pathankot) Ramesh Kumar had said. "The pigeon was carrying the letter when it was found," he said, adding the bird has been taken into "custody"."We are investigating the matter," Kumar said.

On October 1, two balloons with a message, written in Urdu and purportedly addressed to the Prime Minister were found at Ghesal village in Dinanagar near IB, which had witnessed a terror attack last year.

Police got the message, written on a piece of paper and pasted on the yellow-coloured balloons, translated. It read: "Modiji, Ayubi ki talwaren abhi hamare paas hain. Islam zindabad."

The balloons were first seen by a villager near his house yesterday and when he found the note written in Urdu, he handed them over to the police.

On August 16, a balloon carrying a Pakistan flag was found in Fatehpur village near the Indo-Pak border here, triggering panic among the residents.

"One balloon with a Pakistani flag landed in Fatehpur village here on August 14," the official said. The green coloured balloon had a picture of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and a message in Urdu, he said.

In July, the police had recovered a balloon from Jhande Chak village near Dinanagar.It had a picture of the Pakistani flag painted, along with a message 'I love Pakistan' written on it.

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News Network
December 20,2025

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At least seven elephants were killed and one calf injured after a herd collided with the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai on Saturday morning, leading to disruption of rail services. 

The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express struck a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. No passenger casualties or injuries were reported, officials said.

The New Delhi-bound train met with the accident around 2.17 am, PTI reported. The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram's Sairang (near Aizawl) to Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi). 

Railway has issued helpline numbers at the Guwahati Railway Station:-

•    0361-2731621
•    0361-2731622
•    0361-2731623

The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. Following the incident, accident relief trains and railway officials rushed to the spot to initiate rescue operations.

Train Services Disrupted

Sources said that due to the derailment and elephant body parts scattered on the tracks, train services to Upper Assam and other parts of the Northeast were affected.

Passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths available in other coaches of the train. Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be attached to accommodate all passengers, after which the train will resume its onward journey.

The incident occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. The loco pilot, upon spotting the herd on the tracks, applied emergency brakes. Despite this, the elephants dashed into the train, leading to the collision and derailment.

Last month, an elephant was killed after being hit by a train in Dhupguri in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. The incident took place on November 30. 

The adult elephant was killed on the spot, and a calf was discovered lying injured beside the tracks. 

Over 70 Elephants Killed In Train Collisions Over Last 5 Years

At least 79 elephants have died in train collisions across the country in the last five years, the Environment Ministry had informed Parliament in August.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh had said the figure is based on reports from state governments and Union Territory administrations for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.

He said that the ministry does not maintain consolidated data on the deaths of other wild animals on railway tracks, including in designated elephant corridors.

Singh confirmed that three elephants, including a mother and her calf, were killed on July 18 this year after being hit by a speeding express train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section in West Bengal's Paschim Midnapore district. The incident took place near Banstala between Jhargram and Banstala stations.

The minister said several measures have been taken jointly by the Environment Ministry and the Railways to prevent such accidents.

These include imposing speed restrictions in elephant habitats, pilot projects such as seismic sensor-based detection of elephants near tracks and construction of underpasses, ramps and fencing at vulnerable points.

The Wildlife Institute of India, in consultation with the ministry and other stakeholders, has also issued guidelines titled 'Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure' to help agencies design railways and other projects in ways that reduce human-animal conflicts.

Singh added that capacity-building workshops were conducted for railway officials at the Wildlife Institute of India in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness on elephant conservation and protection.

A detailed report titled 'Suggested Measures to Mitigate Elephant & Other Wildlife Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in India' had also been prepared after surveys across 127 railway stretches covering 3,452 km.

Of these, 77 stretches spanning 1,965 km in 14 states were prioritised for mitigation, with site-specific interventions suggested. 

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News Network
December 6,2025

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New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced major operational turbulence this week after failing to prepare for new pilot-fatigue regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The stricter rules—designed to improve flight safety—took effect in phases through 2024, with the latest implementation on November 1. IndiGo has acknowledged that inadequate roster planning led to widespread cancellations and delays.

Below are the key DGCA rules that affected IndiGo’s operations:

1. Longer Mandatory Weekly Rest

Weekly rest for pilots has been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours.

The government says the extended break is essential to curb cumulative fatigue. This rule remains in force despite the current crisis.

2. Cap on Night Landings

Pilots can now perform only two night landings per week—a steep reduction from the earlier limit of six.

Night hours, defined as midnight to early morning, are considered the least alert period for pilots.

Given the disruptions, this rule has been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo until February 10.

3. Reduced Maximum Night Flight Duty

Flight duty that stretches into the night is now capped at 10 hours.

This measure has also been kept on hold for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilize operations.

4. Weekly Rest Cannot Be Replaced With Personal Leave

Airlines can no longer count a pilot’s personal leave as part of the mandatory 48-hour rest.

Pilots say this closes a loophole that previously reduced actual rest time.

Currently, all airlines are exempt from this rule to normalise travel.

5. Mandatory Fatigue Monitoring

Airlines must submit quarterly fatigue reports along with corrective actions to DGCA.

This system aims to create a transparent fatigue-tracking framework across the industry.

The DGCA has stressed that these rules were crafted to strengthen flight safety and align India with global fatigue-management standards. The temporary relaxations are expected to remain until February 2025, giving IndiGo time to stabilise its schedules and restore normal air travel.

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