1971 Tripura hero finally gets memorial park

AGARTALA: Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Tuesday inaugurated a sprawling park named after 1971 war hero Lance Naik Albert Ekka, who along with his comrades saved the city from Pakistani aggression. Ekka, who was then 28, belonged to Gumla district of then undivided Bihar. The pitched battle of Hilli was among the most crucial in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Pakistani resistance at Gangasagar in erstwhile East Pakistan collapsed through the exemplary valour of Ekka — at the cost of his life. IANS

Vistara first to ban eating gutkha onboard

NEW DELHI: After a complaint from a passenger to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha and a prod from the government, Tata-Singapore Airlines’ joint venture Vistara on Tuesday banned the consumption of gutkha (tobacco) on board its flights and on all its facilities. This would make Vistara possibly the first Indian airline to ban the consumption of gutkha, a menace and health hazard. Sinha had recently said the government would evaluate banning onboard gutka consumption. Smoking is already banned on all Indian airlines’ flights. TNS