The countrywide truckers’ stir has been called off as the government assured that it would consult stakeholders before implementing a contentious law against hit-and-run. After long talks with the government, the All-India Motor Transport Congress called off the agitation.

“We had a discussion with All India Motor Transport Congress representatives… the government wants to say that the new rule has not been implemented yet. We all want to say that before implementing Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita 106/2, we will have a discussion with All India Motor Transport Congress representatives and then only we will take a decision,” Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said this evening.  
 
“The new laws have not been implemented. It will be implemented only after consultation with All India Transport Congress,” confirmed Bal Malkit, the chairman of the AIMTC’s core committee.

The protest was over the Section 106(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita or BNS — which is set to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code — which had provisions for strict penalty in hit-and-run cases. The truckers had threatened to hold an all-India strike, triggering panic about shortage of fuel and essential items.

The protests had spread across multiple states, including Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Under the new law, hit-and-run cases can attract up to 10 years in jail and a fine of Rs 7 lakh — against the current penalty of up to two-year jail term and a lighter fine. The maximum punishment of 10 years will kick in where the offender has caused death through rash driving and decamped without reporting the matter to the police.  

The truckers, cab drivers and others operating commercial vehicles are questioning how they would pay such a steep fine in case they meet with an accident.

Experts have warned about the possibility of misuse of the law, the process of informing authorities given the risk of public anger, and the nature of evidence that will be acceptable in case of a dispute.

Ira Khan, Aamir Khan and Reena Dutta’s daughter is set to tie the knot with her longtime beau, Nupur Shikhare. Ahead of the wedding, Aamir, Junaid Khan, Kiran Rao, Azad Rao Khan, and other family members arrived at Salman Khan’s home for the mehendi ceremony. 

After the haldi ceremony, Ira Khan and Nupur Shikhare’s mehendi ceremony is reportedly being held at Salman Khan’s home in Bandra, Mumbai. Aamir Khan was clicked arriving in a car along with his son Junaid. Reena Dutta was also clicked as she arrived for the occasion. 

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All 379 people aboard a Japan Airlines airliner escaped after a collision with a Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport that killed five of six crew on the smaller aircraft on Tuesday.

Video showed passengers being evacuated from the burning Airbus A350 by escape slides in relative calm and apparently without hand luggage, in an operation hailed as a “miracle”.

Aviation safety agencies have warned for years that pausing to collect carry-on baggage risks lives during an evacuation.

Following are major milestones in passenger aircraft evacuations in recent decades:

THE 1980s

Evacuation has been a key safety priority since at least the mid-1980s, when a British Airtours Boeing 737 was engulfed in flames at Manchester airport in Britain, killing 55 people.

Investigators of the 1985 disaster said the biggest cause of death was smoke inhalation following delays in opening doors and restricted access to emergency exits.

SAFETY STUDY

A 2000 U.S. safety study said that on average, an airliner evacuation for whatever cause happens every 11 days. Such events typically only make headlines when fire is involved, but have led to improvements in door mechanisms and emergency lighting.

However, new challenges are arising from the amount of luggage passengers are allowed to take on board.

Air crash investigators have recommended stronger in-flight briefings to urge passengers to leave behind those belongings when ordered to evacuate – but often with little effect.

‘REMARKABLE’

In 2016, amateur video showed passengers blocking aisles and grabbing bags from overhead bins as the cabin of an Emirates jet filled with smoke in Dubai. Cabin crew were praised after managing to evacuate all 300 people, despite the panic.

In 2018, Britain’s Royal Aeronautical Society recommended the automatic locking of overhead bins following a crash landing, noting that passengers often ignore safety briefings.

“It’s clearly a benefit if you’re not carrying your baggage,” Steve Creamer, an aviation safety consultant and former senior director at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), said following Tuesday’s Tokyo crash.

“It’s pretty remarkable that they got everybody off the airplane. That says a lot about the flight crew and the discipline of the people on board.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)