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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved...

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved up and revived in the past few years, AI official sources said.   It marked a symbolic milestone for Air India itself - founded in 1932 by the legendary Bharat Ratna J. R. R. Tata - which once ruled the roost and was India’s pride in the global skies.   Once renowned for its royal service with the iconic Maharaja welcoming fliers on board, in 1953 it was taken over by the government of India. After years of piling losses, ageing aircraft, decline in operations and standards – almost like a Maharaja turning a pauper - it returned to the Tata Group four years ago.   This time it was not just the aircraft, the brand and the deflated Maharaja coming into the large-hearted Tata Group stables, but a formidable challenge to ensure that the airline could regain its old glory and glitter. Of the total around 190 aircraft in its fleet were 30 – or 15 pc – that had been grounded and neglected for years.   At that time, the late Ratan N. Tata had directed that all these valuable aircraft must be revived as far as possible and join the fleet. Accordingly, the VT-ALL, languishing at Nagpur for nearly five years, was ‘hospitalized’ at the Air India Engineering Service Ltd., its MRO facility in May 2025.   New Avatar Then started a thorough, painstaking nose-to-tail restoration of an unprecedented scale, in which over 3000 critical components were replaced, over 4,000 maintenance tasks executed, besides key structural upgrades like the longeron modification, engines, auxiliary power units, avionics, hydraulics, landing gears and almost every vital system was rebuilt or replaced.   After the repairs, the old aircraft was reborn, under the gaze of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and technical assistance from Boeing, and the new ‘avatar’ jetliner emerged with the highest global safety standards.   The aircraft cleared all the rigorous checks, a successful test flight, earned the mandatory Airworthiness Review Certificate and then made its maiden commercial flight from Monday, March 16 – after a wait of six years.   Sturdy Fliers Created in 1946 to become an instant global icon, the Air India’s mascot Maharaja now sports a youthful and chic look, a welcome with folded hands, closed eyes, featuring a bejewelled turban, stylish jootis, and a textured kurta in Air India’s new colours. He is prominently visible at various touch-points in a flyer’s journey, such as First Class, exclusive lounges, and luxury products.   Today, he commands a mix fleet of around 190 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft like : A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A350-900 and B787-8, B787-9, B7770200LR, B-777-300ER. With the merger of Vistara and agreements signed for 10 A350 and 90 A320 aircraft, the Maharaja’s fleet is slated to soar to some 570 in the near future.

Government Apathy Fuels the Exodus of the Konkani-Manoos

Updated: Dec 24, 2024

The Konkani-manoos grapple with government neglect, shrinking opportunities, escalating migration, and an eroding cultural identity. It’s time for the state to tackle these urgent challenges.

Konkani-Manoos

Now that the celebrations are done for, the new state government may need to take a step out of their comfort zones (Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Nashik) and travel to the last district of western Maharashtra to gather some harsh reality and facts about the plight of the Marathi manoos in the region.


It appears that while our very own politicians seem keen on fighting for the rights of the Marathi-speaking population settled across the border in Belgaum, Karnataka, they are very unaware of the situation in their own backyard.


Although migration has been a well-established tradition in the Konkan region for centuries (since the 1800s, especially to the cities of Mumbai which had a flourishing textile industry due to its many mills) since the last few years the condition of the Konkani-manoos has witnessed changes on many fronts.


The entry of traders and businessmen from the states of Rajasthan, Bihar, Punjab, Orissa, and West Bengal across the Konkan belt, mainly from Ratnagiri to Sindhudurg has been forcing many locals to shift to the neighbouring sunny state of Goa not only for employment but permanent residency as well.


The most interesting part of this change can be witnessed in the closure of many Marathi medium schools that have shut down over the past few years. The ones that remain continue to run with hardly a handful of children in attendance.


Interestingly, in several villages along the Maharashtra – Goa border, families (who initially enrolled their children in government-aided Marathi medium schools) prefer sending their wards to Goa instead. Free transport and access to English education at subsidised costs appear to be the main pull for most families in these villages to send their children to study in these schools. 


One of the members of the gram panchayat from Madura, the last village on the Mahrashtra-Goa border, informs us that most families in Konkan want their children to learn English and not Marathi as they believe their children will fall behind later in life. And since Goa appears to be a mere ‘hop, skip, and jump’ away with the Goan government offering many subsidies, it seems fair for the families to send their wards there.


“The only drawback there is that our children are learning Goan history and culture and once they finish education they have to come back to Maharashtra. They are completely disconnected with the history and culture of Maharashtra,” he says, adding that the unemployment rate in Konkan, especially in Sindhudurg is so high that most youngsters, once they finish school eventually end up in Goa working in hotels or automobile garages for a pittance.


Residents of Madura, Padlos, Kaas, Ronapal, and Sherle – the Panchakrishi or five main villages, confess that for several years now they have been vehemently pushing for their villages and homes to be merged in Goan state as they continue to be neglected under the current state government.


Frequent electricity shortages, lack of local employment, local jobs being taken away by migrants from other states, and constant neglect from politicians have pushed the Konkani manoos to the edge. The rising costs of living in cities like Mumbai and Pune too have put off many locals from migrating there unlike their forefathers.


There are no permanent government jobs for locals anymore. Even recruitments for the state electricity board or railways are outsourced. In the touristy towns of Malvan, Sawantwadi, and Banda, one gets to see several industries (from selling building equipment and local groceries to even hotels and bakeries) being operated by migrants from Rajasthan and Kerala.


Gangadhar Keni, a 60-year-old mason from Nigude village, informs us that he is unable to make a steady living because his boss, a local Marathi contractor, prefers hiring Bihari migrants, as they are affordable and ready to work 12 hours a day. Even simple jobs like that of a plumber have also been taken away by migrants from Orissa who have settled themselves in the area for over a decade now.


With the opening of the Mopa airport, the prices of property in and around Sindhudurg (which incidentally borders Goa state) have skyrocketed to such an extent that the only buyers willing to pay these astronomical amounts are from Delhi and Kerala, indirectly forcing the Konkani manoos to sell as nothing appears to be working for him now.


So the next time our politicians may want to discuss the Belgaum issue, they may want to look closer back home first.


(The author is a senior journalist based in Mumbai. Views personal.)

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