Lockdown: Cargo aircraft with essential commodities land at

A cargo aircraft loaded with essential commodities landed at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport here on Saturday, the first since the 21-day lockdown was imposed to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, officials said.

The cargo flight operated by Air India landed at 1.40 pm carrying essential items weighing 457 kg from Kolkata, an airport official said.

A helicopter landed at the airport on Friday carrying 33,000 Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), 7,000 N 95 masks, hand sanitisers and other medical items from Kolkata, he said.

Meanwhile, state Health Secretary Debasish Basu said no COVID-19 case has been detected in the state so far, adding there is no dearth of medical equipment.

On the other hand, Airports Authority of India Regional Director for Northeast, Sanjeev Jindal said the AAI has started a cargo flight to the region.

"We have decided along with the help of Centre to operate a cargo flight in the North-eastern region. The Ministry of Aviation has accepted our request and a flight of Air India has started operating from today itself. The flight will not only carry the medical emergency but also other essential commodities," he said in a video message.