88 airports to be functional under UDAN, says minister

Karwar, Feb 9: It has now come to the knowledge that a Karwar youth identified as Abhishek (26) who is on board a cruise ship that was turned away at a Japan port has reached out for help. The vessel was carrying coronavirus infected tourists onboard.

On Friday, Japan had reported 41 confirmed cases in the vessel which is currently docked at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Tokyo. Abhishek works as a steward in Diamond Princess ship owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The reports say that he is not infected by the virus. Around 3,700 people have been confined aboard the ship. The total number of Indian nationals is not yet confirmed.

Abhishek who hails from Canara Bank colony in Karwar in Karnataka on Saturday morning through a video call appealed to the Indian government to evacuate him from the ship and deport to India, while the company, where he works, has said the Indian Embassy in Japan is in continuous contact with the concerned authorities in Japan

Abhishek in his call to parents said “I am scared of the ship as the people are quarantined and the ship is isolated. Please contact government officials to evacuate me from the ship and deport me to India.”

Father of Abhishek, Balakrishna B talking to ToI said the Karwar district administration and the company he is working with have asked not to panic. The deputy commissioner (DC) of Karwar said Japan is performing normal procedures to contain the spread of the deadly virus which killed over 600 people across the world.

Indian embassy in Japan in its statement mailed to the parent of Abhishek said “As you are aware that the Diamond Princess cruise ship is presently under quarantine for a period of 14 days from Feb 5 due to positively tested cases of coronavirus onboard. All passengers and crew members on board have to follow the health and safety regulations put in place by the Japanese ministry of health, labour and welfare”

The embassy official, Anil K Kalra further said the office is in constant touch with the Japanese authorities who have assured that all passengers and the crew members of the ship are being taken care of and kept under health monitoring and there is no cause to worry. The official said “we are trying to reach out to all Indian nationals onboard to know about their well being and assure all possible help at this difficult juncture.

DC of Karwar, Harish Kumar K urged the parents not to panic and his office has sent a letter to state the government that will be forwarded to the ministry of external affairs. Japan is doing standard operating procedures to contain the virus and as of now, Abhishek is secure and safe.

Mangaluru, Jan 27: No power can now stop Kashmiri Pandits from going back to Kashmir, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday, forcefully defending the NDA government’s decision to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir and abrogating its special status under Article 370.

Addressing a massive pro-CAA, NRC rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party at Gold Finch city, Kuloor, on the outskirts of the city, the Defence minister also sent a strong message to Pakistan and said India will not let anyone live in peace if it is harmed.

"We will not touch anyone, but if someone bothers us, then we are not going to let them live in peace," he said.

Referring to the exodus of a large number of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the late 1990s at the height of militancy, Singh said no power now can stop them from returning to their homes.

On the Citizenship Amendment Act, the minister said it is not a law to hurt the sentiments of any religion but to give relief to victims of religious persecution.

Mahatma Gandhi had told Nehru to give citizenship to minorities like Hindus and Sikhs if they come to India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled that vision by bringing in the law, Singh said.

On several non-BJP states refusing to implement the CAA, the defence minister said it it is a central law and everyone should follow it.

Accusing the Congress of misleading people on the issue, he said the party should not forget its duty towards the nation just because it is in opposition.

May 6: Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday termed as "inhumane" the government's decision to "impose excessive costs" on NRIs and expatriates for bringing them into the country from COVID-19-affected nations.

He demanded that the central government fly in the poor and vulnerable free of cost while charge the others with normal fares instead of high costs.

"The central government's decision to impose excessive costs on NRIs flying in special flights from the Covid-affected countries is an inhumane act," he said in a statement.

Venugopal said it was due to protests by a large number of expatriates and their relatives as well as the general public over the past few days that the central government took the decision to bring back Indian citizens from abroad.

"However, it is cruel that the Central government has taken advantage of this plight of expatriates by increasing the price of air fares up to three times. This is inhumane," Venugopal said in his statement.

He urged the Centre to take urgent steps to provide free travel to the most vulnerable, unemployed, sick and pregnant women and to others on normal fare.

Air India will operate 64 repatriation flights for a week from May 7 while the Navy deployed two ships as India rolled out a massive evacuation plan on Tuesday to bring back thousands of its nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

Those availing the repatriation flights will be charged, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told a virtual press conference in New Delhi. A passenger on a London-Delhi flight will be charged Rs 50,000 and on a Dhaka-Delhi flight Rs 12,000, he added.

From the Gulf countries to Malaysia and the UK to the US, the multi-agency operation christened 'Vande Bharat Mission' will see the state-owned airline operate the non-scheduled commercial flights till May 13 to ferry around 15,000 Indian nationals from 12 countries.