BJP scripts history in Kerala as 86-year-old Rajagopal wins Nemom Seat

Newsroom, May 5: Following the union government's nod, preparations are afoot to bring back Indian nationals stranded abroad from May 7 onwards.

According to sources, in the first phase from May 7- 14, the government would allow more than 60 “non-scheduled, commercial” flights to operate from about 12 countries to India to bring back 15,000 citizens. At least half of those flights will be from the Gulf region, including UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, while the rest would bring passengers from the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Bangladesh.

The flights would be spread over 10 States identified as having the largest numbers to return, with Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Delhi (NCR) receiving the maximum number of flights.

A meeting held at the Ministry of Civil Aviation looked specifically at flights, mainly operated by Air India, while it awaits a final plan from countries where Indians need to be airlifted from. The first flights planned at present are from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh and Doha, flying directly to Kozhikode and Kochi.

While the full estimate of Indians needing to return home could cross ten lakhs (a million), with more than two lakhs having registered to return from the UAE alone, officials said their return would be “prioritised and staggered”.

Flight plan for return of Indian nationals stranded abroad:

Bengaluru, Mar 15: All 21 Madhya Pradesh MLAs from Jyotiraditya Scindia's camp, who were lodged here at Prestige Golfshire Club, have been shifted to Ramada hotel in Yelahanka ahead of Monday's floor test in the state assembly.

In view of their arrival, the concerned authorities have strengthened security outside the hotel.

Following the exit of Scindia from Congress, these MLAs claimed to have resigned from the state Legislative Assembly.

On March 11, Congress sent two of its leaders -- Sajjan Singh Verma and Govind Singh -- to Bengaluru in order to pacify some of these rebel MLAs.

Most of the rebel MLAs are perceived close to Scindia and were apparently unhappy at Scindia being "ignored" in the party.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress MLAs, who arrived in Bhopal from Jaipur today morning ahead of the floor test in the Assembly on Monday, have been shifted to Courtyard by Marriott Hotel.

These MLAs were accompanied by senior Congress leader Harish Rawat, who exuded confidence of Kamal-Nath led government winning floor test in the Assembly.

Both Congress and BJP have issued whips to all its MLAs for the legislative assembly session in Madhya Pradesh, which is scheduled to be held from March 16 to April 13.

On Saturday, Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon had directed that a floor test will be held in the assembly on Monday.

Shivamogga, Jun 30: The organic farmers' market in Shivamogga in Karnataka has seen a rise in the demand for organic fruits and vegetables in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Residents of nearby areas frequently visit the market to get fresh produce.

According to Sridhar, a farmer who sells his produce in the market, the demand for organic fruits and vegetables was very low before the coronavirus outbreak.

"I have been involved in organic farming for the last two decades but there was no real market. Since these days everyone is trying to boost their immunity, we are getting a lot of positive response from the locals," he told news agency.

Sridhar and other farmers come from villages near the city. They are authentic organic farmers under the Vikas Trust and Savayava Krishi Parivar, a federation of organic farmer's families based in Karnataka, and they promote pesticide and fertiliser free agriculture.

Gurumel Singh, who often comes to the local market said, "My family has started eating more organic fruits and vegetable now because of the pandemic. We have been told it is important to take care of our health and organic fruits and vegetables are good immunity boosters. The fruits I buy from the organic market are also much sweeter than the ones I get elsewhere."