Book killers of Ashraf Kalai under UAPA; release Rs 30 lakh compensation: SDPI

Bengaluru, May 18: A large number of people in India are planning inter-city bus travel within a month of the lifting of travel restrictions, according to a randomised online survey of over 10,300 customers of redBus, India's largest online bus ticketing platform.

Nearly 57 per cent of the respondents are planning to travel within a month post the lockdown. However, there is a high standard of expectation on the implementation of measures to make buses safe for travel with over 79 per cent wanting deep cleaning and sanitisation of buses after every trip.

Hand sanitisers, mandatory masks and temperature screening for all passengers are next in expectations for bus travel. Over 78 per cent of the respondents want the implementation of hygienic conditions at boarding points and 70 per cent want social distancing protocols to be implemented at boarding points.

"The survey does underscore the fact that given the adherence to safety protocols, bus travel is possibly one of the safest options for travel since the number of travellers are fewer, checks can be done individually and the whole factor of pick up and drop as close to home as possible minimises the number of contacts throughout the journey," said redBus Chief Executive Officer Prakash Sangam.

In addition, online booking further reduces the number of contact points as people can book bus tickets directly from their home. Further, there is a heightened awareness of personal hygiene and safety measures which is important for the travel to be safe.

"The large number of people waiting to travel not only points to the need but also the importance it has for the revival of economic activity as very few of them would be travelling for leisure," said Sangam.

The survey also showed that passengers put a very high consideration on hygiene, sanitation and disinfection -- over 73 per cent -- and social distancing (63 per cent) and much lower consideration to traditional factors such as travel cost (22 per cent), comfort (21 per cent) and punctuality (18 per cent).

The survey was conducted among redBus customers across India. Only 5 per cent of the respondents were willing to postpone their travel to over six months while the rest had plans to travel within that period.

Chikkamagaluru, Mar 8: A 20 member armed gang barged into a farmhouse at Gudde Thota near Jayapura in Koppa taluk and looted valuables and cash worth about Rs 12 lakh after assaulting the inmates, Police said on Sunday.

According to police, the culprits covered their face with masks and after assaulting watchman they broke open the main door and tied up Vijayaraghav and his wife Asha before robbing the valuables.

The culprits took away Rs 2.5 lakh in cash and valuables worth over Rs 10 lakh.

Mysuru, Feb 29: More than 7,000 industrialists and entrepreneurs have left the country due to a deficit of trust, and incidents like the violence that rocked northeast Delhi will only affect the economy further, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of Art of Living Foundation, said on Friday.

Sri Sri was speaking at a corporate wellness conference on the theme, 'Wellness and Wellbeing for a Progressive Nation', hosted by CII in Mysuru. He said an atmosphere of fear and mistrust pervades the country and does not augur well for the economy.

"Bankers, too, are suspicious of everyone and not extending loans to industrialists. This has posed lots of problems," he said. "This attitude among bank officials should go as life depends on trust. When there is a deficiency of trust, there is a possibility of the economy slowing down," Sri Sri added

He said society is now facing two important issues - aggression and depression. "Some people stage protests and pelt stones which happened recently in Delhi. This is really unfortunate," he said, adding, "Fear lurks in the nation's capital, which is being used by many to create terror. This will affect the economy. No country will prosper without peace."

Wellness is the need of the hour, he said, adding, "Corporates used to spend half their health to gain wealth and spend half their wealth to regain their health. This isn't good economics. We have to talk and convince people to invest in wellness."