Corona-avatar: Hindu Mahasabha chief hails coronavirus as an avatar to punish non-vegetarians

Ernakulam, May 25: Miscreants belonging to self-proclaimed Hindutva outfits have demolished a church set erected for the shoot of a Malayalam film at Kalady in Kerala’s Ernakulam district.

The set was erected to shoot the climax scene of the super hero film Minnal Murali, directed by Basil Joseph and starring Tovino Thomas and newcomer actor Femina.

The incident took place on Sunday. Members of the Antharashtra Hindu Parishad claimed that with the help of their sister outfit Antarashtra Bajrang Dal, they demolished the church set, erected on an island on the Periyar river in Kalady.

Hari Palode, the General Secretary of AHP, an organisation founded by Praveen Togadia, boasted on Facebook that they were not used to pleading to anyone, and decided to demolish the church set that was constructed near the Adi Sankaracharya mutt. 

“When they built such a structure in front of the Mahadeva shrine in Kalady, we said no. We had also submitted several complaints. We do not have the habit of pleading. We decided to demolish it. Our self respect must be protected at all cost,” AHP’s General Secretary Hari Palode wrote on his Facebook post along with pictures of members demolishing the set. 

The post also credited members of the Anrarashtra Bajrang Dal and its Ernakulam Division President Malayatoor Ratheesh for participating in the ‘service work’ of razing the church set. 

Mini Biju, member of Kalady Town panchayat confirmed that the film unit had indeed secured permission from the department before going ahead with the construction of the set.

“They had submitted a letter seeking permission to raise a temporary set. This was back in February before construction began. The panchayat committee had approved this request,” Mini said.

Bengaluru, Feb 4: Taking the state government to task, the Karnataka High Court on Monday opined there was a need to rehabilitate or compensate migrant workers whose homes in Tubarahalli and Kundalahalli were demolished by a BBMP engineer last month.

On January 19, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) assistant executive engineer at Marathahalli had taken up a demolition drive stating that the migrant workers residing in the area were “illegal Bangladeshis”.

A division bench led by Chief Justice Abhay S Oka was hearing a petition by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties which contended that the evacuation of the workers was illegal. Stressing the need for relief, the court directed the state government to come clean on its stance and adjourned the hearing to February 10.

Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadgi submitted that the Union government had issued a circular last year to ascertain the presence of illegal Bangaladesh migrants. “On the basis of this circular, the BBMP officials had written a letter to Marathahalli police sub-inspector on January 18. Based on this letter, the residents in huts were evicted in a civilised manner,” he stated.

The bench, however, differed with the submission. “Who identified them as Bangladeshis before the eviction? Which is the competent authority to do so? Which police officer took up the inquiry?” the bench questioned.

The court also asked whether the government would take up similar eviction drives against illegal buildings of the rich. It also expressed displeasure over the action taken against the BBMP engineer.

“Instead of sending him home, you say you have transferred him. We can’t be mute spectators,” the bench said.

The court did not mince words as it castigated the authorities for failing to act judiciously. “The police and the BBMP are blaming each other. Your action appears to be dangerous. Going by the state of things, it seems that everything is not in order,” it said.

Bengaluru, Jun 8: Amid the relaxations in the coronavirus-induced lockdown, wedding planners are adapting to changing times and advancing themselves to provide best possible services to their clients.

Wedding planners come up with new trends. While women are matching their masks to their outfits, men who use turban for a wedding are wearing matching masks with the turbans. People are getting creative at the same time maintaining safety protocols. The live streaming of weddings for those who could not attend the wedding is also becoming a new normal.

Manisha Porwal Chouraria, a wedding planner at Color Palette Productions speaking to news agency said that Post COVID-19, weddings are performed as per the old cultures.

"Wedding Industry has impacted due to lockdown in the wake of COVID-19. Now, the concept of micro-wedding is trending in which you have guests who are close to you. Now, the old culture is back again as people who use to hold a wedding at lavish destinations are getting married in their lawns, farmhouses, terraces. Earlier, people used to get married in their 'Aangan' (Courtyard), people seem to be doing the same now. It is more personalised and expenses have come down, now. People are spending small amounts on decoration," said Chouraria.

"Following government guidelines, we are allowing 50 people at the wedding and not more than that. We are doing live streaming telecast and people can watch the wedding. We are also shipping gift boxes with a letter to 500 people who could not become part of the wedding. In the letter, we are writing that because of norms, you may not be invited but we want something to gift you on our wedding. People are planning to get married now and decide to throw a grand reception after 6 months in the hope that things will get better," she added.

Commenting upon how wedding planners are ensuring social distancing and how the fashion style changed due to pandemic, Chouraria said: "People are using matching masks. If women are wearing silk sarees, they are also wearing silk masks. Men are wearing matching masks with saafa (turban). The entire staff is asked to wear PPE kits. We are giving the guests a healthy kit comprising up of masks, sanitisers, gloves and tissues. We are doing thermal screening of the guests. We are also gifting cuddle curtains, a plastic transparent shield by using which you can touch feet of elders without physically touching them."

Mansi Porwal, Creative Head at Color Palette Productions said that it is becoming a challenging task for creative heads to plan wedding but still they are providing their best to the clients.

"Earlier people used to do theme wedding, big Indian Fat weddings. Now people are wedding with a small gathering. Now, family members are getting time to suggest the wedding planners about themes and the thing they want in their weddings. We are providing the best," she said.

"We have come up with a new theme, 'Har Din Subh hai' which means every day is auspicious. Post COVID-19 people are looking for available dates for the wedding. Now, every day becomes auspicious. This is going to be the new trend," she added.

Another wedding planner, Abhilash of Taarini Weddings said that their company is providing customised masks to guests.

"Earlier we have lots of weddings to cover across the globe. But now, we have less numbers of weddings. Budgets are reduced now. We are happy to start again. We are creating e-invites in which we are sending the guidelines to the guests. We also have a help desk to assist the clients and guests. We are providing the matching masks to the groom and we are also giving customized masks to guests too," he said.

Earlier, Karnataka's Department of Health and Family Welfare Services had issued an advisory for marriages, stating that not more than 50 guests shall be allowed and the consumption of liquor on the occasion will be prohibited.

As per the advisory, anyone found having fever, cold, cough, difficulty in breathing shall not be permitted to attend the event and immediately referred to seek medical advice.

"All persons shall wear face mask compulsorily. All persons shall maintain a physical distance of more than one metre. Hand wash with soap and water shall be provided in washrooms," adds the advisory.