A day before Red brigade’s ‘harmony rally’, Mangaluru streets turn Saffron

[email protected] (CD Network | Photos by Chakravarthi)
February 24, 2017

Mangaluru, Feb 24: Holding saffron flags around one thousand people took to the streets in Manglauru on Friday endorsing the protest call given by Sangh Parivar to oppose the city visit of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is supposed to address a communal harmony rally organized by the Left parties at Nehru Maidan, here, on Saturday.

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Today’s protest rally from Dr B R Ambedkar Circle to Nehru Maidan was jointly organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishat, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Jagarana Vedike and Sri Rama Sene with the backing of Dakshina Kannada district unit of the Bharatiya Janta Party.

Udupi MP Shobha Karandlaje, former minister Krishna J Palemar and several leaders from Kerala BJP also took part in the rally. Speaking on the occasion, Zonal working presidet of Vishwa Hindu Parishad M P Puranik, accused Vijayan of presiding over political violence and murders in Kerala after taking over as chief minister.

“It is the responsibility of a CM to protect the interest of the people of the State. However, Vijayan has endorsed violence and resorted to avenge the political opponents after coming to power. He misused the power and eliminated those who came his way,” he alleged.

Kerala BJP leader and astrologer Ravish Tanthri said: “It is an irony that Vijayan, who heads a party that is engaged in killings and violence, is scheduled to a deliver talk on communal harmony.”

Clarifying that the Sangh Parivar did not give call for a bandh on Saturday, Bajrang Dal leader Sharan Pumpwell said that the Hindutva outfits have requested people of the district to participate voluntarily in the ‘hartal’ opposing killings and violence by left parties in Kerala.

“We have requested all educational institutions, bus owners, auto rickshaw owners, drivers, hotel owners, workers, students and office-goers to participate in the hartal," Sharan said.

Also Read:

Section 144 imposed in Mangaluru; no permission for ‘hartal’

Be ruthless towards those disrupt peace in Mangaluru: Minister tells police

6 drones, 700 CCTV cameras, 4k cops to ensure security during harmony rally

Sangh Parivar’s opposition to Kerala CM’s Mangaluru visit hurts Billavas

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Comments

well wisher
 - 
Friday, 24 Feb 2017

Idiots of rss saffron out fits and members has no logic no brain. If they are realy gathering with related to attack on their party members then what about the massacre of over 2000 INDIAN innocents life in Gujarat.
Which was sponsored by the present PM .
Now here they disturbing with innocents daily life hope sincere peace loving Mangaloreans will never support these communal Desh Dhrohi groups.

Jai Hind ! Jai Karnataka !

Arun
 - 
Friday, 24 Feb 2017

This is Super Idiots... Anti Nationals.... Disturbing and supporting and provoking Anti Social activities... Strictly oppose and put them inside the bar for the minimum of two years.

If you offer them money then, they will their own family member without any humanity... or any restrictions.........

Ganesh
 - 
Friday, 24 Feb 2017

should not allow vijayan to land in mangalore.

lalitha
 - 
Friday, 24 Feb 2017

Really big solute to the RSS worker, real indians.

Harish
 - 
Friday, 24 Feb 2017

wow wonderful protest, really enjoyed a lot.

Saleem Bhai
 - 
Friday, 24 Feb 2017

this rally must be taken in kerala around 26 people killed by cpim goons, how we can welcome the same party leader.

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News Network
February 13,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 13: 'Karnataka Bandh' call given by various Kannada organisation demanding implementation of Sarojini Mahashi report for ensuring job reservation to local people (Kannadigas) in the Private and government organisation, including industries, evoked mixed response in the State on Thursday.

The Bandh call was given by the “Karnataka Sanghatanegala Okkoota”, comprising a few factions of “Karnataka Rakshana Vedike” (KRV) and was backed by Ola-Uber Cab Drivers’ Association, a few auto unions, farmers’ associations, street vendors association, trade unions and transporters’ associations.

Meanwhile, Airport Taxi Services also supported the Bandh which forced flight passengers to find it difficult in finding the transport for reaching their destination in time. Fortunately, BMTC bus services at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) was available at the Airport.

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News Network
May 7,2020

Bengaluru, May 7: A 55-year old woman from Davanagere became the 30th COVID-19 related fatality in Karnataka, where a total number of infections has crossed 700-mark, with eight new positive cases being confirmed, the health department said on Thursday.

The deceased woman was a known case of diabetes and hypertension, she was admitted with a complaint of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and was on a ventilator, the department said in its mid-day situation update.

She died today at a designated hospital in Davanagere, it said.

"Eight new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon...

Till date 701 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 30 deaths and 363 discharges," the update said.

The eight new cases reported include three from Davangere, indulging the deceased patient; also three from Kalaburagi, and one each from Hirebagewadi in Belagavi district and Bengaluru urban.

While four cases are contacts of patients earlier tested positive, three are with the history of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and one is a SARI case.

Five among eight new cases are women and three are men.

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News Network
May 5,2020

Dubai, May 5: Tickets on repatriation flights from UAE to India, which start on May 7, could be costlier than regular airfare, and adding to the financial woes of those flying back. Nearly 200,000 Indians in the UAE have registered on the website seeking to return home.

“A one-way repatriation ticket to Delhi will cost approximately Dh1,400-Dh1,650 - this would earlier have cost between Dh600-Dh700 [during these months],” said Jamal Abdulnazar, CEO of Cozmo Travel. “A one-way repatriation flight ticket to Kerala would cost approximately Dh1,900-Dh2,300.”

This can be quite a burden, as a majority of those taking these flights have either lost their jobs or are sending back their families because of uncertainty on the work front. To now have to pay airfare that is nearly on par with those during peak summer months is quite a blow.

Sources said that officials in Indian diplomatic missions have already initiated calls to some expats, telling them about likely ticket fares and enquiring about their willingness to travel.

Although many believed repatriation would be government-sponsored, Indian authorities have clarified that customers would have to pay for the tickets themselves. Those who thought they were entitled to free repatriation might back out of travel plans for now.

Fact of life

But aviation and travel industry sources say higher rates cannot be escaped since social distancing norms have to be strictly enforced at all times. That would limit the number of passengers on each of these flights.

“One airline can carry only limited passengers - therefore, multiple airlines are likely to get the approval to operate repatriation flights,” said Abdulnazar. “Also, airports will have to maintain safe distance for passengers to queue up at immigration and security counters.

“Therefore, it is recommended that multiple carriers fly into multiple Indian airports for repatriation to be expedited.”

The Indian authorities, so far, have not taken the easy decision to get its private domestic airlines into the rescue act. Gulf News tried speaking to the leading players, but they declined to provide any official statements. So far, only Air India, the national airline, has been commissioned to operate the flights.

Air India finds itself in the driver's seat when it comes to operating India's repatriation flights. To date, there is no confirmation India's private airlines will be allowed to join in.

UAE carriers ready to help out

UAE’s Emirates airline, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia are likely to also operate repatriation flights to India after Air India implements the first phase of services.

“We are fully supporting governments and authorities across the flydubai network with their repatriation efforts, helping them to make arrangements for their citizens to return home,” said a flydubai spokesperson.

“We will announce repatriation flights as and when they are confirmed, recognising this is an evolving situation whilst the flight restrictions remain in place.”

An AirArabia spokesperson said the airline is ready to operate repatriation flights when the government tells them to.

Travel agencies likely to benefit

Apart from operating non-scheduled commercial flights, the Indian government is also deploying naval ships to bring expat Indians back. Sources claim the ships are to ferry passengers who cannot afford the repatriation airfares.

Even then, considering the sheer numbers who will want to get on the flights, travel agencies are likely to see a surge in bookings since airline websites alone may not cope with the demand set off in such a short span.

Learn from Gulf governments

In instances when they carried out their own repatriation flights, some GCC governments paid the ticket fares to fly in their citizens. Those citizens who did not have the ready funds could approach their diplomatic mission and aid would be given on a case-to-case basis.

Should Indians wait for normal services to resume?

Industry sources say that those Indians wanting to fly back and cannot afford the repatriation flights should wait for full services to resume once the COVID-19 pandemic settles.

But can those who lost their jobs or seen steep salary cuts stay on without adding to their costs? And is there any guarantee that when flight services resume, ticket rates would be lower than on the repatriation trips.

As such, normal travel is expected to pick up only after the repatriation exercise to several countries is completed. UAE-based travel agencies are not seeing any bookings for summer, which is traditionally the peak holiday season.

“Majority want to stay put unless full confidence is restored,” said Abdulnazar. “I expect full normalcy to be restored not until March 2021.

“People have also taken a hit to their income. Without disposable income, you will curtail your travel.”

What constitutes normalcy?

Airfares are expected to remain high, given the need to keep the middle seats empty to practise safe distance onboard.

“We expect holiday travel to resume by October or November - but, the travel sentiment will not go back to pre-COVID-19 levels anytime soon,” said Manvendra Roy, Vice-President – Commercial at holidayme, an online travel agency. “The need to keep the middle seat vacant will add 30-40 per cent pricing pressure per seat from an airline perspective.

“This will make holidays more expensive.”

As for business travel, it will take some time to recover. Corporate staff are now used to getting work done via conference calls. “Companies will also curtail their travel expenditure since their income has taken a hit,” said Abdulnazar.

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