Hindu group celebrates Trump birthday with cake in New Delhi

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 18: Bindhu Sampath, the mother of Nimisha alias Fathima who travelled from Kerala to Afghanistan to join the Islamic State (IS), has sought the Central government's help to bring her daughter back to India.

"I saw a video of my daughter in which she was requesting her return to India. She has realised that India is her country, not Afghanistan. She is scared that she'll be put in jail over there. Responding to my mail, the Afghanistan government has said that the procedure will take time," said Bindhu Sampath.

"I believe in Indian laws. Let her be questioned and realise what is good or bad. I am waiting for the Central government's confirmation on the matter," added Sampath.

Around four years back, a team of 21 members which consisted of couples and children went to Syria from Kerala to join ISIS and lead an Islamic life. After they left, police registered a case against them, which has been handled by the National Investigation Agency.

Mangaluru/ Bengaluru, May 10: Nearly 11,000 non-resident Kannadigas who are seeking repatriation from various countries across the world should be ready to shell out a huge amount for a two-week private quarantine in Karnataka before reaching their home.

The Kannadigas stranded in Gulf countries including UAE and Saudi Arabia have already expressed shock over the high airfare for repatriation during coronavirus lockdown. Another shocker is heavy quarantine fee once they reach their home state.

Officials in Mangaluru and Bengaluru have confirmed that administration has fixed charges for quarantine facilities starting from Rs 1,200 up to Rs 4,500, including food per day. 14 day quarantine will be mandatory for all healthy and asymptomatic international passengers. Hence, they should be ready to pay Rs 16,800  to Rs 63,000.

The other option is government quarantine centres: hostels run by social welfare, backward classes welfare and minority welfare departments but they are far from satisfactory. This is in stark contrast to the plush government quarantine facilities in Kerala.

In Mangaluru

The first repatriation flight to Mangaluru International Airport is expected to land on Tuesday, May 12 from Dubai.

The quarantine facilities include lodges, hostels and service apartments. Rates are fixed based on four categories: basic, economy, medium and premium. The basic facilities are mainly hostels of educational institutions, and the rest are budget and star hotels, said Rahul Shinde, probationary IAS officer, who is In-charge of the quarantine facilities for those being repatriated.

In Bengaluru

As many as 350 international passengers are set to arrive in Bengaluru at 3 am on Monday, May 11. So far, nobody has opted for government quarantine facilities, according to Lakshman Reddy, Joint Director, Social Welfare Department.

In Bengaluru, there are 55 hostels of the social welfare department, 51 of the backward classes welfare department and 12 of the minority welfare department. “We provide them with three square meals a day,” he added.