Bengaluru, Nov 20: B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government of Karnataka has decided to recommend the Union government to slap ban on the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Karnataka tourism minister C T Ravi informed here on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media, he said that there was a suspicion that SDPI was behind the murderous attack on the former minister and Senior Congress MLAs, Tanveer Sait, who was battling for life in a private hospital in Mysuru.
Dubai, Jul 9: Air India Express has opened ticket bookings for flights from India to the UAE from July 12 to 26. The carrier posted the announcement on its social media pages.
“INDIA to UAE - Flights are open for sale! Bookings could be made through our website (http://airindiaexpress.in), call centre or authorised travel agents. Visit http://blog.airindiaexpress.in for more details,” the budget airline tweeted.
A clause mentioned in the flyer attached to the post added that only UAE residents with permits to return from India can book flights.
Thousands of Indian expats have been waiting to book flights back to the UAE after being stuck home for about four months due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Vande Bharat Mission flights
Under the fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission, as many as 104 flights will be operating between UAE and India.
The Air India announced this on Twitter under a post “#FlyAI : Important Information for ICA approved UAE residents who wish to travel to UAE on Vande Bharat Mission flights.”
A flyer attached to the post addressed passengers who wish to travel to UAE on flights being operated under Vande Bharat Mission by Air India and Air India Express in pursuance of agreement between Civil Aviation authorities of India and the UAE.
“AI and AIE operating evacuation flights to Indian citizens from the UAE to India will carry ICA approved UAE residents (returning to the UAE from India) on the outward journey from India to the UAE.”
“On the India-UAE journey, all these flights will carry only those passengers who are destined for the UAE.”
“This arrangement will be operational for a period of 15 days from July 12 to 26,” the airline added.
While most of the Vande Bharat flights are operated by AIE, a few flights from Sharjah are operated by Air India.
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Bengaluru, Jun 28: Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah asked the Karnataka government to release White Paper over the state of healthcare system and the government's preparedness to address COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that the State Government to come clean on the charges of misappropriation of large sums of funds in the name of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
"People are extremely worried about the state of our healthcare system and the government's preparedness to address pandemic. It is the responsibility of Karnataka Chief Minister to clear the doubts and reduce the panic among people. I urge the government to #ReleaseWhitePaper about the same," the Congress leader tweeted.
Siddaramaiah said that the Chief Minister should let people know about the amount of money already spent to improve healthcare facilities, the number of beds and ventilators increased and about the supply of PPE kits to COVID-19 warriors.
"Karnataka Chief Minister should also reveal the contribution of PMO India to our state. Has Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa demanded anything from Narendra Modi? How much of PM CARES Fund is spent for Karnataka's healthcare?" he asked in another tweet.
He went on to say that PMO India and Chief Minister of Karnataka "wasted crucial time during lockdown."
"The purpose of lockdown was to fill the gaps in health care system. But they just widened it by frequently changing the protocols and by not doing adequate tests," he said.
"Karnataka Chief Minister and other departments have failed to answer my multiple queries regarding the actions taken. As a leader of opposition, it is my right to question the government on behalf of people. Deliberate act of denying information is a breach of privilege. Government hospitals have reached its capacity and private hospitals are not ready to treat patients at capped prices," he wrote.
Siddaramaiah said that the Karnataka Chief Minister should either convince private players or take action against them, and added, "Not doing both is like pushing people off the cliff."
He tweeted, "The testing rates per day have come down in last 15 days even when the cases are rising. What is stopping the government from increasing the testing? The government is putting people at risk by not testing adequately."
Further attacking the state government, he wrote, "Our state needs 9000 ventilators, but we have only 1500, PMO India has sent 90 to us. Is this a joke to Karnataka Chief Minister and PMO India? #ReleaseWhitePaper about the ways that they plan to increase ventilators."
Even as the Muslims of undivided Dakshina Kannada district broke out of the “spiral of silence” and made history by leading an unprecedented protest against CAA, NPR and NRC as well as the categorial mistreatment of non-saffronites at the hands of the police across the country, mainstream media turned a blind eye to the spectacle at the Shah Garden Maidan in Mangaluru’s Adyar where about two lakh patriots with tricolor in their hands converged to assert themselves on January 15th, 2020, a date which will be remembered by the people of coastal Karnataka forever.
The largest gathering in the history of Mangaluru was absolutely peaceful, law-abiding and respectful. While the slogans of ‘Azaadi’ were reverberating in the atmosphere, the protesters were seen making way for vehicles and passersby, taking care of women and helping elderly citizens on the highway adjacent to the ground. Though the organisers and most of the participants were Muslims, they collectively identified themselves as “We, the people of India”.
The district administration and the police department hadn’t imagined or even dreamt of such a mammoth gathering after blocking the highway and banning public transport from 9 am to 9 pm. Many opine that this action was taken only to discourage the concerned from participating in the protest and to create fear in the hearts of the people who are yet to process the unjustifiable deaths of two innocent citizens in an unwarranted police firing a few weeks ago.
What has since surprised the protesters most is the mainstream media’s blatant attempt to downplay the significance of this largest ever gathering. Shockingly, it could not make it to the front pages of any of the state-level Kannada daily newspapers except city-based Vaartha Bharathi. In the absence of The Hindu, which had announced a holiday on account of Makar Sankranti, most of the English newspapers too pitilessly buried the historic event in their inner pagers. National TV channels too were evidently reluctant to cover the event until NDTV started telecasting the news of the protest.
This uneasy relationship between the media and minorities in coastal Karnataka has long existed, but the non-coverage of the huge protest of Jan 15 marks a quantum leap beyond the media’s traditional pro-Sangh Parivar stance and biases –– which in the past had often demonised non-saffronites –– to now completely ignore and suppress the people’s voice. This media bias has naturally evoked a sharp response from netizens, who took to social media to issue clarion calls to boycott the mainstream media forever.
Cleanliness Drive
Most major protest meets and rallies –– both religious and political –– leave behind tonnes of garbage, especially water bottles, placards and buntings. However, the organisers of the Jan 15 protest meet led by example by launching a cleanliness drive in the area soon after the protesters left the venue peacefully. The drive continued on Jan 16 too. (Ironically, amidst this ongoing cleanliness drive, a local news portal captured photos of a few plastic bottles scattered along the road at Adyar and published a report accusing the event organisers and participants of polluting the area!)
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yes; including BD, etc. etc.
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