Bengaluru, Jan 4: The body of National Security Guard officer Lt Col Niranjan Kumar, who was martyred in an operation against terrorists at the Pathankot airbase, reached Bengaluru on Monday morning.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah paid tribute the departed soul at city's BEL Ground. Also, school children and people came to pay their homage.
Niranjan’s mortal remains would be taken to his ancestral gome at Elambilassery in Palakkad district, Kerala for the last rites.
The government of India has added 141 more flights to West Asian countries for the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission, its massive repatriation programme for citizens stranded overseas because of Covid-19-related travel restrictions.
The second phase was to end on May 22. However, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the ongoing phase will last till June 13 and that India is looking at making Frankfurt a hub for the mission.
With these new flights, more than half of them to the United Arab Emirates, the total number of flights in the second phase of the programme have gone up to more than 400, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity.
The flights were added due to increased demand from citizens stranded in West Asian countries and the availability of adequate quarantine facilities in states for the returning Indians, the people said. As with all the flights operated so far under Vande Bharat Mission, priority will be given in the second phase to Indian nationals with compelling reasons for returning to the country, they added.
The additional flights are from the UAE (81 flights), Oman and Saudi Arabia (15 flights each), Kuwait (14 flights), Qatar (11 flights) and Bahrain (five flights).
A majority of the flights are bound for Kerala (84 flights), while the other destinations are Delhi (10 flights), Tamil Nadu (nine flights), Telangana (six flights) Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir (five flights each), Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (four flights each), Punjab (three flights), Odisha and West Bengal (two flights each), Chandigarh, Karnataka and Goa (one flight each).
The other 260-odd flights being operated during the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission are from Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tajikistan, the UK, Ukraine and the US.
The second phase of the repatriation programme began on May 16 and will continue till June 13, with all the flights being operated by state-run Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express. Private airlines are likely to be included in the third phase.
As of Thursday, a total of 23,475 Indians have been repatriated under Vande Bharat Mission. The second phase had included new destinations such as Istanbul, Ho Chi Minh City and Lagos, and had increased flights to the US and Europe.
More than 259,000 Indians in 98 countries across the world have registered to return under Vande Bharat Mission. Most of them are workers (28%), students (25%), professionals (14.5%), and short-term visa holders such as tourists (7.6%). Fishermen, deportees and Indian nationals who benefited from visa amnesties have also registered.
No flights from oman to manglore nor to Banglore
Bhatkal, May 9: A day after 12 covid-19 positive cases reported from Bhatkal, seven more tested positive for the coronavirus in the town today.
The new patients are: a six-month-old baby, a two-and-a half-year-old child, two girls aged 17 and 23, a 50-year-old woman and two elderly men aged 65 and 68 years.
The source of all these cases is said to be the First Neuro hospital located at Padil in Mangaluru where a covid-19 patient from Bantwal had undergone treatment a month ago. Around 20 days ago an 18-year-old girl from Bhatkal, who had been to the same hospital was tested positive for the covid-19.
After the confirmation of 12 covid-19 positive cases yesterday, the throat swab of 60 people, who were in contact with them were sent for testing. Among them seven people – six relatives and a friend – were tested positive today.
Also Read: 12 new covid-19 positive cases in Bhatkal
Bengaluru, Mar 12: The Karnataka government on Wednesday clarified that no coronavirus "emergency" has been declared in the state and that all the schools and offices will remain open.
Earlier, there were fake reports that Karnataka has declared "coronavirus as an epidemic" in the state.
In a statement, Karnataka health commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey refuted the reports doing rounds on social media which said Karnataka had declared COVID-19 as a "state epidemic".
Refuting the rumours, he added that all the schools, offices and other institutions will continue to function normally in the state.
The Karnataka government earlier today issued temporary regulation which asked all government and private hospitals to have flu corners for screening of suspected cases of COVID-19.
According to the regulation, no person/institution shall use print or electronic media to spread mis-information on COVID-19 without prior permission of the department of health & family welfare. If a person is found indulging in any such activity, they will be punished, it said.
The Karnataka government also started a campaign called 'Namaste over Handshake' that encourages people to greet in the traditional Indian style, to tackle the spread of the virus.
The state has reported four positive cases of coronavirus so far.
India, so far, has 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus, including 16 Italians tourists.
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One brave son of Kerala lost life defending country.. while other sons busy smuggling gold from Dubai.
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