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Mangaluru, June 21: The first ever repatriation flight from Saudi Arabia’s Dammam Karnataka’s Mangaluru under Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) today brought home around 165 stranded passengers. 

The IndiGo flight took off from Dammam International Airport at 11 a.m. (Saudi time) and landed at Mangaluru International Airport at 6:30 p.m.

The stranded passengers included pregnant women, senior citizens and those who are in need of emergency medical treatment are on board.

The passengers were screened at the Airport before being despatched for institutional quarantine in special buses. 

Even though a few charter flights arranged by a couple of NRI entrepreneurs have already repatriated hundreds of stranded people from Dammam to Mangaluru, the government of India had not operated any repatriation flight under VBM on this sector so far. 

Saudi Kannadigas Humanity Forum (SKHF), an NGO which came into existence to help the stranded Kannadigas in Saudi Arabia during covid-19 lockdown had been successful in persuading the government of India operate a flight on Dammam-Mangaluru sector under VBM. 

SKHF has also set up an online portal for those who were in need of emergency repatriation. In today’s flight around 100 passengers have obtained seats through SKHF.

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Bengaluru, July 22: Complete lockdown on Sundays and daily night curfew would continue across Karnataka to contain the coronavirus spread, a top officia.

"Though lockdown will be lifted from 5 am on Wednesday across the state, night curfew will continue daily from 9 pm to 5 am to restrict movement of people and vehicles. Total lockdown on Sundays will also continue on July 26 and August 2," said state Chief Secretary T.M. Vijaya Bhaskar in an order here.

The order to unlock Bengaluru and four other districts - Dakshina Kannada, Dharwad, Kalaburagi and Kodagu, which have been under 7-9 day lockdown since March 14 night came after Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa declared that lockdowns would not be re-imposed across the state hereafter.

Besides restrictions in containment areas to control the virus spread, the order banned reopening of gyms and prevented use of benches in parks by walkers or joggers.

"All vegetable and fruit markets in cities and towns across the state will be shifted to the suburbs or outskirts to decongest them and prevent crowding," said the order in Kannada.

Wearing mask, sanitising hands and maintaining social distancing will be strictly enforced and violators will be fined.

Suburban train and metro services will continue to remain shut till further orders.

Select long-distance express trains will continue to operate as per the standard operating procedure given by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on May 30.

"State-run and private buses in cities and on intra-state and inter-state routes will operate with limited number of passengers to ensure physical distancing. All buses will be sanitized and fumigated after every trip," said the order.

Schools, colleges, cinema theatres, multiplexes will remain shut to prevent crowding and violation of social distancing.

Ban on religious functions and mass gatherings will also continue.

Bengaluru, Feb 4: A 33-year old woman techie allegedly stabbed her mother to death and made a murderous assault on her younger brother before fleeing their home here, police said on Tuesday.

According to police, the woman fatally stabbed her mother using a knife and attacked the brother early on Monday.

The injured brother has been hospitalised here.

A search was on for the techie and the motive for her action under investigation, police said.

The woman, employed as a software engineer with a company here, earlier had told her mother and 30-year old brother that she has been transferred to Hyderabad and she may have to relocate.

The brother told police that in the early morning on Monday he saw his sister searching something desperately and offered to assist, which she refused.

However, minutes later she made a murderous assault on him, he told police, adding when he screamed for help and called his mother, his sister said she has killed their mother.

She stabbed him and attacked with an iron rod before fleeing, her brother told police.

The body of the mother was found in another room in the house.

"We are still investigating the matter. We are not clear about the motive behind the murder," a police officer told media adding the woman was yet to be arrested.