Pilots' strike: Air India stops international bookings till May 15

May 11, 2012

May_15_stop

New Delhi, May 11: Crisis-ridden Air India has stopped booking for all flights to North America and Europe till next Tuesday (May 15) as the striking pilots of the erstwhile AI did not resume work despite a clear Delhi high court order. While the airline had asked the 293 pilots who had reported sick till Wednesday night to report to work by 10 am on Thursday, 12 more members of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) joined the sick bay during the day taking the figure up to 305.

AI has now cancelled the Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight till the strike gets over. About 20 flights were cancelled on Thursday from Delhi and Mumbai to New York, Chicago, Frankfurt, Riyadh, Shanghai and Seoul, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded for the third straight day.

While IPG, that's headed by Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Ahwad, made it clear they would not join work till their demands are met, the management further hardened its stand on Thursday - third day of the ongoing strike. It sacked 10 more pilots, after terminating services of 36 others earlier. But the strictest action it is planning to take is recommend cancellation of flying licence of 10 IPG office bearers under section 39 of the Indian Aircraft Act "in public interest".

"We have filed criminal contempt in Supreme Court against the striking pilots on the grounds that they are trying to prevent us from implementing an apex court order which said pilots of erstwhile Indian Airlines should also be trained for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. We will file civil contempt in the high court as pilots have not joined work despite a clear HC order," said an official.

Aviation minister Ajit Singh, who will be briefing PM Manmohan Singh on the AI crisis on Friday, maintained that pilots must first resume work. "We may face short term problems for some time (referring to a possible shutdown of international flights if pilots keep away from work). But we will do whatever is needed to have an international presence for AI in the long term. If pilots are not listening to court, will they listen to anyone else?" Singh said indicating the government's firm backing to the stern steps that he has authorized the airline to take.

There is increasing disquiet in the airline over an NCP MLA, who is not even an AI pilot, spearheading the attack from IPG side and leading to a crisis where the Rs 30,000-crore bailout package could come under a cloud.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 13: Three more people in Kerala tested positive for novel coronavirus disease on Monday, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

"With 3 new COVID-19 cases, the total number of cases in the state has reached 378," said Vijayan at a press conference.

Giving a break-up of the three confirmed COVID-19 cases, he said, "Of the 3 cases, 2 are from Kannur and 1 is from Palakkad."

He further said, "Till date, 15,683 samples tested, out of which 14,829 tested negative."

However, the total number of positive cases is decreasing, the Chief Minister added.

According to a recent update by the Ministery of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of cases in the country has reached 9352.

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: The primary classes of all schools in the national capital will remain closed till March 31 to prevent a possibility of spread of coronavirus, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced on Thursday.

According to Directorate of Education (DoE) officials, while elaborate guidelines have been issued about preventive measures for coronavirus, students of nursery and primary classes are too young to understand the risk, making them more prone to infectious diseases.

Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, tweeted, "As a precautionary measure to prevent the possibility of spread of COVID-19 amongst our children, Delhi Government has directed the immediate closure of all primary schools (Govt/ aided/ private/MCD/NDMC) till 31/3/20(sic)."

A senior DoE official said, "Elaborate guidelines have already been issued. However, students of nursery and primary classes are too young to understand the risks associated with COVID-19. Thus they are more prone to infectious diseases and mingle around with classmates more often."

"It will be good if they are trained in the do's and dont's under the care and supervision of their parents at home. However, students of classes other than primary will continue to come to schools or examination centres for writing their examination as per schedule. The teaching, as well as non-teaching staff, will also attend regular school," the official said.

As of now, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country stands at 30, including 16 Italian tourists. The figure includes the first three cases reported from Kerala last month who have already been discharged following recovery.

Alerted by the coronavirus case reported in Delhi-NCR, schools in the region have sent out advisories to parents suggesting that they do not send their wards to attend classes even in case of mild cough or cold, and saying that they may declare holidays if the need arises. A few schools have announced already holidays and others have advanced their spring break.

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News Network
April 16,2020

New Delhi, Apr 16: The number of COVID-19 cases in India has reached 12,759, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

According to the official data, India has 10,824 active cases and 1514 discharged and cured cases. Meanwhile, 420 people have died from the disease which originated in China.

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases in the country which stands at 2919, including 295 cured and discharged and 187 deaths.

With 1578 coronavirus cases, Delhi is in the second position of India's tally of corona infected people; followed by Tamil Nadu (1242) and Rajasthan (1023).

Kerala, which reported India's first coronavirus case, has 388 confirmed cases, including 295 cured and discharged and 187 deaths.

On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, that border the national capital, have 773 and 205 cases, respectively.

Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh and Pudducherry have reported 33, 21 and 7 cases respectively. While West Bengal has 231 coronavirus infected people, Odisha has confirmed 60 cases.

The newly carved union territories -- Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir--- have 17 and 300 cases, respectively.

In the Northeast, 33 people were detected positive for COVID-19 in Assam, which is the worst-affected states in the region. Six corona cases were confirmed from Meghalaya, two each from Manipur and Tripura and one from Arunachal Pradesh. Nagaland remains free from coronavirus till date, said the Ministry.

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