‘Police dept efficiently handled CAA agitations in Mangaluru’: Outgoing top cop

Mangaluru, Jan 9: Noted city based tax accountant and former Rotary District Governor Surya Prakash Bhat passed away late this evening following brief illness. He was 62 and is survived by his wife Srimathi and two daughters Shruthi and Shravya.

Surya Prakash Bhat suddenly fell ill and had been in coma for the last two weeks due to complications arising from acute diabetes. He was undergoing treatment in the ICU at Yenepoya Hospital, Kodialbail. However he failed to respond to treatment and passed away at 9.20 p.m on Wednesday, January 8th.

He was an active Rotarian. He was an active member of Rotaract Club of Mangalore Central during his youth and then joined Rotary Club of Mangalore in 1989. After holding various positions in club level and the district level including Rotary District Secretary during the year 1995-96, he became club President of Rotary Club of Mangalore during its Golden Jubilee year in 1999-2000. Then on he rose to the position of District Governor of RI Dist. 3180 during 2003-2004. He was presently a member of the Rotary District Advisory Council.

Popularly known as "SURI", Surya Prakash Bhat was born in Mangalore on 8th May 1957. He had his early education in Milagres High School and graduated from St. Aloysius College. He did his articleship under Kamath & Rao Chartered Accountants. He has been practicing as a Tax Consultant since 1980 specializing in the fields of Goods & Service Tax (GST).

He has earlier served as Treasurer and Secretary of Kanara Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mangalore. He also has been a Member of Finance & Banking Committee of FICCI, New Delhi; Member of Advisory Board, Department of Commercial Taxes as well as of Customs & Central Excise. He was one of the founders of The Karavali Automotive Sports Club, Mangalore and a Trustee of Shri Somanatha Temple, Someshwar, Mangalore.

Had been regularly anchoring programme like “Janadhwani”, a programme which highlights problems of common man, Elections Special and Budget Analysis in the local TV Channel.

Funeral will be held tomorrow in Mangalore.

Rotary Connection

Surya Prakash Bhat Joined Rotaract Club in 1976-77 and had won record 14 out of 15 awards in the district (Comprising of 8 Revenue Districts) as the best President during 1984-85.  He served as Rotaract District Secretary during 1985-86. 

He has been addressing various institutions, organizations and service clubs on matters of general interest, personality and individual development and Rotary. Has addressed the prestigious Rotary Institutes at Colombo and was trainer for the DGN’S at Cochin Institute, Bangkok Institute & SINGAPORE Institute. He was the President during the "Golden Jubilee Year" of Rotary Club of Mangalore during 1999-2000 when the club had bagged a record 28 awards in all.

He attended Rotary International Conventions at Singapore in 1999, at Denmark/Sweden in 2006 and New Orleans, USA in 2011,and Sydney, Australia in 2014. He was District Secretary during 1995-96 and then was the Club President during 1999-2000. He had initiated unique District Projects like “Sanjeevini” – Students Parents Insurance Scheme, “Jeeva” Highway Ambulance Project, Mid Day Meal for students of 6th & 7th Std children, Mobility Training Centre for the Blind etc. 

During the Governorship, RI Dist.3180 topped the world in membership development with 15 new clubs and 852 new members.  He has represented the Dist.3180 to Council on Legislation (decision taking body of Rotary International) at Chicago, USA during 2006-07.  Has been awarded “The Citation for Meritorious Service” by THE ROTARY FOUNDATION of Rotary International in recognition of his devoted efforts for the furthering of better understanding and friendly relations of people’s of the world. Has also been awarded “The Service above Self” citation of the Rorary International for the year 2011. Was the coordinator for Zone 6A & 6B covering around 12 countries for Literacy Programme of R.I for the year 2006-07.

Was the Chairman of the Dist. Trainers Training Programme at the Rotary Institute 2017-18 at Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.

Mangaluru, Jun 19: A repatriation flight from Doha brought 178 passengers to Mangaluru today. This is the first flight operated from Qatar to Mangaluru under the Vande Bharat Mission. 

The Air India Express flight, which took off from Hamad International Airport in Doha at 12 noon (Qatar time) landed at Mangaluru International Airport around 6.30 pm IST.

Indian embassy had prepared the list of passengers to be flown in the flight. Stranded people who were in need of emergency repatriation such as pregnant women, senior citizens and those in need of emergency medical treatment were given priority while finalising the list of passengers. 

Kannadiga organisations in Qatar such as Karnataka Sangha, Tulu Kuta Qatar, Karnataka Muslim Welfare Association, Mangalore Cricket Club, Bunts Qatar, Mangalore Cultural Association, South Canara Muslim Welfare Association, Qatar Billawas had been striving for the repatriation of stranded Kannadigas by exerting pressure on the elected representatives to operate flights. 

Kannadigas in Qatar have thanked former Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Jayaprakash Hegde for persuading the authorities concerned to facilitate the repatriation. 

Bengaluru, Jul 16: Life is a journey that cannot be imagined without traveling but the prevailing COVID-19 situation has made the whole world come to a standstill.

This pandemic has not only limited the modes of transportation for people all across India but also forces them to look for safer, convenient, and comfortable travel options. Private charter services are thus seen as the best alternative.
This is the reason the demand for availing charter services has risen dramatically over the last couple of months and encouraged airlines to either start or expand their charter services business further.

Many airlines have revamped their business strategies keeping charter services in mind and entered into this optimist business segment recently.

Star Air, the aviation arm of Indian business conglomerate - Sanjay Ghodawat Group, has entered into the charter services business to fulfill private air travel requirements.

The group previously has an experience of over six years of running helicopter charter service operations successfully under Ghodawat Enterprises Pvt Ltd.

The airline, Star Air, with its world-class fleet of three Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft (50-seater), two helicopters - Airbus H130 (6-seater) and Airbus H135 (5-seater), has the capacity to fly one anywhere at any point in time as per one's convenience that too with great comfort, luxury and complete privacy.

Star Air is a known name in the Indian aviation industry that is recognized for its unmatched safety, comfort, and on-time performance records.

It was praised in the past for connecting the unconnected by commencing commercial flight services to many Tier-II and Tier-III cities in India that were not graced with airline services before.

And now, after gaining the trust of over 1,00,000 customers from all across India and serving countless prominent VIP's, it has launched its charter service business.

It holds a valid license for charter service business and operates as per the protocols defined by the DGCA. The company has a team of experienced pilots, technicians, and staff that assures one gets a best-in-class charter service with complete safety and without any hassles.

"We are delighted to expand our airline operations by opening this private charter services. Like our scheduled commercial airline services, we are offering a world-class charter service keeping your comfort, safety, and overall flying experience in mind, said Sanjay Ghodawat, Chairman - Star Air.

This company had started its operations in January 2019 to connect the unconnected by providing world-class flight services at an affordable cost.

Since then it is continuing on its endeavour and gaining immense trust nationwide. It provides services to many Indian cities like Bengaluru, Belagavi, Indore, Kalaburagi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Ajmer (Kishangarh).