Suresh Neramballi - an unsung Mangalurean hero in Kuwait

Davanagere, Apr 8: BJP MLA from Honnali constituency, MP Renukacharya, said that the government should not ignore those who attended Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi and are escaping detection, and it is not wrong if the person is shot.

"Anyone who attended Tablighi meet, is not coming out for medical checkups and is escaping detection. The government should not ignore them. Even if he is shot, it is not wrong. Otherwise, the virus will spread throughout the entire country. In China it started with one person," Renukacharya said on Tuesday.

"We are suffering because someone is not coming for check-up. I request them to come voluntarily to the doctors and District Magistrates. Not all minorities are terrorists and not all of them are anti-nationals," he added.

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking direction for the government to impose a complete ban on all activities of the Tablighi Jamaat with immediate effect.

Over 1,000 coronavirus cases in India are linked to Tablighi Jamaat gathering. Hundreds of people who are related to Tablighi Jamaat have been quarantined.

Mangaluru, Jun 29: A hospital set up in 1848 in the Port City has to remain closed till July 5 as majority of the Doctors and Staff at Lady Goschen Government Hospital are quarantined after coming in contact with a COVID-19 infected person.

Hospital Medical Superintendent said that both in-patient and out-patient wings of the hospital will remain closed till July 5 as there is a need to fumigate and sanitise all the departments of the hospital. Patients for treatment under 'Ayushman Bharat – Arogya Karnataka' scheme will be sent to private medical colleges with the referral card from the hospital. The hospital will start functioning normally from July 6.

The Lady Goschen Government Hospital, earlier known as the maternity Hospital, is the oldest hospital in the district and dates back to 1848.

In a humanitarian gesture to help fellow citizens in distress, the first in the series of chartered 
flights arranged by Thumbay Group, UAE and the Bearys Cultural Forum (BCF) Trust, 
Mangalore to repatriate stranded Kannadigas in the UAE took off from Ras Al Khaimah 
International Airport in the wee hours of 21st July 2020. The flight was fully occupied, with 186 passengers, all of them desperate to fly back to India for various reasons.

The initiative was conceived and implemented under the leadership of Dr. Thumbay Moideen - Founder President of Thumbay Group & Founder Patron of BCF and Dr. B K Yusuf, the 
President of BCF. The flight was organized on a purely charitable basis, with all necessary 
steps and precautions in place to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers. Thumbay Group assigned its fleet of buses to transport the passengers free of charge from their residences in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman to the airport. The organizers also provided free meals and refreshments to the passengers, in addition to PPE kits and face-shields distributed free of 
charges.

The passengers on the first flight included many elderly individuals, people with serious 
illnesses like heart-related health issues and diabetes, pregnant ladies and little children as well as people who had lost their jobs and those with expired visas. Dr. B K Yusuf – BCF President, Dr. Kaup Mohammed - BCF General Secretary, other office bearers of BCF, as well as Thumbay Group’s representatives Mr. Farhad C – Director of the Hospitality Division of 
Thumbay Group and Engr. Farwaz P. C. – COO of the Construction Division were present at 
the airport to see off the first group of passengers.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Thumbay Moideen said, “This joint initiative of Thumbay 
Group and BCF is to support our fellow Kannadigas desperate to fly back home. We are happy that we have been able to reach out to many of them, to help them fly home to their families. We thank the Governments of the UAE and India, and the Indian Consulate, Dubai, for their support in making this happen. In the coming days, many more stranded Kannadigas would be repatriated under this joint initiative.”
Dr. B K Yusuf thanked Dr. Thumbay Moideen and the office-bearers and members of BCF for 
their efforts to make the initiative a success.

“We are proud that this initiative has brought relief to many Kannadigas and their families today. BCF is grateful to Thumbay Group for its support and partnership for all our humanitarian programs for the support of the needy.”

Dr. Kaup Mohammed said that it was a matter of pride that the much-awaited Thumbay-BCF 
repatriation flight had been carried out successfully. “Measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the flight and its passengers throughout the journey,” he said. He also thanked all the social organizations including Bhatkal Jamath, BCCI, BWF, KCF, DKSC, Kodagu Kannadigas, 
Kannadiga Help Line, Dubai Konkans and KSS, for their support. He specially thanked Mr. 
Syed Hassan Razeen, the owner of ARISTOCRAT Travels for his support in the ticketing, 
boarding and related processes. On behalf of Milano Optics Group and Maxcare, free gift 
hampers were distributed to selected passengers.

The passengers were received at Mangalore airport under the leadership of Mr. Mumtaz Ali - patron of BCF and other distinguished personalities of Mangalore including Mr. Moidin Bava - former MLA, Mr U. T. Ifthikhar, Mr. S. M. R Rashid - President of BCCI central committee and many others. The passengers were transferred to the hotels where they had registered for the mandatory quarantine.

The second flight under this joint initiative is scheduled to take-off from Ras Al Khaimah airport to Mangalore on 24th July 2020. A few more similar repatriation flights are to soon follow, in the coming weeks.