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.


Comments
RIKAZ,
Already done, i have done my computer course.
And what do you think, how i am replying to you, its through computer.
Satyameva jayate.
You have a sick mind. Just read what you have written.
I dont think you will understand anything if i reply.
If you are so concerned about kashmir or china, pls go ahead and do it yourself dont give advise to others.
PONDER, have u read properly, now here it is,
Rigveda 10/85/13- cows are slaughterd.. is misconception. The actual meaning is The word used for sun-rays is \GO\" which also means cow and hence a mantra can also be translated by making 'COW\" and not sun-rays as subject.the word WEAKENED is \"Hanyate\" which can also mean killing. The mantra states the rays get weakened in winter and get strong again in spring. How can cow that get killed in winter gain strength in spring. This proves that the reader of the vedas should have good intelligence and wisdom to understand. Otherwise people will misunderstand just like you did. Same for all other points you mentioned."
SURESH U need to do some homework, not to reply but to UNDERSTAND... please go thru below verses from your scriptures specially the last one.
Maharishi Yagyavalkya says in Shapath Brahmin (3/1/2/21) that : I EAT BEEF cos it is very soft and delicious.
Apastamb Grihsutram (1/3/10) says : The COW should be slaughtered on the arrival of Guest, on the occasion of Shraddha of ancestors and on the occasion of Marriage.
RIGVEDA (10/85/13) declares On the occasion of a girl's marriage Oxen and COWS are Slaughtered
RIGVED (6/17/1) STATES the INDRA used to EAT the meat of COW, calf, horse and buffalo.
Vashista Dharmasutra (11/34) writes, If a BRAHMIN refuses to EAT a meat offered to him on the occasion of SHRADDHA or worship HE GOES to HELL>
Suresh, you need to learn some logic.....I suggest you to join some computer programming course....
Suresh........how many cows you have at home...as per your comments also send some cows to borders of Kashmir and China...some to clean gangas and others RSS bhakta to bring go moorhra to wash their sick minds......
Which century are you living in......and where did you get your GO history from...
Rikaz,
What i have mentioned one full paragraph is fact.
what you are saying is called illusion (maya)
You will never understand that.
Just like a blind cannot see the world around him, same way you cannot understand Maya (illusion) ignorance. You have to rise high from Kg class teaching.
Mr. Suresh, its a fact man, you like it or not....I know very well that you know it...but you don't want to admit it.....right....
Rikaz,
Your are a really a funny man and your comments are so immatured.
I dont understand, Whats is wrong and what is supersition.
I am not supporting the beating of people, its wrong,
I was just giving the importance of cow for Hindus.
Suresh, you are still believing in superstition in this 21st century, so sad!
Tell us how many houses have been ruined because of your theory...none...
All rivers were flowing in same place....no body done anything for it....its natures creation.....totally rubbish....
cow is a kind of animals....its not a god...it cannot save itself from any disaster....you and your own people don't care them at all, you will find a lot of them in the road sides like orphans...no one put any grass on it....instead it eats plastic and sometime later dies....reason you don't care them and don't put any food for it....common its your god man treat it nicely....
Once Gautam Maharishi was meditating and a holy cow maya denu entered his abode and started spoiling the rice in his farm. Knowing cow shall not be treated harshly he put the Darba grass on the cow and to his surprise the cow fell dead. The other rishis present said that Gautam maharishi has done a Gau hatya a grave sin. To atone the sin of Go hatya, (killing a sacred cow), he went to Nasik & did severe Tapas to lord Shiva at Trimbakeshwar on advise of other rishis. When lord shiva was pleased with his Tapas, Gautam rishi requested lord shiva to release him from the sin by making the river Ganga flow over the dead cow. Thus Lord shiva diverted the river Ganga to flow over the cow. Thus River Go-davari was born in Nashik and merge with bay of bengal.
Cow is so holy that, if you build your house on the plot of land where cows put their holy feet for grazing, or where there was a cow shed, building a house in such a plot is very very auspicious.
After a house in built the first day of house warming cermony a holy cow is first made to enter the house in this way all the evil and negative energy in the newly built house is cleared off.
If a person is suffering badly in health or work front they are advised to feed cows, by doing this the creator is satisfied and he relieves the person from his sufferings.
Cow- urine or Go-mutra is so auspicious that if you sprinkle it on the possessed people, or inauspicious places where there is negative energies accumulated, the place becomes pure and positive again.
1857 first war of Independence broke out - cow was the reason.
This cow story made citizens sick and tired....there is no god in cow or any animal kind....what the hell these vigilantes doing around....if dalits want to live peacefully they should convert to Islam....that is where they get their due respect from society....In Islam there wont be any upper caste and lower caste....they will be treated properly with respect in the society....
Its a BIG INSULT to the PM ...
Cheddi gangs ignored .... him badly.
The PM should show his power to stop it rather than saying killing me before killing the dalits...
He said, Fake Gau Rakshaks are dividing the nation,
Then what the real Gau Rakshaks are doing??????
He further says, \Hit me and do not hit Dalits\", means he can not control those who want to HIT????
Why is he concerned about Dalits when other communities also have been terrorized by so called Gau Rakshaks? Others are not humans or Indians? Or he is only concerned about \"Vote Bank\"???"
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