Udupi: Court restrains man from going abroad with second wife

New Delhi, Jun 6: With the coronavirus pandemic showing no signs of abating, it seems unlikely that Muslims from India will be able to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage this year.

However, the government will take a final decision on the matter only after Saudi Arabia makes its position on hosting the pilgrimage clear.

A circular issued by the Hajj Committee of India on Friday said only a few weeks are left for the preparatory work in India for Hajj 2020, yet the Saudi authorities have not communicated any further development regarding the pilgrimage.

"In view of the several inquiries received and concerns expressed over uncertainty over Hajj 2020, it has been decided by the Hajj Committee of India that, those pilgrims who desire to cancel their Hajj journey this year, their 100 per cent amount paid so far will be refunded without any deductions," the circular issued by Hajj Committee of India CEO Maqsood Ahmed Khan said.

"Coronavirus cases are increasing in Saudi Arabia and two lakh people have to go from here. We had made preparations, but now there is very little time left. We are waiting for an official word from Saudi Arabia," a top source said.

In response to a question, the source said, "This time, it is unlikely that people will be able to undertake Hajj from India."

Uncertainty has been looming large over this year's Hajj in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and though Saudi Arabia has not made a decision on whether the annual pilgrimage will be held or not, it did ask Muslims to delay their bookings till there is more clarity.

The bilateral annual Hajj 2020 agreement between India and Saudi Arabia was signed last December. In 2020, a total of 2 lakh Indian Muslims were expected to perform Hajj.

Over 95,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 600 deaths have been reported in Saudi Arabia due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Some countries have decided not to send their people for Hajj this time. The most prominent among these is Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

The Hajj 2020 is proposed in the period between late July and early August.

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam which every Muslim is required to complete at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so.

Manipal, Mar 12: Team WGSHA is proud to announce that the culinary museum in WGSHA has been listed in Limca Book of Records as India's First Living Culinary Arts Museum.

Limca Book of Records (LBR) is a catalogue of achievements made by Indians, at home and abroad in diverse fields of human endeavour. LBR is a celebration of exemplary exploits and recognizes accomplishments such as firsts, inventions, discoveries, honours, awards and the truly extraordinary.

Chef Thirugnanasambantham, Principal of WGSHA, while thanking MAHE and ITC Leadership for extending all support towards instituting this museum in Manipal and WGSHA, also appreciated and thanked all those who have directly or indirectly helped towards setting up this museum in Manipal.

"The process for WGSHA's culinary museum to make an entry into the popular Limca Book of Records started almost six months back and after validation by LBR recently, has been listed in the book of records. We are glad that we could be the first of its kind in such endeavour and we also hope to be in Guinness World Records soon", said Chef Thiru.

"We are indeed grateful to Michelin-starred Indian celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna, the founder and curator of this museum, who had this idea of establishing a culinary museum and donated thousands of kitchen tools and equipment worth millions of dollars to this museum for preserving the history of India's rich tradition of culinary arts and to educate the future generations. Chef Vikas Khanna, 'Distinguished Alumnus' of WGSHA, being very desirous of making such a museum in India, what better place it would be than in his own Alma Mater!", he said on the background of having the museum.

Chef Thiru mentioned that Udupi, popular for the famous 'Udupi Cuisine', and being a temple town, is adjacent to International University Town of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

MAHE is home to thousands of international students and visitors. With a great heritage of Udupi, combined with the large number of Indian and International students residing in and around Manipal, it was very apt for the college to create a museum for today's Indian youth and the International visitors to understand the rich culinary heritage of India, through the priceless kitchen tools and equipment donated by Chef Vikas Khanna.

"Has placed WGSHA in the global culinary map and we are proud to have joined all such efforts to preserve the history of cuisines and cultures across the world", said Chef Thiru.

The culinary art academic block housing the museum was opened in April 2018, spread approximately over 25,000 sq ft and is shaped in the form of a giant pot very similar to the ones found in Harappa.

There are historical as well as regular household items such as plates made by the Portuguese in India, a 100-year-old ladle used to dole out food at temples and bowls dating to the Harappan era, an old seed sprinkler, an ancient Kashmiri tea brewer known as 'samovar', vessels from the Konkan, Udupi and Chettinad regions, apart from a large collection of rolling pins, utensils of all shapes and sizes, tea strainers of different types etc.

Mangaluru, May 9: A team of doctors at Mangaluru's Mangala Hospital has developed a 'bubble helmet' that will provide an alternative to patients who need an oxygen mask.

The team was led by Dr Ganapathi, medical director of Mangala Hospital and Mangala Kidney Foundation in the city.

The bubble helmet, which has a special collar attached to it, helps the patients with breathing issues, and to avoid using ventilator facility.

Dr Ganapathi said, "When a patient needs intubation we will be providing them oxygen bubble helmets and we will first give it a trial before we intubate a patient."

"I have converted an ordinary snorkelling mask into a ventilator assist device, this mask can be used as a personal protection device by connecting it to a bacterial viral filter," he added.

Dr Ganapathi said that the connector has been made available in India and a snorkelling mask can be easily converted into a ventilator assist device. And it will make the management of coronavirus patients easy.