Mangaluru: Al-Ikhlas' MD arrested on charge of cheating Umrah aspirants

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on Thursday he might not attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and would most likely visit Delhi this weekend for discussions on the pending cabinet expansion.

He was expected to join Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya, chief ministers Amarinder Singh (Punjab) and Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and over 100 Indian CEOs at WEF’s 50th annual gathering on January 21-24.

“Mostly, I may not go for Davos (meet),” he told reporters on Thursday. Last week, he had said he was not keen on travelling to the Swiss town but was considering it as some chief ministers’ attendance was required at the high-profile event.

Eleven Congress-JD(S) turncoats, who contested the bypolls on BJP tickets and won, reportedly pressured Yediyurappa to take a decision on cabinet expansion before the now-uncertain Davos trip; it was even suggested that he should simply cancel the trip. The newly elected BJP MLAs are widely expected to be inducted as ministers. But officials in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said his disinclination to travel had nothing to do with the cabinet exercise.

“It’s mainly because of his health. That place (Davos) has got temperature of minus 4-6 degrees and it will be quite tedious for Yediyurappa at the age of 76,” one official said. BJP functionaries, however, claimed that he was wary of taking a trip amid tensions in the party. “The new MLAs have been breathing down Yediyurappa’s neck. They have pushed him into a corner, demanding that he complete cabinet expansion before going anywhere,” a senior functionary said.

On Thursday, the chief minister said he had sought a meeting with party bosses in Delhi. “To discuss cabinet expansion and other important issues, I plan to travel to New Delhi on January 11 or 12. However, I am still waiting for an appointment with the BJP national president and prime minister,” he said.

While Yediyurappa, his additional chief secretary P Ravi Kumar and political adviser MB Maramkal may not visit Davos, a 10-member delegation from Karnataka, including Jagadish Shettar, is expected to travel. There are reports ministers’ family members might join the delegation.

Mangaluru, May 29: Even as the thousands of Indian expatriates in Saudi Arabia are waiting for repatriation flights to return to India, a few NRI entrepreneurs are sending home their employees through chartered flights. 

The government of India on May 21 had formally approved the repatriation of stranded Indian expatriate workers through chartered flights arranged by their employing companies particularly in Gulf region and elsewhere. 

Expertise Contracting Co. Ltd headed by K S Sheik and Al-Muzain Est. headed by Zakaria Jokatte are among those who have hired charter flights to repatriate hundreds of employees to India amidst corona lockdown. 

Mr Sheik said that his firm had applied for nine charter flights. "Two of the charter flights will carry 360 people to Mangaluru. Seven other flights will repatriate employees to Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai and Hyderabad," he said, adding that the company will bear complete expense of their repatriation and quarantine facility after India. 

Mr Jokatte three charter flights will fly from Dammam to Mangaluru International Airport on June 2, 5 and 8 carrying their employees.

Mangaluru, Feb 1: “1) Take necessary precautionary measures. 2) Don’t blindly believe in social media rumours.” These are the two important advisories issued by the authorities in Dakshina Kannada district in the wake of coronavirus scare.

According to DHO Dr Ramakrishna there is no specific antiviral treatment recommended for coronavirus infection. Supportive care for infected people can be highly effective, but, there is no vaccine available for coronavirus.

In a health meeting, he advised people to take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Following are some of the precautionary measures.

1) Wash your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitiser.

2) Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

3) Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

4) Stay home when you are sick, and cover your mouth when you cough or use a tissue while sneezing.

5) Throw the used tissue in the dustbin. Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently.

Deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said there is no need for people to panic about coronavirus.

Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat CEO R Selvamani said IEC programmes will be held to create awareness on possibilities of spread of diseases.

He also advised people not to follow blindly the advisories being shared on social media, especially WhatsApp without proper verification.

“Posts on cures for coronavirus which are not scientifically proven are being shared on social media. Do not follow such advisories without verifying facts,” he said.