BJP directly involved in the leakage of Lokayukta report: Cong

Alappuzha, Jan 9: The houseboat of Nobel Laureate Michael Levitt was blocked in the backwaters here for some time by trade union activists, who were on a nationwide strike against the Centre's "anti-labour" policies on Wednesday.

Michael Levitt, an American-British-Israeli biophysicist and a professor of structural biology at the Stanford University in the United States, said the incident sent a bad message to tourists.

Levitt, who was in Kerala as a state guest, also said he felt as if a bandit had stopped his wife and him at gunpoint. Police said Levitt, who received the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was in Alappuzha with his wife and they were stopped by the protesters near Kainakary.

"Being stopped by criminals on the backwaters sends a very bad message to tourists. It is as if a bandit stopped us at gunpoint and delayed us under the threat of force for one hour," Levitt wrote in an email to his tour agent at Kottayam.

In the email, which was later released to the media, he also said the person who blocked them "ignored all arguments that tourists were exempted" from the strike.

"This person, who did this, ignored all arguments that tourists were exempted and that I am a VIP guest of the Kerala government. He was obviously acting, knowing that he was safe from prosecution. Sadly, this makes me fear that India is sinking into lawlessness," Levitt wrote in the email.

The police registered a case after the houseboat owners filed a complaint in this regard.

Reacting to the incident, state Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the government would take strong action. "Strong action will be taken against those anti-social elements who stopped the boat. Levitt was here as a guest of the state government. The government had made it clear that the tourism industry was exempted from the strike," he said.

Trade union leaders had also announced that the strike would not affect the tourism industry.

Ten trade unions, including the INTUC, the AITUC and the CITU, had called for the nationwide strike to protest against the labour reforms, FDI, disinvestment, corporatisation and privatisation policies of the Centre and press for a 12-point demands of the working class, relating to minimum wage, among others.

Mumbai, May 30: Former Bollywood actress Zaira Wasim has deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts after being heavily trolled for quoting from the Quran while talking about locust attacks.

"So We sent upon them the flood and locusts and lice and frogs and blood: Signs openly self explained: but they were steeped in arrogance -- a people given to sin. --Qur'an 7:133," Zaira had tweeted.

Soon, she started receiving hateful comments from netizens who interpreted her post as a justification of the locust attacks. They felt that Zaira was suggesting that the incident is God's way of expressing wrath.

Shortly after being deluged with such comments, Zaira Wasim deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts.

However, a section of netizens continue to attack Zaira on her Facebook page, where she put up the same post.

Commenting on the post, a user wrote: "Lady you must have taken into account of those people of JK, Kerala and elsewhere who are also suffering from the virus. Moreover the crops which are damaged by locust had no name as to who will consume them. In this hours of crisis please post something which is positive and reflects your education."

Another user shared: "So according to you, with all due respect every year on the same time period, Allah send locust to India to destroy the crops of poor farmers who are not even involve in the industrial rise, who don't use vehicle to destroy the nature, and Allah send locust only to harm the poor farmers and not the rich one who actually destroy nature."

"So those farmers who lost there fields of crops and will probably go into debt and may also commit suicide, those farmers who feed the nation, who feed you and every one, are sinners?" asked yet another user.

However, there were a few on social media who felt Zaira had done nothing wrong.

"Quoting Quranic Verse is not a crime... Why is every Indian abusing @ZairaWasimmm. She didn't mention any particular nation or religion. I request everyone please stand with #ZairaWasim. She needs our support. #ISupportZairaWasim," goes a tweet.

Mangaluru, May 6: Amidst delay in repatriation of Kannadigas stuck in Gulf countries including UAE and Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the office bearers, the executive committee and members of the Bearys Chamber of Commerce & Industry, its president Mr S M Rasheed Haji and executive committee member U T Ifthikar Ali today (May 6) called on authorities concerned in Dakshina Kannada to persuade them to follow up with the State and Central level authorities.  

The duo met Nalin Kumar Kateel, Dakshina Kannada MP, who immediately contacted Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, over phone and urged him to take up the issue with the external affairs ministry. Mr Joshi told Mr Kateel that efforts are still underway to bring back Kannadigas stranded in Gulf countries. However flights schedules are yet to be finalised.

The duo then met Kota Srinivas Poojary, district in-charge minister, who said that the government is prepared to handle the repatriation flights and passengers. 

The duo also met IAS officer Rahul Shinde, who is in-charge of affairs related to international passengers coming to Dakshina Kannada amid covid-19 crisis. Meanwhile, Zakariya Jokatte, president of Jubail unit of BCCI, spoke to Mr Shindhe over phone.

The official explained that the govt has made elaborate arrangements to conduct medical test of passengers on arrival at the Mangaluru International Airport. 

The passengers will be categorised into A, B and C groups depending on their symptoms and co-morbid conditions. The category A passengers (symptomatic passengers) will be sent to isolation hospitals which may be Covid care centres. Category B passengers (asymptomatic but suffering from co-morbid conditions) will be quarantined at hotels, hostels, guest houses etc. Category C passengers (asymptomatic and healthy) will be home quarantined.

The minister and official also sought BCCI’s cooperation in handling the situation. 

Quarantine accommodation facility 

Yenepoya group has already offered two of their hotels as quarantine accommodation and promised to offer one more.  Entrepreneur U Kanachur Monu and many others too have offered their hotels as quarantine accommodation in Mangaluru. 

District administration has asked Treebo, a hotel aggregator to list such willing facilities on their website.