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Mangaluru, June 22: A chartered flight from Dammam with more than 170 stranded Saudi Kannadiga passengers landed at Mangaluru International Airport at 8.53 pm. 

The flight was chartered by Saudi Kannadigas Humanity Forum (SKHF), an unregistered NGO, which was formed recently to help the Kannadigas stranded in Saudi Arabia due to covid-19 lockdown under the leadership of Zakariya Jokatte, president of Jubail unit of Bearys Chamber of Commerce and Industry and KS Sheikh Karnire, Director of Expertise Contracting Co. Ltd, Saudi Arabia.

There were 165 adults and 8 infants on board the IndiGo flight. All the passengers were screened at the airport. They will be dispatched to quarantine centres after completing formalities. 

SKHF had launched an online portal to assist those who were in need of emergency repatriation such as elderly people, those who lost their jobs, pregnant women and those who are in need of emergency medical treatment back home in India. 

SKHF coordinated with the authorities concerned to carry out all the formalities and legal procedures in Saudi Arabia. SKHF members were present at the Dammam Airport to help the passengers during the departure. 

Mr Jokatte and Mr Sheikh have thanked U T Khader, Mangaluru MLA and Dr Arathi Krishna, former deputy chairperson of NRI forum of government of Karnataka, for their help in chartering the flight.

Bengaluru, Mar 2: The Opposition Congress and the JD(S) members protested in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Monday over the BJP leader Basavaraj Patil Yatnal's alleged derogatory remark against veteran freedom fighter H S Doreswamy.

Opposition Leader in the Assembly and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, raised the issue, immediately after the obituary reference of sudden demise of former Minister C Chanigappa, and sought permission from the Speaker to raise the issue of Yatnal's outburst in the House stating that the matter of hurling defamatory remark against Gandhian Doreswamy, by Mr Yatnal, was very much serious. However, the treasury bench members protested and urged the Speaker not to allow the matter to discuss as the issue was not in the agenda.

The Speaker, Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri, promised the Congress leader about permitting the issue after the House adopts resolution on the thanksgiving motion for the Governor's address of the joint House recently and asked Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to continue his reply to the Governor's address.

The opposition Congress and the JD(S) members, protesting the Speaker's action, trooped into the well of the house and raised slogans against the BJP government.

The Chief Minister continued his reply amidst the din before the Speaker adjourned the House for 30 minutes after the House adopted the thanksgiving motion to the Governor's Address.

Bengaluru, Jul 7: There seems no impact of Covid-19 on kharif crop sowing in Karnataka with the current year actually being ahead of previous years, according to an official here on Monday.

"In agriculture, as far as sowing is concerned, there is no impact of COVID-19," Agriculture Commissioner Brijesh Kumar Dikshit told IANS. One of the reasons, according to Dikshit, is that people in rural areas are aware, but not scared of the pandemic.

"In rural India, coronavirus is there. People are aware, not scared. They are taking precautions, but don't have any phobia," he said.

Another reason was that by June the number of infections in Karnataka was not as high as other states, when a lot of sowing was done, he said.

By the end of June, Karnataka saw 15,242 Covid-19 cases. Of that, 7,074 were active.

The sowing is ahead of previous year as it's mostly dependent on weather. "It's ahead of previous years. Agriculture is directed by weather and rains had been slightly earlier this year," he said.

According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, at 185 mm the state received 14 mm less rain in June against the normal 199 mm. "It's like a normal year, or slightly a good year," he said.

Some crops will be sown in the last fortnight of July and few more will extend up to August 15. "The last two weeks will be critical and on July 31 we should be able to tell whether we are short or ahead," he said.

According to preliminary indications, the Commissioner said the area under agriculture is increasing this year, which could also be because that labourers might have come back.