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Bengaluru, May 20: An Air India flight from Dammam in Saudi Arabia landed here with 161 passengers, including 85 for Karnataka and 76 to Hyderabad, an official said on Wednesday. Among Karnataka passengers there were both Bengalureans and Mangalureans.

"AIC-1910 (Airbus A321-211) landed at the city airport at 8.45 p.m. and 85 passengers, including 9 women and one infant alighted here, while 76 will fly to Hyderabad," the airline official said. 

The flight was 45 minutes behind schedule to Bengaluru.

The airline staff and the state government officials received the returnees in the arrival terminal and gave them masks to wear and sanitizer to wash hands.

All the passengers would be screened with thermal device to read their body temperature though only asymptomatic were flown back.

After completing formalities, including immigration check and filling the self-declaration form, the returnees were taken in state-run buses in batches for 14-day institutional quarantine in hotels and resorts across the city.

Passengers have to download the mandatory Quarantine app on their mobile phone before leaving the airport for contact tracing later.

Another evacuation flight from Kuala Lampur in Malaysia to Bengaluru has been cancelled due to Amphan cyclone over the Bay of Bengal that hit the Odisha and West Bengal on the east coast.

The service was the fourth to the southern state in the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission, the national carrier and its Express arm are operating to repatriate thousands of Indians, including distressed workers, migrants, students, senior citizens and tourists, stranded overseas since the government suspended international flights on March 23 and enforced an extended lockdown on March 25 to combat Covid-19 spread.

The first flight in the second phase landed on Monday night at Mangaluru on the state's west coast, with 177 passengers from Dubai in the UAE.

The second flight to the southern state from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia landed here (Bengaluru) on Tuesday evening, with 94 passengers.

The third flight from Muscat in Oman landed here at 6.31 p.m. on Wednesday evening and at Mangaluru on the state's west coast at 8.01 p.m.

The remaining flights to Karnataka will land in Bengaluru and Mangaluru over the next 13 days till June 3 from 12 more destinations the world over.

In the first phase of the mission from May 7-17, the airline and its arm flew 6 flights to the state from May 11-15, bringing in 800 passengers, including 623 to Bengaluru and 177 to Mangaluru from London, Singapore, San Francisco and Dubai.

Newsroom, Jan 29: Karnataka’s capital has earned the unwelcome distinction of global capital of traffic congestion. According to a report by TomTom, the Netherlands-based global provider of navigation, traffic and map products, Bengaluru beat 415 other cities across 57 countries to earn the title of world's most traffic congested city in 2019.

“Bengaluru takes the top spot this year with drivers in the southern Indian city expecting to spend an average of 71% extra travel time stuck in traffic," TomTom said in the ninth edition of its annual Traffic Index.

Three other Indian cities, namely, Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi are also ranked in the 2019 edition of TomTom’s Traffic Index of the world’s most traffic-congested cities. 

The report released on Tuesday ranks cities by the average time added to a trip. TomTom index also includes details on when congestion is heaviest and lightest, how highways compare with surface streets, and how much time drivers wasted waiting for other drivers to get out of their way.

Following closely on the heels of Bengaluru is Manila, Philippines, with the similar 71% traffic congestion. Among the top five worst traffic affected cities are Mumbai and Pune from India at the fourth and fifth place respectively, while Bogota, Colombia is on third spot.

Delhi, the national capital of India is on the 8th spot, while Moscow (Russia), Lima (Peru), Istanbul (Turkey) and Jakarta (Indonesia) are on 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th spot respectively.

Mumbai recorded a 65% traffic congestion with 9th September, 2019 being the worst day. On an average, a Mumbaikar lost 209 hours in traffic congestion. Pune has 59% traffic congestion with 2nd August, 2019 being the worst day. 193 hours are lost due to congestion. Delhi, on the other hand, has 56% traffic congestion. 23rd October, 2019 was the worst day, while 190 hours are lost in traffic congestion.

Interestingly, among all the four Indian cities, Delhi has the most number of cars. Previous studies have concluded that Delhi has the best road conditions among the Metro cities of India.

If you are wondering what exactly the percentages mean, a 53% congestion level in Bangkok, for example, means that a trip will take 53% more time than it would during Bangkok’s baseline uncongested conditions.

TomTom calculates the baseline per city by analyzing free-flow travel times of all vehicles on the entire road network – recorded 24/7, 365 days a year. The report by Dutch navigation and mapping company ranks cities by the average time added to a trip. It also includes details on when congestion is heaviest and lightest, and how much time drivers wasted waiting for other drivers to get out of their way.

Bengaluru, Jul 16: Former union minister and Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said that if at all there is a political future for Sachin Pilot it is in the Congress party.

While speaking to news agency, Moily said Sachin Pilot achieved everything by being in Congress party.

"Sachin Pilot became MP, union minister in UPA-II, PCC president in Rajasthan and Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Whatever grievances you have, it needs to be resolved within the forum of the party. There is no hurry for Sachin Pilot. If at all there is a future for him it is in the Congress party. He has to realise that. He says he won't join BJP, it is good," Moily said.

The former Union Minister Moily further said that Pilot could not become Chief Minister as in Congress, the high command sends an observer and opinion of MLAs is ascertained, be it in Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan.

"The leader who enjoys the support of elected MLAs is made Chief Minister," Moily said.
On July 14, Congress party had sacked Sachin Pilot from the post of Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan and also from PCC president.

The Rajasthan Congress is in turmoil over the past few days. State Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has blamed the BJP for attempting to destabilise the state government by poaching MLAs. The Congress government in the state is facing a political crisis after simmering differences between Pilot and Ashok Gehlot came out in the open.

A controversy broke out in Rajasthan after Special Operation Group (SOG) sent a notice to Pilot to record his statement in the case registered by SOG in the alleged poaching of Congress MLAs in the state.