Tipu wasn't a freedom fighter; what's logic behind his jayanti: High Court

When the black and white photos of the ‘London to Calcutta (Kolkata) bus service’ went viral on social media recently, the response of some of the netizens was “stop spreading fake news!” But, it isn’t a fake news. The late 1950s indeed offered people a lavish bus trip from London to Kolkata. 

While one of the viral images shows passengers at the Victoria Coach Station, London, boarding 'Albert', the other image show the same bus travelling through a valley. In another image the bus is stationed at a tourist spot. All these photos were captured during the bus’ maiden international journey in 1957.  

An image of the bus ticket is also making rounds on social media, that shows the route of the bus — London, Belgium, West Germany, Austria,Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, West Pakistan, India. The route in India followed Delhi, Agra, Allahabad, Banaras and finally Calcutta.

The ticket shows that a one side travel cost 145 pounds (13,644 Rupees at the present day) back then, and it was inclusive of all the luxury provided during the run.

The luxurious bus provided the facilities of reading, individual sleeping bunks, radio/taped music for parties and pleasure and fan heaters, among other things. The brochure reads, "Your complete home while you travel."

Some of the tour highlights included Banaras on the Ganges, The Taj Mahal, The Raj Path, The Rhine Valley and The Peacock Throne. Passengers reportedly got free shopping days in New Delhi, Tehran, Salzburg, Kabul, Istanbul and Vienna.

Udupi, Mar 6: District Health Officer Sudheer Chandra said that health department had compiled a list of foreigners visiting the Temple town Udupi and ensure that they are not infected with Coronavirus.

Addressing media persons at District Government Hospital in Ajjarkad on Friday, he said the Isolation Unit set up with five beds to treat the new Coronavirus infection includes two beds with Ventilator facility. Isolation wards with three beds were set up in Kundapur and Karkala taluks to treat the affected.

In order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, Committees were formed at District and Taluk level, he added.

Mumbai, Mar 16: Shri Sai Baba sansthan trust on sunday appealed to devotees to postpone their visit to Shirdi for a few days in view of coronavirus outbreak in the country.

"As per the directives of the government, I request the devotees to postpone their visit to Shirdi for a few days," said Arun Dogre, Chief Executive Officer of Shri Sai Baba sansthan trust, Shirdi.

On Saturday, the Siddhivinayak temple located in Prabhadevi has instructed all its employees to wear masks, while hand sanitizers have been provided to everyone inside the temple.

Speaking to news agency,Siddhivinayak trust chairman , Adesh Bandekar had said, "We are providing sanitizers to all the devotees in the temple and where they stand in a queue holding the railings, are being cleaned in every 30 minutes."

Coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, has so far spread to more than 100 countries infecting over 1,20,000 people. In India, 107 persons, including foreign nationals were tested positive till March 15 at 12 pm.