Archives for March 2017

Offering available across 1500 food retail brands around 1000+ cinemas, on all BookMyShow platforms

​Bangalore​, March 2​3​, 2017: To enhance and complement the overall movie going experience, India’s largest entertainment ticketing platform – BookMyShow, has expanded its ‘MyCoupons’ offering to 45 cities across India. MyCoupons are exclusive and free discount coupons that can be availed at popular restaurants & cafes in the vicinity of the cinema a user is visiting. With a validity of two days (including the day of the movie show), a user can pick upto two Free MyCoupons right after making the seat selection on BookMyShow and redeem at their preferred restaurant or café, by simply showing the received e-mail or SMS to avail fabulous discounts.

BookMyShow piloted this offering in Mumbai and Pune in 2016 and in a span of just 10 months has expanded MyCoupons across 45 cities, which include all metros, mini-metros and cities such as Lucknow, Jalandhar, Warangal, Vizag, Mangalore and Jaipur among others.BookMyShow has partnered with more than 1500 food retail brands right from local city food joints to popular national chains including McDonald’s (Hardcastle Restaurants), Chaayos, Mainland China, Dunkin Donuts, Barbeque Nation, Subway, Bikanerwalaetc. to cover a combined 5000+ outletsaround 1000+ cinemas across these cities. The offering, which was earlier available through bookings made on BookMyShow website, can now also be availed through BookMyShow Android & iOS apps.

Marzdi Kalianiwala, VP- Business Intelligence and Marketing, BookMyShow said, “Movie watching in India is not just an activity but rather an experience that we share with friends and family. In most cases, this experience remains incomplete unless we eat out with them either before or after the movie. Since we know when and where our user is consuming the content, we are able to ensure that relevant and highly contextual offers are targeted towards them, thus strengthening the overall proposition through MyCoupons for our users. We have witnessed an extremely warm and rapid response to MyCoupons across all markets, with adoption rates growing at as high as 200% month-on-month.We are now aggressively working towards expanding this to other markets and delighting many more users with our offering.”

New Delhi: An unrepentant Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad today said that he would not apologise to the Air India staffer whom he assaulted, and instead blamed the airline employee for the incident. The MP drew more flak today, with four private Indian carriers banning him from flying, while Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathy Raju promised that action would be taken against him.

Gaikwad told reporters at the Maharashtra Sadan here this morning that he has no regret over his actions, saying “kaahe ka pashchaataap (what is there to repent)?” “I will not apologise…he (AI Manager Sukumar) should come and apologise… then we will see. A 60-year-old man should also know how to behave,” he said.

Gaikwad said he went out to watch a Bollywood movie — ‘Badrinath ki Dulhaniya’ — last night to “relax” himself after journalists sought his reaction over the incident. “Tension-free hona chahiye na…you also watch the movie…it’s very good,” he said. The first-time lawmaker also said he had made the Parliament “proud”, when asked if his act has brought shame to the temple of democracy.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she cannot take suo motu action and that she will take a call if it is brought to her notice in the House. “I always say every human being should behave in a nice manner with everyone…whosoever it is, your behaviour should be good with everyone. As a mother I would suggest that to everyone. I will understand everything and then I will comment,” she told reporters before entering the house.

Gaikwad also said that he has had no conversation with his party chief Uddhav Thackeray since the incident and added that he has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Civil Aviation Minister regarding the incident. Yesterday Gaikwad had repeatedly hit a 60-year-old Air India officer with sandal over being unable to travel business class despite having insisted on boarding an all-economy flight. The national carrier has filed two FIRs against the MP, while the Shiv Sena has sought an explanation from him.

“Police can arrest me…my party, Uddhav saheb will take care of it,” he said. Raju said the incident “should never have happened”. “It was an unfortunate incident. It should never have happened. What has to happen (now), will happen. I am not saying no action has to be taken. Action has to be taken and we will do it. That is not the problem at all. “I am also an MP. We are not above the law and we have to follow the law of the land,” he told reporters outside the House.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Manish Tewari said the Sena MP should be expelled from the House for his “outrageous” and “brazen” act of “cowardice”. “He (Gaikwad) should be expelled from the House. It has the inherent power to do so. It doesn’t require anyone to complain…it should take suo motu cognisance,” he said.

Meanhwile, the Federation of Indian Airlines, which has Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir as members, has taken a “strong view of the incident and accordingly taken a decision to bar Gaikwad from flying”, an FIA source said. The FIA will not allow the Sena MP to fly on its member carriers, the source said.

(Agencies)

Hathras Sadar sub-divisional magistrate Rakesh Gupta met the shop owners and heard their grievances. (ANI photo)

Hathras (UP): Three shops selling meat and fish were set afire by unidentified persons here, triggering panic in the area, police said Wednesday.

The incident comes close on the heels of some slaughter houses being sealed in Uttar Pradesh after the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath was sworn in.

Police said the arson incident took place in Manyawar Kanshiram Colony last night. The shop owners said all their stock was charred in the fire.

Superintendent of Police, Hathras, Dilip Kumar Srivastava, said, “Unidentified persons set ablaze three shops selling fish and meat. An FIR has been registered against them.”

Sub-divisional magistrate (Hathras Sadar) Rakesh Gupta later met the aggrieved shop owners and heard their grievances.

The BJP had announced in its manifesto that it would take “stern steps to close down all illegal slaughterhouses besides banning mechanised slaughterhouses” if it comes to power.

Yesterday, a slaughterhouse, which was allegedly being run illegally, was sealed by the district authorities in Kamalgadaha locality.

Officials claimed, that the slaughterhouse had been shutdown in 2012, but it continued to operate in a clandestine manner.

The Ghaziabad Police had yesterday sealed 10 meat shops and four slaughter houses which were allegedly running illegally in the city.

(PTI)

New Delhi: Narada News chief Mathew Samuel who conducted a sting operation purportedly showing Trinamool Congress leaders accepting bribes, on Wednesday approached the police claiming threats to himself and his family.

Samuel, who is currently in Kerala, filed the complaint with the state police, while his family filed a complaint with the Delhi Police as they are in the national capital.

In both complaints, Samuel and family have claimed that they were being “stalked” and “followed” since afer the Calcutta High Court on March 17 ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the 2016 sting operation.

“Ever since the high court’s order came, I, my family and my staff are regularly being stalked by unknown men,” Samuel told IANS over phone.

“I am the prime witness in the Narada sting operation. The Kolkata Police have already tried to harass me by registering a false case against me. And now these threats. There appears to be a plan to eliminate me, the prime witness,” Samuel said.

Asked whom he suspected, Samuel said: “Who else could it be? My life is a threat only to those against whom I conducted the sting.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government’s appeal and declined to interfere with the high court order.

The controversy erupted in March 2016 when Narada News portal uploaded a series of videos purportedly showing a number of high-profile Trinamool Congress leaders, including former and present ministers, members of Parliament and state lawmakers, receiving money in exchange of favours to a fictitious company.

The Narada News footage became a big issue during the 2016 West Bengal assembly polls, but the Trinamool Congress managed to retain power despite a vigorous anti-corruption campaign by the opposition.

(IANS)