Archives for 2022

MANGALURU: Karnataka bandh call given by various Muslim organisations to protest against the Karnataka High Court’s verdict on Hijab, has been receiving overwhelming response in Dakshina Kannada.

The fishing harbour in Bunder, Central Market, State Bank, APMC market and other business areas in Mangaluru wore a deserted look on Thursday morning. These areas usually buzz with trading of fish, vegetables and others early morning.

Sources said that a majority of those involved in fish and vegetable trading in Mangaluru are Muslims and they chose to shut their business to support the bandh.

Public too felt the heat of the bandh as they struggled to get their daily fish and vegetables.

A majority of chicken, mutton and beef stalls were also shut in markets of Mangaluru and other parts of Dakshina Kannada.

Ullal region in the district which is a Muslim majority area witnessed overwhelming support for the bandh. Many areas in this region witnessed a deserted look in the morning.

The wholesale market in Kallapu which also sees traders from Kasaragod saw no activity on Thursday.

SDPI leaders said the bandh call has evoked good response in all parts of the district till 9 am and it most likely to continue for the rest of the day. Several associations have extended their support to the Bandh.

SHIVAMOGGA: A day after the Karnataka High Court upheld the hijab ban on college campuses, a few Muslim girl students boycotted colleges in Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru and staged protests, saying that wearing hijab is their Constitutional right.

The students at IDSG Government College staged a protest on Wednesday after the college refused to allow them inside the campus wearing hijab and burqa. The students stated that wearing hijab is their fundamental right. They added that they are upset with the High Court’s order. An internal exam was scheduled, but the students refused to write it. They said that the HC order will be challenged in the Supreme Court. Later, the protesters returned home. 

Meanwhile, some students at Kamala Nehru Memorial National College for Women boycotted classes, after the college refused to let them in with hijab and burqa, as per the State Government’s notification and the High Court’s order. 

The students staged a protest in front of the college and urged the government to allow them to attend classes wearing hijab and burqa. However, they returned home after the college refused to let them in. The police was prepared to prevent any untoward incidents. Meanwhile, students in other colleges attended classes wearing prescribed uniforms. 

In Davanagere, though a holiday was declared for their college, a few students staged a protest in front of the First Grade College and demanded that Muslim girls be allowed to attend classes wearing hijab. The students said they will not attend classes till justice is done.

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his outfit scored a moral victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls as it is “expanding” while the BJP has “shrunk”, apparently referring to the number of seats bagged by his party.

The BJP combine got 273 seats while the SP-led alliance bagged 125 seats in the elections. “In the elections, ‘samajwadis’ (sociallists) got moral victory. With the struggle of socialist workers and leaders, and the cooperation of people, the Samajwadi Party is expanding and the BJP has shrunk,” Akhilesh Yadav said in Sitapur, according to the SP’s official Twitter handle.

Yadav was in Sitapur to condole the death of party leader and former minister Narendra Verma’s brother Mahendra Verma.

On the way to Sitapur, a bull came in front of the Yadav’s vehicle. “In the journey, you will get bulls. If you can move forward, go ahead.

The journey is difficult in UP, if you can move, go ahead,” he said posting a video of the incident.

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and his wife for questioning in a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam in West Bengal, officials said on Thursday.

The Delhi High Court had on March 11 dismissed a plea by the couple challenging the summons that asked them to appear before the ED.

The earlier summons was issued to them on September 10 last year and the couple had sought direction from the court to the ED that they should not be summoned for appearance in Delhi since they are residents of West Bengal.

Banerjee has once been questioned by the ED in this case in September last year at an agency office in the national capital.

The ED lodged a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, based on a November 2020 FIR registered by the CBI that alleged a multi-crore coal pilferage scam related to Eastern Coalfields Limited mines in the state’s Kunustoria and Kajora areas in and around Asansol.

Local coal operative Anup Majhi alias Lala is alleged to be the prime suspect in the case.

The ED had claimed that the 34-year-old TMC parliamentarian was a beneficiary of funds obtained from this illegal trade.

He has denied all charges.

NEW DELHI: Global Covid case surge due to the Omicron variant led to a peak six times the previous waves but India managed to control its spread causing lower hospitalisation and fewer deaths than earlier surges, the government said on Thursday.

It pointed out that many countries are still experiencing a rise in cases which is higher than their previous surges.

“Not only the reported peak in India was much lower, the consistent efforts also led to a decreasing trajectory soon.

“The country managed the Omicron surge much better than others,” a health ministry official said during a presentation at a webinar on India’s Public Health Response to Manage COVID-19.

Expedited vaccination drive compounded by effective containment measures and early identification of cases contributed to lower hospitalisation and fewer deaths during the third surge in India, officials said.

They said that by December 31, 2021, when the first signs of the third wave emerged, India had already vaccinated 90.8 per cent of the eligible population with the first dose and 65.4 per cent with the second dose, which proved pivotal in saving lives.

India has administered more than 180 crore vaccine doses which is 3.2 times that of the USA and 12.7 times of France, officials said, adding crore doses were administered in less than a year.

According to the ministry, 96.74 crore adult beneficiaries have received at least the first dose in India which is 2.96 times the population of the USA and 6.71 times the population of Russia.

Also, 81.52 crore are fully vaccinated which is 3.83 times the population of Brazil and 12.13 times the population of the UK, it mentioned.

“With its focus on early identification, seamless admission and effective implementation of clinical management protocols, India has been able to limit the number of deaths,” an official said in a meeting with NGOs.

NGOs played a critical role in allaying fear in the community, removing vaccine hesitancy, mobilizing people for vaccinations, testing, facility admission, outreach to the vulnerable population, and most importantly conveying authentic information, he said.

The ministry stressed timely vaccination, wearing of face masks and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour continues to be the new normal.

It also said that continued collaboration with NGOs is crucial in preserving gains of the long-drawn battle against COVID-19.

NEW DELHI: Among the four airlines that are currently offering direct flights to London from Delhi, Air India’s flight duration is the shortest at nine hours. This is because they continue to fly on the earlier flight path, which crosses parts of Russia and Eastern Europe.

“We continue to operate our flights on the earlier route as the airspace is open. It is not a ‘no fly zone’ so it is safe,” said a source from Air India.

Vistara, a joint venture between Tata and SIA, takes 9 hours 20 minutes to reach London from Delhi, as they are not flying over Russia. British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic are taking longer routes to avoid flying over Russia as a result of which it is taking longer to reach their destination.

While BA is taking close to 10 hours, Virgin Atlantic is taking around 10.35 hours to complete the journey.

Meanwhile, the fares on the Delhi-London sector have sky-rocketed. There are two reasons behind this. Firstly, there are limited services and secondly the high cost of aviation turbine fuel (which has risen by Rs 19,000 per kilo litre since January this year) has led to the increased airfare. Besides, when you take a longer route you also burn more fuel so fares go up.

For a one-way ticket between Delhi to London, Air India charges Rs 81,852, Vistara Rs 95,154, British Airways Rs 1.42 lakh and Virgin Atlantic Rs 1.35 lakh. These are more than the return fare one would pay earlier on this sector.

BENGALURU: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday began one of its biggest operations in the State and raided 18 officers over alleged disproportionate assets (DA). According to the Additional Director  General, ACB, Seemant Singh, a team of 100 ACB officers accompanied with 300 staff are conducting searches at 75 locations.

The officers against whom raids are being conducted include: 

Rakesh Kumar, Town Planning, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA),

Ramesh Kankatte, regional forest officer, Social Forestry, Yadgir, Basavaraj Shekar Reddy Patil, executive engineer, Kaujalagi division,

Gokak, Basava Kumar S Annigeri, sheristedar, DC office, Gadag,

Gopinath N Malagi, project manager, Nirmiti Kendra, Vijayapura,

BK Shivakumar, additional director, Industries & Commerce, Bengaluru,

Shivanand P Sharanappa Khedagi, RFO, Badami,

Manjunath, assistant commissioner, Ramanagaram,

Srinivas, general manager, Social Welfare Department, Maheshwarappa, district environmental officer, Davangere,

Krishnan, Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Haveri,

Chaluvaraj, inspector, Excise, Gundlupete Taluka,

Girish, assistant engineer, National Highway Subdivision,

Balakrishna HN, inspector, Vijayanagara police station,  Mysuru,

Gavirangappa, assistant executive engineer (AEE), Public Works Department (PWD), Chikamagaluru,

Ashok Reddy Patil, AEE, Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd, Devadurga, Raichur and Daya Sunder Raju, AEE, Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation (KPTCL), Dakshina Kannada.

NEW DELHI: India is exploring options for buying Russian crude oil, authorities said Tuesday, with prices there plunging to record lows in the wake of a global backlash to the Ukraine conflict.

New Delhi enjoys historic diplomatic and defence ties with Moscow, hosting a rare overseas trip by President Vladimir Putin late last year, and has called for an end to the violence in Ukraine but stopped short of condemning the invasion.

Its government is looking to cut a spiralling energy bill after oil prices surged in the wake of the conflict, at the same time as a Washington embargo prompts other potential buyers to shun Russian oil. 

Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the government was having conversations “at the appropriate level of the Russian Federation” regarding the purchase.

“Discussions are currently underway. There are several issues to be gone into like how much oil is available,” he told parliament.

Puri added that the government was weighing issues related to insurance, freight and payment for the crude.

Many countries, including European nations, remain heavily dependent on fuel from Russia, the world’s second-largest crude oil exporter behind Saudi Arabia. 

India — the world’s third-largest crude importer — currently buys only about three per cent of its supplies from Russia, according to government data. 

New Delhi is also mulling setting up a rupee-rouble trade mechanism for paying for oil and other goods, according to local media reports.

Crude oil prices slipped to around $100 per barrel Tuesday, extending their plunge on markets after reaching a near 14-year high last week. 

The Ukraine crisis has left India facing a diplomatic dilemma after years of close ties with Russia that began during the Cold War, with Moscow still by far its biggest arms supplier.

Late last year it began taking delivery from Russia of the S-400 missile defence system that it agreed to buy for over $5 billion in 2018, despite the threat of US sanctions.

At the same time, it needs Western support to contend with its increasingly assertive neighbour, China, in the wake of increasingly fractious territorial disputes that escalated into a deadly border clash in 2020.