News

Gujarat govt launches intrastate flight services from Surat, chopper joyride at Ahmedabad

The Gujarat government launched intrastate air services connecting Surat to four others cities and a helicopter joyride in Ahmedabad. The daily intrastate flight services, connecting Surat to Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Amreli, will be operated by Surat-based Ventura AirConnect, at a launch price of INR 1,999 per ticket on all these routes, an official said. A chopper joyride from Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad will be operated by Aerotrans Services, a city-based air charter service company, on weekends, he said. Gujarat Civil Aviation Minister Purnesh Modi inaugurated the services. The flight services, launched in collaboration with the state government, will help the elderly and physically-challenged citizens during emergencies, and will aid industries and tourism, the official said. The flight time from Surat to Bhavnagar will be 30 minutes, while the duration to Amreli will be 45 minutes and 60 minutes to Ahmedabad and Rajkot, it was stated. As per a release issued by Aerotrans Services, the helicopter joyride from riverfront to Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad will last for nine minutes, with five passengers travelling each trip, costing INR 2,360 per person per ride. Another route for the joyride will be from riverfront to Science City and back, which will start from mid-January 2022, it said. Speaking on the occasion, Modi said the Centre had developed more than 15 airports in the state. Air strips in smaller towns such as Deedsa, Keshod, Amreli, Morbi, Palitana, Rajpipla, Ankleshwar and Mesana will be developed to improve air connectivity. Apart from the new services, the government also plans to connect Ahmedabad and Bhuj with a 50-seater airplane, the minister said. "An old plane used by the chief minister will be converted into an air ambulance. The plane will be converted into an air ambulance within three hours. We will charge INR 50,000 for an hour for the health service with the aim to save lives," Modi said.

Read more

Winter travel advisory for southern and eastern Ontario

Winter weather advisories blanket much of southern and southeastern Ontario on Sunday — stretching from Windsor-Essex, through London-Middlesex, Waterloo-Wellington and up to the Cornwall area. Environment Canada has issued a winter weather travel advisory with snow that will move east to west. Total snowfall is expected to be anywhere from five to 10cm According to the weather statement, motorists should expect hazardous winter driving conditions and adjust travel plans accordingly or consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve. Road and traveller information is available through the Ministry of Transportation.

Read more

Lords Hotels & Resorts launches new property in Panchgani

Premier mid-hotel chain, Lords Hotel & Resorts has announced the launch of its latest property in Panchgani, a prime leisure and tourist destination in the Satara district of Maharashtra state. This smart True Value business hotel is named Lords Eco Inn and the company claims it offers all the amenities associated with star hotels at budget property prices. The property is positioned on a hillside and is located close to the popular Onwheelz Amusement Park in the Ruighar - Mahu Dam Road, Ganeshpeth. The Lords Hotels and Resorts presently owns and manages 57 hotels in 13 states in two countries: including Nepal. Its presence is in various cities across India covering business, leisure and religious destinations across India and operates under four brands viz Plaza, Inn, Eco Inn & Resorts to suit the needs of wide and varied guests. The chain has aggressive expansion plans with five more properties in different parts of the country being planned to be brought under its folds in the next six months. By 2025, the chain intends to take the number to 49 hotels, making it the largest operating in its category in the country. Delighted with this latest acquisition of Lords Hotels and Resorts, Rishi Puri, Vice President, Lords Hotels and Resorts is upbeat about the property and said, “In recent times, Panchgani has been the ideal go-to-destination for the city dwellers and with the famous holiday homes and elite boarding schools in the vicinity we are hoping to promote our leisure services to the elite customer base. We also are looking forward to offering the Eco-friendly and nature lovers to enjoy the flora and fauna surrounding and the serenity that the property offers in abundance. It’s the cherry on the top for the Lords group and we ensure exhilarating hospitality to all.” Surrounded by Nature, the hotel’s grand façade has lavishly designed lobby and reception area has been furnished to suit the comfort of visitors. The property boasts 40 luxurious guestrooms with hi-end amenities; and includes suite and valley facing rooms; well-designed to suit the needs of both domestic & international travelers alike. The interiors also include an infinity swimming pool overlooking the valley, a well-furnished restaurant, The Blue Coriander of the Lords Group, a pool deck, a game room with a Foosball table and an artificial mini golf course; and lastly a meeting and a banquet space for 60 passengers.

Read more

Hong Kong Tourism to organise virtual Cyclothon for Indians during first fortnight of 2022

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has announced the return of the muchanticipated Hong Kong Cyclothon on January 16, 2022, which would be organised in hybrid format on a new route. The free virtual race will be held from January 3-16, 2022, and the physical event for HK residents will take place on January 16, 2022. Having started in 2015, the Hong Kong Cyclothon has attracted 1,700 local and international cyclists to take part in the unique cycling experience in the city. The physical event of the Hong Kong Cyclothon will include the Hong Kong Section of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge (HZMB) for the first time. The HZMB is a massive maritime bridge that connects Hong Kong, Zhuhai, and Macao. It is the world's longest bridge-tunnel system sea crossing, traversing the waters of the Lingdingyang channel in the Pearl River Estuary. Commenting on the development, Dane Cheng, Executive Director, Hong Kong Tourism Board said, “This year’s Hong Kong Cyclothon will not only be the first sports event held on the world’s longest bridge-tunnel sea crossing as it is taking a whole route on the HZMB but also the first time a virtual experience has been incorporated into the event, offering cyclists worldwide who are unable to take part physically a thrilling and immersive experience of racing over the landmark bridge. These special features are a pilot run for future intercity events in the Greater Bay Area and consolidate Hong Kong’s status as the international tourism event capital in the GBA. I sincerely hope participants from other cities in the Area will come and ride with us in the years to come.” To share the excitement of racing on the bridge as widely as possible, a free virtual experience emulating the HZMB's 26-kilometer actual route is introduced to increase the event's attractiveness. It also allows cyclists from India and the rest of the world that are unable to attend in-person to enjoy a mesmerising simulation of the experience. From December 28, onwards, the participants can download the 'Hong Kong Cyclothon: go virtual' app from DiscoverHongKong website and create their accounts to participate in the virtual races. From January 3-16, cyclists can utilise their own training bike stations and participate in Virtual Races by pairing their Android devices with smart trainers like Wahoo Kickr, Wahoo Kickr Core, and Wahoo Kickr Snap through this app. There is no limit on the number of attempts they can make. During the virtual races, participants can climb, descend, accelerate, and sweat along the animated route. E-sports elements such as timed acceleration zones are also included to add excitement to the ride. Participants can check their time and ranking after the race. The top 20 best-performing global participants will receive e-coupons for professional cycling gear as awards.

Read more

Bengaluru in red zone! Strict COVID curbs before 7 Jan. Details here

Bengaluru is in the Red Zone, a Karnataka minister sounded an alarm over the sudden spike in daily COVID cases and further noted that ‘People's lives can be saved if more restrictions are imposed in the city.’ Stating that an atmosphere of third wave is already built in the country, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka today said, as qouted by news agency PTI, “The spike in infections in Karnataka was a serious issue." Speaking about the situation in Bengaluru in particular, he said, “Bengaluru is in the Red Zone according to the list declared by the Union government. It is important to sound an alert in Bengaluru. We can save people's lives if we impose more restrictions in Bengaluru and reduce the number of hospitalisations." More COVID restrictions in Karnataka Meanwhile, Karnataks is likely to see stricter curbs as the Revenue Minister asserted that the government is mulling to announce ‘some tough rules’ in coming days. "We will convene a meeting and announce some tough rules before January 7 when the night curfew will be lifted," R Ashoka said. Explaing further, Ashoka said a government panel on COVID-19 would convene a meeting before January 7. "We will implement the recommendations of the committee in toto because we have seen the sufferings and deaths last time," Ashoka said. Ashoka along with the Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan and Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar are part of the panel. The Minister explained that the government will not leave any loophole this time in terms of oxygen supply, availability of beds or medicines. "We will make all necessary arrangements. We are cautious and we will make all necessary arrangements under the leadership of our chief minister," Ashoka added. Earlier Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai had also dropped hints of stricter curbs in the state. "In the days to come we will take certain important decisions," Bommai said recently. The state witnessed sudden a spike in coronavirus infections when 1,033 cases were reported on Saturday. Three months ago on September 9, 2021, the state had last reported over 1,000 cases. As on Sunday morning, the Omicron tally of the state is 64.

Read more

Chandigarh announces new Covid curbs: Restaurants, banquet halls to run at 50% capacity

All restaurants in Chandigarh, including hotels, coffee shops and eateries, have been ordered to run at 50% capacity, said the union territory administration on Sunday. The same rules apply to marriage palaces and banquet halls as well. In addition to this, only those who have taken both doses of vaccine will be allowed entry into these establishments. This comes a day after neighbouring Haryana ordered the closure of cinema halls, sports complexes, swimming pools, and entertainment parks in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ambala, Panchkula and Sonepat from 2 to 12 January. According to an official order, all the sports complexes, swimming pools, and stadia shall remain closed except when being used for training of sportspersons for participation in national and international sports events. "Government and private offices, except for emergency or essential services have been advised to function with 50% staff attendance. Malls and markets will be allowed to open till 5 pm, while bars and restaurants will be allowed to operate at 50% seating capacity," the order read. It further said, "Only fully-vaccinated people are allowed to enter at places like markets, public transport, religious places, bars, restaurants, etc." Covid situation in UT Chandigarh on Saturday recorded its highest single-day spike since June as 70 more people tested positive, taking the total number of active cases in the City to 236. As many as eight patients were cured of the disease in the past 24 hours. The city had reported 49 new cases and no new death on Friday. Haryana on Friday saw the biggest single-day jump of 26 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus that pushed its tally of such infections to 63. Of the total 63 cases, 23 are active while the rest have been discharged.

Read more