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Nagpur braces for weeklong Covid lockdown

NAGPUR: With Covid-19 cases continuing to surge, restrictions on movement of people and non-essential shops and activities are back for a week starting Monday in the city and Kamptee, Hingna, Koradi and nearby places. For the first time in year-long pandemic, only standalone essential shops like kirana, vegetables, fruits, chicken, mutton, fish etc shops will be allowed to function. The restrictions have revived the memories of three-month full lockdown that was enforced from March third week to first week of June last year. Activists TH Naidu and Narayan Ahuja said, “NMC move seems without any proper study. Crowding will happen if only one shop remains open in one area. Crowd will be distributed if several shops are available, subject to safe distance in one area. There are various such lacunae in latest restrictions. Construction activities are allowed but hardware shops are shut. Workers engaged in construction activities do not have any I-card to prove they are working at a particular site.” The district administration and civic body have not done anything for the distribution of food or ration kits to the poor that was ensured during the full lockdown. Also, NGOs have been refused permission to distribute food to needy people. Collector Ravindra Thakare in his order imposed restriction on programmes likely to cause crowding even at home except for funerals that can go on with not more than 20 people attending. Intimate zone office before organising functions at home, says civic chief Already, many activities like educational institutions, weekly markets, marriages in lawns, halls etc have been restricted since February 23. Restrictions could be continued till March end if cases do not decline considering the Holi festival falls on March 29. Guardian minister Nitin Raut on Sunday said, “Further decision on lockdown depends upon the decline in cases of coronavirus.” Municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B on Sunday imposed restrictions on running essential shops in markets and side-by side. “More than one shop of these essential shops will not be allowed at one place,” he said.

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Covid-19: Complete Lockdown In Parts Of Mussoorie; What’s Open And What’s Not

As Covid-19 cases spike, the Dehradun District Magistrate (DM) has ordered a complete lockdown in Galway Cottage and St. George's School, Barlow Ganj areas of Mussoorie, news agency ANI reported. In an official notification published on Saturday, the DM states that all shops and offices will remain shut in the areas. The sale of essential items will be arranged by the district administration, the official said. The order further said that people in these areas will need to stay indoors during the lockdown and that only one person from a family will be allowed to step out for purchasing essential items from government mobile shop in the locality. This comes as according to the latest health bulletin, the Covid-19 tally in the state has gone up to 97,700 while the toll has reached 1,700. Meanwhile, the newly sworn-in Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday decided to withdraw all cases registered in connection with Covid-19 norms violations. State Chief Secretary Omprakash said the state cabinet has decided to withdraw all cases filed for the violation of Covid-19 guidelines. The chief secretary has issued orders to celebrate four years of the government in all assembly constituencies on 18 March.

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SpiceJet to add 66 new flights to domestic network from Mar 28

No-frills carrier SpiceJet on Saturday said it will add 66 new flights, including additional services on certain routes, in its domestic network from March 28. These new flights, which will be operated with Boeing 737s and regional jet Bombardier Q400s, are aimed at augmenting connectivity between metro and non-metro cities as part of its enhanced network. "We are delighted to further expand our domestic operations and add 66 new flights to our network for the start of this summer schedule. As the country's largest regional operator, the new flights further reiterate our commitment towards enhancing regional connectivity, besides offering unique connections to many leisure destinations," said Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer, SpiceJet. In a bid to support the increasing travel demand from smaller cities which were initially connected by SpiceJet under UDAN scheme, the airline has introduced new flights connecting Darbhanga, Durgapur, Jharsuguda, Gwalior and Nashik with some key metro cities, the airline said in a release. The airline will launch new flights on the sectors of Ahmedabad-Darbhanga-Ahmedabad, Hyderabad-Darbhanga-Hyderabad, Pune-Darbhanga-Pune and Kolkata-Darbhanga-Kolkata after connecting Darbhanga with Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru earlier, it said. Similarly, Durgapur will now be connected to Pune which SpiceJet already connects with Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. Jharsuguda will now be connected to Chennai in addition to Delhi, Hyderabad & Kolkata which SpiceJet already operates to. While Gwalior which was earlier connected with Hyderabad, Jammu, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Delhi will now be connected to Pune as well, it said, adding after connecting Nashik with Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, SpiceJet will now connect the city with Kolkata as well. The airline will also be the first to connect Pune with Darbhanga, Durgapur, Gwalior, Jabalpur and Varanasi, it said. SpiceJet said it will also launch multiple new flights connecting Srinagar with Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Besides, the airline has also introduced new non-stop daily flights on Mumbai-Leh, Leh-Srinagar, Srinagar-Mumbai, Hyderabad-Mumbai, Mumbai-Hyderabad, Mumbai-Surat, Surat-Mumbai, Kochi-Pune, Pune-Kochi, Jabalpur-Pune and Pune-Jabalpur routes, said the release. The airline will also enhance its operations with additional frequencies on Delhi-Gorakhpur (2nd frequency), Mumbai-Rajkot (2nd frequency), Chennai-Madurai (2nd frequency), Mumbai-Jaipur (2nd frequency), Bengaluru-Goa (2nd frequency), Mumbai-Srinagar (2nd frequency), Delhi-Rajkot (2nd frequency), Delhi-Srinagar (3rd and 4th frequency), Delhi-Dharamshala (3rd frequency), Mumbai-Goa (3rd and 4th frequency) amongst many other routes.

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New Scheme for tourist vehicle operators to be applicable from 1 april | 5 facts

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has announced a new scheme, under which any tourist vehicle operator may apply for an "All India Tourist Authorization/Permit" through online mode. According to an official release, the permit will be issued, after relevant documents are submitted and fees deposited, within 30 days of submission of such applications. "The new set of rules, to be known as, "All India Tourist Vehicles Authorization and Permit Rules, 2021" has been published vide GSR 166( E) dated March 10. The new rules will be applicable from April 1. All existing permits shall continue to be in force during their validity," it stated. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said the new rules for permits are expected to go a long way in promoting tourism across the States in our country, while simultaneously, growing the revenue of state Governments. "The step was discussed in the 39th and 40th Transport Development Council Meetings and was appreciated & concurred to by participants from the states. The rules come even as the Ministry is in the pursuit of providing seamless movement to tourist passenger vehicles, after the success of goods carriage vehicles under National Permit Regime," it said. The scheme allows flexibility in the form of authorization/permit being granted, for a period of three months or its multiples thereof, not exceeding three years at a time. This provision has been incorporated by the Ministry keeping in mind those areas of our country where there is a limited season of tourism and also for those operators who have limited financial capacity. It will also consolidate a central database and fees of all such authorization/permits, which might give a sense of tourist movements, scope for improvement, promotion of tourism. "The step comes in the context of travel and tourism industry in our country increasing manifold in last fifteen years. The growth has been contributed by both domestic and international tourists, and there is a trend of high expectation and consumer experience," it added.

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Annual Amarnath yatra to start on June 28, registration from April 1

The annual Amarnath yatra to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on June 28 and culminate, as per the tradition, on the day of Raskha Bandhan festival on August 22, officials said on Saturday. A decision to this effect was taken at the 40th board meeting of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) chaired by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan here, the officials said. They said the registration process for the yatra would begin on April 1 through 446 designated branches of Punjab National Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank and YES bank in 37 states and Union Territories. The yatra was restricted to a group of Sadhus last year due to coronavirus pandemic, while a year earlier it was called off mid-way due to a “terror threat” on August 2, three days before the Centre revoked provisions of Article 370 and divided the state in to two union territories. In 2019, over 3.42 lakh pilgrims visited the Hindu cave shrine, housing the naturally formed ice-shivlinga, while the highest number of over 3.52 lakh pilgrims paid their obeisance at the shrine in 2015. As many as 3.20 lakh offered their prayers at the shrine in 2016, 2.60 lakh in 2017 and 2.85 lakh in 2018, the officials said.

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Rajgir zoo safari to open next month: Minister

The tourism minister of Bihar, Narayan Prasad, on Friday said that the state-of-the-art zoo safari at Rajgir, developed by the forest department, would be thrown open to the visitors next month. “In a bid to conserve the forest area at Rajgir, the tourism department has planned to allot 506 e-rickshaws to the local ‘tonga’ riders to take tourists from Vishwa Shanti Stupa to Ghora Katora. The new facilities will boost tourism sector in Bihar, which has been going through a rough phase owing to Covid-19 pandemic,” the minister said. The Rajgir zoo safari is spread over 480 acres of land. “At the zoo safari, animals will move freely in big enclosures and tourists will be taken there in closed vehicles. There will be separate enclosures for leopards, lions, tigers and herbivores,” a tourism department official said. The minister said the tourism department has also spent INR 2,048 lakh on several upcoming ropeway projects in the state. “Modern ropeway facilities would come up at Rajgir, Mandar Hill in Banka district, Rohtasgarh in Rohtas, Mundeshwari Hill in Kaimur district, Vanabar Jill in Jehanabad and Brahmayoni Hill, Dungeshwari Hill and Pretshila hill in Gaya district. The ropeway facilities will promote religious tourism and generate employment,” Prasad said. He added the tourism facilities are being improved at Patna Sahib where Sikh tourists from across the globe arrive to offer prayers to tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. People in the state are elated with new tourism amenities coming up in different districts. “I am quite keen to visit zoo safari at Rajgir with my friends and family. At a time when travelling outside is a risky affair due to Covid pandemic, development of such facilities in the state is a boon for common people in the state,” said Mansi Agarwal (20), an undergraduate student. Mayank Pradhan (26), a software engineer, said, “Bihar is undoubtedly growing in tourism. The government is focusing more on promotion of religious sites, which will surely boost the sector. However, the state’s tourism sector needs more branding to attract people from other places.”

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