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These states to resume buses, trains: Union Home Ministry

Interstate bus services are to resume in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu starting Tuesday, September 1, and metro services in Kochi and Bangalore beginning on September 7 as mass transport systems in the states and cities resume after the five-month lockdown for Covid-19 pandemic. Maharashtra is contemplating allowing inter-state buses to ply from September 7, officials in the state said. This comes a day after the Union home ministry allowed states to resume metro services and hotels and bars to reopen from September 7 as part of Unlock 4. Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, meanwhile, announced extension of lockdown till September 30. “Under relaxed norms, no complete lockdown will be enforced on Sundays in September. E-pass system for inter-district travel will be discontinued. All places of worship, hotels and resorts have been allowed to re-open,” he said. Buses run by state owned enterprise will run with 50% capacity with the government deciding to bear the loss. Bihar, which is likely to hold assembly polls in November-December, however, is likely to announce significant relaxations after September 6, when the state-wide lockdown ends. The Centre has prohibited lockdowns outside containment zones without its permission as part of the Unlock 4 guidelines. The Bihar government may come up with guidelines related to social gatherings, public meetings and political functions in view of the elections. In the state-wide lockdown, enforced since August 1, only shops selling essential goods remained open. “Till September 6, the state-wide lockdown is in force. The government will review the situation and likely issue new orders,” said additional chief secretary, home, Amir Subhani. As social distancing norms are being enforced, bus travel in Jharkhand would become costlier from September 1 as the state has allowed only 50% seating capacity to be occupied. Kerala government officials said Kochi Metro will start functioning from September 7 in a staggered manner. Maharashtra government officials said more relaxations would be offered under its ‘Mission Begin Again’ in a calibrated manner including opening up of inter-state bus travel. The state is likely to allow gymnasiums to open and government and private establishments to increase employee strength to between 30% and 50% from the present 10-15%, the officials said. “Going by the surge in cases, we are not in a position to open what all has been allowed by the Centre,” said an official. He said the government is unlikely to open religious places despite demands by the opposition. The relaxations are likely to be notified on Monday.Officials in the West Bengal said that new Unlock guidelines may not be announced as chief minister Mamata Banerjee has declared a complete state-wide lockdown on September 7, 11 and 12.

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Uttarakhand relaxes norms to visit state, removes 2000 visitors per day ceiling

DEHRADUN: In an effort to boost tourism revenue, one of the major sources of income of the state, Uttarakhand government has relaxed norms to visit the state and has removed the ceiling of 2000 visitors per day. Other relaxations were granted in terms of ICMR recognized COVID-19 negative report and making 'Truenat' tests acceptable. Madan Kaushik, state cabinet minister and spokesperson for the state government said, "The visitors have to register themselves on a state government smart city portal smartcitydehradun.uk.gov.in and produce COVID negative report ranging in the last 72-hours." A letter from the secretary of disaster management SA Murugesan dated August 30, 2020, stated that there shall be no restriction on interstate or intrastate movement of people and goods. The move comes after the demands of relaxations by the tourism sector which forms the backbone of the economy of the hill state. The tourism, especially religious tourism has been hit hard in the state with thousands left struggling for ends to meet. As religious tourism has got hit badly in Uttarakhand due to Covid 19 epidemic, priests are opting for odd jobs including factory workers. The priests by working in factories are earning between Rs 8000-12,000 per month. Many also appealed to Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to help them in this hour of financial scarcity. The state government had canceled Kanwar Yatra this year in the wake of the epidemic which hit religious tourism in Haridwar the hardest after Char Dham Yatra. However, the Char Dham Yatra was allowed from June 2020 for state residents and later for residents of other states too since last month giving some respite to the sector. The devotees of 'Kanwar Yatra' come from the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh to Uttarakhand. Last year, more than 3.5 crore devotees visited Haridwar through the yatra in the auspicious month.

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E-passes for travel from Pune to 8 districts on hold for now

PUNE: People from Pune wanting to visit Satara, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Kolhapur, Beed, Bhandara, Gadchiroli and Amravati for personal and business reasons are in a fix with the authorities not issuing e-passes for such travel. Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Bachchan Singh told TOI on Friday that e-pass requests for travel to these eight districts are on hold as per guidelines received from the collector offices concerned. “Only in the case of death or severe medical emergencies are the passes being given consent without waiting for approval from the district collectorates concerned,” he said. Asked if the police were facing any problems while issuing the documents, Singh said, “One issue was that e-pass requests for the eight districts were taking time to get approved as the Pune police also have to wait for consent from the authorities in those districts.” When the lockdown was at its peak, around 17,000-18,000 e-pass requests were coming to the Pune police each day, which have now come down to 2,000 per day (in case of both inter-state and inter-district travel). On Friday, the Pune police’s Twitter account received several tweets of travellers awaiting e-pass approval for commute to these districts but were told that their requests were on hold. These people were travelling for personal reasons, including visiting parents and attending business meets. A cab service provider told TOI on condition of anonymity, “The Union government recently issued a notification reiterating that no restrictions should be imposed on inter-district travel. But if a collector feels that the situation in the district concerned is not suitable for people to travel freely, then such restrictions can be imposed. Districts such as Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur have highways passing through them and see a rush of travellers from Pune and Mumbai. Since Pune and Mumbai are Covid-19 hotspots, the administration in those districts may have decided to temporarily put some restrictions on incoming travel.” A cab service provider said on Friday that he cancelled a client’s trip request to Kolhapur after he could not get an e-pass for him. Another city-based working professional, who wanted to visit Satara on Thursday, put his trip on hold as he could not get a pass. “I had to visit my manufacturing unit in Satara, but my e-pass was not approved,” he said.

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Canada adds 30 days to international travel restrictions

Canada is extending travel restrictions on incoming foreign travellers for another month as coronavirus continues to pose a threat to public safety. Travel restrictions are now being extended until September 30. This is Canada’s third time extending the travel restrictions that were originally put in place from March 18 until June 30. The federal government has been reviewing the coronavirus situation month-by-month and adjusting travel policies accordingly. In addition, the mandatory quarantine order that was in effect since March has also been extended. Exempt travellers will have to carry out a self-isolation period of 14 days if they are allowed into Canada. Who can come to Canada? According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) the following groups of people are exempt from travel restrictions: -Canadian citizens; -Permanent residents; -Some people who have been approved for Canadian permanent residence; -Some temporary foreign workers; -Some international students; and -Immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents (spouses or common-law partners, dependent children, dependent children of dependent children, parent or step-parent, guardian or tutor). Canada is still accepting immigrants Canada continues to welcome immigrants who support the labour market and aid in economic recovery. This past month Canada created a pathway to permanent residence for asylum-seekers working in healthcare. IRCC also introduced a temporary policy where people on visitor status who had Canadian job offers could apply for a work permit without having to leave the country. Immigration programs are also continuing to be active, inviting immigration candidates to take the next steps towards permanent residence.

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ICC and WTTC issue COVID-19 restart guide for the Travel & Tourism sector

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) have published a set of recommendations for safely re-opening customer facing businesses in the age of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruptions to global supply chains and businesses of all sizes. The Travel & Tourism sector has been particularly impacted by the current pandemic due to travel restrictions, declining traveller confidence and reduced consumer demand. In recognition of the challenges faced by the travel and tourism industry, ICC and WTTC have released a Quick Restart Guide for Employers to provide businesses with recommendations for ensuring operational readiness, preparing staff and limiting risk of exposure to the virus within workplaces. The guidance was released as part of a virtual meeting between ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO and WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara. During the meeting, both leaders acknowledged that the Travel & Tourism sector will need to implement new measures, such as the WTTC Safe Travels protocols, fortify knowledge sharing and institute careful plans, to ensure that businesses can operate safely in the age of COVID-19. Mr Denton said: “With over 150 million travel and tourism jobs lost since the outbreak of COVID-19, more needs to be done to address the challenges faced by these businesses – many of which are SMEs with limited resources. It’s critical for ICC and our global network to engage with travel and tourism businesses as we work together to reinstate consumer confidence, protect employees and safely re-open our economies.” Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Travel & Tourism is a highly interconnected sector, the devastating impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on businesses across the global Travel & Tourism sector, is also causing extraordinary damage outside of our sector, impacting millions of jobs and livelihoods around the world. Our guide provides recommendations for businesses around the world, be they large enterprises or SME’s, to ensure employees are able to return to their place of work safely and are in line with WTTC’s Safe Travels protocols.” The ICC-WTTC guidance is divided into clear categories to help travel and tourism businesses restart their operations safely. From rebuilding trust and confidence with customers to preparing staff returning to workplaces, the guidance provides travel and tourism businesses with a checklist of considerations for reopening. During their meeting, the two discussed collaboration on digital platforms aimed at reopening economies and borders for international travel. Mr Denton provided an update on ICC AOKpass – a risk mitigation tool that facilitates cross-border travellers to present digitally authenticated and secure medical records to border authorities – and offered ICC’s support in promoting the WTTC Safe Travels Protocols and Stamp, the world’s first ever global safety and hygiene stamp. Earlier this year, ICC and WTTC co-organised a webinar on the consequences of COVID-19 for small- and medium-sized enterprises operating within the travel and tourism sector. Hosted by ICC’s Centre for Entrepreneurship in Istanbul, the webinar gathered leaders from across the travel and tourism industry to discuss the ramifications of the pandemic and the measures designed to contain its spread.

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On-board meal service in flights to resume soon as govt lifts ban

In a significant relaxation, the government has allowed serving of meals on board both domestic and international flights. Selling on-board meals is a significant source of ancillary revenue for low-cost airlines. This had dried up as in-flight meals were banned to prevent the on-board spread of coronavirus when air transport resumed on May 25. Due to the ban, India’s largest airline IndiGo had seen its ancillary revenues declining by 81.3 percent in the April-June period. While for domestic flights, only pre-packed snacks and beverages have been allowed, airlines operating international flights can also serve hot meals and liquor. Airlines are undertaking international flights for the purpose of repatriation and private charters. However, the government has mandated that on-board meals have to be served only in disposable trays and crockeries which should not be reused. The table and cutlery have to be set up beforehand, as cabin crew will not be permitted to do on-board service. “Crew shall wear a fresh set of gloves for meal service,” the government order said. Pouring service by cabin crew for tea, coffee or alcohol is not allowed. Low-cost carriers like IndiGo, GoAir and SpiceJet, and full-service ones like Vistara and Air India count on-board meals among their major revenue sources; the quality of meals acts as a differentiator and marketing pitch. The other avenues are cargo, special service requests, ticket modification and cancellation.

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