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Uttarakhand CM seeks PM nod to start limited tourism activities in green zones

Dehradun: In a video conferencing session with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat sought permission to start limited tourism activities in green zones of the Himalayan state citing heavy financial losses due to the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown. The CM also urged the PM for allowing more economic activities outside containment zones while seeking approval for including homestays under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). While requesting the PM to permit limited tourism activities within green zone districts, CM Rawat said that tourism is the major source of earning in the hilly regions of the state and all hill districts are presently under the green category. ‘This, he said, will financially help the state government and the locals. He added that the people involved in tourism business, restaurant owners, transporters, and MSMEs have been impacted due to the ongoing crisis suggesting that a project should be started to employ workers from urban areas on the lines of MGNREGA. The CM also asked for permission to open residential schools in the state and suggested that due to financial constraints and reduction in tax collection, the borrowing limit for states should be raised from 3% to 4% of Gross State Domestic Product. He further said that more than 45,000 state locals, who were stuck in other states, have been brought back to Uttarakhand and it is being ensured that “no one in the state goes to sleep hungry.” He also requested the PM for allowing making of ration cards as many workers who are coming back to the state do not have it. Rawat said that these people, around three lakh in number, come from financially weak background and do not have any source of living at present. Notably, the Centre had prohibited state governments from making ration cards after April 1. Meanwhile, the CM also informed PM Modi that accounts of around 2 lakh workers in the state have so far been credited with Rs 2,000 by the state government and around 3,500 businesses have started operations with 45% of their capacity. Earlier in the day, CM Rawat held a meeting with his council of ministers to seek their feedback regarding the Covid-19 situation, and whether lockdown should be extended. The ministers gave a mixed response to the CM over the issue as some were in favour of lifting the ongoing lockdown but others cited the ongoing time as a “crucial phase” and favoured the extension of lockdown period beyond May 17. Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj raised the issue of opening Char Dham Yatra for the pilgrims. Following the meeting, the state government is expected to take some major decisions in its next cabinet meeting which may be held within the next two days. Meanwhile, agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal told TOI, “I have urged CM Trivendra Singh Rawat to request the PM for subsidy on organic fertilisers. We are heading towards becoming an organic state in the field of agriculture as we have been able to save Rs 158 crore due to lesser use of chemicals and fertilisers. However, there is a need to provide subsidy to farmers on organic fertilisers.”

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Railways set to resume limited services from Tuesday: Here’s list of trains that will run, fare details

After weeks of suspension of passenger train services due to coronavirus lockdown, the Railways is set to resume limited operations from Tuesday. The Ministry of Railways on Sunday announced that it will “gradually” restart passenger train operations from May 12, initially with 15 pairs of trains that will be run as special trains from New Delhi railway station connecting 15 other cities of the country. Passenger trains have remained suspended since more than 45 days, a first in the national transporter’s 167-year-old history. “Indian Railways shall start more special services on new routes, based on the available coaches after reserving 20,000 coaches for COVID-19 care centres and adequate number of coaches being reserved to enable operation of up to 300 trains everyday as "Shramik Special" for stranded migrants,” the ministry said in a statement. It will be mandatory for the passengers to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the train. List of Stations These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi Station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi Booking timings Booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4 pm on May 11. Tickets will be booked only online through the IRCTC website and the booking counters at the railway stations will remain closed. Fare details The fare will be equivalent to Rajdhani Express train and all the coaches will be all AC with limited stoppage. As many as 52 passengers will be allowed in AC three-tier coaches, while in AC two-tier coaches, 48 passengers will be allowed in order to follow the protocol of social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Railway Ministry's Executive Director, Media, Rajesh Dutt Bajpai, said in a statement. Lockdown and suspension of passenger train services The Railways had suspended the passenger, mail and express train services in the wake of the nationwide lockdown that began on March 25. Only freight and special parcel trains were allowed to operate to transport the essential items across the country. On March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced 21-day nationwide lockdown from March 25 to April 14 to contain the spread of coronaviurs. He extended the lockdown for 19 more days till May 3 and then again extended it for two more weeks till May 17. To mitigate the hardship of migrant workers, students, pilgrims and tourists stranded in several parts of the country, the Indian Railways started to run the Shramik Special trains.

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Domestic flights to green zones likely post lockdown 3.0

Central government is looking at gradually starting 25% of domestic flights post lockdown 3.0, according to chairman of Airport Authority of India ( AAI), Arvind Singh. "We have prepared standard operating procedures for resuming flight operations post lockdown , " the chairman observed. 'Flight operations planned would be from a green zone to another green zone. The civil aviation ministry has held discussions with airport operators and airline companies, " he said. Masks , gloves and sanitisers would be strictly followed for flight operations. The current Air India flight operations for evacuating Indians from foreign countries have not left the middle seat vacant even as some stakeholders including busy travellers , it is learnt , have suggested a certain proportion booking for strengthening social distancing. " We have made a suggestion for a consideration ," said a senior official of a private airport operating company.

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Turkey sets out virus precautions, prepares for tourism comeback

Turkey is establishing hygiene measures and requirements in preparation for the return of tourists, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said Sunday. Step by step, people are to be gradually allowed to travel within the country starting at the end of May, Esroy told a CNN Türk live broadcast. In June, international flights will gradually recommence, he added. The government has developed a certification program for hotels and restaurants which are to be subject to strict regulations, Esroy said. The program has 132 criteria, including ensuring that hygiene regulations are followed and social distancing is practiced. Staff members are also to be trained in measures to prevent the spread of infection. Staff are to bring people meals and drinks. While buffets are to be permitted, guests are not to be allowed to help themselves. The government has also published an overview of the hospitals available in areas popular among tourists, and lists their capacities. Tourism is an important part of Turkey's economy, and the country expected 58 million visitors this year, now unlikely given the pandemic. Ersoy said if the coronavirus was under control, 63 million tourists might be expected in 2021. The number of foreign visitors arriving in the country totaled 4.24 million in the first quarter of the year, a 22.1% year-on-year drop amid worldwide travel restriction due to the pandemic, according to Culture and Tourism Ministry data. The country has also seen a 11.4% decline in its tourism income in the January-February period, dropping to $4.1 billion, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute's (TurkStat) data. In 2019, more than 45 million foreigners entered the country, up from nearly 39.5 million in 2018. Turkey is gradually easing measures imposed to restrict the spread of the virus. This weekend, 24 towns and provinces are under curfew, down from 31. People over the age of 65 were also allowed outside for a few hours. As of Monday, shopping malls and hairdressers are due to reopen. The number of daily coronavirus deaths and new cases in Turkey has fallen sharply over the last week from peaks recorded last month. The number of people who have died from COVID-19 has risen by 50 to 3,739, Health Ministry data showed Saturday. The overall number of cases rose by 1,546 to 137,115. Some 89,480 patients have so far recovered from the disease.

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Qatar Airways plans to rebuild flight network in phased manner starting this month

Mumbai, May 8 (PTI) Persian Gulf carrier Qatar Airways, which reportedly plans to lay off an unspecified number of employees in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, said it will rebuild its flight network in a phased manner starting this month. As part of this plan, the airline is looking to resume flights to India by June, subject to regulatory approval, Qatar airways said in a release. At present, the airline continues to operate flights to more than 30 destinations around the world. By the end of May, the airline plans to grow its network back to over 50 destinations (subject to approvals), resuming services to cities such as Manila, Amman, and Nairobi while a further number of destinations are planned to be added by the end of June. Qatar Airways will be operating flights on Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Mumbai, Calicut, Kolkata, Kochi, New Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Chennai and Trivandrum routes by end of June, it said. The gradual expansion will focus initially on strengthening connections between the airline’s hub in Doha with the global hubs of its partner airlines around the world including London, Chicago, Dallas and Hong Kong. It will also look at reopening many major business and leisure destinations such as Madrid and Mumbai, Qatar Airways said. According to a report, Qatar Airways on Wednesday said it will lay off staff as the coronavirus pandemic has largely grounded the global aviation industry. However, the Doha-based carrier offered no figures for the number of employees who will be laid off by it, as per the report. PTI IAS SHW ANS ANS

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Sikkim's plan to ban tourism till October threatens livelihood of thousands

Even as COVID-19 pandemic ravages across the globe, the government of Sikkim is planning to shutdown its tourism sector till October 2020. The state’s tourism industry, which has already been hit hard by the lockdown is likely to see massive job losses, if it's forced to close shop for another five months. Interestingly, the Himalayan state despite being a tourist hotspot has not recorded a single positive case of COVID-19. The state government believes that it has been successful in preventing the menace so far by imposing strict restrictions on tourism. The dispensation is willing to continue with the same strategy for the next five months to ensure the safety of its citizens. While narrating the plan to Firstpost, Jacob Khaileng, the political secretary of chief minister said, “We always knew that the only way to deal with this situation was preventing visitors from different countries entering the state. We prevented foreign tourists from visiting Sikkim long before the other states did it. We now know that the battle against the virus is likely to grow longer. To protect our citizens from this battle, we are applying the same strategy by restricting tourism-related activities to win the battle against the virus," he said. Sikkim barred the entry of foreign tourists on 5 March and that of domestic tourists on 17 March, days ahead of a nationwide ban on foreign visitors was imposed by the Centre. Sikkim has two entry points to the state, equipped with check points where the credentials of visitors are checked. This system, which always was in force, helped the state machinery in implementing the ban. Though the move to restrict tourism for a span of five more months is received well by many, it also has caused worries among thousands of Sikkimese who are solely dependent on tourism for livelihood. Krishna Bhandari, a 21-year-old cab driver in Gangtok, who is the sole bread earner in his family is quite worried about repaying the car loan he took to earn a living. “I bought the vehicle on instalment two years back to earn a living. I used to pay the monthly instalments while meeting both ends of my family by carrying tourists from one spot to the other. If I cannot earn my livelihood for the next five months, I will not be able to pay the monthly instalments of the car loan. This may finally leave me jobless,” he said. There are many like Bhandari who fear that an extension of ban on tourism in the state may leave them jobless. “It is not only the Sikkimese people who are going to suffer because of these restrictions, but also the non-Sikkimese who run tourism businesses in partnership with the locals. Many hotels in Sikkim are leased out to non-Sikkimese businessman who will bear massive losses if the tourism sector remains stagnant for the next five months,” said Dipak Barman, a non-Sikkimese businessman based out of Siliguri in West Bengal. But there are also voices who though admit that another shutdown will make things extremely difficult for the tourism industry, they favour the move to keep the citizens safe. “I think the government does not have many choices in dealing with the ongoing crisis. Even if the government throws doors open for tourists, not many of them are going to arrive. So, it is better to address the issue of the safety of the people first,” said Norgay Lachungpa, a hotelier in Sikkim. But he also says that the government can take steps to minimise the suffering by introducing rebates in taxes and interest on loans. “The government could provide tax breaks, remissions on interest on loans and licence and permit fees,” he said. However, mere rebates and remissions may not be sufficient to minimise the suffering of those employed in the tourism industry. As per a study, the gross value addition contributed by the tourism sector to the state’s gross domestic product was 7.89% in the financial year 2013-14 and the number of persons directly employed in the industry was 43,870, which was 7.19 percent of the state’s total population. The impact of an extended lockdown would leave a deeper wound in the tourism sector. Khaileng says that when facing a global crisis like the coronavirus pandemic, everyone has to make sacrifices, but the government is contemplating to deal with the situation in a considerate manner. “Neither can we let anyone die of coronavirus, nor can we let anyone die out of hunger. Certainly, we are contemplating on the issue seriously, more so about how to help the people in need. The demands for tax breaks and remissions in instalment are also being discussed, though nothing is yet finalised,” added Khaileng.

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