Category: Top Three Stories

The fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018, results of which were declared to the nation on Global Tiger Day last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has entered the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey.            Terming this achievement a great moment, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that India has fulfilled its resolve to double the tiger numbers four years ahead of target. The country now has an estimated 2967 tigers as per the latest census. With this number, India is home to nearly 75% of the global tiger population and has ... Read more

Britain’s biggest holiday company Tui is seeking to reassure prospective customers by offering cover for passengers against coronavirus-related problems. The company has announced a “Covid-19 cover scheme” that will be provided with every holiday from the UK for the rest of 2020. If travellers are asked to self-isolate, it will cover the cost of an extended stay and a new return flight home. The scheme will also cover testing costs and, if medically required, repatriation. Andrew Flintham, managing director for Tui UK & Ireland, said: “It means that they can book with confidence, knowing that extra costs associated with Covid-19 that wouldn’t ... Read more

Dubai-based carrier Emirates has scheduled several repatriation flights to assist stranded Indians in the UAE after receiving the green light from the civil aviation authorities in India and the UAE. Repatriation flights to five Indian cities – Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram – are on track from July 12 to 26. The flights to Bengaluru and Mumbai are subject to state government approval. Frequency of flights between July 12 and 26 Bengaluru: Two daily flights Delhi: Two daily flights Kochi: Two daily flights Mumbai: Three daily flights Thiruvananthapuram: One daily flight Flights from India to Dubai These repatriation flights ... Read more

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), a public sector undertaking, under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, to implement preventive measures against Covid-19 infections. ITDC wants to provide a safe, hygienic and healthy environment to guests and staff across its hotels and offices and is looking to lay down a relevant protocol in association with AIIMS. To take the initiative forward an advisory board will be formed consisting of representatives from AIIMS, ITDC or representatives from any other organisation to provide inputs on designing and developing the ... Read more

The Maldives President has sacked the country’s Tourism Minister Ali Waheed, after female employees in his office accused him of sexual offences, news agency Associated Press reported on Thursday. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had called for the resignation of Ali Waheed and then sacked him after he failed to step down on his own, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Hood said. Police confirmed receiving complaints of sexual misconduct by Waheed. An archipelago state in the Indian Ocean, Maldives is known for its luxury tourist resort islands.  The development has come at a time, when Maldives is preparing to reopen to international visitors ... Read more

The Hotel Association of India (HAI) on Monday appointed former Ministry of Tourism secretary, Madan Prasad Bezbaruah, as its secretary general. Bezbaruah succeeds R K Puri, a senior bureaucrat and first Director of Tourism, Railway Board, who was instrumental in the conceptualisation and launch of “Place on Wheels”. The appointment comes in the wake of the hotel industry struggling on account of the pandemic. Puneet Chhatwal, president of HAI and managing director and chief executive of the  Indian Hotels Company Limited said that it is now time to devise ways in which the hotel industry can evolve from the Covid-19 ... Read more

Two pilot wings of national carrier Air India — Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG) — have written a letter to the airline’s Chairman and MD (CMD) Rajiv Bansal, mentioning steps that should be taken to secure the survival of Air India. “Presently, the management has resorted to an across the board 10% cut on allowances. While prima facie appearing to be fair, this scheme distributes the financial burden across the various categories of employees in an extremely discriminatory manner amounting to treating unequal people equally,” said the pilots in the letter. The letter suggested that ... Read more

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has assured the Maharashtra government that it is safe to restart operations of hotels and restaurants. HRAWI informed Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray that it will be taking all necessary precautions while opening the sector. The association will launch a COVID-19 Food Safety Training and Certification programme by the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI)/HRAWI and a desktop audit programme which deals with all required compliances. HRAWI has called for government’s support on certain aspects to revive the industry such as bar opening, property ... Read more

The Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, is set to reopen on Monday but visitors will have to adhere strictly to the Covid-19 guidelines. The monument was closed for over three months, as part of the lockdown restrictions. Only 5,000 tourists will be allowed in a day, split into two groups, news agency Reuters has said. Earlier around 80,000 tourists used to visit the monument in Agra on a daily basis. The visitors will have to wear masks and maintain social distancing. “All centrally protected monuments & sites shall be bound by the protocols like sanitization, ... Read more

Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport has banned flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Nagpur from July 6 to July 19 or until further orders in light of COVID-19 situation. “No flights shall operate to Kolkata from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai & Ahmedabad from 6th to 19th July 2020 or till further orders whichever is earlier. Inconvenience caused is regretted,” state-run Kolkata airport wrote on Twitter. It is important to note that the chief secretary of West Bengal, Rajiv Sinha, had written a letter on June 30 to Pradeep Singh Kharola, secretary, civil aviation ministry on ... Read more

India’s aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday announced that international air travel to and from India will remain suspended till July 31. The circular released by DGCA stated, “In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the competent authority has extended the validity of circular issued regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to and from India till 2359 hrs IST of 31st July 2020. This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA.’ Just last week DGCA had announced that international air travel will remain suspended till July 15. The decision ... Read more

Telangana forest minister Indrakaran Reddy on Friday said that the state government was developing lung spaces in cities and towns by setting up urban forest parks and eco-tourism parks in  available forest land. Speaking after inaugurating the urban forest parks – Anjaneya and Narasimha – at Raigiri near Yadagirigutta, the minister said the ecological balance of a place would depend on the extent of forest area and green cover. Hence, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has taken up afforestation to improve forest coverage area. No other state has taken up sapling planting in such a big way in the country, ... Read more

India is in talks with the US, Canada and some countries in Europe and West Asia on establishing  bilateral international flight bubbles, said Arvind Singh, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI), on Thursday. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) had on June 23 said India is considering establishing “individual bilateral bubbles” with the US, the UK, Germany and France. Singh said, “Talks are mainly going on between India and the US, India and Canada, India and Europe and India and the Gulf countries to start flights,” he said at a webinar called “Reposing the faith in flying” organised by the ... Read more

Rail travel in India is about to get better. Well, at least on paper. The Indian Railways has invited proposals from private companies to run 151 modern passenger trains on 109 pairs of routes across the country. The project would entail private sector investment of about ₹30,000 crore, the Indian Railways said in a statement. This is the first time private investments have been sought for running passenger trains in India. “The objective of this initiative is to introduce modern technology rolling stock with reduced maintenance, reduced transit time, boost job creation, provide enhanced safety, provide world class travel experience to ... Read more

India will begin phase-4 of its repatriation mission this Friday, with over 912 flights scheduled over six weeks. Private airlines will play a major role, with IndiGo operating 457 flights and GoAir chipping in with 41 flights. This phase is the biggest so far, but will focus on fewer countries, with flights from only 17 nations. In this phase, Air India will focus almost exclusively on long-haul destinations, leaving shorter routes to Air India Express and private carriers. Long-haul destinations include flights to Australia, the UK, the US, Ukraine, Canada, and Kenya. These flights will operate between July 3 and ... Read more