Category: News

Tourism min to inaugurate ‘Jalayanam’ on March 24

Kadalundi Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran will inaugurate ‘Jalayanam’ on March 24 at the Mampuzha Farm Tourism Centre in Olavanna, Calicut. ‘Jalayanam’ is aimed at developing farm and aquatic tourism initiatives and is expected to boost tourism in Kadalundi and Olavanna areas. Mampuzha, Chaliyar, Kaladundi rivers and its nearby areas are included in the project. The Mampuzha farm tourism project in Olavanna grama panchayat, a major component of the initiative, features an aqua green organic farm and a boat ride connecting the villages on the banks of Mampuzha. Kadalundi River The Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve has mangrove forests and fish species. The bird ... Read more

Ernakulam to be air-horn-free

Around 100 air horns fitted in inter-state heavy vehicles were removed in a joint vehicle check that was carried out by officials from the State Transport Authority and the District Police Office in the city. The department wants to ensure that the city becomes air-horn-free and has strengthened the vehicle check. “Over 100 air-horn pipes have been seized in less than 2 hours, with the majority of them being found in inter-state heavy vehicles,” said George Joseph, Motor Vehicle Inspector. As per the regulation, no motor vehicle including agricultural tractors shall be fitted with multi-toned horns that sound a succession ... Read more

New York marks record number of tourist arrivals

The city tourism bureau of New York City & Company (NYC & Co) has published a new record of over 62.8 million tourist arrival in the state during 2017. The new arrival is 3.8 per cent more than that of 2016. The data states that over 79.1 per cent tourist were domestic tourists and the remaining are from foreign countries. The most number of tourists showed up from UK, China and Canada. “It’s difficult to explain the role of politics, I think people are becoming numb to everything in the news every day. For international travellers, if there’s one thing ... Read more

Ban on slaughterhouse near Delhi airport

South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has issued a proposal to ban on slaughtering of animals and birds, within 10 km radius of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. The new move is to ensure safety for flight, from scavenger birds that have been causing a frequent threat to aircraft. The proposal further concludes as any violations informed by the authority could end up in a licence cancel. “No licence to poultry shops, running within a 10-km radius from boundary wall of Delhi airport, shall be granted,” said SDMC health committee. According to Bhagat Singh Tokas, councillor from Muirka, ... Read more

Saudi women take up hospitality jobs

Saudi is no more a conservative land as it is witnessing some massive social changes as part of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud’s ambitious drive towards a more prosperous future. Especially, the steps taken towards empowering women politically, economically and socially is laudable. Now, as part of the vision, 41 Saudi women have taken up hospitality jobs in Makkah hotels. From now onwards, we can see Saudi women adorning the reception, human resources departments, reservations and the catering areas. “Opportunities become available to us as women when we are armed with knowledge and determination,” said a very confident Receptionist Reem Bakatian. ... Read more

Travellers get ‘smiley visa’ on Happiness Day at Dubai Airport

Passport officers have stamped passports with a smiley face as part of Happiness day celebrations. General directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) Dubai, surprised those who arrived at the Dubai International Airport today with a unique stamp with a smiley face design and the title ‘Welcome to the Happy UAE’. Around 100 lucky passengers at the Dubai Airport will be getting free taxi rides throughout the day as part of the celebrations.

Now you can book Ola cabs through IRCTC app

Ola, in association with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), is planning to reduce the commuting difficulties of passengers through the IRCTC app. The new proposal will enable the passengers to directly book Ola taxi directly from the IRCTC app. The tie-up is first launched as a pilot project for 6 months, said IRCTC in a statement. Meanwhile, the new feature won’t provide conventional discounts offered by Ola and can choose Micro, Mini, Auto and Share options with advance 7 days booking. The new move thus hopes to reduce waiting for cabs, followed by long queues outside the railway station. ... Read more

Mobycy installed 200 e-bikes in Pune

Mobycy, India’s first dock-less bicycle sharing technology, launched 200 cycles in Pune. Tagged as ‘Pollution ka Solution’ it is the cheapest form of transportation, besides auto and cabs, and is healthy as well as eco-friendly. The bicycles are available exclusively via Mobycy App on a rent basis. Bicycles are located in various locations across Pune – EON, WTC IT Park, Symbiosis Campuses in Viman Nagar, and in Airport area. “I always wanted to launch cycles in Pune, owing to the number of students and young working professionals the city. We have deployed our smart bikes at various strategic locations, providing everyday ... Read more

World’s last male northern white rhino dies

The world’s last surviving male northern white rhino, Sudan, who lived at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, has died after months of ill health. The 45-year-old Sudan died after age-related complications worsened. Only two females of the subspecies are alive in the world at present. Now, the only way to preserve the northern white rhino, is trying in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques. Sudan lived in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Researchers have saved some of Sudan’s genetic material in the hopes of successfully artificially inseminating one of the two females left. Sudan made headlines last year when the Tinder ... Read more

India to face huge climatic change: HSBC report

As per the latest HSBC report on climatic change, which was published on Monday, India would face a huge climatic change in the near future. The Bank has accessed over 67 nations in terms of sensitivity to extreme weather, exposure to energy transition and the responding ability to face the climatic change. The report further states that the neighbouring countries of India namely Pakistan, Philippines and Bangladesh are also prone to climatic vulnerability. Among other nations, India would face the most hazardous situation that could affect agriculture due to decline in rainfall. On the other hand, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Philippines ... Read more

Planning to fly out of Dubai? Better reach the airport early

Travel is expected to peak this weekend for Emirates, as the airline expects yet another busy period with visitors passing through Terminal 3 ahead of the spring break holiday. “The busiest time for departures will be on Friday 23rd March in the morning and continuing all day on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th March,” the airlines said in a statement. With road works and infrastructure enhancements happening around the main airport highways and roads during this time, Emirates urges customers to build in extra time to their journeys to avoid potential delays. “Customers are reminded to arrive at the airport ... Read more

Ministry wants to replicate Kunnamthanam model across India: Alphons

At Kerala’s Kunnamthanam village in Pathanamthitta district, at least one member of every family is yoga practitioner. The Central Ministry is planning to launch a similar initiative to turn at least 500 villages in the country into “Sampoorna Yoga Grams” (complete yoga village). Similar to that of Kunnamthanam village, at least a member of each family will follow the discipline. The AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy) Ministry will announce the launch of the “Sampoorna Yoga Grams” plan as a part of the Government’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat Scheme at the three-day International Yoga Festival, which is scheduled to be held from March ... Read more

Ubers’s self-driving car kills one in Arizona

Photo Courtesy: the drive A self-driving test car operated by Uber, met with an accident last night at Arizona in US. According to reports, the Uber SUV collided with a woman, while she was crossing the road. Later due to the severity of the injury, woman died at the hospital. Usually while testing autonomous test vehicles, a safety driver takes control, as if the self-driving system fails to interpret the real-time traffic. This time the car ran fully automated, that led to a causality. Regarding the situation, Uber has halted all of its current test programmes in Pittsburgh, Toronto, San ... Read more

Jet Airways’ Trichy-Delhi flight on March 25; IndiGo’s Bangaluru flight soon

Jet Airways is all set to commence its new service between Trichy- Mumbai – Delhi on March 25 on a daily basis, said airport director K Gunasekaran. A separate commercial space has been allotted to IndiGo, which has plans to commence a service between Trichy and Bangalore. The Jet Airway flight (9W358) would depart at 9 am in Delhi and reach Mumbai at 11.20 am. From there the flight would depart at 12.25 pm and would arrive at Trichy airport at 2.10. While returning, the flight (9W311) would depart from Trichy airport at 2.40 pm and reach Mumbai at 4.50 pm ... Read more

Emergency landing for IndiGo aircraft

An IndiGo flight 6e559, heading from Srinagar to Jammu has initiated emergency landing, after finding a fuel leak from one of the engines by the pilot. The shocking highlight of the story is that it is the 6th incident, faced by the company with their Airbus 320 neon fleet. Earlier this week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had grounded over 11 Airbus A320 neo aircraft due to recurring malfunctions in their engines. Picture Courtesy: IndiGo   Perhaps the current situation is just a technical glitch and is not associated with the PW engine on-going controversy, said Indigo in ... Read more