Category Archives: Domestic

Karnataka’s Kali Tiger Reserve opens first canopy walk in India

The unique eco-tourism attraction of Kali Tiger Reserve in Karnataka – the canopy walk – is now open for nature enthusiasts. The Castle Rock Wildlife Division of the park has resumed trekking near the Dudhsagar waterfalls in Kuveshi area.

The 240 mtr structure has been built between four large trees at the height of 30 feet, and visitors can indulge in the rich flora and fauna unique to the region. This walk was inaugurated four years ago, but was not operational as greens opposed the project due to the eco-sensitivity of the area and villagers demanded road connectivity to resume the tour.

“For a long time, the canopy walk structure was unused. From this season, the division has resumed guided trips. The vehicles will take the visitors up to the forest check point near Kuveshi and then the walk will begin,” said a forest official. He added that water sports at Ganeshgudi have also resumed. (Source: The New Indian Express)

 

 

 

Kerala orders complete lockdown on weekends

Kerala has officially brought back the strict weekend lockdown regime into effect from this Saturday and Sunday (July 24 and 25), with the state government ruling out grant of additional relaxations under any circumstances, reports The Hindu BusinessLine.

This came on a day when the state reported 17,481 new Covid-19 positive cases out of 1,45,993 samples tested at a TPR of 11.97 per cent. There were 14,131 recoveries, while the number of active cases on date rose further to 1,29,640 on Wednesday.

The northern districts continued to witness intense transmission with Malappuram reporting 2,318 new cases; Ernakulam running in a close second with 2,270; followed by Kozhikode (2,151); and Thrissur (1,983); Palakkad (1,394). In the South, Kollam reported 1,175 cases and Thiruvananthapuram, 1,166.

Meanwhile, the government ordered a mass testing campaign on Friday, with a target of three lakh tests and special focus on districts where the seven-day average test positivity rate is above 10 per cent.

The number of daily tests shall also be enhanced urgently to the peak testing capacity for the effective containment of the pandemic, said the order signed by the State Chief Secretary.

District Collectors have been directed to identify and demarcate micro-containment zones in all districts, regardless of the categorisation of the local self-government jurisdictions, and enforce special intensified stringent restrictions so as to bring down the new cases at the earliest, said a government order.

The order also recalled that the Supreme Court has directed the state to give heed to Article 21 read with Article 144 of the Constitution, and follow the law laid down in its orders in the Uttar Pradesh case. The current situation of the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in the state was reviewed on Wednesday, in compliance with the Supreme Court directions.

This was followed by the Chief Secretary, in his capacity as Chairman of the State Executive Committee of State Disaster Management Authority, issuing orders. (Source: The Hindu BusinessLine)

 

Uttarakhand to be leading state in tourism by 2027: CM

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said the state will be made a leading state in tourism by 2027.

The Chief Minister said at a programme in Dehradun that infrastructure in tourism and power sectors will be strengthened while the ongoing road and rail projects will gain a big momentum to make Uttarakhand a leading state in tourism.

Dhami said that during his recent visit to Delhi he had discussed with the Union Railway and IT Minister how to extend Internet connectivity to around 6,000 villages of the state and how to speed up work on the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail link project which is already underway.

He said he had also brought up the issue of expediting the survey of the Tanakpur-Bageshwar broad gauge rail line during his meeting with the Union Minister.

He reiterated that the Kanwar yatra has been suspended in Uttarakhand in view of Covid as saving the lives of people is the state government’s top priority. He said 100 per cent vaccination will be done in the state in the next three to four months. (Source: PTI)

Shimla restricts people on Ridge & Mall Road amid Covid-19 concerns

The district administration in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla has put restrictions on the number of people visiting the hill city, reports Hindustan Times. The curbs were announced amid concerns around tourist influx at a time when experts have warned about a possible third wave of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The restrictions were announced on Saturday by Deputy Commissioner Aditya Negi, who held a meeting with traders and those associated with the tourism sector. According to the latest guidelines, no one will be allowed to sit on the Ridge and pavements along the Mall Road except senior citizens. The decision has been taken to prevent overcrowding in the area.

“We will try to avoid overcrowding. Sitting will not be allowed except for the senior citizens. We have been experimenting to reduce crowd and also to implement Covid-appropriate behaviour,” Negi said.

He also said that if the number of people or tourists increases more than the capacity of Ridge and Mall Road, their entry can be banned.

The police in Himachal Pradesh, like other states with popular hill stations, have been imposing fine on people found without violating the Covid-19 protocol and roaming around without masks. They have also launched awareness campaign campaigns to tell people how important it is to follow Covid appropriate behaviour.

“If they (the tourists) don’t understand to abide by the law in place, then challaning is being done. To reduce the crowd from the Ridge area, we shall first remove sitting benches and overcrowding will not be seen likely in near future,” said the deputy commissioner.

Chief minister Jairam Thakur too had last week appealed to the visitors coming to the state to follow Covid-19 norms.

Shimla, along with Mussoorie and Nainital, has seen a huge influx of tourists in recent weeks who are heading to hills to escape heat in the plains. The state government and respective district administrations stepped up vigil along the border to restrict the number of tourists.

Covid tests like RT-PCR have been made mandatory and people urged to keep wearing masks while outside.

The photographs of people thronging the hill stations were also displayed by the officials of the Union Health Ministry during a meeting, who cautioned people against letting their guards down and warned of re-imposing the curbs if violations continue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed concern about the violations at a meeting with chief ministers. (Source: Hindustan Times)

Kerela launches mass vaccination drive in tourism sector

Amidst concerns of yet-to-decline COVID-19 cases, the Kerala government has launched a mass drive to make the tourism destinations in the state ‘complete vaccinated zones’ by giving jabs to everyone working in the sector.

The objective is to rejuvenate the shattered holiday industry which has suffered a severe blow due to the pandemic situation. Tourism and Public Works Minister P A Mohammed Riyas inaugurated via online the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the tourism sector at Vythiri in northern Wayanad district, a sought after holiday destination, on Tuesday. The state-wide drive was being carried out with the support of the Health department. He said the state would soon be made a safer holiday destination after completing 100 per cent vaccination of those working in the sector.

After the implementation of the pilot project at Vythiri and Meppady village panchayats, it would be extended to all holiday destinations in the state in a phased manner, the minister said. “The government has decided to implement 100 per cent vaccination in the tourism sector as part of its rejuvenation plans. It is inevitable to regain the confidence of the sector and for its revival which has most adversely been affected due to the spread of the COVID-19,” Riyas said. As many as 3,680 people, who are yet to be vaccinated in 14 wards of Vythiri, would be inoculated in the next five days as part of the drive and two vaccination centres have been made ready for this. With this, Vythiri would become the first completely vaccinated village panchayat in the southern state. Besides the health department, ‘Doctors for You’, an NGO, is also associated with the drive and has offered three mobile vaccination units and the service of expert doctors for the initiative, the department sources said.

The volunteers of Pulse Emergency Team Kerala and Wayanad Tourism Organisation also offered support, they added. The minister had recently said in the Assembly that the state tourism sector had incurred losses to the tune of INR 33,675 crore due to the COVID-19 situation. In order to resolve the issues in the tourism sector due to the pandemic, state Finance Minister K N Balagopal had announced a rejuvenation package for the sector and earmarked an amount of The volunteers of Pulse Emergency Team Kerala and Wayanad Tourism Organisation also offered support, they added. The minister had recently said in the Assembly that the state tourism sector had incurred losses to the tune of INR 33,675 crore due to the COVID-19 situation. In order to resolve the issues in the tourism sector due to the pandemic, state Finance Minister K N Balagopal had announced a rejuvenation package for the sector and earmarked an amount of INR 30 crore as government share for its revival. In addition to the existing provision of INR 100 crore, INR 50 crore has been additionally earmarked to Tourism Department for marketing, he had said while presenting the budget.

30 crore as government share for its revival. In addition to the existing provision of INR 100 crore, INR 50 crore has been additionally earmarked to Tourism Department for marketing, he had said while presenting the budget. (Source: PTI)