Airlines hike airfare from Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata to Patna ahead of the festive season

It is the festive season and airlines have hiked the airfares from Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata to Patna. The rise is, in some cases is in excess of more than three-fold over the off-peak season rates. The price of air tickets for flights from Delhi to Patna and from Mumbai to Patna were more than the rate from Delhi to Sharjah or from Delhi to Singapore or Delhi to Bangkok. These are for destinations in other countries. Obviously, airline companies were taking advantage of the flexible fare during the peak season. In the opinion of experts, the spike might continue. This is not only for Delhi but also for other cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Surat. It is obvious that people can afford to pay these exorbitant rates and no one is gumbling. Airfare from Delhi, Mumbai to Patna rises upto three fold amid Diwali, Chhath.

One of the biggest reasons for the spikes in airfare could possibly be the non-availability of train tickets. The waiting lists for trains are very high and even Tatkal tickets are not available. Hence, the railways plan to start additional mail and express trains bound for destinations in Bihar. These could include Patna, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Jay Nagar, Kishanganj, Katihar, and Barauni (Begusarai). Moreover, Northern Railway has decided to run 32 additional mail and express trains bound to provide some relief to the passengers. According to the officials, there will be 211 trains until Chatth Puja. These will originate from Jammu, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Delhi, Bhiwani, and Pathankot. The authorities want the people to come home to enjoy the festive season with their near and dear ones.

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Worsening quality of air forces shutdown of Singapore schools

The quality of air in Singapore is affected as thick smog came in from forest fires on Indonesia's neighboring island of Sumatra and the administration ordered emergency closure of schools once air pollution reached "hazardous" levels. Singapore takes pride on its clean environment. The fire in Sumatra was an agricultural fire.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 24 September 2015.

The shutdown order would affect primary and secondary schools apart from kindergartens run by the ministry and special education schools. However, parents who cannot make alternative arrangements because of the short notice can continue to send their children to school and they would be accommodated in air-conditioned rooms.
Due to the smog, there were fewer people on the roads and those who came out wore face masks. Moreover, Pizza Hut suspended its delivery service.
In the opinion of the National Environment Agency, the haze situation could become worse because of the prevailing winds.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, is on her way to London to woo investors to her state because, in spite of trying for the last four years, the state has not been able to attract any substantial investment. Therefore, before her 5-year-term ends, she wants to make one last attempt and will leave for London on Sunday for five days.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 24 July 2015.

In the course of her stay there, she will attend several meetings, including one with the Minister of State for Employment, Priti Patel. It is expected that dozens of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) could be signed between the British departments and the West Bengal government. The expectations are in the areas pertaining to health, urban planning, transportation, exploration of natural resources, education and trade.
She has a team of more than 40 industrialists and nearly 20 media personnel accompanying her. They are paying for their travel and stay.
However, a group of 10 musicians and actor Dev who are in the team are going as State guests and the cash strapped government will be footing their bills. They will perform for about an hour at the British Historical Museum on July 28 Tuesday and it is touted as an opportunity to showcase Bengal’s vibrant culture.
It may be recalled that last year, in August, she had taken a trade delegation to Singapore to explore possibilities of inviting investment. She had also promised to open a nodal office in Singapore to facilitate their investment. She had also said that it would operate round the clock and seven days a week.
One wonders what has happened to that and where Singapore investment now stands.
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New Delhi, the capital of India, wants to get the tag of ‘Smart City’ and, therefore, good days or ‘achhe din’ are ahead for the gardeners and sweepers of New Delhi Municipal Corporation NDMC - they would go abroad to get trained on various aspects of gardening and sweeping. The intention is to give the capital the spruced up look of cities like Singapore or Shanghai.
This has been reported in news18.com dated 19 July 2015.

In a first-of-its kind initiative, the civic body plans to send a team of around 20 gardeners and safai karamcharis abroad to Singapore or Shanghai so that the visit can help them to receive hands-on-training in using latest technology to maintain cleanliness in public places. The visit is expected to be in late August.
The gardeners will be expected to visit open spaces, community parks, nature parks and playgrounds and make note of how differently the greenery is arranged there and how optimally the open space can be used in Lutyen's Delhi. The sweepers or safai karamcharis will be taken around the city to give them an idea about how the sweepers in those cities maintain the areas.
NDMC covers areas that are home to the high and mighty of the country, including Union Ministers and Parliamentarians besides many top industrialists. Parliament House, offices of all the ministries, Supreme Court, High Court and residences of Supreme Court judges, senior bureaucrats and senior military officers are in NDMC areas.
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The second black box or cockpit voice recorder has also been located inside the wreckage and efforts are on to retrieve this also – it is still stuck in the plane debris.
These orange colored flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder would come as a major breakthrough in the multinational search in which the teams had to, at times, weather the rough seas and zero visibility – the orange colored black box is believed to be holding vital clues about the last moments before the plane's crash.
The flight had 162 people on board and, so far, only 48 bodies have been recovered, at least two of them still strapped to seat belts. Majority of passengers we Indonesians. The ill-fated Flight QZ8501 had gone off the radars just after 42 minutes after taking off of taking off and was on a trip to Singapore from Surabaya.
The pilot of the Airbus had made a request to climb to 38,000 feet to avoid stormy clouds but permission was not granted because there was another plane in that route.

Startling new facts emerge on AirAsia Flight QZ8501 – it did not have permission to fly

#AirAsia #FlightQZ8501 #BoeingA320200 #JavaSea It has now been revealed that AirAsia did not have permission to operate on the Surabaya and Singapore route on Sundays – hence, Flight QZ8501 was an unauthorized one and could be banned from offering flights in Indonesia. The Flight QZ8501 had crashed into the Java Sea.
Moreover, AirAsia also faces allegations that the pilot of the Boeing Airbus A320-200 did not ask for a weather report from meteorologists before take-off, amid concerns that the Airbus A320 went down in stormy conditions. It is reported that Indonesia's transport ministry has suspended all AirAsia flights between Surabaya and Singapore.
To make matters worse, the other schedules of this budget airline are also under investigation, as it was not permitted to make this journey on Sundays. Underwater remote operating vehicles have tried to capture images of the debris that includes four large items.
There are no survivors of the ill-fated Flight QZ8501, which had 162 people on board and, the crucial black boxes are yet to be located – data captured in these boxes could reveal what happened in the last few minutes of the plane.
The pilot of the Boeing had 6,100 flying hours on the A320 and had asked for permission to ascend to 38,000ft before contact was lost with air traffic control. Radar data tends to indicate that the plane had made an "unbelievably" steep climb before it crashed, probably due to stalling.

Missing AirAsia Flight 8501 - US sending destroyer to join search operations

#AirAsia #Flight 8501 #JavaSea #Airbus #USSSampson AirAsia Flight 8501, an Airbus A320-200 with 162 people on board vanished after seeking permission to climb above threatening clouds – permission was denied and possibilities of the Boeing crashing into the Java Sea cannot be ruled out especially when there are reports of oil slicks having been noticed.
It seems one of the pilots had sought permission to climb from 32,000 feet (9,754 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) because of the weather. It was a two-hour journey from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.
A U.S. destroyer is therefore on its way to the Java Sea to join the search for the AirAsia jet that was on a scheduled flight from Indonesia to Singapore over the weekend.
The 7th Fleet has revealed that the USS Sampson, which was already on an independent deployment in the Western Pacific, has been asked to proceed to the scene.
The probable location based on the plane's last known coordinates appears that the aircraft "is at the bottom of the sea" – this has been informed by Indonesia search-and-rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo. However, searchers have plans to expand their efforts to the land as well.
Already nearly 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters were looking for the jet and majority of the crafts were Indonesian but Singapore, Malaysia and Australia are also contributing to the effort. Aircraft from Thailand is also expected to join the search.