After floods, Kerala Tourism gets first international charter
Kochi, Sep 16 : The money-spinning Kerala tourism industry celebrated quietly on Sunday after receiving the first chartered flight of tourists this season following the devastating floods.
The flight with 46 tourists from Australia landed at the Cochin International Airport here on Saturday night.
The heavy rains and unprecedented floods that shattered the state, leaving hundreds dead and thousands homeless and causing widespread destruction, led to numerous cancellations by tourists.
"Our efforts have already started paying off. Most of our tourist destinations are ready to welcome the visitors from India and abroad. The state government has accorded top priority to restoring roads leading to tourist places," said Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran.
Kerala's total direct earnings from the sector in the last calendar year touched Rs 26,000 crore, up from Rs 23,098 crore, a growth of 12.56 per cent.
Speaking to IANS, E.M. Najeeb, who heads the Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI), said it was a friend who organised the charter flight from Australia.
"They have planned a 21-day trip to India and had cancelled the three-day Kerala leg. When I came to know of it, I promised that they will have nothing to worry about in Kerala.
"By now 90 per cent of the damaged infrastructure has been put back to place," said Najeeb.
Meanwhile, the 10th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) will be held here from September 27 to 30.
"The response has been huge. Close to 400 overseas buyers and 1,095 domestic buyers have registered to take part," said Baby Mathew, President, KTM Society.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
