Chartered flight by SAQCO lands in Mangaluru with 175 stranded Kannadigas from KSA
Mangaluru: The special chartered flight arranged by SAQCO Contracting Company’s Althaf Ullal and Basheer Sagar from Dammam International Airport landed at the Mangaluru International Airport in the wee hours of Thursday with 175 stranded Kannadigas from Saudi Arabia.
The special chartered flight was arranged to repatriate Kannadigas stranded in the kingdom due to the Corona lockdown. The businessmen duo of Althaf Ullal and Basheer Sagar the Directors of SAQCO Company borne the expenses of the flight along with the cost of institutional quarantine at Mangaluru of passengers and their COVID-19 tests here.
The company informed that it received over 500 applications in only three days from stranded Kannadigas in the kingdom for the repatriation. However, while making the final list of 175 passengers that would take the flight, priority was given to pregnant women, people with medical emergencies, senior citizens who had arrived in KSA on visit visas, and those who had to visit families in India after their families reported deaths.
The company in a release added that the flight which landed here at 01:15 am had 55 pregnant women, 20 people with medical emergencies, 61 senior citizens, 35 children/infants, and four people who had to come to India due to their parent’s death.
Notably, the chartered flight has no employee, staff, or official of SAQCO Company flying back to India, and the service was arranged only for those in need of repatriation for genuine reasons. Earlier, noted companies like ‘Expertise’ and Al-Muzain had repatriated their employees on chartered flights from Saudi.
Emotional scenes at Dammam International Airport:
Ahead of the take-off of the flight from Dammam International Airport on Wednesday evening, people at the airport witnessed emotional scenes as the 175 passengers could not hide their emotions on finally being able to start the journey back to their homes.
Basheer Sagar added that he was delighted to see the people smiling and rejoicing the moment and said that it gave them a sense of satisfaction to be able to have helped so many people in reuniting them with their families who were stranded and were in distress for over three months away from home.
Basheer also lauded the efforts of two teams of 20 people who he said had worked a day in and day out to make this a successful operation. He added that at least 30 passengers required wheelchairs at the airport and the team arranged it for them while also ensuring that all the 175 passengers’ procedures are carried smoothly without any inconvenience.
He later added that officials at the Dammam International Airport were also amused with the emotional scenes at the airport.
Move applauded on social media:
The move by Althaf and Basheer to repatriate Kannadigas in distress is being lauded across social media platforms. Several people applauded their gesture of bringing back 175 people who were in distress, back to their homes and carrying out one of its kind operations during the Corona lockdown wherein only people in genuine need were brought back and no employee, staff or official from their own company was traveling on the flight.
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People must do politics; elected representatives must work, says Actor Prakash Raj
Kalaburagi: Actor and activist Prakash Raj has said that in a democracy, politics must be done by the people, while elected representatives are meant to work and serve after winning elections.
Speaking at the launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Prakash Raj said that once representatives are elected, their only responsibility is service. “This is our tax, our country. Service is the only job of people’s representatives. They come to seek votes every five years; the people do not,” he said.
Releasing the newspaper’s special issue at the event, he asserted that the distinction between people and politicians must never be reversed. “This is our country. Citizens must continuously engage in politics, and politicians must continuously work. Never change this order. Politics belongs to the people,” he said.
ALSO READ: Kalaburagi: ‘Vartha Bharati’ Kalyana Karnataka edition launched
Quoting writer P. Lankesh, Prakash Raj said newspapers, media, artists, and citizens must act as a permanent opposition. “They must be the voice of the people without seeking the patronage of the ruling party. Only then can they work fearlessly,” he said. He stressed the need to clearly tell today’s society who must engage in politics.
Referring to regional imbalance, he said Karnataka has become Bengaluru-centric and confined largely to southern Karnataka. With Vartha Bharati entering the Kalyana Karnataka region, he said the newspaper must contribute to the region’s development by consistently reporting its issues with a strong voice.
Prakash Raj also spoke about the role of independent media, saying that anyone can be swept away in a flood, including dead fish, but to swim against the current requires life. “Independent media have that life. Ravish Kumar, The Wire, and Vartha Bharati have the courage to swim against the flood,” he said.
He warned that fear strengthens authoritarianism. “If we are not afraid, they will be afraid,” he said, alleging that institutions such as the police, Election Commission, courts, and media are being pressured, silenced, and manipulated for political benefit. Expressing concern over the denial of bail to Umar Khalid, he said there is a visible lack of conscience in institutions meant to deliver justice to the people.
Recalling the early years after Independence, Prakash Raj said there was once fear of the police but also faith in the judiciary. “There was confidence that injustice would be addressed in court. Today, that faith no longer exists,” he said. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party are responsible for the present situation.
Using a metaphor, he said India is like a pond disturbed by a demon within it. “A lotus blooms on the surface, that is the BJP. We are fighting the lotus, but the real fight should be against the RSS, the root power beneath,” he said.
Drawing parallels with past global authoritarian regimes, he said leaders like Hitler and Mussolini headed political parties and could be defeated electorally. “The RSS is not a political party. Defeating the BJP alone is not enough. The roots must be uprooted,” he said, adding that despite changes in appearance, the ideological growth remains unchanged.
Prakash Raj also raised concerns over Hindi imposition, delimitation, and what he described as political oppression of southern states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh in the name of elections. He said people must recognise who is responsible for this oppression and understand the role of newspapers like Vartha Bharati in identifying and exposing it.
The event also marked the formal launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi.
