Udupi DC seen attending wedding event without mask, people demand suspension as photo goes viral
Udupi: A photo showing Udupi Deputy Commissioner N Jagadish, attending a Mehendi event of Udupi’s Additional SP’s daughter without wearing a mask has gone viral across social media platforms with people outraging over the negligence of the officer and for violating the COVID-19 guidelines.
According to the reports the wedding ceremony was scheduled to be held on April 25 while the Mehendi event was organized on April 23 evening. The District Commissioner had reportedly attended the event along with his family. The DC and the District’s Additional SP were seen in a photo standing next to the would-be bride on the stage, without maintaining appropriate social distance and without a mask.
People on social networking slammed the DC for attending the event and not following COVID protocols. They also added that there was no reference to the ‘Mehendi ceremony’ in the guidelines issued by the state government while for the wedding event only 50 people were allowed to attend and the Mehendi event as such was not permitted to be held. Despite that, instead of stopping the Mehendi event that is not cited in the guideline, the DC has erred by participating in the event, people opined.
Apart from that a video of the event has surfaced on social media and has gone viral showing hundreds of people participating in the event, while a team of dancers was seen escorting the bride in a procession.
In a recent incident, the DC had earned the ire of the netizens for forcing female students who were standing and traveling back home in a bus at Santhekatte, and now he has embraced another controversy.
There is a growing call to suspend the DC on various social media sites in this regard. Hashtag Campaigns against the DC have been reportedly organized on Twitter.
Demands to Suspend DC
“Without maintaining any social distancing or even wearing any mask, look at him standing with a smile at the Mehendi event of police official’s daughter. Law, punishment, reproach, beating is all only for the common people, isn’t it Mr. District Commissioner? Usurp DC Jagadish, shame on you. By the way, in the pass list of wedding guests who provided Aadhar card, was the District Commissioner’s name present? DC Saheb must definitely provide an answer”, progressive thinker Shashidhar Hemmadi posted on Facebook.
“The District Commissioner has committed severe omission of duty by violating guidelines and participating in the Mehendi function. He, violating the rules that were devised by him is disgraceful. The government must review this seriously. A proper inquiry must be conducted. If the issue proves to be true, District Commissioner Jagadish must be immediately suspended”, demanded DYFI Leader Muneer Kaatipalla demanded in a Facebook post.
DC issues clarification:
Jagadish later clarified that the event was a private and family event organized at the house of Additional SP and not at a public place. He clarified that people are bound to wear masks only in public places and not in private spaces. He added that the Mehendi event was a private event and only people of four families had attended the event.
He also added that he attended the event for less than 10 minutes and at the request of the bride he took off the mask for photography on the stage. He clarified that he checked in into the event at 8:40 on Friday and checked out before the weekend curfew was imposed.
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US warns shipping firms they could face sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That "tollbooth” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including chartibale donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
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The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iranian proposal
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The warning came as US President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It's a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up.”
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America's Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the ear, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.
China's UN envoy urges Iran to lift restrictions
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Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassdor to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue" as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan's efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the US and Israel.
