Star Air starts Bengaluru-Vijaynagar flight services
Mumbai (PTI): Regional carrier Star Air on Monday said it has started flight services to Jindal Vidyanagar Airport near Hampi in Karnataka from Bengaluru November 1 onwards, making the UNESCO World Heritage site city as the 32nd destination in the airline's network.
In the last two months, Star Air said it has added multiple tier-II, and tier-III stops such as Gondia, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Purnia, Solapur, Surat, Jamnagar, Bhuj, and Bidar, thereby expanding its services network by 25 per cent.
"The commencement of our operations at Vidyanagar is a proud moment for Star Air. This route not only enhances connectivity to Hampi, a jewel of India's heritage, but also strengthens our commitment to promoting regional air travel in Karnataka," said Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Star Air.
"Our mission remains clear, to connect India's smaller cities and heritage hubs with quality air services that are secure, swift, and sincere. With every new route, we reaffirm our promise of building a truly connected India," she added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
CM launches poster campaign 'Justice for Karnataka'
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday released nine posters as part of a campaign: ‘Justice for Karnataka. Fair Share–Strong Federalism’ asking the Centre to heed state's demands.
These posters highlight key demands placed before the Finance Commission: Restoring Karnataka’s fair tax share; correcting unjust income, population and GSDP criteria; ensuring fair disaster and ecological support; strengthening decentralisation; providing dedicated infrastructure support for Bengaluru; supporting backward regions like Kalyana Karnataka; and upholding the constitutional spirit of cooperative federalism, Siddaramaiah said.
In a statement, Siddaramaiah said his government has placed its legitimate and constitutionally grounded demands before the 16th Finance Commission, seeking justice in tax devolution and fiscal federalism.
“We hope that the 16th Finance Commission reflects these concerns fairly in its recommendations, and that the Union Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi implements them in letter and spirit, without subjecting Karnataka to petty politics or discrimination, as has unfortunately happened in the past,” the chief minister said.
Siddaramaiah underlined that Karnataka is among the country’s highest contributors to national revenues, yet its share in tax devolution was earlier reduced from 4.71 per cent to 3.64 per cent causing a loss of nearly Rs 80,000 crore.
"Flawed formulas that penalise development and population control, unrealistic GSDP calculations, inadequate disaster support, unchecked cesses and surcharges, denial of GST compensation, and non-release of recommended grants have collectively weakened the state’s finances," Siddaramaiah charged.
