New Delhi: India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday added that it will operate 270 flights repatriation flights from the United Arab Emirates, starting October 1 to bring its citizens back who want to return home amidst COVID-19.

The ministry said its new schedule, which will run until Oct. 25, constitutes the seventh phase of its repatriation mission, known as Vande Bharat. The state-owned budget airline, Air India Express will operate these flights. They may be supplemented later, if needed, by other Indian carriers, it added.

The flights will leave for India from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai airports to several domestic destinations in India. The seventh phase of the repatriation mission covers a number of new Indian airports.

The schedule announced on Monday also includes flights to bring back Indians from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. In Oman, the flights will operate from both Muscat and Salalah airports. From Saudi Arabia, the airports of origin are Dammam and Riyadh.

Meanwhile, 269 flights will be operated to the UAE from Indian cities by Air India Express for 24 days from Oct. 1. These flights will take back Indians who live and work in the UAE.

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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.