Dakshina Kannada District: Private Buses Resume Operations
Mangaluru: In the background of the district wide lockdown imposed due to the second wave of the corona, the private bus operation which had halted since the last 2 months resumed operation on Thursday, July 1.
Joining the government buses which began operations two weeks ago, few private buses resumed their services on Thursday. Few buses resumed operations in the morning at various places in the city. While some buses had a handful of passengers travelling in them, some others were occupied with passengers taking up almost all seats inside the vehicle.
Owing to the ongoing roadwork at various places, apart from private bus operations, vehicular traffic had increased during the period of lockdown exemption in the city from the past few days, and even on Thursday, the roads experienced similar conditions. Amid this, private city and service bus transportation fee has been hiked and the fare rise has already been enforced from today, July 1st.
In the wake of the rise in diesel price, the rise in bus fare was an inevitable development, the Dakshina Kannada District Bus Owners Association stated. The minimum bus fare has been raised from Rs. 10 to Rs. 12, it is learned.
It has been decided that with effective lockdown relaxation in the Dakshina Kannada district, shops and buses have been granted permission to operate from 7 am to 5 pm in the district. The official order in this regard is being expected to be issued on Thursday. The district In-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary has spoken about the same on Wednesday.
Approximately 60 buses to begin operation
“There are approximately up to 350 Private city buses in the coverage area of Mangaluru City, out this approximately 60 city buses have resumed operation today (Thursday). Since there is an atmosphere of confusion about the lockdown relaxation duration, the number of passengers is a bit scarce. Since there is the possibility of extending the duration of lockdown relaxation, from tomorrow (Friday), we expect more buses may resume operations and the number of passengers may also increase considerably”.
-Dilraj Alva, President, City Bus Owners Association D. K.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
