Dharmasthala management authority to be formed: Tourism Minister Anand Singh
Mangaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government will establish a Dharmasthala management authority with the aim of protecting the sanctity of the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, state Tourism Minister Anand Singh has said.
Speaking after inaugurating the renovated bathing ghat on the banks of Nethravati river at Dharmasthala on Saturday, he said Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner M R Ravikumar and Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja have been asked to submit a proposal to the government in this regard.
Singh said the sacred pilgrimage centre will be free of liquor shops and non-vegetarian eateries. Any activity that defiles Dharmasthala will not be allowed in the temple surroundings, he said.
The bathing ghat at Dharmasthala was renovated at a cost of Rs 4.8 crore jointly by the tourism and public works departments. The ghat will be further developed at a cost of Rs 5 crore, the minister said.
Dharmasthala dharmadhikari (hereditary administrator) and Rajya Sabha member D Veerendra Heggade and MLC Prathap Simha Nayak were among those present.
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Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
