Mangaluru Hajj pilgrimage to kick start on July 17
Mangaluru: The journey of Hajj pilgrims who have taken Hajj pilgrimage through Mangaluru Hajj Camp from the Karnataka State Hajj Committee for 2019 would be kicked off at a programme to be held at Bajpe Ansar Public School here on July 17 at 10.30 am, said committee general secretary BM Mumtaz Ali Krishnapura.
Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, he said that state Hajj and Wakf Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed would inaugurate the programme in which District Minister would distribute Passports to first time Hajj pilgrims and state Hajj Committee president Roshan Baig would flag off the vehicle of the first batch. MLA Umanath Kotian would preside over it and state Hajj Committee member KM Abubakar Siddiq Montugoli would deliver keynote address, he said.
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, MLAs Dr 'Bharat Shetty, Vedavyas Kamath, MLCs Ivan D'SOUZA, BM Farooq, Harish Kumar, state minority commission president GA Bava, Yenepoya University Chancellor Abdul Kunji, former MLAs BA Moidin Bava and KS Mohmmad Masood, Hajj department secretary AB Ibrahim, district Wakf Committee president UK Monu Kalachuri, Mangaluru Airport Authority director VV Rao, state Hajj Committee EO Sarfraz Khan Sardar, Bajpe Ansar School president BM Zakariya would participate, he said.
Registration from July 15
Registration of Hajjis would begin at Ansar Public School ground on July 15 at 9.30 am. Those who leave Mangaluru on July 17 would have to register on July 15, those who leave on July 18 should register on July 16, those who leave on July 19 should register themselves on July 17, he said.
8000 Hajj pilgrims from state
Total 8000 Hajj pilgrims would take pilgrimage from the state for 2019 and so far, rhe Soudi government has issued 2 lakh visas for pilgrims from the country and among them, 1.40 lakh would visit Hajj through government and remaining 60000 would take up the journey through private company. Total 500 flights would take off from 21 Embarkation Points from the country. Majority of the pilgrims have already reached the sacred place Makka and Madina.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
