Muslim Central Committee urges Centre to reinstate Mangaluru as Haj embarkation point
Mangaluru: The Muslim Central Committee (R), Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, led by its President and former MLC Al Haj K. S. Mohammed Masood, has urged the Union Government to designate Mangaluru International Airport once again as a Haj embarkation point for pilgrims from Coastal Karnataka.
In a detailed representation addressed to Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Masood highlighted the inconvenience faced by Haj pilgrims from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, and Hassan districts after the embarkation facility at Mangaluru was discontinued in 2019.
The letter noted that Mangaluru International Airport, the second busiest in Karnataka and ranking 12th nationally in international passenger traffic, had been operating Haj flights directly to Jeddah and Medina between 2012 and 2019. The service was stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not been restored since.
Masood pointed out that during the seven years of operation, thousands of pilgrims from the coastal and Malnad regions benefitted from the Mangaluru embarkation point, with more than 1,500 pilgrims travelling annually. He said the present arrangement, which requires pilgrims to travel 345 km to Bengaluru, has caused severe hardship, especially to elderly and female pilgrims. The journey involves high travel costs, including a round-trip taxi fare of around Rs.10,500, besides accommodation expenses and toll charges.
Under these circumstances, the Committee has appealed to the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Haj Committee of India to reinstate Mangaluru as a Haj embarkation point, considering the logistical advantages and public demand from the coastal region.
Health and Family Welfare Minister and Dakshina Kannada District In-Charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has also written to Minister Rijiju, supporting the request and urging the Centre to take prompt action on the matter.
Copies of the representation have been forwarded to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister for Haj and Municipal Administration Raheem Khan, Speaker U.T. Khader, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, Mangaluru MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta, and the Chairmen of both the Haj Committee of India and the Karnataka State Haj Committee.
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Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
