New floating bridge ready at Malpe beach in Udupi
Mangaluru, Dec 18: A new floating bridge has been installed at the Malpe beach in Udupi district to enthral tourists during the current season.
The tourism department authorities had dismantled the first floating bridge in the state at Malpe in May last, just days after its inauguration citing security reasons. Several videos that went viral on social media showed that the bridge was damaged.
The new floating bridge, which is 150 feet long, has been erected with new safety features. Three entrepreneurs have got the floating bridge built at a cost of Rs 80 lakh.
The bridge will be opened soon for the public after getting a stability report from a team of experts from Kerala who will be coming to inspect the bridge. The condition of the sea is being constantly monitored, sources said.
According to tourism department sources, more than 4,000 people visit the beach every day and the number peaks to around 10,000 during weekends and vacations.
The district administration has also enhanced safety measures at the facilities on the beach to protect tourists from dangerous situations, the sources added.
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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.
