Amazon under fire after bikini having colours of Karnataka flag, emblem on sale
Bengaluru: Following outrage against e- commerce giant Amazon after users claimed that a bikini having colours of the Karnataka flag and emblem was available for sale on its Canada site, state's Kannada and Culture Minister Aravind Limbavali has said the government would take legal action.
Calling it a matter of Kannadigas' self-pride and that the government would not tolerate such things, the Minister asked Amazon Canada to apologise.
This comes close on the heels of an outrage against tech giant Google over a search result that showed Kannada as Indias "ugliest language".
"We experienced an insult of Kannada by @Google recently.
Even before the scars could heal, we find @amazonca using the colours of #Kannada flag and the kannada icon on ladies clothes," Limbavali has said.
"Multinational companies should stop such repeated insult of #Kannada This is a matter of Kannadigas' self-pride and we will not tolerate the rise in such incidents. @amazonca should, therefore, apologise to Kannadigas. Legal action will be taken immediately against @amazonca," he tweeted on Saturday.
The Minister had directed for similar action against Google following uproar last week against search result showed Kannada as Indias "ugliest language", but later decided against going ahead with it, as the tech giant tendered an apology.
Terming it an insult to the government, JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has asked the government to look into possibilities of taking action against Amazon, and it was necessary to stop the recurrence of such things in future.
He also demanded that Amazon should apologise to Kannadigas.
The bikini had the colours of unofficial state's flag, in hues of yellow and red, and has the state's emblem 'Gandaberunda', a two-headed mythological bird, which now seems to have been removed by Amazon from its Canada site following uproar.
There was no immediate comment from Amazon.
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32 airports shut for civilian flight operations till May 15: DGCA
New Delhi, May 9 (PTI): Thirty-two airports across northern and western parts of the country, including Srinagar and Amritsar, have been closed for civilian flight operations till May 15, according to the civil aviation regulator.
The decision, announced early Saturday, comes in view of the military conflict between India and Pakistan that continued unabated since India's May 7 strikes on terror camps and Pakistan's subsequent shelling of border areas.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and relevant aviation authorities have issued a series of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) announcing the temporary closure of 32 airports across northern and western India for all civil flight operations.
The closure will be effective from "May 9, 2025, to May 14, 2025 (which corresponds to 0529 IST on 15th May 2025), due to operational reasons," DGCA said in a release.
The airports include Adhampur, Ambala, Amritsar, Awantipur, Bathinda, Bhuj, Bikaner, Chandigarh, Halwara, Hindon, and Jammu.
Other airports are Jaisalmer, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Kandla, Kangra (Gaggal), Keshod, Kishangarh, Kullu Manali (Bhuntar), and Leh, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Ludhiana, Mundra, Naliya, Pathankot, Patiala, Porbandar, Rajkot (Hirasar), Sarsawa, Shimla, Srinagar, Thoise and Uttarlai are the remaining airports to be shut, the release said.
Earlier, at least 24 airports had been ordered shut for civilian flight operations till May 10.
Meanwhile, the AAI has extended the temporary closure of 25 segments of Air Traffic Service (ATS) routes within the Delhi and Mumbai Flight Information Regions (FIRs) due to "operational reasons."
"The 25 route segments will remain unavailable from ground level to unlimited altitude until 2359 UTC on 14th May 2025 (which corresponds to 0529 IST on 15th May 2025)," DGCA said.
Because of the closure of these segments, the regulator has advised airlines and flight operators to plan alternate routes.
The temporary closure is being managed in coordination with relevant ATC units to ensure safety and minimise disruption, it added.
On April 30, India shut its airspace for Pakistan airlines as part of retaliatory measures in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
On April 24, Pakistan closed its airspace for Indian carriers.
On Friday, Air India in a post on X said that due to the continued closure of multiple airports in India, its flights to and from Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Rajkot were being cancelled till 5.29 am on May 15.
In a post on X, IndiGo said all flights to and from 10 destinations will remain cancelled until May 15 same time.
An armed conflict rages on between India and Pakistan following India's strike on nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK) under Operation Sindoor early Wednesday in retaliation for the Pahalgam massacre.
#TravelAdvisory
— Air India (@airindia) May 9, 2025
Following a notification from aviation authorities on continued closure of multiple airports in India, Air India flights to and from the following stations – Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bhuj, Jamnagar and Rajkot – are being cancelled till…
#6ETravelAdvisory: In line with the latest directives, the flights to/from the following cities will remain cancelled until 0529 hrs on 15th May. We’re here to help you. Check flight status https://t.co/rpnOvAOxQl To rebook or claim a refund, visit https://t.co/t9jVUTnmxZ pic.twitter.com/y16QBpZ4R9
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) May 9, 2025
