Lizard in Air India food tray story false, fabricated: Minister

June 13, 2015

New Delhi, Jun 13: Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Saturday denied reports of a lizard being found in the food tray of a passenger on-board an Air India flight.

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"We are in touch with Air India's management. As per them, there has been no complaint, no passenger or person has come forward to claim that this picture was taken by him or her even now," Raju said here.

"According to Air India the matter seems to have been fabricated and is a hoax. They are still investigating the matter, that who is behind it," Raju said adding that the evidence till now suggests that there is no truth in the story.

On its part, national passenger carrier Air India has denied reports of a lizard being found in the food tray of a passenger on board its New Delhi-London flight. The airline has termed it a "hoax" to tarnish its image.

"This incident never happened. As there is no record of it, no complaint that was filed either in London, New Delhi or on-board the flight. No cabin crew or even the other passengers on the flight were aware of such an incident and no one has come forward to complain even now," a senior Air India official in New Delhi told media

"It is clearly a hoax. This all started with a picture appearing on Twitter. We are investigating the matter, as to who has placed the picture, and what is the claim of that person," the official added.

The airline has warned that if the incident actually turns out to be a hoax, which it is certain of, then it may also resort to legal action. "Our food is catered by India's best hospitality chain, the Taj and Gate Gourmet. The Tajsats and Gate Gourmet deliver one of the finest and award winning in-flight food. This is all being done to tarnish our image," the official added.

According to industry sources, the alleged incident blew up when a picture was posted on Twitter, that showed what seemed to be a small 'lizard' on the food tray of a passenger. The photo has ever since gone viral.

Other sources claim that the incident took place on AI-111, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner that took-off on Thursday from New Delhi's IGI airport for London. During a 10-hour flight, the airline serves an unlimited number of snacks and two main courses depending on the time of operations.

 

 

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March 18,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 18: The rising temperature has become a growing concern for residents of coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, as the issue of drinking water shortage continues to worsen in several parts. 

Though the water supply of Mangaluru city has not been affected much, nearby urban local bodies, including Ullal, Kotekar, Bajpe and other parts on the outskirts of Mangaluru have been facing an acute shortage of drinking water.

Though the water level in the Thumbe vented dam across Nethravati River has started going down in the last few days, officials have ruled out possibility of rationing the water supply in the city.

According to officials, the water level at Thumbe dam of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) stood at 5.8 m as against the maximum storage capacity of 6m height on March 16. The water level at the dam during the same period last year was 5.3 metres. The water level reduced from 5.9 m on March 15 to 5.8 m on March 16 due to the scorching heat, causing evaporation.

The MCC has been drawing 160 MLD of water from the Thumbe vented dam. According to officials, without inflow, the maximum water stored in the dam will be sufficient for only 50 days. Meanwhile, the MCC has already started pumping backwater from downstream of the Thumbe vented dam back to the dam using pumpsets. Water from Thumbe dam can be drawn only if it has more than 1.5m of water in it.

DC Mullai Muhilan MP said that the district administration is closely monitoring water levels in all the dams that supply water.

The AMR dam located upstream of Thumbe dam has 18 m of water from sea level. If the water level in the Thumbe vented dam recedes, then water from the AMR dam will be released into the Thumbe dam. There is water in a dam at Biliyoor, which is located upstream of the AMR dam, the DC said.

“Drawing water for irrigation purposes from Thumbe and AMR dams has been banned,” the deputy commissioner said, adding that an order in this regard has already been issued. Some of the pockets in rural areas too have started facing water crisis.

“We have made arrangements to supply water through tankers in Ullal, Kotekar and Bajpe areas. We will not introduce water supply rationing in MCC limits for the time being,” he said and appealed to citizens to use water judiciously.

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News Network
March 13,2024

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Udupi, Mar 13: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah today said that Congress in coastal region will further strengthen thanks to the entry of former chairman of Commission for Backward Classes Jayaprakash Hegde, and former MLA Sukumar Shetty. 

He was responding to the queries of media persons after his arrival at the helipad in Udupi to take part in district-level convention of scheme beneficiaries.

“Hegde was in Congress and had served as MP. With Hegde returning back, the Congress will get more strength in the coastal districts,” he said.

On Hegde’s candidature for Udupi-Chikmagaluru Lok Sabha constituency, the CM said that the Congress high command will decide on the candidate.

On CAA

Siddaramaiah questioned why it took the Centre more than four years to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and termed the announcement as a political gimmick ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

 “Why were they silent all these years on implementing the CAA. With the fear of losing the upcoming Lok Sabha election, the BJP is engaged in all types of gimmick,” he said.

The Centre on Monday announced the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, a move that comes four years after the contentious law was passed. This paves the way for citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Siddaramaiah also said his government has not yet discussed the issue of implementation of the CAA in the State, and the Cabinet will take a call on it. “We are yet to read it. We will take a decision after going through it and discuss it in the cabinet tomorrow," CM said.

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News Network
March 28,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 28: A fish meal factory in the Baikampady Industrial area in Mangaluru was gutted in a fire incident on Thursday, officials said.

The factory is owned by the company 'Shihar Enterprises', they said.

According to the locals, the fire was first noticed at 4.45 am today, which was immediately reported to the fire department.

The fire engines reached the spot and tried to douse the fire, but it had already spread to other parts of the factory. After almost four hours of fire-fighting operation, the blaze was completely doused, officials.

The reason for the blaze is still being probed, the fire department officials said, adding that they suspect an electric short circuit could have triggered it.

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