Amid concerns over covid variant, efforts to trace international air passengers continue in Karnataka

News Network
December 31, 2020

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Bengaluru, Dec 31: Amid concerns about the new strain of coronavirus in Britain, the number of international passengers who could not be contacted in the state increased to about 300 on Wednesday but police and health officials said they have now traced all but 50 of them.

Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar described the holdouts as either having wrong information or those who have switched off their phones. “The Home Department has assured that all of them will be traced within 24 hours,” he said.

According to DCP Central M N Anucheth, nodal officer of Police Task Force in charge of the tracing operation, many of the traced individuals have told police that they were using a local SIM in lieu of their international numbers.

 “At the same time, they continued to use WhatsApp accounts tied to their previous numbers,” the DCP said.

Police added that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had not made an attempt to reach the individuals through WhatsApp.

The BBMP acknowledged that it lacked the means to conduct tracing through electronic media. “Our primary tool of tracing are phone numbers and sending a mobile team to the address. We don’t have the means to conduct tracing using other electronic avenues, such as WhatsApp or email. If such tracing methods are needed, we refer the matter to the police,” said Rajendra Cholan, Special Commissioner, BBMP.

An assessment of government data on 2,158 passengers shows that the government had collated a list of local or Indian mobile phone numbers for 95.79% of passengers. About 4.2% of passengers had given only foreign phone numbers.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,669 passengers had given phone numbers based in the United Kingdom, the United States or Europe. Many of these people had also supplied Indian numbers. Meantime, 365 passengers had supplied only Indian numbers.

Transit passengers

The BBMP added that the remaining 50 “untraceable” were found to have incorrect or out-of-Bengaluru addresses. “None of them were from Bengaluru. This is why they still have not been found,” Cholan said.

Police also clarified that about 14 numbers provided to authorities had been entered into the government system incorrectly. “Some had nine digits. Several others were wrong numbers,” the DCP said.

In addition, about 20 people are no longer in the state as they were transit category passengers and travelled on to other cities, such as Chennai, police added.

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
December 2,2025

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Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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