MOPA: Low cost airline Go First (formerly known as GoAir) started operations from Goa’s second international airport, the Manohar International Airport on Thursday. The airline’s first flight, G8 2123 departed from Mopa at 10:35am and landed at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyderabad.The airline will operate 42 non-stop weekly flights between Mopa and Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Nagpur and Chandigarh. The domestic airline also said that it will continue its operations from the Goa International airport at Dabolim. Go First said that the flights from the Manohar International Airport will further enhance its domestic connectivity with tier II cities. “It gives us immense pleasure to commence operations from this latest addition, Mopa to our domestic network,” said Kaushik Khona, the chief executive officer of Go First. “Although Goa is a preferred leisure destination, this network will facilitate convenient and seamless travel for locals along with tourists. While we continue to augment our operations, Go First is resolutely committed to providing customers a promising flying experience.” Go First’s maiden flight was inaugurated by Union minister for Tourism and Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shripad Yesso Naik in the presence of GMR Group officials.The new flight connectivity will also ease direct travel to North Goa.
PUNE: IndiGo on Thursday announced commencement of operations from Manohar International Airport in Mopa. "The operations commenced with direct flight between Hyderabad and Goa making it the 76th domestic and 102nd overall destination in its network," airline officials said.The will operate 168 weekly flights between Mopa and 8 domestic destinations like Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad right from the start at the first day of operations. The new network will cater to the increasing demand owing to the popularity of Goa as a preferred leisure travel destination and will provide more options to the customers, making travel more affordable and enhancing direct connectivity to north Goa. The present Dabolim Airport in south Goa will remain active and IndiGo would continue its existing operations there.Speaking on the occasion, Pieter Elbers, chief executive officer, IndiGo said, “We are excited and proud with this largest ever, new station opening for us at New North Goa International Airport in Mopa. It’s momentous for us at IndiGo to have such a massive opening and it speaks to our ambition and endeavor to provide connectivity, ease of accessibility and ever more options for our customers to one of the most visited tourist destinations of the country. We continue to stay true to our promise of affordable fares, on-time performance, courteous and hassle-free service, connecting people with places they love."First trial landing conducted at new Mopa international airport in GoaWatch First flight lands at Goa's Manohar International Airport
PUNE: IndiGo on Thursday announced commencement of operations from Manohar International Airport in Mopa. "The operations commenced with direct flight between Hyderabad and Goa making it the 76th domestic and 102nd overall destination in its network," airline officials said.#Goa: People dance at the new airport in Mopa as it starts domestic flight operations from today. #MopaAirport https://t.co/UYSXa9cVpa— TOI Goa (@TOIGoaNews) 1672890547000The will operate 168 weekly flights between Mopa and 8 domestic destinations like Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad right from the start at the first day of operations. The new network will cater to the increasing demand owing to the popularity of Goa as a preferred leisure travel destination and will provide more options to the customers, making travel more affordable and enhancing direct connectivity to north Goa. The present Dabolim Airport in south Goa will remain active and IndiGo would continue its existing operations there.Speaking on the occasion, Pieter Elbers, chief executive officer, IndiGo said, “We are excited and proud with this largest ever, new station opening for us at New North Goa International Airport in Mopa. It’s momentous for us at IndiGo to have such a massive opening and it speaks to our ambition and endeavor to provide connectivity, ease of accessibility and ever more options for our customers to one of the most visited tourist destinations of the country. We continue to stay true to our promise of affordable fares, on-time performance, courteous and hassle-free service, connecting people with places they love."
PANAJI: The Manohar International airport, Mopa, will have taxis of a different colour — blue — to “avoid confusion”, said minister of transport Mauvin Godinho. The airport will have the special taxis in addition to app-based taxis and other modes of transport.“These cabs will be painted blue in colour and will be very unique in our tourism state. These will operate from the Mopa airport and will be only for the Pernemcars,” he said. In addition, there will be app-based taxis and six electric buses run by the Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) to ferry passengers. “So far 50 taxis have registered with us. Enough taxis and KTC buses are going to be there to transport passengers from the airport. Additionally, we will be launching the blue cabs along the lines of the yellow-black taxis. We are floating an expression of interest (EOI) for interested operators to register,” Godinho said. He said that the separate colour will help regulate the taxi service and help users identify the airport’s taxis. The transport minister also warned tourist taxi operators against making attempts to disrupt the operations at Mopa.“If someone tries to play mischief, we have taken enough care to maintain law and order. We will come down with a very heavy hand. Gone are the old days where they used to force their wheel on others,” he said.
PANAJI: The Manohar International airport, Mopa will have differently-colored taxis, called blue taxis operating from the new airport in addition to app-based taxis and other modes of transport. “These cabs will be painted blue in colour and will be very unique in our tourism state. These will operate from the Mopa airport and will be only for the Pernemcars (people of Pernem),” said transport minister Mauvin Godinho.The minister also warned tourist taxi operators against attempts to disrupt the operations at Mopa. “Gone are the old days where they used to force their wheel on others,” he said.
Members of the Jain community in Gujarat recently staged protests in various cities, like Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat, over their demands related to two holy sites — Shetrunjay hill in Palitana of Gujarat and Sammed Shikhar on Parasnath hill in Jharkhand.Here is how the two controversies erupted and why the protests are being held.The row began over a month ago, when Jagdishchandra Megha (59), the security manager of Sheth Anandji Kalyanji Pedhi (SAKP), an organisation of the Shwetambar section of Jainism, filed a police complaint that someone had vandalised the sacred Adinath Dada’s Pagla in Rohishala village on the intervening night of November 26 and November 27.In his complaint, the security manager stated that after breaking into the premises, the accused vandalised the toes and fingers of Adinath Dada’s Pagla, a marble carving representing the feet of Lord Adinath, the first of the 24 Tirthankars of Jainism. This, the security manager said, hurt the religious sentiments of Jains.Rohishala, located on the southern periphery of Shetrunjay hill, hosts the Adinath Dada’s Pagla. The shrine is one among the dozens of Jain religious places managed by the SAKP. A path leading to Jain temples on top of the Shetrunjay hill starts from near this shrine.Based on Megha’s complaint, the Palitana rural police registered a case against unknown persons under IPC Sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 447 (criminal trespass).On December 23, the police claimed to have cracked the case by arresting one Jemal Gohil, a native of Rohishala. The police said Gohil, who worked as a labourer, had entered the shrine with an intent to commit theft but after he found nothing valuable, he struck the pagla with a stone in frustration. Section 379 (theft) of Indian Penal Code was added to the case.While the police were investigating the vandalism case, a dispute broke out between Swami Sharnananda, a local Hindu religious figure, and the SAKP over installing CCTV cameras on the premises of Neelkanth Mahadev Temple atop the Shetrunjay hill. Sharnanada complained to the sub-divisional magistrate of Palitana about the CCTV installations on the premises, which he claimed is a place of worship for Hindus, over which SKAP, a Jain body, can’t exercise control.In the meantime, on December 15, some men removed poles erected on the temple premises for installing the CCTV cameras. The SAKP, which has been paying the salary of the Neelkanth Mahadev temple priest, filed a complaint with Palitana town police that day. Sevem people were arrested on charges under Section 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 114 (abettor) of IPC. They are out on bail.The Jains in Gujarat are demanding that the Jain holy site on the Shetrunjay hill and the area around it should be protected to maintain its holiness commensurate with Jainism. One of their major demands is a detailed investigation into the Adinath Dada’s Pagla vandalism.Abhay Shah, spokesperson of Shetrunjay Mahatirth Raksha Samiti, said, “The police claims to have solved the case, saying the motive was theft, but it does not seem convincing to us. Why would one damage only the feet (of the idol) in frustration? We demand formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the case.”According to Shah, they are also seeking action to check illegal mining and land grabbing around the Shetrunjay hill.In the Jharkhand case, the Jains are seeking the roll-back of a state government decision to develop Sammed Shikhar, located on the Parasnath hill in the Giridih district, as an eco tourist spot.Sammed Shikhar is considered to be among the most important Jain pilgrimage sites, where 20 of the 24 Jain Tirthankars are believed to have attained moksh or salvation.Shah said, “Sammed Shikhar is a place for our penance. If it is developed into a tourist spot, liquor consumption and other menaces associated with tourism will be witnessed here. We want it to remain as a pilgrimage spot, and not a tourism destination. We do not want it to become a hill station, it is a place for our sadhna.”
There are many pilgrimage sites in India, a land of many faiths and spiritual beliefs, and among them is Sammed Shikharji — also known as Sammet Shikharji or simply Shikharji — that is currently engulfed in a tussle. Located in Jharkhand, it is a holy site for the Jain community, which has been protesting lately to overturn a state government decision declaring it as a tourist spot.According to news reports, the tension was fueling for a few weeks now, with the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government notifying that the pilgrimage site is a tourist destination. Members of the Jain community have been protesting in many parts of the country; in fact, a delegation even reached Delhi to hand over a letter to the President on Sunday.Jains have been urging the Jharkhand CM to reconsider the decision.Today Jains are observing a one day bandh against Jharkhand govt’s decision to convert Jain’s biggest Teerth Sammed Shikharji into a tourist place. This Teerth saw 20 of our 24 Teerthankar attain Nirvaan. Please express solidarity with our peaceful community. pic.twitter.com/wBC8hboL0P— Ankit Jain (@indiantweeter) December 21, 2022About Sammed ShikharjiThe reason that Sammed Shikharji is so important to the community, and why it does not want the place to turn into an eco-tourism spot, is because — located on the Parasnath hill in the Giridih district of Jharkhand — it is considered to be the biggest pilgrimage site by both the Digambaras and the Svetambaras. It is believed that it is the place where 20 of the 24 Jain tirthankaras, who are Jain spiritual leaders, along with many other monks attained ‘moksha‘ or salvation after meditating.The great musician Ravindra Jain ji has sung this masterpiece years ago for Shri Sammed Shikharji.Shikhar Ji is the Soul of Jain Community !! #SaveShikharji pic.twitter.com/9wbw2cwpIv— Maggi (@JainMaggii) December 24, 2022Parasnath hill is known across the country to be the highest mountain in the state of Jharkhand.The word ‘Shikharji’ in itself means a ‘venerable peak’. Interestingly, the word ‘Parasnath’ comes from ‘Parshvanatha’, the 23rd Jain tirthankara who attained moksha here. According to beliefs of the Jain community, Shikharji is ranked with Ashtapad, Girnar, Dilwara Temples of Mount Abu and Shatrunjaya as the ‘Svetambara Pancha Tirth’ or the five principal pilgrimage shrines.If someone wants to do a pilgrimage of Shikharji, they must start with Palganj on Giridih road, where there is a small shrine dedicated to Parshvanatha. Then, they can make some offerings to the temples of Madhuban located at the base of Parasnath hill. Pilgrims have to cover a long trek of about 27km while doing a circumambulation of Shikharji.The Jain protest also got support from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), whose national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said, “No pilgrim site, as well as beliefs and faith of a community can be hurt in the name of development of the site as a tourist spot. Any development should be done by keeping the identity of the site… A separate ministry should be made to deal with the development of holy sites…”📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!
