Air India Flies Supplies To Tripura, More Due After Ban On Flights Lifted

Air India flew the first flight to Agartala in Tripura

The centre has exempted northeast India from the nationwide ban on domestic flight operations imposed to halt the spread of the infectious COVID-19 virus. The ban has been lifted for cargo planes only and is meant to ensure the timely supply of medical equipment, like personal protective equipment (PPE), N95 surgical masks and coronavirus testing kits, to state capitals in the region.

The transfer of medical supplies to the region - which includes some otherwise hard-to-access cities and towns - began Saturday and is expected to be completed by Monday; this will be the first round of airlifting. Official sources have said help from the Air Force will be taken if required.

The landlocked northeastern part of India has closed international and inter-state borders in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 21-day "total lockdown". This includes road and rail links, leaving flights the only means of sending medical aid.

The first flight, operated by Air India, dropped essential items in Tripura's capital Agartala on Saturday. The flight carried 77 cartons of essential items weighing close to 500 kilograms. More supplies are expected to reach Imphal in Manipur and Guwahati and Dibrugarh in Assam today.

Across India all passenger flights, domestic and foreign, have been stopped till April 14 at least.

The number of COVID-19 positive cases in the country is nearing 1,000, with more than 60 new cases reported Sunday. At least 25 deaths have been linked to the virus, seen as one of the most infectious viral outbreaks in recent times.

Two confirmed cases have been reported from the northeast - one each from Manipur and Mizoram. No deaths have been reported as yet.

A policeman was killed and two others injured in Assam on Saturday after violence with mobs over the coronavirus outbreak. Over 200 people were arrested for violating the lockdown.

The Prime Minister, speaking during his monthly "Mann Ki Baat" programme today, urged all residents to respect the lockdown and stay indoors as far as possible.

"I apologise for taking these harsh steps... (but those who defy them are) playing with their own lives," he said, after his government faced severe criticism over allegedly poor planning for the lockdown's fallout.

Worldwide more than 5.75 lakh people have been infected and over 26,000 killed, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).