COVID-19: Karnataka reports 5483 new cases, 2220 from Bengaluru

This takes the total active COVID-19 cases in Karnataka to over 72,000.

TNM Staff

Image for representation/PTI

Karnataka has reported more than 5,000 new cases of coronavirus for the fourth consecutive day, with 5,483 new patients on Friday. The total active cases in the state now stands at 72,005, according to the latest bulletin released by the Karnataka State Health Department. The state’s capital Bengaluru has reported 2,220 cases of coronavirus, taking the total cases reported till date in the city to 55,544. The total active cases in Bengaluru, as of Friday, stands at 37,618 cases. So far, Karnataka has reported a total of 1,24,115 COVID-19 patients. Most of the cases have been reported from Bengaluru. However, other districts are also not far behind. The case load reported has been as follows: Ballari (340), Belagavi (217), Udupi (213), Dakshina Kannada (204), Mysuru (204). Other districts which reported hundred cases and above are Dharwad (180), Shivamogga (158), Kalaburagi (144), Davangere (122), Raichur (119), Vijayapura (118), Bengaluru Rural (105), Bidar (104), and Hassana (100 cases). Eighty four people have died on COVID-19 in Karnataka on Friday. This takes the total death toll in the state to 2,314 patients. Bengaluru reported 20 deaths, Dakshina Kannada 10, Dharwad seven, while Kalaburagi reported six deaths. Among the active cases in Karnataka, 609 people are currently in intensive care units (ICUs). Bengaluru reported the highest number of such patients, with 336 people who are currently admitted to ICUs. There were 3,130 people who were discharged after they recovered from COVID-19 on Friday. The total discharges recorded in the state now stands at 49,788. Bengaluru reported that on this date, 1,113 people have been discharged after they recovered from COVID-19. Mysuru reported 302 recoveries on Friday, the second highest in the state. The testing data in the bulletin showed that Karnataka conducted 22,164 rapid antigen tests and 14,772 RT-PCR tests on Friday. This takes the total number of tests in the state to 36,936.

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Three arrested for procuring, attempting to sell deer antlers in Bengaluru

Crime

A case has been registered against all the three under the Wildlife Act and the accused will be handed over to the forest department.

IANS

Bengaluru police have arrested three men for attempting to sell deer antlers or horns procured from unknown forest sources at Rs 5 lakh based on a tip off. "We have arrested Sundaresh, Manjunath and Raghavendra for attempting to sell two deer antlers,"  Central Crime Branch (CCB) Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Kuldeep Jain told IANS. "To lure the customers, the accused made a video about the antlers and told stories that grinding a small part of the antler into power and drinking with water will heal some ailment or their mere presence would bring luck and so on," said Jain. A case has been registered against all the three under the Wildlife Act and the accused will be handed over to the forest department. It is clearly not known from whom the accused procured the antlers as they are claiming that they received them from some forest sources. Police got a tip-off that the three were trying to sell the antlers to a prospective buyer in Yeshwantpur area in the city. Both the deer horns, one of which is a complete set with both the horns and other one a smaller one, were being quoted a price of Rs 5 lakh and weighing approximately 2 kg. The bigger horn weighed 1.3 kg and the smaller one 270gm. Though the police would also want to contact the buyers, the DCP said it may not be easy because all of them would have backed off after the three arrests. The police are not sure which part of Karnataka forests these antlers would have come from. Jain said the forest department will know more about such intricacies. "The antlers have already changed several hands and were in the penultimate hands of the middlemen before being passed on to a buyer," pointed out Jain. Police have seized a Toyota Innova and three mobile phones from the wildlife offenders.

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U.S. government awards $2.1B to Sanofi-GSK coronavirus vaccine

The government initiative aims to provide 300 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine by January 2021.

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Video: Bengaluru man flung into air by hanging wire, crashes into woman

Accident

The incident occurred on July 16 at 11:34 am when a hotelier Sunita K was walking on the road.

TNM Staff

A woman in Bengaluru had to get 52 stitches after an accident in which an auto driver came flying through the air and crashed into her. The incident occurred on July 16 at 11:34 am when a hotelier Sunita K was walking along the road towards her hotel Annapoorneshwari at TC Palya Junction.  The CCTV visuals of the incident showed that a wire connecting a red line violation detection camera was loose and got stuck in the auto's wheel. While the driver tried to remove the entangled wire, a speeding vehicle came by and pulled the wire with force. The auto driver, caught in the wire, was flung in the air and towards an oblivious Sunita.  Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Sunita, 42, said the incident happened in a flash and that when she turned around, she saw a man flying towards her like Lord Anjaneya.  Sunita's husband Krishnamurthy was working nearby and rushed to admit Sunita in a hospital. At the time of the incident, there was a lockdown in effect in Bengaluru and Sunita got to know what happened only when she saw the CCTV footage after the lockdown ended last week.  The auto driver was not injured in the incident although he did have to recover from the shock of being hurled in the air. It was the dangling wire which caused the incident.  Watch the video of the incident

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Slain RTI activist's sister receives threats for pursuing murder case 4 years after death

Crime

Anuradha, who is pursuing justice for her brother's murder, received threat calls a day before she had an appointment with the Mangaluru Police Commissioner.

Prajwal Bhat

Anuradha Baliga, sister of slain RTI activist Vinayak Baliga, received calls threatening her this week against pursuing the case over her brother's death. Vinayak Baliga, an RTI activist and a booth level BJP activist, was murdered in front of his residence in March 2016. The main accused in the case is Naresh Shenoy, a former convenor of the Namo Brigade, a youth organisation floated in Karnataka ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to drum up support for the BJP and Narendra Modi.  Anuradha, who is pursuing a four-year-old case seeking justice for her brother's murder, took an appointment with the Mangaluru Police Commissioner on July 28. But on the night of July 27, she received calls from a private number threatening her against seeking justice for her brother's death. "It has been four years and four months since my brother died. I have not received a threat call before. When I picked up the call, the caller spoke in Tulu and warned me against taking up the case. We have submitted the numbers to the police. The threat call means somebody does not want the case to be pursued," Anuradha told TNM. One of the calls she received was from a number from Malaysia, Anuradha said. She was asked to stay away from the main accused in the case – Naresh Shenoy. Police arrested Nishith Devadiga, 23, and Vinith Poojary, 26, a week after the murder. They were allegedly contracted to murder Vinayak by people associated with Naresh Shenoy.  The accused in the case are currently out on bail and the trial is yet to commence even though it has been over four years since the murder took place. The investigation in the case is yet to be completed.  Anuradha filed a complaint with the Mangaluru Police Commissioner on July 28 over the threat calls. “This attempt to intimidate the complainant and witness in a murder case is a serious offence yet action remains pending," said rationalist Narendra Nayak, who is helping Anuradha legally pursue the case. Background Vinayak Baliga, an RTI activist who had filed numerous RTI applications to expose corruption, was hacked to death in front of his residence in Mangaluru on March 21 2016. Vinayak was involved in a tussle with officials at the Venkataramana Temple in Mangaluru's Car Street over misappropriation of funds up to Rs 9 crore. He had filed RTI applications seeking information about the temple's accounts. He was a BJP activist and prayed at the temple nearly every day. Vinayak lived with his parents and two sisters – Anuradha and Harsha – in Kodialbail in Mangaluru when he was murdered. 

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Bhaskar Rao transferred, ADGP Kamal Pant is the new Bengaluru Police Commissioner

Administration

Pant is also a 1990 batch IPS officer like his predecessor, Bhaskar Rao.

TNM Staff

Screengrab

Senior IPS officer Bhaskar Rao has been transferred out from his position as Commissioner of Police for Bengaluru City.  The Karnataka government on Friday transferred Bhaskar Rao and made Kamal Pant, who until now was ADGP Intelligence, as the new city police chief. Bhaskar Rao was appointed as the Police Commissioner of Bengaluru on August 2, 2019.  Rao will now take charge as ADGP Internal Security Division, Bengaluru.  Pant is also a 1990 batch IPS officer like his predecessor. A top police source said, “This is a routine transfer as more or less all City Commissioners get roughly a tenure of one year. Incidentally Pant is ranked higher than Rao in the civil list. He enjoys a reputation of high integrity in the state IPS circle.” Pant was appointed as ADGP intelligence at the same time as part of his previous posting when Rao was made the CIty Commissioner of Police. Bhaskar Rao had been appreciated by many for imposing the lockdown quite efficiently in Bengaluru when it was first imposed. He is also an officer who was connected to people through social media and used his Twitter handle to effectively communicate with people. It may however be recalled that Bhaskar Rao's appointment as Bengaluru Police Commissioner was surrounded by controversy. Audio clips purported to be of Bhaskar Rao, lobbying for the post of Police Commissioner were leaked to the media a week after his appointment.  In late March this year, Bhaskar Rao was mired in another controversy after a falling out with Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan. Sources had told TNM back then that during a meeting with cabinet ministers regarding measures taken to allow Dunzo, Swiggy and Zomato to continue operations during the lockdown, Bhaskar Rao had a feud with DCM Ashwath Narayan.  Ashwath Narayan allegedly accused Bhaskar Rao of accepting bribes and an angry Bhaskar Rao is said to have walked out of the meeting and allegedly said he would rather quit than be accused of corruption.  However, that feud seems to have had no effect on Rao’s tenure as the City Commissioner and he had continued for a few months more in the post.

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Guided by doctor on video call, women help pregnant neighbour deliver boy in Karnataka

Coronavirus

As a complete lockdown was being observed across the state, the nearest government hospital was not accessible as an ambulance was not readily available.

IANS

Representational image

A group of seven women with no medical knowledge have helped a woman deliver a baby boy in an emergency situation in Karnataka's Haveri district, guided by a doctor on video call. "Seven of us helped our neighbour Vasavi Pathepur deliver a baby boy successfully, guided by gynaecologist Priyanka Mantagi," Jyoti Madi of Hangal village, 370 km northwest of Bengaluru, told IANS. On Sunday, Pathepur was going to the washroom when she unexpectedly went into labour and her foetus had already come out a little by then. As a complete lockdown was being observed across the state, the nearest government hospital was not accessible as an ambulance was not readily available, creating an emergency situation. "At this juncture, we gathered together and were deciding what to do when one of our sisters remembered her childhood friend Mantagi, currently pursuing MD in gynaecology in KIMS Hubli, and we contacted her," said Jyoti. Fortunately, Mantagi was available when she was contacted though she has been extremely busy discharging COVID-19 duties. "Mantagi suggested that she would make a video call and guideus through the process for a safe delivery, resulting in the birth of the baby boy," said an elated Jyoti. Following the gynaecologist's directions, the women managed the delivery. After the procedure, the ambulance arrived to take the mother and baby to a hospital. In her first delivery, Pathepur had given birth to a baby girl through C-Section. "We have not done anything great. It is all God's grace," said Jyoti. While many people are connecting the video call delivery to a similar incidence shown in the Aamir Khan starrer hit flick Three Idiots, which released more than a decade ago, Jyoti said it was a movie whereas they did it in real life. Jyoti has completed her engineering and lives in Bengaluru. Currently, she is at her mother's home in the village because of the COVID-induced lockdown. The other six women who were involved in the delivery are Ankita Vedambhattanavar, an MCA graduate from Bengaluru, Madhulika Desai, advocate, Madhuri Kamanahalli, Vijayalaxmi Joshi and Mukta Kamanahalli, homemakers, and Shivaleela Pattara, a government teacher, all from the same village. 

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Bengaluru reports 2,233 new cases, 12,668 active containment zones

Coronavirus

The west zone reported the highest number of COVID-19 patients on Thursday.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru recorded 12,668 active containment zones on Thursday, according to the data given by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The number of active containment zones has reduced by 1,475. The city reported 2,233 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, and 36,523 patients are still under treatment for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Among those who tested positive on Thursday, the highest number of patients were between the ages of 20-29, with 280 men and 180 women testing positive. This was followed by those between the ages of 30-39, with 220 men and 186 women testing positive. According to the BBMP, Bengaluru has a total of 19,649 containment zones, of which 12,688 are active. Bengaluru South continued to report the most number of active containment zones, followed by Bengaluru East and then West. The west zone has reported the highest number of COVID-19 patients (23%) in the last 24 hours with 456 cases. South (21%) and east (21%) zones both reported 428 cases in Bengaluru in the past day. The west zone also saw the most recoveries on Thursday, followed by South and East. 179 out of 198 wards in the city have over 100 COVID-19 cases. Karnataka, on Thursday, reported the biggest single-day spike of 6,128 new cases of COVID-19 and 83 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 1,18,632 and the death toll to 2,230. The day also saw a record 3,793 patients getting discharged after recovery. According to the bulletin, 22 out of 83 deaths reported on Thursday are from Bengaluru urban, followed by Mysuru (9), Dharwad (8), Kalaburagi and Dakshina Kannada (7), Hassan (6), Udupi and Belagavi (4), Bagalote, Uttara Kannada, Bidar, Kolar (2), and Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Tumakuru, Gadag, Davangere, Koppal, Yadgir and Haveri (1). Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with 53,324 infections, followed by Ballari 6,063 and Dakshina Kannada 5,504. Among discharges too Bengaluru urban tops the list with 15,791 discharges, followed by Ballari 2,566 and Dakshina Kannada 2,561.  The Karnataka government also announced, on Thursday, that there will be no lockdown on Sundays from August 1, and that the night curfew has been removed, as part of the Unlock 3.0 guidelines. In view of the rising coronavirus cases, the government had imposed total lockdown on Sundays from July 5.

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Bengaluru college students find personal photos used on porn sites, two arrested

Crime

The two were arrested under Sections 66 and 67 of the Information Technology Act for uploading the photographs.

TNM Staff

Photos of the accused

Two people have been arrested after college students in Bengaluru found that their private photos had been uploaded onto a pornographic website. The photos were taken from the students’ personal social media handles, and have since been removed, according to reports.  The incident sparked outrage on social media, with many condemning the persons who had misused the students’ personal pictures. As many as 30 pictures were uploaded, reports say. Two accused, Ajay Thanikachalam, 37, and Vikas Raghotham, 27, were taken into custody over the incident. The investigation is ongoing.  The two were arrested under Sections 66 (Computer related offences) and 67 (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act for uploading the photographs, said Kuldeep Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Crime Branch. As a result of complaints filed in the Cyber Crime, Economic Offences, and Narcotics (CEN) police stations, the two accused were nabbed. Eight FIRs have been registered in this case, IANS reported.  The Congress party responded to the incident by urging the government to take action. College students mainly girls are in distress in Bangalore due to pictures stolen from their Social media account & bring uploaded on porn sites This is very disturbing development@IndiaToday report unleashes the concerning issue in Bangalore colleges.Govt must act immediately — Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) July 30, 2020 The students reportedly informed the staff and principal of the college, and a complaint was filed with the police.  Sandeep Patil IPS, who is Joint Commissioner of Police, tweeted, “CCB Cyber Crime Wing (Bengaluru Central Crime Branch)arrest 2 accused who uploaded photos of Victims on porn sites..photos taken from victims Social Media accounts..strict legal action is being taken..”   CCB Cyber Crime Wing arrest 2 accused who uploaded photos of Victims on porn sites..photos taken from victims Social Media accounts..strict legal action is being taken.. @CPBlr — Sandeep Patil IPS (@ips_patil) July 30, 2020  

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One student, Vivek, told the Deccan Herald that they were alerted to the photos posted to the website after messages were sent on the students’ class WhatsApp groups. 

It’s likely that the pictures were online for three months before students learnt of their existence on the pornographic website. 

Vivek says he was the first to email the website asking them to remove the photos. While the website initially told Vivek that he had no legal authority to demand the photos’ removal, they eventually took notice after hundreds of students sent emails, Deccan Herald reported. 

According to IANS, one of the accused pretended to be a girl using a fake social media profile, and chatted with the second accused. They reportedly never met. 

Later, the second accused started sharing images of college girls and the first accused (who was pretending to be a girl) would upload them on the porn website, according to the DCP. "One motive for uploading the pictures was to harass those girls. There was no involvement of money," said Kuldeep Jain.

(WIth IANS inputs)

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Over 30 burglary cases in Bengaluru linked to Colombian nationals arrested in March

Crime

Their kingpin, who was arrested earlier, is absconding after he was let out on bail.

TNM Staff

Representational image

Police in Bengaluru on Thursday said that they have solved more than 30 house burglary cases across the city, over four months after they had arrested three Colombian nationals allegedly linked to the crime spree. The trio of William Padilla Martinez (48), Stephanie Munoz Monsalve (23) and Christian Inez Olarto (34) were arrested in March amidst the lockdown and are currently lodged in the Parappana Agrahara prison. Police said that the trio were arrested when they were caught moving in a suspicious manner on their bikes near Thanisandra. Three other members of the group, including kingpins Gustavo alias Mustafa and Kibarli, are currently absconding, police said. Incidentally Mustafa was arrested earlier in 2018 and was out on bail for his alleged involvement in the burglary of former Chief Secretary Koushik Mukherjee’s residence. Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said after the arrest, police have recovered six kilograms of gold, a browning pistol with live rounds, two bikes, fake passports and driving licenses, mobile jammer, drill bit machine, laser cutting machine, a flame gun, among other equipment. Police said the accused had entered the city via Nepal on a tourist visa. They were first under police scrutiny in October 2019 when they were caught in CCTV footage while burgling a building inside the Manyata Tech Park. At that time, the police were alerted and the gang had left the spot leaving behind the car they came in. When police analysed all the CCTV footage of the attempted burglaries, they found that the accused could scale up walls as high as 15 feet as they were trained in parkour. From the car, police had recovered equipment like walkie-talkies. Police said that they would survey their target areas on bicycles and once they set a target, they would arrive on their bikes and in cars. To confirm that the house is empty, police said usually Stephanie, armed with pepper spray and knives, would ring the bell of the house and would break open once nobody responded.

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Bengaluru teen who was held after father died in scuffle released on bail

Crime

The girl was held on Thursday, July 23, after her father died following a fatal injury by a pair of scissors during a scuffle that he initiated.

Sanyukta Dharmadhikari

A 15-year-old Bengaluru girl who was detained after a scuffle with her father led to his death, has been released on bail after a week’s detention. Treated as a child in conflict with the law, she had been detained at a juvenile home and was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board on Thursday, which is when she was granted bail. The girl was detained on Thursday, July 23, after her father, who was in an inebriated state, died after he was fatally injured by a pair of scissors during a scuffle. She had been booked under Section 304 of the IPC, which is culpable homicide not amounting to murder. According to a Supreme Court ruling earlier in January, charges against juveniles are considered ‘heinous or serious’ if they attract a minimum of seven years’ imprisonment. While Section 304 IPC has a maximum sentence of 10 years, it does not prescribe a minimum sentence, and hence the girl was eligible to get bail.  The girl is currently back with her family and her grandparents and uncle have flown to Bengaluru to be with her. Meanwhile, the police are still investigating the case and whether Section 100 (self-defence) can be added to the case against her. The family had earlier told TNM that the incident took place on July 22 around 11 pm, when the girl tried to tell her father, who had been drinking heavily, not to play the piano loudly as she was trying to study. Angered by her confrontation, a scuffle ensued and the father tried to hit and attack the teenager, and picked up a sharp object. The family had said that the girl had picked up a pair of scissors to defend herself, which is when the father came charging at her and the scissors are believed to have pierced him. The girl’s younger brother, who was in another room, ran out to fetch the neighbours, who later reached the spot and called the police. The family had told TNM that the father was an alcoholic and often behaved violently and was abusive since the death of his wife a few years ago. “He was very learned and intelligent. After working for 12 years at an IT major, he quit. Two years in, around 2011, his wife delivered a second child. When the baby was ten days old, the mother died. This was the turning point,” the relative had said. The relative had also narrated how he reportedly even forced his older child to drop out of school and began to home school both the kids. The neighbour who had called the police had also mentioned in her statement that the two children have “suffered enough” and that a compassionate view be taken of the events that had transpired. Also read: ‘It was self defence, he was an alcoholic’: Bengaluru teen held for father’s death

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‘Will I be OK?’: Anxiety takes over young COVID-19 patients in Bengaluru

Coronavirus

Mental health experts are advising young patients to stay away from the news, especially reports on death figures.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational image/PTI

On July 19, Girish (name changed), a 32-year-old man residing in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area came to know that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. According to his family members, until that point when he was informed of the result, he was fine. Even when the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike officials — after a preliminary check up — suggested that he go to a COVID Care Centre, he insisted that he will get admitted to a private hospital so that he does not develop complications. A family member said that even though Girish was fine and did not have any problems, he (Girish) said that he had suddenly developed breathing problems even though they could see him getting tense.  Girish is not alone. TNM spoke to multiple doctors in Bengaluru who said that many young men and women are anxious about the diseases after seeing media reports about increasing death tolls related to the pandemic. Dr Rajani P, Deputy Director, Mental Health, Department of Health and Family Welfare, said that many patients will be anxious about what will happen if their situation deteriorates even as they are doing fine.  “Seeing what they see and hear in the media, many young people are scared. Anxiety is at the forefront for around 20-30% patients and a lot of young people fear if the infection will relapse,” she said. She said that soon after the onset of the pandemic, the government started counselling sessions for all patients in hospitals to counter the crisis. Apart from psychiatrists and psychologists attending to patients physically, more than 2.51 lakh telephonic consultations have been made across the state till July 21, she informed. Dr Rajani said anxiety causes some patients to hyperventilate and sometimes, they will self-report breathlessness and end up in hospitals even though they are ‘completely fine’.  Dr Asima Banu, COVID-19 nodal officer at Victoria Hospital, said anxiety among patients who are doing fine on physical parameters are more prevalent among youngsters, compared to the elderly. She said even if the anxious patients are overseen by psychiatrists and psychologists as part of the treatment routine, clinicians have to address the issue to patients at an individual level. “Fear psychosis here is a reality. The phobia only is making them feel symptomatic. Even after getting discharged or at the time of getting discharged, they will call us saying ‘cough is not going down, we are facing breathlessness’ and all. So we are forced to tell them to consult their family physicians and then they will also tell the same things,” she told TNM.   Dr Venkateshaiah, medical superintendent of the KC General Hospital, a state-run medical facility, also said the occurrence of such fears is common. He said about 20% of all patients irrespective of age or gender will need extra care on this front.  “Even though clinically we can see that their blood oxygen saturation level and all other vital statistics are fine, they need assurances from time to time. We spell it out: ‘see your oxygen rate is fine, your heartbeat is fine, your respiration is alright’. In most cases, once we tell them this, they are again psychologically elevated. The moment people think about what all they might have seen on the media or heard from somewhere, they assume that they have lost their sense of smell or have breathing difficulty even if they are completely alright,” he told TNM.    Dr Girish, psychiatrist at the KC General Hospital, said the issue common with elderly patients is of taboo and stigma. “They fear if their family, neighbours will take them back as before,” he said. “The young people will have apprehensions such as ‘will I survive?’. So we try to reason with them with facts about how their condition is gradually improving since the time they were admitted,” he said. The psychiatrist said they would reason with the patients about how mortality rate is very low at the state or city level or how most patients are doing fine at the hospital and being discharged after a few days. He said he advises patients not to stress too much on news and watch comedy and light content on their phones. Such patients are also asked to follow certain breathing techniques and meditate. “We advise them not to watch news as there is too much focus on death numbers,” said Dr Girish.

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No more Sunday lockdown, night curfews in Karnataka from August 1

Coronavirus

In view of the rising coronavirus cases, the government had imposed total lockdown on Sundays starting from July 5.

PTI

Representational image/PTI

Sunday lockdowns will no longer take place in the state from August 2, the Karnataka government said on Thursday. Night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am, which restricts individuals from movement, has also been removed under the new rules that will come into effect from August.  The announcement came as the state government decided on further easing of COVID-19 induced curbs, as it issued Unlock 3.0 guidelines in line with the Centre's norms. In view of the rising coronavirus cases, the government had imposed total lockdown on Sundays starting from July 5. For the first time since the coronavirus lockdown came into force on March 25, the government allowed the opening of yoga institutes and gymnasiums from August 5. According to the order, a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for this will be issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka. The guidelines will come into force from August 1 and strict enforcement of lockdown in containment zones will continue till August 31. Schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutions will remain closed till August 31. However, online or distance learning shall continue to be permitted and shall be encouraged. The prohibited activities include metro rail services, cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places. Social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious functions and other large congregations will also continue to be prohibited till August 31. All activities, except these, shall be permitted outside the containment zones, the order said. Dates for the opening of these sectors will be decided separately, by the Government of India and necessary SOPs shall be issued by ministries concerned for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of COVID-19, it added. Independence day functions at State, Districts, Sub-Divisions, Taluks, Municipal and Panchayat levels and 'At Home' functions, wherever held, will be allowed with social distancing and by following other health protocols such as wearing masks.

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K-CET 2020: 57 students infected with coronavirus write exam in separate rooms

CET

Students infected with the virus were picked up in ambulances from their homes, hospitals, COVID-Care Centres and were allowed to write the exams in designated COVID-Care Centres.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Ashwath Narayan, dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE), visited the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (K-CET) centres on Thursday where students who tested positive for the coronavirus were allowed to write the examination. They were seated in a separate room.  While 60 COVID-19 patients had registered for the examinations, 49 appeared for the Biology examination and 57 appeared for the Mathematics examination.  In all, 1.94 lakh students registered for the examinations being held on July 30 and 31. Around 1.47 lakh students wrote the Biology examination on Thursday morning, while 1.73 lakh students wrote the Mathematics exam on the same evening.  The entrance examination for professional courses in engineering, agriculture among others was held on Thursday after the Karnataka High Court rejected a plea asking for the examinations to be deferred. Minister Ashwath Narayan said that as many as 60 students infected with the coronavirus had registered for Thursday's Mathematics and Biology examinations. Of the 60 students, 49 students appeared for the Biology examination and 57 students appeared for the Mathematics examination.  The Karnataka government arranged transportation and food facilities for students infected with the coronavirus who were writing the examination. In the Biology examination conducted on Thursday morning, 15 students infected with the virus wrote the examinations: five in Bengaluru, five in Mysuru and five in Ballari. Students infected with the virus were picked up in ambulances from their homes, hospitals, COVID-Care Centres and were allowed to write the exams in designated COVID-Care Centres. 75% of the students who registered appeared for the Biology examination and 89% of the students registered appeared for the Mathematics examination. The attendance numbers were slightly lower than in 2019 when 79% of the students appeared for the Biology examination and 91% of the students appeared for the Mathematics examination. The tests were conducted in 497 examination centres across Karnataka. Over 42,000 students registered for the examination in Bengaluru and 21,367 appeared for the Biology examination and 34,333 appeared for the Mathematics examination in various exam centres on Thursday.  The Physics and Chemistry examinations will be conducted on Friday.  Earlier this week, the Karnataka High Court had asked the state government to reconsider its decision to hold the examinations due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state. But the counsel appearing for the government in the High Court confirmed in a submission that the state government would hold the examinations as per the schedule.  The High Court was hearing a petition filed by students asking for the examinations to be deferred. The National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Indian National Congress, had also attached itself to the petition. Karnataka currently has 69,700 active COVID-19 cases after the state reported 6,128 new cases on Thursday. 

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Despite lockdown, traffic accidents and deaths see no major dip in Bengaluru

Accident

Authorities said that they had seen an increase in instances of rash driving and overspeeding as roads remain relatively empty.

Soumya Chatterjee

Long periods of lockdown, put in place as a measure to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus between mid-March and May in Bengaluru, has not resulted in any drastic reduction of road accidents or fatalities, data available with authorities shows. As per the data, till June-end, a total of 309 persons have been killed in road accidents in 2020. The death toll for 2019, 2018 and 2017 were 766, 684 and 642 respectively for the entire year.   The same trend can be observed for injuries too. Till June 30, 2020, the number of injured people is at 1,396 while the same for the last three years was 4,253, 4,133 and 4,256 respectively for the entire year.   According to officials, while there is no major dip in the overall fatality or number of accidents, the accidents involving two wheelers stand out during the lockdown period. A total of 44 persons have been killed in road accidents involving two-wheelers alone within the Bengaluru Police Commissionerate limits till June-end, from when the nationwide lockdown was put in place in March. Another 159 persons have been injured in accidents involving two-wheelers in the same period. A total of 166 accidents were recorded. Traffic police officials said that the high number of accidents and related fatalities are mainly due to riders not following traffic rules, and increased instances of overspeeding on empty roads during the lockdown period. Speaking to TNM,  Joint Commissioner, Traffic, BR Ravikanthe Gowda said, “We have reduced contact enforcement in the wake of the pandemic and we are only relying on non-contact means. But people are taking things for granted. If you look at most of these cases, they are due to the negligence of the rider; even those involving fatalities. Rash and negligent driving has increased. This shows the need for enforcement of traffic rules in the city.”  Traffic Police inspectors said that due to lack of enforcement on the gound, the number of people following traffic rules like wearing helmets, maintaining lane discipline and obeying traffic signals have decreased, which have led to a majority of the accidents. TNM had reported on June 21, how three youngsters had lost their lives after two bikes collided near the Jakkur Airfield as they were trying a stunt. More recently, the police had seized a 1,000 cc bike after videos of the rider overspeeding on the Electronic City Flyover during the lockdown went viral. Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime, Sandeep Patil, had said that the Traffic Police in Electronic City had registered a case against the rider who had posted other videos of him violating the speed limit on multiple occasions in the city.

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Kumaraswamy accuses Congress leaders of not allowing Kharge to become CM in 2018

Politics

Sources tell TNM that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will remain mum on this issue and has instructed his social media team to not tweet any reaction in this regard.

Pooja Prasanna

Sharpening his attack on the Congress, former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy dropped a political bombshell on Wednesday. In a statement released, Kumaraswamy said the Congress leaders opposed making senior leader Mallikharjuna Kharge as the Chief Minister when talks of an alliance was on between the JD(S) and Congress after the 2018 Assembly elections.  'When there was a hung Assembly, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, in the presence of senior national and State leaders, suggested to make Kharge the CM. It was Congress leaders who prevented Kharge from becoming the CM. The JD(S) though was not keen, the Congress party high command and the State leaders kowtowed requesting to me take the CM's post. After this, you started driving from the backseat and dictating terms and exerting pressure. Where was your morality then?(sic)’ read the statement. The JD(S) leader, further accused the Congress leaders of the state of using only social media to attack, cowering to come forward and indulge in a face-off with him. ‘Unable to question me directly, the so called bigwigs of the party have taken shelter behind the Congress' official twitter handle @INCKarnataka.’ The war of words began in the backdrop of Congress’ 'Save Democracy campaign', a campaign against the BJP for allegedly trying to grab power in Rajasthan. While the Congress leaders in Karnataka had accused the BJP of horse-trading of legislators in the Rajasthan context to which Kumaraswamy hit out saying that the Congress had invented the game and the BJP was just taking it forward. The Congress hit back, questioning why he found the party palatable when he wanted to come to power in Karnataka.  Meanwhile these outbursts are being seen as an attempt to stay politically relevant but most essentially, safeguard the Vokkaliga vote base in southern Karnataka. After DK Shivakumar has been made the Karnataka Congress president, there is a sense of insecurity in the JD(S) first family that their influence over the second largest caste vote bank might be threatened and with that the family’s and the party’s future imperiled, sources claimed. Vokkaligas form the second dominant caste base, after Lingayats, in Karnataka.   Congress party sources tell TNM that their leaders have been instructed to not react to this provocation by their former ally. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in particular, has even instructed his social media team to not tweet any reaction in this regard. Responding to this instigation, sources say the Congress believes, will only give political mileage to JD(S) which has seen its influence dwindling.  In 2018, after the Assembly polls resulted in a hung assembly, the Congress and JD(S) formed an alliance in Karnataka, with HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister and G Parameshwara from Congress as the Deputy Chief Minister. 

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Bengaluru’s positivity rate at 17%, more COVID-19 testing needed: Experts

Coronavirus

Bengaluru has tested on average 8745 samples per day between July 22 and July 28.

Prajwal Bhat

PTI : Image for representation

Bengaluru has recorded a total of 51091 coronavirus cases, as of July 29 with 91% of COVID-19 patients being diagnosed this month alone. Presently, the city has 36224 active cases. However, even as Karnataka’s capital city has emerged as a hotspot, the question is - are health officials in the city testing enough people for coronavirus?  The question arises due to a high positivity rate observed in Bengaluru - 17.19% as of July 28. However, an analysis of data over the past week shows that city’s testing has fluctuated considerably over the past week. On average, 8745 samples were tested everyday (July 22-28) in Bengaluru in the past week and the city has reported on average 1982 positive cases per day in this period.    An analysis of the data shared by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) COVID-19 War Room showed that testing numbers in Bengaluru dipped from 9697 on July 25 to 5930 on July 26 before reporting increased testing numbers of 10176 on July 27 and 9773 on July 28. This resulted in the positivity rate jumping from 20.9% on July 25?to 32.8% the next day. Bengaluru, however, saw it’s positivity rate drop to 14.4% and 19.4% over the next two days.That means the positivity rate in Bengaluru for the past week is 22.66% - five percentage points higher than the cumulative figure.   On four days in the past week, the positivity rate was over 25% in the city.  The positivity rate was the highest on July 26 when the rate was 32.8%.    The positivity rate on July 19, a week prior to that was at its peak at 45%. Only 4703 samples were tested on the day and the city reported 2156 COVID-19 cases. While the testing numbers were increased after July 19, the ratio of positive cases in relation to number of samples is significantly high in Bengaluru. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) plans to address this by increasing testing in Bengaluru and on Tuesday, the civic body announced a plan to conduct free testing in the city. “In order to control the spread of coronavirus, BBMP has arranged free testing facilities in almost every ward,” BBMP said in a statement by its Commissioner Manjunath Prasad.  “Early detection of coronavirus will help us stop its spread to others...Please do not be afraid of getting tested as majority of the people who get tested at early stages recover very fast,” the statement added. It also included the phone numbers of testing centres in different zones in the city. Experts agreed that the testing numbers in Bengaluru needed to be increased in view of the rising number of cases. Dr Giridhar Babu an epidemiologist with the Public Health Foundation of India, who is part of expert committees formed by both in state and Centre is of the opinion that testing should be five times the number of samples tested currently. He said, "We should be looking at an ideal positivity rate of 5% as recommended by the WHO. Also for testing we can't look at the numbers from a state or a city level. Rather there should be targets set on a ward basis as otherwise it would give a wrong impression that some areas are safer than others without any evidence." Dr Sanjiv Lewin, Chief of Medical Services, St John's Medical College, says that the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru means that there is a need for more targeted testing in the city. “We should be testing everybody in communities where positive cases are found. I would suggest randomised testing in localities with COVID-19 cases. The reluctance of public to test themselves due to stigma and discrimination is something that the government should change,” Sanjiv says. He also adds that there should be blanket testing of patients in Bengaluru’s hospitals. “I would recommend mandatory testing for everyone getting hospitalised. This is when patients are hospitalised for any reason because it will help protect healthcare workers from getting exposed to the virus,” Sanjiv says.  BBMP is also grappling with issues of patients registering with fake phone numbers and addresses. The civic body has introduced an OTP mechanism to ensure that there is no room for errors in entering the data or patients giving fake contact details while giving their samples for testing.

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Bengaluru has over 14000 active containment zones, 1362 added in a day

Coronavirus

Bengaluru’s east zone has the highest number of containment zones that have returned to normal.

TNM Staff

Image for representation/PTI

Bengaluru now has 14,143 active containment zones, as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) identified 1,362 new zones in the last 24 hours. The city reported 2,270 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, and has 36,224 patients under treatment for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. According to the BBMP COVID-19 war room report, Bengaluru has reported a total of 19,001 containment zones till date. However, there appears to be a discrepancy in the data, because, on Wednesday, the city had a total of 21,873 containment zones. While the number of active containment zones increased on Thursday, the report seems to have erroneously said that the total number has reduced. The west zone has reported the highest number of COVID-19 patients (24%) in the last 24 hours with close to 600 cases. This is a departure from the previous trend where the south zone had been reporting the most number of COVID-19 cases. South (23%) and east (21%) zones reported the second and third highest number of cases in Bengaluru in the past day. An almost equal number of people reported recovery from COVID-19 in south and west zones, followed by the east zone. In the last 10 days, Bengaluru South has reported the most coronavirus cases (23%), followed by the east zone (23%) and west zone (21%). A total of 191 (out of 198 wards) in Bengaluru have reported over 50 active cases since the outbreak started in the city. These include wards like Jayamahal, Shanthala Nagar, Domlur, Koramangala, Chamarajapet, Varthur, Bellandur, BTM Layout, Jakkur, HBR Layout and Ramamurthy Nagar, among others. When it comes to containment zones, Bengaluru East has the highest number of containment zones that have returned to normal status – nearly 1,500. Bengaluru South has the highest number of containment zones, and proportionally, the fewest that have returned to normal in the city. Dasarahalli has the least containment zones in Bengaluru. As on July 25, 13,276 streets in the city have been demarcated as containment zones, and the number for apartments with floors that have the same status is 1,276. Twenty-three slums areas and one hotel in Bengaluru are also containment zones. There are 40 clusters of epidemiologically linked COVID-19 cases in the city. Karnataka has reported the fourth-highest number of coronavirus cases (1,12,504) till date in the country, following Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi in that order. Bengaluru, meanwhile, is the fourth highest in COVID-19 cases among Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai among major metros. Kolkata follows Bengaluru with 19,531 total positive cases till date.

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Drugs valued at Rs 1.25 crore seized in Bengaluru, 4 youth held

Crime

Police said that the four were all highly qualified and were supplying drugs procured through international couriers.

IANS

Pexels

Four men in Bengaluru have been arrested for peddling drugs to youngsters in the city. Contraband valued at Rs 1.25 crore has been seized from them, a police officer said on Wednesday. "All four accused are from Kerala and were into supplying drugs procured through international couriers from Germany and Netherlands," Central Crime Branch Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Kuldeep Jain told IANS. The accused Nitin Mohan, 29, K. Ajmal, 22, Shahad Mohammed, 24, and Ajin K G Varghese, 21, hold high educational qualifications in professional courses like engineering and MBA. They allegedly procured drugs from overseas locations through the dark net using bitcoins. Police seized 2,000 LSD strips, 20 ecstasy tablets, 5 kg marijuana (ganja) and 105 gm MDMA from the four. According to Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police, the seized drugs are valued at Rs 1.25 crore. Underscoring the seriousness of Karnataka government's fight against drugs, Home Minister Basvaraj Bommai and Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao attended a press conference to announce the peddlers' arrest from Sola Devanahalli area, and the seizure of narcotics. Explaining the modus operandi of the gang, the DCP said that they visited raves and pubs to establish contacts with young people interested in buying and consuming drugs. "They generally targeted pub-hopping young people and lured them into buying LSD strips for around Rs 5,000 each and employed similar other tactics," explained Jain. Jain said that though international courier packages are scanned, there is always some loophole which the peddlers take advantage of. Once procured from the international locations, the drugs were further divided into smaller quantities for local peddling. The police are also focusing on any nexus between disc jockeys (DJ) and peddlers as one of the arrested persons, Ajmal, was also a DJ. The DCP said police are on the job to hunt for bigger fish involved in drug supply. He said the international drug suppliers transact in bitcoins and only deal with very exclusive contacts. All the four accused have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and will be produced in court on Wednesday.

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Bengaluru reports 2,270 new cases of COVID-19, Karnataka's tally rises to 1.12 lakh

Coronavirus

At present, 36,224 patients are under treatment for the coronavirus in Bengaluru.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

PTI

For yet another day, Karnataka reported more than 5,000 cases of COVID-19, taking the state’s total tally of active cases to a new high of 67,448 cases. There have been 1,12,504 cases reported in the state so far. Out of the 5,503 new cases reported in the state on Wednesday, Bengaluru reported 2,270. With this, the total reported cases of coronavirus in the city rose to 51,091. At present, 36,224 patients are under treatment for the coronavirus in Bengaluru. Other districts have also reported a spike in the number of new cases. Ballari reported 338 new cases while Balagavi reported 279. Davangere reported 225 cases, followed by Dakshina Kannada at 208 and Mysuru at 200. Among the districts that reported more than 100 cases, Dharwad reported 175, followed by Udupi at 173. Kalaburagi reported a dip in new cases with 168 people testing positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, while Shivamogga reported 131 cases. Tumakuru reported 128 cases and Yadgiri reported a total of 114 new cases. There were 92 deaths reported in the state on Thursday, taking the total death toll of coronavirus in Karnataka to 2,147. Out of the 92 latest deaths, 30 took place in Bengaluru. Kalaburagi reported 10 deaths, while Dakshina Kannada and Dharwad reported seven deaths each. Meanwhile, Mysuru reported five deaths in the district. There are currently 639 patients who are battling COVID-19 in intensive care units (ICUs) in various parts of the state. The most patients on ventilators were reported in Bengaluru, at 352. Dharwad reported that the district has 40 patients on the ventilator. Meanwhile, the state reported that 2,397 people recovered from the coronavirus on Thursday, and have been discharged. This takes the total number of recoveries in the state to 42,901. The most discharges have taken place in Bengaluru at 1,118. Dharwad reported 180 discharges and Mysuru reported 134 discharges. When it comes to the number of tests which are undertaken by the state, the Karnataka government reported that 32,990 tests were conducted in a 24-hour period, of which 16,995 were rapid antigen detection tests and 15,995 were reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. So far, the government has undertaken 12,75,761 COVID-19 tests, according to the latest figures.

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Cong alleges Dakshina Kannada DC transferred for standing up to cow vigilantism

Politics

Just hours before Sindhu Rupesh IAS was transferred, some right wing activists had taken strong objection to her warning to cow vigilante groups ahead of Bakrid.

Pooja Prasanna

File photo

The transfer of Sindhu Rupesh IAS, the Deputy Commissioner of Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, has taken a political turn as Congress leader and former minister UT Khader  alleged that the state government chose to ‘punish’ the bureaucrat. Just hours before her transfer order was issued, some right wing activists had taken strong objection to her warning to cow vigilante groups ahead of Bakrid festival. Sindhu had served as the DC of the communally-sensitive Dakshina Kannada district for less than a year when she was replaced on Tuesday by Rajendra KV, who was serving as Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Panchayat, Belagavi district. Sindhu was transferred as the Director of Electronic Delivery of Citizen Services (EDCS), Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (E-governance), Bengaluru. On Monday, in response to a news link with a headline stating that the DC will deal with cow vigilante groups ‘with an iron fist’, a WhatsApp user, allegedly on a group called ‘Rama Sena’ had written, “First, she should be chopped”. In the chat discussion, members of the group are reportedly seen complaining against the DC’s actions, viewing it as ‘favourable’ to Muslims. After the screenshot went viral, the Moodabidri police suo motu registered a case and started an investigation. On Wednesday, a youth named Ranjith was arrested from Malpe after he was identified as the person who had issued the death threat. Sindhu has issued orders that enabled government veterinary doctors, officials of the Animal Husbandry Department, to issue permission for the legal transport of cattle. She had also warned vigilante groups that the district administration will take action against anyone who intercepts or attacks those transporting cattle ahead of Bakrid which falls on Thursday. Congress leader Khader took to Twitter on Wednesday, alleging, “Dakshina Kannada DC Sindhu Rupesh was given death threat for saying action will be taken against those who take law into their hands and do moral policing. Instead of punishing those who threatened murder, the government has punished the official.” ಕಾನೂನು ಕೈಗೆತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡರೆ,ನೈತಿಕ‌ ಪೋಲಿಸ್ ಗಿರಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ರೆ ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳತ್ತೇನೆ ಎಂದಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ದುಷ್ಕರ್ಮಿಗಳು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಕನ್ನಡ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಧಿಕಾರಿ ಸಿಂಧೂ ರೂಪೇಶ್ ರವರಿಗೆ ಕೊಲೆ ಬೆದರಿಕೆ ಹಾಕಿದರು.ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಕೊಲೆ ಬೆದರಿಕೆ‌ ಹಾಕಿದವರಿಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ನೀಡುವ ಬದಲು ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ನೀಡಿದೆ.(1) @CMofKarnataka @BSYBJP @BSBommai — UT Khadér (@utkhader) July 28, 2020 Meanwhile, the BJP dismissed allegations that the threat or the warning issued to vigilante groups had anything to do with her transfer and dubbed the transfer ‘routine’ and part of a list of other IAS officers who were transferred on Monday.

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Karnataka High Court refuses to stay K-CET exams

Education

The examinations are scheduled for July 30 and 31.

TNM Staff

PTI : Image for representation

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday rejected the interim prayer to postpone Karnataka Common Entrance Test (K-CET) examination and it will now happen as per schedule on July 30 and 31. "Authorities shall make sure that conditions in the standard operating procedure issued by the Union Ministry of Health and the guidelines of the state are scrupulously followed by all," the High Court stated in its order. It also asked the Karnataka government to provide transport to students on a case by case basis. It also directed the state government to upload the SOP for the exam before 8 pm on Wednesday. Hearing based on a petition filed by students on Wednesday, the High Court bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice M I Arun heard arguments in the absence of Chief Justice Abhay Oka. The Karnataka government presented a written submission to the High Court confirming its plans to go ahead and conduct the K-CET exam on July 30 and 31. The counsel representing the state government said 1.84 lakh students had downloaded the hall tickets for the examination stating it is "neither feasible nor proper in the larger interests of students" to stop the examination. The High Court on Tuesday had asked the state government to reconsider its decision to conduct the K-CET examinations at a time a high number of COVID-19 cases are being reported in the state. Advocate Ponanna appearing for National Students Union of India (NSUI) said that the conditions were not ideal for conducting examinations in the state. There are 497 exam centres in 54 places in the state. There are also 1881 students coming from outside Karnataka of which 1300 are coming to Bengaluru, the advocate told the High Court. Even COVID-19 patients are being allowed to write the K-CET in separate rooms, a move that was questioned by advocates appearing for NSUI. The counsel appearing for the government said that 40 students were identified beforehand and that they will be dropped to the exam centres in ambulances. The High Court bench also questioned the counsel appearing for the government about a second chance for candidates who could not write the exam on July 30 and 31. The bench further stated that the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the exam was announced too late. But ultimately, the High Court bench decided to allow the examination to be held in the state. "We respect the verdict of the High Court. The responsibility of the examinations lies on the state government. The state government had a chance to rethink its decision but this is a risky move to hold the examinations when COVID-19 cases are increasing," Eric Stephen, one of the petitioners and secretary in-charge of NSUI in Karnataka told TNM.  

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Uproar over deletion of lessons on Tipu and Constitution, Karnataka puts move on hold

Education

As opposition parties up the ante against the Karnataka government, Suresh Kumar has instructed for the move to be put on hold.

Pooja Prasanna

After furore over ‘selected deletion’ of lessons relating to Tipu Sultan, Prophet Mohammad, Jesus Christ and the Constitution, among others, TNM has learnt that the Minister of Primary & Secondary Education, Suresh Kumar has instructed Karnataka Textbook Society (KTBS) to put the syllabi trimming plan to be kept on hold. Opposition parties and several intellectuals had accused the BJP government in Karnataka of using the opportunity of a shortened academic year to further their political agenda.    On Tuesday, Karnataka Congress Chief and former minister DK Shivakumar had accused the BJP of pushing their ‘right-wing’ agenda and hate for historical figures like Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali. DK Shivakumar had also said that he will constitute a committee to look into these ‘mischievous deletions’ and will take up the issue with the state government strongly.    This, after the Department of State Education Research and Training (DSERT) recommended that some chapters in Social Studies textbooks relating to history of Mysuru during the time of Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali, as well as the Constitution, Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ, amongst others be deleted and substituted through online assignments to compensate for the loss of school days.    The 30% cut in the syllabus was recommended as schools are expected to reopen only on September 1 across Karnataka due to the pandemic. The school academic year for 2020-2021 has been shortened to 120 days now.    There were several attempts made by leaders of BJP, after the party returned to power in 2019, to have references to Tipu Sultan omitted from school lessons. At that time, drafting committee for text books in Karnataka had resisted the move an d the issue had been put on the back burner.    While BJP, yesterday, had defended the move claiming that there was no malintention in deleting the chapters and lessons on Tipu will continue to feature for other classes under the state board syllabus, today’s move by the minister seems to be taken under pressure, to avoid a controversy.

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Bengaluru hospital faces action for giving COVID-19 patient Rs 4.10 lakh bill

Coronavirus

In a tweet, the minister K Sudhakar said that he was ‘disappointed’ that the hospital was continuing to charge huge sums of money despite warnings.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

PTI/Mumbai

The Karnataka Medical Education Minister, Dr K Sudhakar pulled up a private hospital in Bengaluru for violation of state government guidelines by charging in excess while treating a COVID-19 patient. Sudhakar also tweeted that strict action will be taken against the erring Apollo hospital in Bengaluru’s Seshadripuram for breaching the price cap prescribed by the Karnataka government. Read: COVID-19 price cap for private hospitals: Docs, public health experts, patients slam K'taka govt According to the government guidelines which were issued last month, there is a set price cap which private hospitals must follow while treating patients during the coronavirus pandemic. The cost per day for the general ward in a private hospital was capped at Rs 10,000, as per the guidelines. However, according to a copy of the bill tweeted by the minister, the hospital has given an outstanding bill amount to the tune of Rs 4,10,319, with Rs 5000 already deducted as an advance deposit. In a tweet, the minister says, “I have received information that Apollo hospital in Bengaluru’s Seshadripuram is exorbitantly charging the public. This particular hospital has been warned for the same offense several times. I was shocked to learn that despite that they have charged a corona patient a Rs 5 lakh bill.” https://twitter.com/mla_sudhakar/status/1288340843967860737?s=20 The hospital will face action for charging patients a high amount, the minister added. In a second tweet, the minister said, “The hospital’s management has gone against the government’s order, and charged much more than the prescribed rate. This information has come to my notice today and I will take strict action against the private hospital.” https://twitter.com/mla_sudhakar/status/1288340543420788737 In its defense, the hospital claimed that the bill tweeted by Sudhakar shows the insurance company’s tariff. A statement released by Apollo Hospital said the insurance company's tariff was taken into account and not the government's price cap. "In the said case, the patient has been in the hospital for the last 21 days, which includes 9 days in the ICU, and the billing is as per the tariff agreed with the insurance company. At Apollo Hospitals, we maintain strict transparency and the treatment and cost of care is clearly discussed upfront with the patient and/or family. (sic)" This is not the first time that this particular hospital has been pulled up by the government for overcharging coronavirus patients. On July 6, the hospital had charged a patient Rs 6,000 when the government had capped the price for coronavirus tests conducted in private hospitals to Rs 4,500. Meanwhile, IPS officer D Roopa offered her services to the Karnataka government to deal with private hospitals who were overcharging coronavirus patients. Quoting the minister’s tweet, she said, “Sir, if I am given the responsibility of (overseeing) all the hospitals, along with Harsha Gupta IAS (who is currently in charge of COVID-19 administration in Mysuru district), we will immediately handle the problem and fix the systems in place of several hospitals. We will see that the violation of the government order is investigated as a criminal offense under the disaster management act, with the permission of the court,” the tweet read. https://twitter.com/D_Roopa_IPS/status/1288403462523195392

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