Dharwad building collapse: Death toll climbs to 11, rescue ops continue for 3rd day

Accident

Ten people are still feared to be trapped.

TNM Staff

PTI

The death toll climbed to 11 in the building collapse in Karnataka’s Dharwad, according to officials on the ground. Ten others are feared to be trapped inside. The under-construction building in Kumareshwara Nagar, located within Dharwad suburban police station limits, collapsed on Tuesday afternoon at 3:40 pm. Rescue operations continued for the third day on Thursday, led by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Over 100 NDRF personnel have been pressed into service along with officials of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and State Fire and Emergency Services. Close to 60 persons who were trapped under the debris have been rescued, and some of whom received serious injuries and are being treated at hospitals. A magisterial inquiry, to be headed by a Deputy Commissioner, has been ordered to ascertain the reason for the incident. The deceased are Salim Makandar (35), Asit Hiramat (32), Mubusab Raichur (48), Mehbusab Desai (55),  Maheshwar Hiramat (63), Aslaṁ Sēkha (45), Divya Unakal (8), Draksayni (45) and Ismail Takkeda. Two persons are yet to be identified. A partial completion certificate had earlier been issued by the Hubbali-Dharwad Municipal Corporation to the owners of the building. An FIR was registered on Tuesday and police are currently on the lookout for the five persons who own the building. The accused includes Gangadhar Shintry, the father-in-law of former Congress Minister Vinay Kulkarni. The accused have been booked under Section 304 (pertains to punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and is a non-bailable offence) Section 337 and 338 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who had earlier instructed Chief Secretary Vijay Bhaskar to personally monitor the rescue and relief process, will visit the accident site on Thursday. Meanwhile, former CM Jagadish Shettar visited the accident site demanded Rs 10 lakh to be given as compensation to the families of the deceased

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‘Release 4 TMC drinking water to K'taka’: DK Shivakumar writes to Maharashtra CM

Lok Sabha 2019

The Water Resource Minister said that Belagavi, Vijayapura, Kalaburgi and Yadgir are facing severe water shortage.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting him to release water to Karnataka due to severe drinking water shortage. 156 out of Karnataka's 176 taluks are reeling under drought, with many of the northern districts suffering from massive water shortage as well. “On January 16, we met in the Aurangabad at the Micro Irrigation Conference and discussed the issue of drought in Maharashtra and Karnataka. I hope you remember it. The effects of such the drought are widely known to everyone. The northern Karnataka districts of Belagavi, Vijayapura, Kalaburgi and Yadgir are suffering from severe water shortage,” DK Shivakumar’s letter reads. The minister further stated that the early onset of summer this year has resulted in the higher temperatures in these districts, causing shortage of drinking water. Shivakumar urged Fadnavis to released 2 TMC water from the Koyna Dam to the Krishna river and 2 TMC water from Ujjani Dam to the Bhadra river in Karnataka to help with drinking water requirements in north Karnataka. “In the past, when Karnataka has faced such a situation, Maharashtra has released water to meet the drinking water needs of the people of Karnataka and I request you to do the same this time, on humanitarian grounds,” the letter adds. On February 28, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that Karnataka has witnessed 15 years of drought. “We are already supplying water in private tankers to 800 Gram Panchayats. The underground water table is going down, and at some places, even after drilling 1,500 feet, water is not traceable. We can supply fodder to cattle, supply drinking water in tankers, but all these are temporary arrangements,” Krishna Byre Gowda had said. Over 370 villages are being provided drinking water through 706 tankers, and 401 villages through hired private borewells. In urban areas, 181 wards are being provided drinking water through tankers currently. Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) had also said that the rain received between September 1, 2017 and February 20, 2018 was 40-60%  less than what was expected, which has led to severe water scarcity. In February this year, the state government had estimated that loss of crops owing to natural calamities, including floods/landslips and drought during both kharif and rabi seasons was worth Rs 32,335 crore. The Centre so far has released RS 949.49 crore as drought relief as opposed to the state’s demand of Rs 4,460 crore.    

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Lok Sabha elections: Will SDPI's entry harm Cong-JD(S) prospects in Dakshina Kannada?

Lok Sabha 2019

The SDPI, which banks on the votes of the Muslim community, on Sunday announced that they will contest from the Dakshina Kannada.

Soumya Chatterjee

Theja Ram

The Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on Sunday announced that they will contest from the Dakshina Kannada segment for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The SDPI, which is the political wing of Popular Front of India, banks on the votes of the Muslim community. With the party entering the fray, the larger question is – will the Congress-JD(S) alliance lose out on the votes of the Muslim community? SDPI predominantly contains members from the Muslim community and is active in Kerala and parts of coastal Karnataka. The party has managed to break through Muslim dominant pockets in the state and has elected leaders in local civic bodies both in urban and rural Karnataka, especially in the coast. And for the Lok Sabha elections, SDPI has named Ilyas Mohammed Thumbay, the party’s State President, as its candidate for Dakshina Kannada. Will SDPI’s presence affect the Congress-JD(S) coalition? In the civic polls held in September 2018, the party had an encouraging result in the Dakshina Kannada district. It managed to win 11 out of 25 seats in the Bantwal Town Municipality, which is part of the Congress heavyweight and former Minister, Ramnath Rai’s home constituency. In neighbouring Ullal municipality, too, SDPI managed to win six out of the nine seats. However, political analysts say that SDPI’s prospect of winning a Lok Sabha seat looks bleak. Traditionally, in a fight between the Congress and the BJP, members of the Muslim community have voted for the Congress and the votes of the Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities, are split between two parties. With SDPI deciding to contest the elections, it is likely to affect the vote share of the Congress-JD(S) alliance, as the votes of the Muslim community would largely be taken away by SDPI.   “There is no doubt that this will affect the Congress. The SDPI will only get the Muslim and some Dalit votes. This will split the Congress vote bank, giving BJP a clear advantage,” political analyst Mahadev Prakash said. The Dakshina Kannada constituency, located in coastal Karnataka, was once a Congress fortress. The political situation changed in the early 1990s after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. The coastal belt became a region for the right-wing groups to test the idea of polarisation on religious grounds in order to gain popularity. This has largely worked for the RSS in the region and ever since then, the segment has been a BJP bastion. Sitting MP of Dakshina Kannada, an RSS strongman, Naleen Kumar Kateel had won both the Parliamentary elections in 2009 and 2014 with a comfortable margin. The SDPI candidate Haneef Khan Kodage had scored a third place in the last two Parliamentary elections. Congress insiders say that the SDPI can never win the elections as the only guaranteed votes they obtain are those of the Muslim community. “Dalit, Adivasi and OBC votes are getting split between us and the BJP. The Christian votes are with the Congress but the Muslim vote bank, which is crucial for the Congress, is being split because of SDPI. If we have to win, SDPI must refrain from contesting,” the Congress source said. ‘Won’t back down this election’: SDPI Sources in the Congress say that the party’s leaders in Dakshina Kannada had approached SDPI leaders and asked them to collaborate with the party instead of fielding a candidate. “SDPI did not agree. We are still trying to convince them,” the source told TNM. Speaking to TNM, Riyaz Farangipete, the SDPI state general secretary, explained why the party decided to contest this General election. “Muslims, Christians and Dalits have been mistreated in the district many years. There has been unabated violence, too. And the so-called secular parties have failed to safeguard our interests. We will definitely win with the combined votes of Dalits and minorities alone. In the last three decades, the BJP has been winning and the Congress has been unable to do anything about it,” he said Riyaz believes that there is no question of a division of votes this time around, while claiming that the electorate in Dakshina Kannada needs an alternative to the BJP and Congress. “We will show what secularism is. There is no question of dividing votes. We kept ourselves away (from politics) for 28 years. If the Congress loses, it’s because of infighting. Even by now, they have failed to decide a candidate. There is a clear necessity to find an alternative to the Congress and BJP in the district,” he added.

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2 days after Dharwad building collapse which killed 7, cops on lookout for owners

Crime

Hubbali-Dharwad Police Commissioner MN Nagaraja told TNM that no arrests had been made as of Thursday afternoon.

Soumya Chatterjee

Two days after an under-construction building collapsed in north Karnataka’s Dharwad killing at least seven people, police have launched a manhunt for five partners who owned the commercial structure. The accused include Gangadhar Shintry, the father-in-law of former Congress Minister Vinay Kulkarni. Basavaraj Demappa Nigadi, Mahabaleshwar Shivappa Puradagudi, Ravi Basavaraj Sabarad and Vivek Pawar are the other accused who are absconding. Hubbali-Dharwad Police Commissioner MN Nagaraja told TNM that no arrests had been made as of Thursday afternoon. “We are soon going to arrest them. We have already formed a team under the leadership of DCP Nagesh. The team is looking for the accused and we will shortly arrest all the five accused. All of them have been booked under 304 IPC,” Nagaraja told TNM. Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code pertains to punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and is a non-bailable offence. The other sections mentioned in the FIR include 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life). DCP Nagesh could not be reached for a comment. Rescue and relief operations are continuing for a third day, with three teams of the National Disaster Response Force on the ground along with state emergency response personnel. As of Thursday morning, 54 people had been rescued. One team from Bengaluru was rushed to the spot immediately on a special flight, and two more teams were airlifted from Ghaziabad. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy who had earlier instructed Chief Secretary Vijay Bhaskar to personally monitor the rescue and relief process is set to visit the accident site on Thursday. On Wednesday, Revenue Minister RV Deshpande visited the accident site and took stock of the situation. A Magistrate level enquiry has also been initiated.      

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Dharwad building collapse: 61 people rescued so far, 30 still trapped under debris

Accident

The death toll stands at seven.

TNM Staff

As of Thursday morning, a total of 61 people have been rescued following the building collapse in Dharwad, police officials confirmed to TNM. Further, it was reported that a total of 30 people, including 12 girls are currently trapped in the rubble, and officials are working towards rescuing them. The 12 girls were in a cyber cafe in the eastern part of the building when it came crashing down. The death toll rose to seven on Wednesday evening, a day after the incident. Rescue operations picked up pace on Wednesday after three teams of 11 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) members each arrived with special equipment to carry out rescue operations. In addition, 80 officials from the Fire and Emergency Services were also flown in to Dharwad from Bengaluru to assist in the operations. On Tuesday alone, 10 ambulances and five fire tenders were deployed. On Tuesday, at around 3.40pm, a building which was under construction in Dharwad’s Kumareshwara Nagar collapsed. Rescue efforts began on Tuesday evening to locate people who are trapped under the debris and are ongoing. The Chief Minister’s Office confirmed that three people who were rescued remain critical as of Wednesday. The injured people were shifted to Civil Hospital in Dharwad. It was reported that Gangadhar Shintry, one of the owners of the building, is a relative of Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni. A partial completion certificate had been issued to the building owners who obtained the same from the Hubbali-Dharwad Municipal Corporation. A case was filed under section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the building owners. A special team is expected to be constituted to investigate the case and arrest those responsible for the accident. 

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West Nile Fever: K’taka Health Dept issues alert for border districts

West Nile Virus

Following the death of a young boy in Kerala due to the West Nile virus, border districts in Karnataka are on high alert.

TNM Staff

Image for representation.

The death of a 7-year-old boy from Kerala’s Malappuram region due to West Nile Fever has put officials from the Karnataka state health department on high alert. Districts which are on the border of Karnataka and Kerala are being placed under observation. Officials have issued alert for the districts of Mysuru, Chamrajnagar, Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada. “There is no need to panic as there are no such cases in Karnataka. However, as Kerala is an adjacent state, we have taken up preventive strategies,” health officials said. Following the confirmation of the fever in the Kerala boy, a team of experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) visited Malappuram to help authorities gain a better understanding of how to manage the disease. The state health department is also taking necessary precautions and is stepping up mosquito prevention and control measures in order to reduce any possible transmission of the virus, according to reports. “We have asked the district health and family welfare officials to screen patients with symptoms of acute encephalitis syndrome for WNV. We are yet to get guidelines from the Centre on this. However, we have sounded an alert in the four districts of Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, and Dakshina Kannada as they are bordering Kerala,” Joint Director of Communicable Diseases Dr Sajjan Shetty reportedly said. West Nile fever is caused by the West Nile virus which is a member of the flavivirus group. The fever is contracted from infected culex mosquitoes, which in turn contract the virus from infected birds. Though a few sporadic cases have been reported in the country in the past year, it is still a relatively unknown disease in the region. Symptoms of the fever include fever, vomiting, nausea, skin rashes, myalgia (muscle pain), and swollen lymph nodes. If there is a severe infection, it can aggravate into West Nile meningitis or encephalitis, which is when the brain and surrounding tissues become inflamed. This can result in neck stiffness, headache, convulsions, and even paralysis, which can lead to a coma. 

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Death toll rises to 7 in Dharwad building collapse, 15-20 people still trapped

Accident

The under-construction building in Kumareshwara Nagar in Dharwad collapsed on Tuesday afternoon at 3:40pm.

TNM Staff

The death toll in the building collapse in Dharwad rose to seven on Wednesday. A day after the incident, operations are ongoing to rescue around 15-20 people trapped under the debris. Among those who are still stuck under the rubble are a group of 10 students who were in the building to get a photocopy from a cyber cafe, an eyewitness said.  The others who are trapped were working on the ground floor of the building, which has sunk beneath the ground after the crash. There were five floors in the building, including a basement and a ground floor.  On Wednesday, the rescue operations were intensified after the arrival of three teams of 11 NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) personnel along with specialised equipment like breathing apparatus, life detectors. The NDRF personnel have arrived from Ghaziabad and Bengaluru.  Eighty officials from the Fire and Emergency Services were also flown in from Bengaluru to help with operations. They will be bolstering the 10 ambulances and five fire tenders deployed on Tuesday.  The under-construction building in Kumareshwara Nagar in Dharwad collapsed on Tuesday afternoon at 3:40pm.  Officials began rescue operations on Tuesday evening to locate the people trapped under the debris. The operations continued on Wednesday morning and the CM Office confirmed that as many as 53 persons had been rescued and that three among them were critical.The injured persons are being treated at Civil Hospital in the city.  One of the owners of the building is Gangadhar Shintry, a relative of Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni. The owners of the building had obtained a partial completion certificate from the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation. A case has been filed under section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC against the owners of the building and a special team will be constituted to investigate the case and arrest the culprits.     

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