2 patients lose eyesight following cataract surgery mishap at Bengaluru hospital

Health

5 of the original 24 patients who were not showing any improvement in their condition had been referred to a private hospital for a second procedure.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

When 24 patients were taken up for a simple cataract surgery on July 9, no one imagined that the relatively risk-free procedure would result in 2 people losing their vision. However, that is exactly what has transpired at the end of this unfortunate mishap. Five of the original 24 patients who were not showing any improvement in their condition had been referred to Narayana Nethralaya by the doctors at Minto Eye Hospital where the surgery took place initially. Sources at Minto stated that the 5 individuals who didn’t show much improvement after being treated for the infection they developed following the surgery, were referred to the private hospital for a vitrectomy. This is a procedure wherein the vitreous humour, a jelly-like substance which renders the eyeball its shape, is removed and replaced with a saline fluid. In this particular instance, this was the solution opted for by doctors, in view of the extent of the infection. It was at this time that doctors at the private hospital were able to confirm that 2 of the 5 patients had developed an incredibly severe form of the infection, due to their comorbid conditions, the result of which made it unlikely that the 2 would be able to regain their sight. Administrators at Minto hospital have stated that the government would approach the manufacturers of the tainted gel to provide compensation to these individuals. In the meantime, the hospital's operation theaters will be functioning in 2 days after they were shut down and swabbed to test for evidence of the infective agent. How did such a huge mishap occur? It all began when all 24 patients who underwent cataract surgery presented with various symptoms of an adverse reaction the day after the surgery. Further investigations led doctors to believe that a gel used in the procedure had been contaminated with Pseudomonas bacteria. Following allegations of medical negligence, the hospital administration began a thorough investigation into the issue and confirmed the presence of the bacteria in samples of the gel. However, they noted that the gel came in sterile packaging which is not opened until the time of surgery, and claimed that the fault lay with the manufacturers. Supporting this allegation, they stated that a batch of the gel which was used on patients one day earlier, did not show any evidence of contamination and that the patients too had recovered as expected. There is a natural lens in the eye, which can degrade over time due to a number of underlying reasons. When this occurs, it is termed as a cataract and it can cause a decline in an individual’s vision, in addition to other issues. A cataract surgery is done to remove the degraded lens and replace it with an artificial intraocular lense (IOC). The gel which was used in the surgery serves the purpose of keeping the IOC in place and aids in healing.  “The gel which was used was bought from the manufacturers themselves directly and was sterilised, it was not opened until the time of surgery. The few samples of the gel that was sent was found to be contaminated with Pseudomonas bacteria,” Dr Sujatha Rathod, Director of Minto Eye Hospital, had earlier stated to TNM. A case has been filed against the hospital by a relative of one of the affected patients at VV Puram police station in Bengaluru. An FIR has been registered against the hospital under section 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Also read: Cataract surgery goes wrong: Bengaluru hospital alleges eye gel was contaminated    

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Karnataka Governor asks HD Kumaraswamy to prove his majority before Friday 1.30pm

Politics

The Governor's direction comes at a time when Siddaramaiah had sought more time for the trust vote.

Soumya Chatterjee

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala on Thursday night asked Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to prove his majority on the floor of the house before 1:30 pm on Friday. Citing his capacity as the head of the state, the Governor in his letter to the CM said, “I had not intervened in the matter having regard to the fact that the House was called and Trust vote has been moved. However, it has been reported to me that the proceedings of the house on 18-07-2019 for vote of confidence has been stalled and consequently adjourned without reaching any finality. This cannot go on in a democratic set up governed by the Constitution.” In his letter, Vala said, “That you were sworn in as the Chief Minister of State after receiving support from the Indian National Congress. The strength of the House of the Karnataka State Legislative Assembly stands at 224 (plus a nominated member) out of which INC has 79 members, JDS has 37 members, One member from KPJP Member from BSP and one independent candidate. And the Bharatiya Janata Party is at 105.” He added, “In the last few days, several members of the INC have met me and intimated that they have tendered their resignations as the Members of  the Legislative Assembly.” In his letter to the CM, he listed out the names of the 15 rebel MLAs who had approached the Supreme Court to get their resignations accepted by the Speaker expeditiously. The Governor's intervention comes after Congress leader Siddaramaiah told the house that he will approach the Supreme Court for clarity on whether he had the authority to issue whip to all MLAs including the rebels. Siddaramaiah also asked the Speaker not to hold the trust vote till the Supreme Court gave him an answer. In his letter, the Governor also pointed out, “It is clear from the above that out of 117 members, which is the strength of the Coalition Government, if these members are to move away from the ruling coalition, the same casts a serious doubt on the confidence in the Government/Ministry led by you in the House.” The Congress- JD(S) coalition which at the moment is struggling with numbers, went on a delay mode after Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy moved a trust motion on Thursday. Dismayed by the proceedings, a delegation of the BJP had met Governor urging him to hasten the process.

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Congress accuses BJP of kidnapping MLA, Speaker demands Home Ministry probe

Politics

Congress members held up pictures of their MLA at the airport and then in the hospital, claiming he was kidnapped.

Anna Isaac

Theja Ram

Drama unfolded in the Karnataka Assembly with Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar and other Congress accusing the BJP of kidnapping Congress MLAs from Kagwad Srimanth Patil. Holding up a blown up photograph of the Congress legislator lying topless with his heart being monitored in an ambulance, DK Shivakumar accused the BJP of orchestrating a scenario, alleging that Srimanth Patil was made to pose for a picture where he looked ill.  “Look at this picture, that’s Srimanth Patil with Lakshman Savadi (BJP MLA). Srimanth Patil was fine and healthy in the resort last night. Suddenly this morning, I was informed that he was missing. The next thing we know, we revived a letter from Mumbai where it states that he is suffering from a heart ailment. The BJP has kidnapped our MLA. You must come to our rescue. You must offer protection to our MLAs,” DK Shivakumar appealed to the Speaker. Echoing DK Shivakumar’s accusation, Karnataka Pradesh Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao accused the BJP of orchestrating a nefarious plot to steal Congress MLAs. “Look at the flight tickets.  Srimanth Patil was taken to Chennai and then flown to Mumbai earlier this morning. Why could he not undergo treatment at the numerous hospitals in Bengaluru? Why did he have to fly to Mumbai to undergo treatment? Why is the Maharashtra government providing him protection at the hospital in Mumbai. In fact why does he need police protect if he is undergoing treatment, clearly the BJP is doing this,” Dinesh Gundu Rao alleged. Meanwhile, DK Shivakumar distributed the blown up images of Srimanth Patil in the ambulance, his picture with Lakshman Savadi and the flight ticket to Congress MLAs. Soon after all Congress MLAs began hurling questions at the BJP, while holding up the blown up pictures and shouting 'Down, Down BJP.' “Who is Lakshman Savadi? Is he not a BJP leader? In whose chartered flight did the MLAs go to Mumbai,” said the legislators while they demanded answers from the opposition.  Ruckus erupted and the BJP legislators strongly denied any involvement in the ongoing rebellion.  An agitated Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar read out a handwritten letter allegedly written and signed by Srimanth Patil which claimed that he was unable to attend the session due to ill health.  “CLP leader Siddaramaiah has submitted a complaint to me that Srimanth Patil was kidnapped. This is a criminal complaint. I have also received a letter from Srimanth Patil stating that he is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mumbai. He has attached a medical certificate and an ECG report. There is no letter head and no seal. The Medical Board has not signed of on any of these medical documents. How can I accept this? In this political game, you (legislators) do not care for the people. It has become a game of one-upmanship,” the Speaker lamented. Speaker Ramesh Kumar directed Home Minister MB Patil to launch a probe into the matter. He directed the Home Department to question his family members regarding why he went to Mumbai. While staying that the papers in front of him were not fair, the Speaker said that if such inability continued, he would asked the DGP to provide protection to the legislators.  “Look at the media, they are here to error the facts. What will people think of this House? I am disturbed. Medical Board has not certified the report. How can I accept something without credentials. The Home Minister must look into this matter and report back to me as soon as possible,” said the Speaker.  The assembly was adjourned on Thursday, without a trust vote taking place.

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Holy site of Nava Brindavana near Karnataka's Hampi desecrated, police look for vandals

Crime

Police officials are investigating whether 'treasure hunters' looking for the supposed treasure of Krishnadevaraya, an emperor of the Vijayanagara empire caused the damage.

Prajwal Bhat

In an incident similar to the vandalism at a temple in Hampi five months ago, structures at the Nava Brindavana of Anegundi, which is the resting place of nine Hindu saints belonging to the Uttaradi Mutt, were found damaged on Thursday morning.  Police officials are investigating the incident which occurred at the site located on an island on the Tungabhadra river in Koppal district, around 12 km away from Hampi. The site is the resting place of the nine saints of the Madhva community, a Brahmin sub-caste. They are mostly settled in Karnataka and its neighboring states. Damages to the structures of the resting places and an idol at the site came to light on Thursday morning when the caretaker of the private property informed the police.  "Nobody goes there regularly except for a caretaker. In this season, the place is accessible only by boat from Anegundi and Ballari," said a police official investigating the incident. The district administration manages boats operating in and out of the island and according to the investigating police, the people who vandalised the area used their own boats. "The boats operated by the district administration closes at 4 pm and they were found to be intact. We are talking to locals and asking if anybody suspicious were seen in the area," the police official said. Police investigate 'treasure hunters' Police officials are investigating whether the damage was caused by 'treasure hunters' looking for the supposed treasure of Krishnadevaraya, an emperor of the Vijayanagara empire who reigned from 1509–1529. Treasure hunters are prominent in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, particularly in the areas which were once part of the Vijayanagara empire. "We suspect that people looking for treasures have done this because we found that a ritual was performed at the site and in places they have attempted to dig. We have also found evidence of elaborate planning to execute this," an investigating official added. Police officials are speaking to locals in the area to find out if any suspicious persons were seen entering the site. This comes five months after a group of men were forced to help re-erect the pillars at the Vishnu temple in Hampi after a video of them toppling the pillars was shared widely on social media. Read: 'Raju was here': Why in the world do Indians vandalise heritage monuments?

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Bengaluru senior citizens allege cheating by Tata housing, approach court for relief

Controversy

Though the Tata Riva project was marketed as senior citizen assisted living homes, buyers claim none of the promised common amenities are adequate.

Soumya Chatterjee

Many senior citizens in Bengaluru claim they have been left in the lurch after Tata Housing allegedly defaulted on their promise. These are all buyers in a Tata Value Homes housing project titled Tata Riva, situated in Nelamangala in Bengaluru Rural district. While 80 apartments have been sold to buyers, there are more than a hundred apartments left to be sold with some of them still in the construction phase.  Tata Riva has 1 and 2 BHKs, and the apartments were sold as assisted living facilities for the elderly with the promise of an exclusive senior citizens enclave and assisted living services. The premiere facilities were supposed to be tailored for seniors, who were promised round the clock medical facilities and a running kitchen. The buyers now allege that the builder is washing their hands off the promises of assisted living, and are forming a common apartment association with members of regular apartments built in the same plot. Disappointed with the service and alleged apathy of the company management, some of the buyers have approached the court seeking relief. As requested by these litigants, a local court has issued an interim injunction on the builder withdrawing from the management of the apartment complex, and forming an Apartment Association. The Nelamangala Civil Court has also asked Tata Housing to file their response to the allegations by August 1.  “Since it was a Tata project, people like me and many others had invested our hard-earned money with great expectations, paying 30% more for the extra facilities. But now we’re struggling because of the apathy of the group. We have been conned by a group as big as the Tatas,” said Janaki Ramakrishnan, who bought an apartment for her parents, “Even today, when I go there none of the amenities that were promised are there. My parents, both over 80, are staying with me or my brother but not everybody is as fortunate. Some of their children live outside India and they are forced to stay there.” Janaki is also one of the litigants against the Tatas. Some residents allege that the builder has not given them their ownership documents.  Due to the non-availability of the promised amenities for senior citizens, many buyers are now opting to stay elsewhere. Sixty eight-year-old Sanjay (name changed) said attempts to reach the Tata Housing MD and other higher officials have not been positive. “We feel cheated by Tata. Many of us, including me, had blindly trusted the brochure thinking since it’s Tata everything will be fulfilled,” Sanjay said. Among the promises was a medical centre within the apartment complex equipped with all necessary infrastructure, including ICU facilities and an ambulance. “Though the builder claims the medical centre is working, it is totally defunct,” Sanjay alleged, “We have paid more than Rs 4 lakh for five years and there is nothing, no proper doctor or pharmacy. There is a small dingy room and no stabilisation facility. So people are forced to go outside for any medical need.” Another facility promised by the Tatas in this project was a ‘running kitchen’ for the seniors, but the buyers claim it is also struggling to meet the requirements.  When asked to comment, Tata Housing Managing Director, Sanjay Dutt, categorically refused. Incidentally, this is not the first allegation against Tata’s real estate arm. The Haryana government’s Town and Country Planning Act had started proceedings against one of its projects in mid-2017. In another case, Tata Value Homes was asked by a Chennai consumer court to pay Rs 8.9 lakh to one of its customers in July 2018.

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Siddaramaiah wants floor test postponed: Why the coalition is trying to buy time

Politics

The Congress-JD(S) coalition seems to be buying more time by seeking clarification from the Supreme Court.

Anna Isaac

Theja Ram

PTI photo

As the clock struck 11 on Thursday morning, and Karnataka legislators walked into the Assembly, the coalition’s game-plan was clear – to delay the trust vote for a few more days. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy moved the motion of confidence in the House, and it was accepted by the Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar. As CM Kumaraswamy raised the issue of Wednesday’s Supreme Court order, Congress Legislature Party Leader Siddaramaiah raised a point of order contending that his Constitutional rights under the Tenth Schedule had been curtailed by the apex court verdict.  “SC order has discussed about my rights as CLP leader to issue whip but I was not a respondent to present my concerns. As the outcome of anti-defection law has its implications on no-confidence motion, I would like to request to postpone the motion until we get clarification from SC,” said Siddaramaiah. He also told the Speaker that he would petition the court seeking a clarification on the same.  The move was an attempt to buy more time for the coalition which does not have the numbers presently to pass the confidence motion. According to sources, the Congress and JD(S) are looking at different options. 1) Work out a deal acceptable to Ramalinga Reddy and promise him a major role in the government. In turn, Ramalinga Reddy will bring back a few rebel MLAs back to the fold.  2) Ask two or three BJP MLAs to abstain – though this is a tough scenario.  3) With the threat of disqualification looming large, hope that a few rebel MLAs come back. The Congress has been telling rebel MLAs that even if BS Yeddyurappa is able to form the government now, he may not be the Chief Minister for a long time. The rebel MLAs have been 'warned' that once the BJP chooses another CM, there is no guarantee that these rebels would remain ministers. What happened in the Assembly After Siddaramaiah made his point, the opposition created a ruckus and accused the ruling coalition of delaying the trust vote. BJP MLA Madhu Swamy and Leader of the Opposition BS Yeddyurappa stated that raising a point of order was contradictory to the Assembly’s order of the day.  “There is no situation where a Point of Order needs to be raised. Siddaramaiah and the Congress party know that this is not what needs to be discussed. What Siddaramaiah speaks of is privilege, but does not fall under the circumstances where a point of order can be raised,” said BJP MLA Madhu Swamy.  However, Speaker Ramesh Kumar shut him down by stating that a Point of Order can be raised if there is a violation of any rule or Article of the Constitution. “The point of order that the CLP leader is raising is about the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. He is saying that the Constitutional rights are being curtailed and hence the point of order can be raised,” Speaker Ramesh Kumar added. A commotion ensued in the Assembly with legislators from both the ruling coalition and the opposition hurling accusations at each other. Yeddyurappa then claimed that the Supreme Court has asked the coalition not to issue a whip. However, Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar yelled at Yeddyurappa, “You are misguiding the nation, you are misguiding the court and you are misguiding the political parties.”  Intervening in the argument, the Speaker said that the issue needs to be discussed because of its ambiguous nature. “I am a respondent in the Supreme Court petition. The CLP leader is not. The tenth Schedule gives political parties the right to issue a whip. This Schedule has not been struck down nor has it been amended. The Supreme Court order is saying that it is up to the legislators if they want to come to the session or not. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know to whom this order applies. I am worried. How should I function?” the Speaker asked. He also reserved his right to pass an order on the CLP leader’s request to hold the trust vote proceedings. The Supreme Court had on Wednesday passed an interim order giving freedom to the 15 rebel MLAs to not attend the Assembly proceedings including the trust vote. This even as it allowed the Speaker to decide on their resignations, without setting a deadline. Several people had questioned whether the top court’s order undermined the anti-defection law – the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. With the dissident MLAs not bound by the whip, they would not face disqualification. 

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Karnataka to introduce Rotavirus vaccine into immunisation schedule for children

Vaccines

The vaccine which reportedly costs upto Rs 600 in private hospitals, will now be made available free of cost.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

Image for representation

Rotavirus is a known cause of diarrhoeal diseases in young children. Given this, several doctors have earlier expressed concern that a simple vaccine found to be effective against the virus has yet to be implemented into the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). Taking note of this, the Karnataka state Health Department announced that from the third week of August, the Rotavirus vaccine would be included in the immunisation schedule for children. This virus is relatively common and can live outside the body for several days. Onset of the infection is seen within a few days of exposure to the virus. Children usually present with mild fever, diarrhoea, and vomiting. If the infection is not treated, it has been noted to cause deaths in young children, particularly those within 5 years of age. The vaccine which reportedly costs upto Rs 600 in private hospitals, will now be made free of cost. It will be administered to babies at six, 10 and 14 weeks of age. This is the age group among whom the infection is most commonly seen. According to a study by the World Health Organisation which was first published in 2013, 334,000 infant deaths out of over 2 million, are largely attributed to diarrhoeal diseases such as infections caused by Rotavirus. Another study published in 2016 showed that in Karnataka alone, Rotavirus was noted to be the most common pathogenic agent which was responsible for most diarrhoeal diseases in young children. Often, children who present with diarrhoea are prescribed antibiotics. However in the case of the Rotavirus, this would not prove to be helpful as antibiotics are only effective against bacteria and not viruses. The vaccine, on the other hand, has been shown to be extremely effective in protecting against the viral infection. As recently as 2018, three forms of the vaccine which are most frequently administered — RV1, RV5, and Rotovac- were found to be highly potent against the virus. 

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