Coronavirus: Indefinite holiday declared for LKG, UKG classes in Bengaluru schools

Coronavirus

The shutdown of classes is indefinite as of now and applies to schools in all regions of Bengaluru including Rural educational districts.

TNM Staff

Image for representation: PTI

In view of the novel coronavirus outbreak worldwide and detection of a few positive cases in neighbouring states, the Karnataka government has ordered holidays for children in lower and upper kindergarten classes in all regions of Bengaluru including rural Bengaluru starting from Monday. The shutdown of classes is indefinite as of now. This order applies to private, aided and unaided schools. The decision was taken on the advice of Karnataka Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey. The minister for primary and secondary school education S Suresh Kumar tweeted late Sunday night, "Further to the advice received from the health commissioner, holidays have been declared for KJG/UKG classes in Bengaluru North, South & Rural Districts." In his letter to the principal secretary in the health and family welfare department S R Umashankar, Pandey asked him to close pre-KG, LKG and UKG classes in the city with immediate effect, till further orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus. A three-day fumigation exercise is also being carried out at government schools extending from Saturday till Monday. One day extra holiday is being given for other sections also because of the fumigation. Meanwhile, as a precautionary measure, the state government has decided to suspend biometric attendance in offices, as well as corporate and IT companies, Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Saturday. "Our Additional Chief Secretary has already spoken to IT companies yesterday on behalf of the government regarding guidelines that need to be followed, it is part of it...we will do it in the government also in the days to come," Sudhakar told reporters. Earlier in the week, five suspected cases of coronavirus, who had been admitted to to the isolation ward at Rajiv Gandhi Chest Diseases Institute in Bengaluru, returned negative.  With PTI inputs Read: Coronavirus: Karnataka school students with cold, fever to be given leave

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State govt has no plans to reduce Bengaluru bus fare, commuters’ forum unhappy

Transport

Members of the Bengaluru Bus Prayanikere Vedike have been time and again meeting MLAs and ministers, asking for a reduction in the BMTC bus fare.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Representational image

Karnataka Transport Minister Laxman Savidi on Friday said that there was no plan to reduce the bus fares for state-owned Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). He cited the poor financial condition of the bus corporation and the hike in fuel prices as the reasons. This was in response to a question raised by senior Congress leader Thippanna Kamakanoor during the Zero Hour of the Karnataka Legislative session on Friday.  However, activists of the bus commuters’ forum called Bengaluru Bus Prayanikere Vedike (BBVP), who have been rallying for a reduction in the bus fares, have expressed their disappointment, as they were hoping the government would offer subsidies to bus passengers. They had even approached various ministers and members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), and sought the government’s help to clear the BMTC's Rs 800 crore arrear, with “viability gap funding”, a temporary fund to help the corporation tide over their current financial difficulties. Compared to the previous JD(S)-Congress coalition government, the current Karanataka government, headed by state BJP chief BS Yediyurappa, has an improved focus on the public transportation system. However, public transportation systems in the city are inaccessible and expensive, so much that people find it cheaper and easier to use private modes of transportation like two-wheelers and cars. The state government has given the BMTC loan to buy new buses, to replace some of the outdated buses in their fleet, as well as to introduce a free bus pass for garment workers. However, the loan for the new buses does not give the bus corporation immediate relief from its creditors. In a statement, the BBVP said, “BMTC seems to be getting financial support for 1,500 regular buses and 500 ordinary electric buses. However, BMTC had earlier mentioned that 1,300 old buses have to be phased out, which means that there will be a net increase of probably 700 new buses. This (increase of around 700 buses in the fleet) is welcome, but insufficient for the city’s needs.” Regarding the free bus passes for garment workers, BBVP said that though this is a welcome move, there are lakhs of other workers in various sectors in Bengaluru who cannot afford the high fares. Reducing the fares across the board would have been far more effective and beneficial for a wider population who face financial hardships due to high bus fares. BMTC should have been provided additional grants to implement a substantial fare reduction to benefit the city better," the statement added. The BBVP also expressed their disappointment with the Karnataka Budget 2020 presented on Thursday. Chief Minister Yediyurappa, who handles the Bengaluru Development portfolio, had said that in order to enhance the public transport system, 2,390 new buses, which also includes 890 electric buses, will be added to BMTC fleet. This is in addition to completing other metro rail lines and developing roads. However, according to BBVP, the budget falls short of addressing Bengaluru’s actual transport gaps and needs. “It places a lot of emphasis on expensive and time-consuming modes that serve small sections of commuters and largely ignores buses. It's not clear how the government plans to address traffic congestion and pollution and provide affordable and sustainable mobility without much focus and priority for buses and in its financial planning," Shaheen Shasa and Vinay K Sreenivasa, part of the BBVP said. Read: Bengaluru bus rights group seeks reduction in BMTC fares, opposes elevated corridor The Karnataka government has been extremely cash-strapped, as its budget has been consistently shrinking. This year, the budgetary allocation has become even smaller than the previous year, as they follow the 15th Financial Commission, which allocates 3.64% to Karnataka, out of the Centre's budget. Last year, Karnataka received  4.71%, which comes to Rs 11,215 crores more than what Karnataka got in this financial year. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa also said that the Centre is yet to release the taxes from Goods and Service Tax (GST). Bengaluru has recently been ranked the world's most congested city, according to a survey done by global organisation TomTom, which looked at traffic data from 416 cities across the world. This has sparked speculation that this poor ranking is what prompted the Chief Minister to dedicate some amount from its constraint budget to decongest the city's traffic. Read: Study confirms what Bengaluru always knew: City has world's worst traffic congestion  

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After decades of dilly-dallying, BBMP begins tree census in Bengaluru

Environment

Activists have been demanding the exercise be carried out as they allege authorities often understate the number of trees that need to be cut to make way for infra projects

Soumya Chatterjee

For the first time in 44 years, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has started a tree census. This comes after sustained pressure from the Karnataka High Court as part of an ongoing litigation filed by the Bangalore Environment Trust (BET).    While environmentalists have welcomed the move, they have raised questions over the process and methodology of the tree census.    Vijay Nishanth, member of the Biodiversity Board, who impleaded in the case which was originally filed by the Bangalore Environment Trust, said, “It is not clear what methodology they are following, they have told the court that they have started it from February. We want it updated on a website in a transparent manner, right now there is a lot of confusion. We will seek clarity on April 17 which is the next date of hearing.” Incidentally in August, 2019 the High Court had passed an order directing the BBMP to start the exercise within two weeks’ time. The BBMP had then allocated money for the exercise in successive budgets. Then Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun in October 2018 also stated that the process will be carried out within a month. The tree census is set to be conducted according to Section 7 (b) Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976 and is the mandated function of the ‘Tree Authority’. The Tree Authority is headed by Chief Conservator of  Forest, Bengaluru Territorial Circle. The process involves enumerating the number of trees in a ward according to the species of trees. Activists in Bengaluru have been demanding the exercise be carried out as they allege authorities often understate the destruction of green cover while clearing  infrastructural project.  An Indian Institute of Science (IISc) study had shown that from 1973 to 2017, there has been a 88% decline in green spaces in the city using satellite imagery and remote sensing. Yellappa Reddy, Chairman of BET and a former IFS (Indian Forest Officer), said. “This is not a very difficult job or nuclear science. There are highly qualified officers across the state but they are just not interested in doing it. This is just an example of the irresponsible behaviour of the bureaucracy.” HS Ranganathaswamy, Deputy Conservator of Forest, BBMP the concerned IFS officer could not be reached for a comment.

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80 gastroenteritis cases in Bengaluru in March, water contamination suspected

Health

Two cases of cholera have also been confirmed in Bengaluru.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational image

As health authorities in Karnataka remain alert for the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Bengaluru has reported multiple cases of food poisoning. Officials suspect the majority of these to be cases of acute gastroenteritis but are also doing tests for cholera.  State health department officials confirmed that in total 80 cases of gastroenteritis in Bengaluru as of Sunday afternoon has been reported since March 1. Ongoing surveillance activities is likely to witness more cases registered, officials said. There have also been two cases of cholera— one each from Ambedkar Hospital and St John’s Hospital so far. Dr BG Prakash, nodal officer of National Vector Borne Borne Disease Control Programme in the state said as of now it seems it’s primarily gastroenteritis. “We have collected the blood samples of the patients to test for cholera. According to our preliminary findings it is not cholera but gastroenteritis due to contamination of water. We are advising people to drink only boiled water. As the number is slightly high we have taken down addresses of these patients and are doing surveillance in their neighbourhoods of south and east Bengaluru,” he said. “We don’t expect the situation to aggravate much as things stand. Bengaluru East and BBMP health officials are on the field and collecting data both from government and private hospitals. There are some reported cholera cases from a private hospital, we are verifying their reports,” Dr Prakash added. These cases have been largely concentrated on the south-eastern periphery of the city in the area such as Sarjapur Road, Mahadevpura, HSR Layout and other parts along the Outer Ring Road.  The development prompted officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and state health department officials  to carry out inspection of water samples from the houses in these areas. Following the inspection, civic officials asked the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to stop water supply and instructed water to be supplied through tankers. The tanker water supply will continue until the source of infection is detected. Speaking to TNM, BBMP Chief Health Officer Dr Vijayendra said, “There have been 15 total confirmed cases of gastroenteritis within BBMP limits since Friday. Without lab reports, we will not be able to say if there is contamination of water as of now. The supply has been asked to be stopped as a precautionary measure.”   Officials further advised not to store food more than six-eight hours as there is a chance of bacteria being developed which will lead to gastroenteritis. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Gastroenteritis on the other hand is a condition of inflamed stomach and intestines. The cause can be both bacterial and viral infections. While cholera is termed as an acute disease and causes a large number of deaths every year, most cases of gastroenteritis are non-fatal.

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