Seven arrested for allegedly assaulting, harassing health workers in Bengaluru, Mangaluru

Coronavirus

While five people were arrested for allegedly manhandling health workers conducting the COVID-19 survey at a layout near Hegde Nagar here, two were arrested in Mangaluru for threatening a health worker over phone.

PTI

Representation photo

Seven people have been arrested in two different incidents for allegedly manhandling health workers conducting a coronavirus survey at a layout near Bangaluru and threatening one of them over phone at Mangaluru, police said. While five people were arrested for allegedly manhandling health workers conducting the COVID-19 survey at a layout near Hegde Nagar here, two were arrested in Mangaluru for threatening a health worker over phone after she called up to enquire about the health of people from the Gulf who came here on vacation, police said. Referring to the incident in Bengaluru, police said an FIR was registered against the attackers on a complaint by health inspector Muniraju and they were arrested late on Thursday night The Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers along with health officials, were conducting a door-to-door survey in Sadiq Layout as part of an exercise to identify if any of those who returned to the state after attending the Tabligh-e-Jamaat congregation in Delhi had COVID-19 symptoms. Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao warned miscreants attacking health workers. "Instances of health workers being assaulted and also creating obstruction have been noted. A very stringent warning is issued that anyone who does or supports such acts, non bailable criminal cases will be registered against them and they will be sent to Jail. Doctors n Medical team have our full protection," Rao tweeted. A woman ASHA worker had alleged that announcement was made from the mosque after which people came out of their homes, abused and attacked them and snatched their bags, kits and mobile phones. In Mangaluru, the woman health worker rang up a man on his mobile phone on Wednesday to enquire about the health of people from the Gulf who came there on vacation as part of a routine COVID-19 enquiry, police said. The same evening, she got a call from two relatives of the man who hurled abuses at her and also reportedly issued death threat to her Based on the complaint from the ASHA worker, the two were arrested on Thursday night, police said. The incidents prompted the Karnataka government to issue a stern warning on Thursday to the offenders, saying strong action would be taken against them.  

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Watch: 'Disinfection tunnel' in Mysuru for customers exiting grocery market

Coronavirus

The tunnel is fitted at the entrance of Mysuru exhibition ground market.

TNM Staff

After a 'disinfection tunnel' was set up in Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu, a similar tunnel was set up in Mysuru in Karnataka at the entrance of the Mysuru exhibition ground market.  Farmers selling their produce and customers visiting to buy groceries can walk through the tunnel to get 'disinfected'. The tunnel was installed by the Mysuru City Corporation.  "We are spraying 1% Sodium Hypochlorite Solution (NaOCl) through the nozzles fitted in the tunnel in a water base at 0.5 ppm as a fine mist. Farmers and members of the public can walk through this tunnel to get disinfected. We are planning to install this in seven markets in Mysuru," Mysuru City Corporation Dr Nagaraj said. The water-based solution is, however, harmful to the eyes.   The tunnel is being used by customers and sellers at the Mysuru exhibition ground market. Those walking through are advised to raise their hands while entering the tunnel. Similar tunnels will come up at seven other markets in the city, including Lalitha Mahal grounds and Bannimantap. The tunnels are similar to the 'disinfection tunnel' built by the Tirupur district administration for visitors at the Thennampalayam Uzhavar Sandhai. Venkatesh, who runs a water treatment company, built the tunnel inspired by videos of similar tunnels in Turkey. Read: A tunnel that disinfects as you walk along it, now at Tiruppur farmers’ market The biggest cluster of coronavirus cases in Karnataka is from Mysuru with 21 cases reported in the district. Among this, a group of cases are connected to Jubilant Life Sciences, a pharmaceutical company in Nanjangud. Around 1,400 employees of the company are in quarantine and stringent lockdown measures are in place in Nanjangud town. 

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Rabbits dead, cats and dogs starved in Bengaluru pet shops that shut for lockdown

Crime

It's not only the lockdown, the animals were housed in small cages with no ventilation in the rooms.

Theja Ram

Pictures by State Animal Welfare Board

The Karnataka State Animal Welfare Board’s member Shivanand was shocked at the sight of dead animals, dogs and cats that were starved for days, and animals cooped up in 10 ft X 10 ft shops without any ventilation. His team saw dead rabbits and birds in two of the shops they inspected, while in a few others they found animals that were starved for days.  The horrific sight of these animals in misery, with no strength to bark or cry out for help were witnessed by Shivanand, who says that 13 pet shops in south and east Bengaluru that were inspected on April 1 and 2 and were found to have neglected the animals. “None of them had a license issued by the animal welfare board as per the rules. The BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike officials were clueless about the fact that such animal cruelty was happening right under their noses,” Shivanand said.  Hundreds of animals -- mainly dogs, cats, rabbits and birds were rescued and sent to shelters run by NGOs in the city.  “The shop owners had not fed the animals since the last three days. They said that the police were not allowing them to open due to the lockdown. It's not only the lockdown that has affected the animals but the fact that they were housed in small cages with no ventilation in the rooms they were housed in,” he said.  He states that the shops located in Shivajinagar, Jayanagar, Infantry Road, Kammanahalli and Banaswadi were small and had only one entrance and no windows for ventilation. Since the shutters were rolled down, there was no proper air or light. “Without ventilation, food and water, the animals were suffering inside,” he added.  He says that the animal welfare board has urged the Karnataka Animal Husbandry Department to allow pet shops, which are not flouting norms, to be open for a few hours every day so the animals could be fed properly. “Only those pet shops with proper ventilation and space for the animals will be allowed to open. We will shut down others flouting norms. We are coordinating with the police as well to bust the racket where these animals are being sold illegally,” he said.  A senior member of the State Animal Welfare Board (SAWB) said that the BBMP had issued licenses to these pet shops under the Shops and Establishments Act but had failed to follow up and monitor these shops to see if they were flouting guidelines of the Animal Welfare Board of India. “How can these shops run without a pet shop license that is mandatory? None of the BBMP officials knew how many pet shops there are in their specific zones,” he added.  According to BBMP Director of Animal Husbandry Department Dr Shashi, more inspections are currently being carried out across the state in coordination with the SAWB. “Some of these pet shops have been illegally transporting animals through private buses that cross state borders. The SAWB and BBMP are going to rope in the police to bust the illegal import and export of animals. Some birds were being sold for Rs 60,000. They were operating without a license as well,” he added.          

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Four new COVID19 cases in Karnataka, three of them had attended Jamaat meeting

Coronvirus

This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka to 128.

TNM Staff

PTI image

The Karnataka state government reported four more cases on Friday, out of which three are in Belagavi district in North Karnataka, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat meeting in Delhi’s Nizamuddin. These three include a 70-year old man, a 26-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, who had attended the congregation between March 13 and March 18. The fourth person who was tested positive on Friday is from Bagalkote district. This case is a 75-year-old man with no apparent travel history. The state health department said that a detailed investigation into his movements is underway. The Karnataka government also announced that Rs 150 crore has been allocated as funds for construction workers in the state. The Construction Workers Board has issued an order to disburse emergency funds to the 15 lakh construction workers in the state. Each worker will get Rs 1,000. The bulletin put out by the government on Friday said that Karnataka has collected a total of 4,587 samples testing so far out of which 4,281 have come back negative. The bulletin said that they had collected 344 samples on Friday, and 321 had come back negative, while four had come back positive. So far, 128 people have been tested positive in Karnataka and three people have died due to COVID-19. Eleven people have been discharged after recovery. These include the Dell techie, his wife and daughter; the MindTree techie; the Google techie; the daughter of the 76-year-old Kalaburagi man who died; a techie from Bengaluru, who returned from  Dallas; a 20-year-old student who returned from UK and is the daughter of a government doctor; one of the doctors who treated the 76-year-old Kalaburagi man; a 63-year-old woman, who returned to Bengaluru from Dubai via Goa; and a 56-year-old Bengaluru resident who returned from the USA. The Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa held a series of meetings on Friday, one with the coronavirus task force, one with his ministers, on the coronavirus pandemic. The Karnataka government has also asked that the health department staff that was scheduled to retire on March 31 extend their service for 3 more months, up to June 2020.

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Railways install foot operated hand washes at stations

Coronavirus

Various Railways divisions are also converting train coaches into isolation wards

TNM Staff

In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a novel foot operated hand washing mechanism has been devised by staff at the South Western Railways. In a statement, the Railways said that as suggested by the medical community, washing hands frequently can prevent spread of COVID-19 but the hand washing arrangements present at working places where large numbers of people work itself are a potential threat for virus transmission. To counter this, a novel method was devised as instructed by Arvind Malkhede, Divisional Railway Manager. The hands free hand sanitising arrangement helps in sanitising the hands without physically touching the water tap and sanitiser dispenser, thereby making it safe for usage at common places.    The statement said, “This system will also help in saving a lot of water. A water tank of 500/1000 litres capacity is mounted on a fabricated stand along with a wash basin. A gravity water tap is connected to this water tank. A hand sanitizer dispenser is fixed adjacent to the tap. Both the tap and hand sanitiser dispenser are mechanically linked to peddles fixed at the bottom portion of the stand. Both the tap and sanitizer can be independently operated by pressing pedals. Releasing the pedal will automatically shut off the supply of water and sanitiser liquid.” These systems have been installed at Carriage and Wagon depot, Crew Lobby, Railway Protection Force office in Hubballi. 100 more are planned for installation at various offices in Hubballi Division. Other than this, as earlier announced, like across all divisions in the country, the South Western Railways are converting train coaches into a total of 312 Isolation wards to provide facilities to combat the pandemic. The coaches are being prepared as per the prototype decided following consultations between the Armed Forces Medical Services, Medical Department of Railways and Ayushman Bharath.   The coaches will be equipped with basic facilities needed as per medical guidelines. This will include charging points of mobiles and laptops, mosquito nets with space for paramedics.  

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SC asks Centre to mediate between Kerala and Karnataka over road blockade on border

Coronavirus

The blockade has prevented several patients from Kerala’s Kasaragod district from travelling to Mangaluru in Karnataka for its medical facilities.

TNM Staff

KARNATAKA BORDER IN DELAMPADY, PHOTO : ABDU SWAMADH UA

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Union Health Secretary to mediate a discussion between the Chief Secretaries of Kerala and Karnataka to resolve the issue of allowing patients from Kasaragod district to avail emergency medical facilities in Mangaluru.  The Karnataka government has blockaded the roads leading from Kasaragod to Mangaluru in the wake of the lockdown imposed following the outbreak of coronavirus cases in India.  A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Deepak Gupta were hearing a special leave petition filed by the Karnataka government challenging the Kerala High Court's April 1 order asking the Centre to intervene and remove blockades to allow passage for patients from Kasaragod seeking health services in Mangaluru. The matter will be heard again in the apex court on April 7. It asked both states to ‘not precipitate’ the matter until then, LiveLaw reported. The Karnataka government challenged the Kerala High Court order stating that the Kerala High Court had overstepped its territorial jurisdiction by issuing directions in Karnataka. It also stated that the decision to block the roads leading to the state was taken due to a public health emergency citing the outbreak of coronavirus cases in Kasaragod district. As of April 3, 118 coronavirus cases have been reported in Kasaragod district of Kerala.  Residents in border areas of Kasaragod including Manjeswaram rely on medical services in Mangaluru. The Kerala border is around 30-35 km from Mangaluru. At least five deaths have been reported from Manjeswaram of Kasaragod district after Karnataka closed its borders. TNM earlier reported that a woman from Kasaragod’s Manjeswaram town, which is located close to the Kerala-Karnataka border gave birth to her baby in the ambulance after the road to Mangaluru was blocked. Read: After Karnataka lockdown, Kerala patients on state border struggle to get treatment The blockade has been an ongoing issue since March 27 when Dakshina Kannada district imposed stringent lockdown measures which included sealing the district borders. Mud embankments were kept in place on the arterial roads connecting the two states to stop people from travelling. BJP leaders including Karnataka Tourism and Culture Minister CT Ravi took to social media to voice their opposition against the Kerala High Court's decision directing the Centre to open the state highways leading to Kasaragod district. Congress leader Mithun Rai, who unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Dakshina Kannada constituency in 2019, also filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court’s order. However, key opposition leaders including former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda and former Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah criticised the decision to disallow patients with medical emergencies to travel to Mangaluru for treatment.  Several others also slammed CT Ravi for political opportunism and for being inhumane during a public emergency. Read: 'Communists and Congis boast of Kerala healthcare. Why come to Mangaluru?’: BJP Min      

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