Fruit, veggie growers and power loom units to benefit as K’taka extends relief package

Coronavirus

Rs 2,000 in assistance given to handloom workers was being extended to weavers working in 1.25 lakh power loom units as a one-time relief.

PTI

The Karnataka government on Thursday announced a Rs 162-crore financial relief package for vegetable, fruit growers and weavers of power looms, who are in distress because of COVID-19 induced lockdown. Farmers who had grown vegetables in 50,083 hectares (ha) and those who had grown fruits in 41,054 ha will be given Rs 15,000 per ha amounting to Rs 137 crores, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy said. This was in line with earlier commitments made by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa when he announced Rs 1,610 crore relief to farmers, barbers and taxi drivers, among others. He had noted that similar assistance would be provided to these sectors, he told reporters in Bengaluru. The latest package covers growers of fruits like banana, papaya, table grapes, anjura, pineapple, watermelon and muskmelon, among others as these did not get marketed. Vegetables include tomato, green chilli, cauliflower, cabbage, pumpkin, carrot, onion, capsicum, among others. Madhuswamy said the Rs 2,000 assistance given to hanloom workers was being extended to weavers working in 1.25 lakh power loom units as a one-time relief as well. One weaver working in each of these power looms units will be given Rs 2,000, which will amount to a total of Rs 25 crore, he added. The Yediyurappa government had last week announced relief measures, including compensation of Rs 5,000 each to thousands of washermen, barbers, auto rickshaw and taxi drivers, whose livelihood has been affected due to the COVID- 19 lockdown. It had also given relief to farmers, Rs 25,000/ha compensation for affected flower-growers, certain relaxation in electricity bills for MSMEs and large industries, a deposit of Rs 2,000 directly to the bank account of the handloom weaver, and Rs 3,000 to building workers.

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Karnataka govt clears APMC ordinance despite objection from opposition parties

Ordinance

The ordinance will amend the laws to curtail the powers of the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC).

PTI

Despite objections from the opposition parties, the Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved an ordinance that will amend the laws to curtail the powers of the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC). According to the government, it is aimed at bringing in reforms to facilitate market access for farmers. "The cabinet has approved an ordinance for APMC.....we have have amended only couple of sections...now farmers can sell their produce as per their wish to private companies or at market, we have relaxed the norm that farmers have to sell at market yards only," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said. He said wherever the farmer feels he will get profit, he can sell it there. One can sell produce at APMC markets or outside markets or to private buyers. "We have prescribed central act as model act with an intention to double the income of farmers and to relax restrictions to give them the freedom to sell their produce anywhere they want. With this intention, we have approved the ordinance," he added. Opposition parties have vehemently opposed the ordinance and threatened agitation, claiming that it would dilute the APMC laws and affect the farmers' interests. The measure would only help big private companies as it will clip the powers of the APMCs, they charged. Conceding that market committees will now have powers to regulate trading within the market and not outside it, the Minister said the powers of the Directorate of APMC at the state level have not been removed and it will have all the authority to prevent any injustice. He said if someone wants to trade in the private market, he will have to produce bank security or guarantee, and after deposit will be allowed to purchase materials from farmers after obtaining the licence from the Directorate of agriculture market. As there will be direct link between producer and trader, there will be no middlemen hassles also with this amendment, he added. Governor Vajubhai Vala had recently returned this ordinance citing procedural reasons and asked the cabinet to approve it first. The government had earlier planned to take post-facto approval from the Cabinet for the ordinance. Clarifying on it, Madhuswamy said "..the Governor had put it on hold until the cabinet decision."  The amendments to agriculture produce marketing laws are aimed at removing restrictions on sale of farm produce and allowing farmers to sell their produce anywhere, officials said. Further stating that he was unable to understand about negative publicity for the amendment, Madhuswamy said, "we have said it clearly, farmers can sell wherever they want."  "Even now private players are purchasing from farmers directly, this will regularise it," he said, adding that there might be some reduction in market cess collection for the government. The state government is said to have taken the ordinance route to amend the APMC Act following the Centre's suggestion to adopt the Model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017, of the union government. BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have made amendments to the APMC Act. Alleging that the state government was bringing the amendment at the Centre's behest, the Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah said it was against the constitution as agriculture is a state subject. However, defending the government, Madhuswamy said, "this is absolutely a state act and we are only following the model provisions of the central act. As we felt we will benefit from this model, we have adopted couple of sections from that model and adopted in our act."

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45 Delhi-Bengaluru train passengers to be sent back as they refuse institutional quarantine

Coronavirus

This was made possible by attaching another coach to the train scheduled to leave Bengaluru on Thursday night.

Soumya Chatterjee

At least 45 passengers who reached Bengaluru in the special New Delhi- Bengaluru superfast Express Special on Thursday morning will go back to Delhi in the same train. Unlike hundreds who came in the train with them, these passengers were unwilling to be put in 14-day institutional quarantine. In Karnataka, all interstate and international passengers are required to go on 14-day institutional quarantine as per the latest standard operating procedure.  People who travel from other states or from abroad can opt for free quarantine at schools, colleges etc arranged by the government or they can choose to stay in hotels arranged nearby, but need to pay accordingly. The group of passengers claimed that they were not informed by authorities in Delhi that institutional quarantine was mandatory once they reached Karnataka. While some media reports claimed that a section of passengers indulged in minor violence, D Roopa Moudgil, Inspector General of Police, Railways (Karnataka), denied this. She told TNM that the situation was dealt with amicably. The passengers will go back to Delhi in an extra coach attached to the train scheduled to leave Bengaluru for New Delhi at 8:30 pm. The additional coach was readied by the railways after Roopa Moudgil wrote to AK Singh, General Manager, South Western Railways. “My mandate is to follow government orders. There is no way we could allow them to leave the railway station and walk away. So we tried to reason with them and convince them. It was then that some of them said they would rather go back than stay in quarantine here. This is when I requested Mr AK Singh if he can make some arrangements as the passengers were ready to pay for the tickets,” D Roopa told TNM. “This is a very unusual process but we had to make the arrangement as requested by the state police,” confirmed AK Singh. Railway officials said even at this point some people who had not left the station were contemplating whether to return to Delhi. The maximum number of passengers allowed in this coach is 72. Karnataka Minister Suresh Kumar who is in-charge of speaking on COVID-19 related matters said, “It was very clearly announced that all passengers had to undergo institutional quarantine in Bengaluru. We are sending messages via SMS also and that will be made more efficient from here on.” He added. “In this incident, people who were on the waiting list may have got seats and remained uninformed. Our officers convinced a few of them and they have gone for quarantine.” READ| Travelling to Karnataka from another state or from abroad? What you need to know

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Migrant workers given spoilt rice in Dakshina Kannada: District administration to probe

Coronavirus

Workers in a settlement in Jokatte in the district complained that they received foul smelling and visibly spoilt rice.

Prajwal Bhat

The Dakshina Kannada district administration came under pressure on Wednesday after it emerged that spoilt rice was distributed to migrant workers in Jokkatte in the district.  The district's labour department distributed 100 bags of rice earlier this week after a protest was held by the workers requesting officials to arrange trains to their homes in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. However, on Wednesday, the workers reported that some of the rice bags distributed had a foul smell and looked visibly spoilt. The issue was highlighted by Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) state president Muneer Katipalla who visited the workers and raised the complaint. "The rice had spoilt and eventually, some of it was even thrown away. The color of the rice had changed. We have asked the district administration to conduct an enquiry into this. Were bills raised for providing spoilt rice to the workers?," Muneer Katipalla told TNM. He says that few workers have carried the rice with them and boarded the train to Bihar on Wednesday but adds that there are still many workers depending on the district administration for food and ration. "We have not been given proper food and water here. We are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and there are many of us who wanted to go home," Lakshman Sahani, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh told Vartha Bharati. Dakshina Kannada DC Sindhu Rupesh told TNM that an inquiry will be conducted into the incident. Sunanda, an official in the Food and Civil Supplies Department in Dakshina Kannada, said that migrant workers were provided cooked food and ration in the district. "Migrant workers were given ration if they have ration cards. There were more workers staying in settlements who were provided with cooked food and kits with ration. We have to check if this is provided by the food department," she says. Migrant workers in Dakshina Kannada held a protest at the Mangaluru Central Railway Station on 8 May asking district officials to allow them to return home. Following the protest, district officials convinced the workers to return to their residence and promised that trains would be started to send workers. This week, several trains have left Dakshina Kannada to places like Bihar and Jharkhand with migrant workers on board. More than 21,000 workers had registered to leave for their homes by train from the district.   

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Nurse in Victoria hospital gets COVID-19, quarantine extended for colleagues

coronavirus

Eleven other nurses, who were engaged in the COVID-19 duty along with the 37-year-old nurse, have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2.

Soumya Chatterjee

Image for representation

A 37-year-old nurse, who is working at the Victoria Hospital and treating COVID-19 patients, was tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. She is now being treated at the same hospital.                                     However, sources told TNM that the hospital collected her samples again on Thursday for a retest, suspecting a case of false positive. Meanwhile, the quarantine period of 11 other nurses, who were along with this nurse, has been extended by a week. Her swab samples were collected as part of the protocol, where doctors and nurses have to take the COVID-19 test after their mandated 14-day quarantine on completing their COVID-19 duty. This testing is done on the 13th day of the quarantine period, after which they are allowed to go home. A source in the hospital, who is aware of this case, said, “This retest is not in line with the protocol but as an exception as she is a medical staff. We are not sure how exactly she contracted the disease. The other staff members in the same batch have tested negative.” According to the Karnataka Health Department officials, contact tracing of this case is still underway. Meanwhile, it is speculated that the nurse's husband is the primary contact. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials said that this is the second case where a healthcare professional has tested positive. On April 11, a 37-year-old doctor working in Shifaa Hospital in Shivaji Nagar had tested positive for SAR-CoV-2. While other doctors and staff who were in contact with the infected doctor were tested, they all, fortunately, tested negative. Many hospitals in Bengaluru have been sealed after patients who visited those hospitals later tested positive for the virus. Following apprehensions among the frontline staff, of contracting the infection themselves, Karnataka Health Commissioner Pankaj Pandey had started a separate testing programme for them. The testing of frontline staff — doctors, nurses, police, administrative officers and all medical care professionals, including ambulance drivers — began on May 1 at the KC General Hospital in the city. Dr Venkateshaiah, Medical Superintendent of the KC General Hospital and in-charge of this testing programme in Bengaluru, told TNM that at least 60-70 staff members are being tested on a daily basis. Another senior staff at the same hospital said that none of the 1,000-odd frontline staff, who were tested as part of the programme, have contracted the virus. It may be recalled that the first case of a doctor or medical staff testing positive was reported from Kalaburagi district in March. The 63-year-old doctor was treating 76-year-old Kalaburagi man, who, incidentally, was the first in the country to succumb to COVID-19 and other comorbidities.

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1000 people arrive in Bengaluru on train from Delhi, to undergo quarantine

Coronavirus

Elaborate arrangements were made to receive the passengers.

PTI

PTI

Around 1,000 passengers arrived in Bengaluru from Delhi on Thursday on board the first train to Karnataka since limited rail services resumed in the country, officials said. Soon after arrival at the Bengaluru City Railway Station, the passengers were screened for COVID-19 on the station premises itself, the officials said. The train that left Delhi on Tuesday at 9.30 pm was scheduled to arrive at 6.40 am on Thursday but was delayed by 40 minutes. According to a senior railway official, the Bengaluru civic agency along with the Karnataka Health Department had set up 10 health check-up counters to screen the passengers. The passengers were disembarked coach-wise as Railway Protection Force personnel kept a strict vigil on them. "It's heartening that everyone is maintaining discipline and seated inside. No chaos," the South Western Railway public relations officer said. Once they came out of the platform, they were directed to board the buses ready to take them to the hotels and other institutions, which have been converted into quarantine centres, the officials said. Around 15 buses belonging to the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), a subsidiary of the state government, were deployed at the railway station to take these passengers to the quarantine centres. Elaborate arrangements were made to receive the passengers. As many as 4,200 rooms were booked in 42 hotels around the Majestic Railway Station. "We have reserved 90 hotels in and around the railway station. These are for institutional quarantine. The passengers willing to stay in these hotels will have to bear the cost. Separate arrangements have been made for those who don't wish to stay in hotels," the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district G L Shivamurthy said in a video message. He made it clear that everyone coming to Bengaluru will have to compulsorily remain quarantined for 14 days and undergo COVID-19 tests. General public was not allowed to enter the railway station area. There were complaints galore from the passengers about services inside the train, no prior information about quarantining them and the lack of proper catalogue of hotels. A passenger complained that she was not informed about quarantining them. "I came here to see my daughter who is unwell. After reaching here, I am told I will have to spend time in quarantine. The Railways should have informed that we will be quarantined," the passenger said. The woman alleged there were no proper arrangements in the train and said there was no water to drink and wash and the entire bogie was untidy. Another passenger had a grouse that the Railways and the state administration did not provide a proper catalogue of hotels, which have been turned into quarantine rooms. "When we are paying for the service, we should be provided with catalogue of hotels to select," the passenger stated.  

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Three children from Bengaluru’s Padarayanapura test positive for coronavirus

Coronavirus

The children were primary contacts of two patients who had tested positive during the randomised testing carried out at the ward.

TNM Staff

Three children from Bengaluru’s Padarayanapura ward tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday. According to the Karnataka Health Department, two of the boys are aged 10 years and 8 years and are contacts of patient 554, who is a resident of Padarayanapura. Another boy aged 10 years, who is a primary contact of patient 555, another Padarayanapura resident, also tested positive for the virus.  As on Thursday afternoon, Padarayanapura has a total of 54 cases of COVID-19. This ward has reported the highest number of cases in Bengaluru and is the worst-affected area in the city.  Speaking to TNM, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Health Officer for West Zone, Dr Manoranjan said that the three children are from two different families, who lived in the same building as patients 554 and 555.  Patient 554 is a 20-year-old man, and patient 555 is a 28-year-old man, both of whom tested positive for the virus during randomised tests that were conducted in Padarayanapura on April 30.  Soon after these two patients tested positive, five densely-populated streets in Padarayanapura were identified for randomised testing. In addition, the BBMP had quarantined primary and secondary contacts of patients 554 and 555 on May 1.  “One 10-year-old boy and another 8-year-old boy are brothers and live in a house located above patient 554’s. Patient 555 lives in the same street and is a neighbour of patient 554. One 10-year-old boy, who lives in the same building as patient 555 tested positive too,” Dr Manoranjan said.  Two other adults, aged 40 and 45 years, who are primary contacts of patient 554, also tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday. These two patients lived in the same building as P-554, Dr Manorajna said. Padarayanapura has a total of 54 cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday afternoon.  Padarayanapura is one of the 20 containment zones in Bengaluru with the highest number of positive cases in Bengaluru. Padarayanapura was one among the two wards in Bengaluru that were sealed off. The other ward that was sealed -- Bapuji Nagar, however, is not a containment zone any longer according to the BBMP website. Bengaluru has so far reported 189 cases of COVID-19 with 100 active cases.   

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