‘SMS yes before 6 pm for Shramik train’: Govt SMS panics migrant workers in Bengaluru

Migrant

While some responded to the text and received “service is expired” messages, others struggled to follow the instructions given.

Prajwal Bhat

PTI : Image for representation

Saharul, a migrant worker from West Bengal who works as a waste-picker in Whitefield, has been waiting to return to his home ever since he registered on the Seva Sindhu portal for interstate travel on May 4.  On Tuesday around 2 pm, he received an SMS from MOBKAR - Mobile Karnataka - which read, "If you want to leave by Shramik Trains, SMS Yes followed by last 6 digits of Seva Sindhu application no to 161 from registered mobile before 6 pm 26th May" But when Saharul tried to respond to the instructions in the message, he received a second message which read, "Service is expired," even though he had responded well within the stipulated time.  Saharul was not alone. Many migrant workers who registered on the Seva Sindhu portal to return to their respective states from Karnataka were jolted on Tuesday afternoon when they received a message asking them to respond within a few hours of receiving the message.   It sparked panic among the workers who are desperate to return to their homes. "We thought we would be getting to leave on the trains but we received a message saying that the service has expired. We have been waiting to go home for the past two weeks and we have not received a single message or call about the trains. Even when we received a message, it turns out it is not helpful," Saharul says.  When asked about this message and what it means, Karnataka Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said that he will look into the incident. "If this has happened and they were given a deadline 6 pm in the afternoon and if there are some cases where workers are not so literate (and unable to respond) we will allow them to leave later," Suresh Kumar said.   But even as the state government examined the issue, panic had spread among workers in the city. Sharat, a migrant worker from Odisha, who lives in Koramangala in Bengaluru also confirmed to TNM that he received the message but he decided against responding since work has resumed in the city for him. However, others who were desperate to go home were searching for answers from officials to explain what the message was about.   Eighteen migrant workers from West Bengal who work in Sarjapura left their homes towards the railway station after reading the SMS. They were under the impression that they need to reach the railway station before 6 pm. Activists have pointed out that not all workers carry phones with them or are literate enough to follow instructions given via SMS. "Workers are not proficient with technology and they find it difficult to send an SMS. Employers and the government know where the workers are staying. Why can't they assist them in identifying workers who want to leave?" asks Lekha Adavi, an advocate and labour activist based in Bengaluru.  Even when some workers followed the instructions, they were met with no response from officials. "Migrants who are literate enough to do this exercise are getting messages like "Service is expired,” "Thank you for the message" etc. This is a joke being played on desperate and homeless people," says Deepanjali, an activist based in Sarjapur in the city. The Karnataka government, in its submissions in the High Court, has stated that there are 7 lakh applicants on the Seva Sindhu portal looking to leave the state. This figure is not limited to migrant workers and also includes others, such as students. The High Court has asked the state government to specify how many migrant workers are looking to leave the state.  The state government has also stated that they are accepting applications in police stations from workers who want to leave the city by train in addition to the Seva Sindhu portal. Interestingly, Bengaluru police officials have previously stated that the process of identifying migrant workers who want to leave by trains is taking place through registrations made at police stations in the city. Police officials have also told TNM that they are not using the Seva Sindhu portal for facilitating travel of migrant workers. Many workers have registered themselves both on the portal and in their jurisdictional police station limits.  Read: For thousands of migrant workers in Bengaluru, a train ticket is like winning a lottery This incident also comes just days after a false message spreading information that a train would be leaving from Bengaluru to Puri in Odisha on Saturday prompted thousands of migrant workers to gather at Bengaluru's Palace Grounds.  However, it turned out that the message was an ‘error’ and there was no train waiting for the migrants. This led to chaos before many workers returned to their homes disappointed. Some of the workers have now been accommodated in trains that left Bengaluru for Odisha.  Read: False message on trains brings thousands of migrants to Bengaluru's Palace Grounds With inputs from Soumya Chatterjee

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COVID-19: Karnataka reports 101 new cases, total rises to 2283

Coronavirus

Till date, 938 among all COVID-19 patients in the state are interstate returnees from Maharashtra.

TNM Staff

Image for representation: PTI

A total of 101 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Karnataka since Monday evening, taking the total number of infections in the state to 2,283. With 44 deaths and 722 discharges, there are 1,514 active coronavirus cases in the state, the department said in its daily evening bulletin. A total of 43 patients were discharged on Tuesday. Out of the 101 new cases, 47 are returnees from neighbouring Maharashtra, 21 from Tamil Nadu, 13 from Jharkhand and one from Gujarat, while four have travelled from Qatar. The remaining cases include: 10 who are contacts of patients already tested positive, two with history of influenza-like illness (ILI), and one with history of SARI (severe acute respiratory infection). Two patients' contact history is still being traced. Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Chitradurga accounts for 20, followed by Yadgir with 14 cases; 13 each in Belagavi and Hassan, Davangere 11, Bidar 10, Vijayapura six, three each from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, two each from Bengaluru urban and Kolar, and one each from Bagalkote, Chikkaballapura, Koppal and Ballari. Source wise breakup till date Till date, among the 2283 cases in Karnataka, 938 are people who came back from Maharashtra. 787 patients have contracted the virus through contact transmission. These are the findings of the data compiled by Karnataka COVID-19 War Room. International travellers form the third largest part of the COVID-19 patients tally in Karnataka with a total of 102 testing positive. A total of 87 patients have contracted the infection with no known case of travel or contact history. There are 57 patients each with SARI and travel history to Gujarat. There are 51 patients with travel history to Delhi, 46 patients who were infected with no known travel history or contact but having influenza-like illness (ILI). There are 39 patients who had travel history to Rajasthan while 13 persons had returned from Jharkhand. Another 10 are returnees of Telangana.  With PTI inputs

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Why does Bengaluru have a lower number of COVID-19 cases? Spl BBMP Commissioner intv

coronavirus

The Special Commissioner in BBMP in charge of COVID-19 surveillance spoke to TNM about the city’s proactive response.

Soumya Chatterjee

Twitter / @BBMPCOMM

Bengaluru has earned praise for its comparatively low number of the number of COVID-19 cases and casualties, which the city administration says can be attributed to proactive measures taken by city officials and the Health Department. Among 198 wards in the city so far, only 61 wards have reported COVID-19 positive cases since March 8, when the first case of infection was reported. At 280, Bengaluru has also reported the lowest number of cases among some major Indian cities. Chennai has recorded more than 11,000 cases, New Delhi has over 13,000 cases and Mumbai has seen upwards of 30,000 cases. Bengaluru was recognised by the Union government, alongside Jaipur, Indore and Chennai for being role models in pandemic management, from creating containment zones to contact tracing and other containment measures. Speaking to Dr Lokesh, Special Commissioner in BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) in charge of COVID-19 surveillance, he said, “ "From Day 1, we were proactive in our surveillance work. The health officers, ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) and ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) were clear on their roles. We started tracking international passengers from when they landed, and were among the first to start the stamping of hands at the airport itself to make sure they complied with quarantine orders. We also started this unique initiative of institutional quarantine in hotels of those passengers who came in." He added, “We also had good leadership. The BBMP Commissioner (Anil Kumar) was on the ground when it came to tracking the cases. For example in Nagawara in a slum, there was a case. He came with me (surveillance officer) to cordon off the slum and make sure tracing was done effectively. So we treated everyone equally. We didn't even spare a Union minister and traced everyone, and pasted a notice on the wall outside his house as well. Surveillance and tracing was the most important, so that the cases remained between contacts and did not spread to the community level. So that's what contributed to keeping the cases low in the city." Read: After Sadananda Gowda skips quarantine, Karnataka announces exemptions for ministers He also said that 67% of all of Bengaluru’s households have been surveyed to check for vulnerable populations. This survey exercise began in last week of April by the state Health Department, as it had in many places across the country through teachers, healthcare workers and block level officers, to identify populations who may be vulnerable to coronavirus infections. The survey divides vulnerable populations into senior citizens, comorbid conditions (diabetes, cardiac ailments), symptomatic patients and pregnant/lactating women. Once identified, this population is given special attention by the Health Department in follow-up rounds, a senior IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer said.

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Sadananda Gowda says he tested negative for COVID-19, 'pained' at controversy

Controversy

The Karnataka government announced that exemptions were allowed for ministers in an addendum to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued last week for those returning to the state from outside.

TNM Staff

Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Sadananda Gowda announced on Tuesday that he has once again tested negative for COVID-19 after undergoing a test following his return to Bengaluru from New Delhi.  The test was conducted hours after the controversy over Sadananda Gowda's refusal to go into institutional or home quarantine. "Happy to share the information that I again underwent COVID19 test, which is found to be negative. Appealing the fellow citizens to take enough precautions to avoid infections. Please wear face mask and maintain social distancing. Please help us to help you," the minister tweeted. Sadananda Gowda, a former Karnataka Chief Minister, said that he was exempted from institutional quarantine since he is now a minister in the central government. But following uproar over this, the Karnataka government announced that exemptions were allowed for ministers in an addendum to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued last week for those returning to the state from outside.   "Pained at an attempt to make my official visit to Bengaluru a controversial one despite I being a Union Minister handling Pharmaceutical Dept, an essential wing fighting COVID19. I followed the SOP, which exempts Ministers, Officers on duty from quarantining," he added. The addendum detailing the exemption was drafted on Saturday but it was only made public on Monday, after the controversy over Sadananda Gowda's refusal to quarantine himself. The state government's SOP issued last week had said returnees from states with high COVID-19 caseload -- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh -- entering the state in trains, flights, buses or private vehicles will be kept in institutional quarantine for seven days. In special cases like business persons coming for urgent work, the quarantine period would be waived if they carry a report from an ICMR-approved laboratory stating they had tested negative for COVID-19. This report cannot be more than 2 days older than the date of travel.   

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Bengaluru Victoria hospital’s COVID ward celebrates Eid with patients

Coronavirus

The hospital authorities also provided mats to the patients for offering prayers and those who wished to pray were told to follow physical distancing.

TNM Staff

Wikimedia Commons/CC 2.5/Adbutha

The COVID-19 ward at the Emergency and Trauma Care Centre at Victoria hospital in Bengaluru wore a festive look on Monday after doctors decided to lift the spirits of patients and celebrated Eid in the ward with COVID-19 patients.  While the children in the ward took to drawings and games, women turned to mehendi cones sent to the ward.  There are 96 patients in the ward including 88 people who are asymptomatic and 14 children. It also includes a doctor, a police official and a nurse. The hospital authorities also provided mats to be used for offering prayers and those who wished to pray were told to maintain physical distance. S Balaji Pal, Special Officer, Emergency and Trauma Care at the hospital told The Hindu that the patients were happy and that there was a warm atmosphere in the usually gloomy COVID-19 ward on Monday. Asima Banu, the nodal officer for the Emergency and Trauma Care at the hospital, told Deccan Herald that initially, men and women were kept on separate floors. But after families, couples, parents and senior citizens requested to stay together and since family support is important, the arrangement was changed in the ward. ICU patients however stay in a separate ward.  Asima says that most patients try to keep themselves busy by reading something that interests them and also talk to each other while supporting each other in their recoveries.  Karnataka has so far reported 2,182 coronavirus cases while there are currently 1,431 active cases in the state. 274 cases including 114 active cases are from Bengaluru Urban district. 

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74 flights cancelled on day one of domestic air travel resuming in Bengaluru

74 flights were operated while 74 others were cancelled on Monday, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) said.

TNM Staff

The cancellation of 74 flights without prior notice marred the resumption of domestic air travel after two months of lockdown at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport on Monday. "As on 17:00 hrs (5 pm) on May 25, 2020, the airport registered a total of 74 Air Traffic Movements, including 43 departures and 31 arrivals," Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), that operates the city airport, said in a release. A total of 74 flights were cancelled for the day, it said, adding that the airport would continue to operate as per flight schedules. The first flight out was an Air Asia aircraft to Ranchi that departed at around 5:15 am, while the first arrival was an Indigo flight from Chennai at about 7:35 am with around 113 passengers. Restrictions on the number of flights by states, some of them mandating institutional quarantine, led to cancellation of several arrivals and outbound flights, officials said. "With states like Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal deferring resumption of domestic flights and others like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu restricting flight movements to Mumbai and Chennai, airlines had to revise their schedules, which resulted in cancellation of flights," said a state nodal official, tasked to monitor the movement of passengers. Some passengers claimed that flights were cancelled at the last moment, like the Bengaluru-Hyderabad flight. There were also reports of cancellation of flights from Sambra airport in Belagavi and Mangaluru airport. Among the passengers who arrived in the city's airport on Monday was five-year-old Vihaan Sharma, who travelled alone from Delhi. His mother was seen anxiously waiting at the airport to meet him after three months. As per the state government's standard operating procedure (SOP), passengers who arrived from high COVID-19 prevalence states were shifted to hotels for seven days of institutional quarantine by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses, specially arranged for the purpose. "BIAL will continue to work closely with various government departments to ensure that air passengers adhere to the new quarantine policy," the release said. The Karnataka government has said people coming from high COVID-19 prevalence states--Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh---will have to go for institutional quarantine for seven days, and the charges will have to be borne by the passengers.

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After Sadananda Gowda skips quarantine, Karnataka announces exemptions for ministers

Controversy

Sadananda Gowda said he cannot be equated with other persons as his role as Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers would be hampered if he were placed under institutional quarantine.

TNM Staff

Sadananda Gowda : PTI Image

Central and state government ministers and officers on duty arriving from other states have been exempted from institutional quarantine, announced the Karnataka government on Monday.   These exemptions were allowed in an addendum to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services and made public on Monday, hours after the controversy over Union Minister Sadananda Gowda's refusal to go into institutional quarantine became public. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Sadananada Gowda, who arrived in Bengaluru from New Delhi on Monday, did not go into institutional quarantine and instead defended his actions stating that there were exemptions for ministers.  Justifying his actions, Sadananda Gowda said he came under the exempted category being in-charge of pharmaceuticals, an essential sector. “Practically, the guidelines are applicable to each and every citizen, I do concede. But certain persons are exempted from quarantining, those who hold certain responsible posts,” the minister had said. “See, I have the Aarogya Setu app. In the app, see, it is green, you are safe. Apart from this, I used to attend office in Delhi and once every 3-4 days, the doctors in AIIMS checked me also,” he said. Pointing out that as Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, he oversees the pharmaceutical sector, Sadananda Gowda told ANI,” If I don’t supply medicines, what will happen? Coronavirus will double, triple. I have a meeting with other ministers at 4 pm to check the supply of medicines. If I am quarantined, then who will ensure all this? They cannot equate me with other persons.”  He also added, “I could have come from Delhi by some other chartered flight. But being a minister, I chose to travel only when the flights started, and when I am exempted under the clause by the state and the Centre.”  Gowda had also mentioned exemptions given to ministers and other officials however, the addendum to the SOP issued on 23 May (Saturday) was only made public on Monday night. "The ministers of Union Government or state governments or officers on their official duty who are travelling across states will be exempted from requirements of quarantine as has been done for health professionals and others," the addendum said. Airline crew who are on official duty and any person holding a negative COVID-19 test certificate would also not require to undergo the mandatory seven days institutional quarantine stipulated in the SOP issued on Friday for inter-state passengers coming from states with a high number of coronavirus cases. Any person who gets a negative COVID test certificate (from ICMR approved lab) which is not more than two days old from the date of journey will also be exempted from the requirement of institution quarantine, it said. "Such a person will be asked to go for 14 days of home quarantine," the addendum stated. The state government's SOP issued last week had said returnees from states with high COVID-19 caseload -- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh -- coming via road, rail and air will be kept in institutional quarantine for seven days. After the returnees test negative for the disease in pool testing, they will be sent for home quarantine for another seven days. Returnees from other low prevalence states will be asked to follow 14 days of home quarantine. In special cases like businessmen coming for urgent work, the quarantine period will be waived if they furnish a report from an ICMR-approved laboratory showing they tested negative for COVID-19 and should not be more than two days old from the date of travel. With PTI inputs

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