Case registered against Cong MLA for flouting COVID-19 norms in son's marriage

Politics

Ballari police said that a case was booked against Congress MLA Parameshwar Naik and his son after a large number of people attended the wedding, violating COVID-19 norms.

TNM Staff

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COVID-19 precautions went for a toss at the wedding of a Karnataka Congress legislator's son in Ballari, where Health Minister B Sriramulu and many other politicians from both BJP and Congress were also spotted. "I have come across this. A large holding (wedding) was there. We have initiated action. A case has been registered," Ballari Superintendent of Police CK Baba said on Monday. Politicians who attended the wedding included former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah, Priyank Kharge, G Parameshwara, BJP's Laxman Savadi and Prabhu Chauhan. According to police, a case was registered in Harapanahalli Taluk of Ballari against Parameshwar Naik and his son after a large number of people attended the marriage. Several people were also seen attending the wedding under a tent and sitting on chairs without maintaining physical distancing. Ballari Superintendent of Police, CK Baba said the case was being investigated and the event's visuals were available. According to the central government guidelines, only 50 people are allowed to attend weddings amid the pandemic. Health Minister Sriramulu also attended the wedding of Hadagali's Congress MLA Parmeshwar Naik's son' where COVID-19 norms were violated. Sriramulu was neither seen wearing a mask nor maintaining physical distance while being photographed on the stage with the newly-wed couple. This is not the first time Sriramulu has been spotted flouting COVID-19 rules of wearing masks and maintaining physical distance. Earlier this month, he was spotted without a mask at a large public procession in Chitradurga where he was welcomed with a massive garland. Read: K’taka Health Min Sriramulu takes part in large procession without mask, distancing Earlier in March, Sriramulu organised his daughter's wedding, a 9-day affair that ended in Bengaluru's Palace grounds with thousands of people attending, at a time a Hyderabad man residing in Bengaluru had tested positive for COVID-19. 

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Unemployed during lockdown, Bengaluru domestic workers meet labour department

Labour Rights

Domestic workers have demanded that they be included among the unorganised workers in Karnataka who got a compensation of Rs 5,000 from the government.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

As things slowly limp back to normalcy in Karnataka after the easing of lockdown restrictions, lakhs of domestic workers in Bengaluru say they now face unemployment. Radha, a member of the Domestic Workers Rights Union (DWRU) in Bengaluru, said that though some domestic workers were laid off only temporarily during the lockdown, many workers, especially older women, have been asked not to come back to work. This is why a group of women from the union went to the labour department on Monday morning, to submit a list of their demands and a report of what they were going through.  The report noted their importance in the urban economy. “Domestic workers are the silent and invisible backbone of the economy. The last two decades have seen a sharp increase in their participation in the workforce. An estimated  lakh domestic workers live and work in the city of Bengaluru.”  Their report also noted that their contribution is rarely acknowledged.  “They constitute a large segment of women urban workers. The large majority of these women do part-time work in multiple households, keeping long hours, facing caste discrimination, assault on their dignity through rude comments from their employers, no social security, and no legal rights as other formal workers like regular leave and bonus. Additionally, with the majority being women, along with the gendered notion of housework, their work is devalued,” the report stated. The workers have demanded better provisions from the government, specifically on compensation for wages and the jobs lost. Lakshmi, one of the women who work in multiple households in Bengaluru told TNM, “I have been working in apartments around HSR Layout for more than ten years now. But when I went to meet them last week, I was asked not to come again. I am in a lot of financial difficulties as I too have responsibilities. My rent is pending and I have children to look after.” The union is demanding that the government look into supporting such workers. As part of their demands, they have asked that the Labour Department must ensure the registration of domestic workers as “workers.” The union has asked that all domestic workers should be included in the social security net and that women above the age of 50 who have lost their jobs be supported with a pension scheme of Rs 3,000 a month.  “Government (should) issue mandatory orders to all employers to retain the domestic workers and if dismissed, a wage compensation of ₹10,000 per month should be given for three months,” the union has demanded. The union has also asked for cash transfers for domestic workers, similar to the compensation that auto drivers and cab drivers have received.  “The Karnataka government has announced a relief package for unorganised sector workers, including a cash transfer of Rs 5,000. This currently does not include domestic workers and steps must be taken urgently to rectify this.” Demands for Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) Besides the financial crunch, the workers who have gone back to work have found that they are being met with social stigma.  “We are not allowed to use the lifts, we’re not allowed to wait in common areas, and we are facing a certain kind of discrimination,” said Radha.  The report said, “(Domestic workers) cannot be removed from premises for waiting in the common area. This is their natural waiting space. Instead, proper training on social distancing must be provided by apartments to domestic workers. Domestic workers must not be discriminated against or looked at as “higher risk” individuals. They must not be advised to “not take the lift” and no such discriminatory practices should be implemented.”  The workers have also demanded that the attitudes of the employers should be changed to consider them as care workers. “We are also aware and keeping ourselves clean, wearing masks and taking precautions,” she said. Rasha said that in many apartment complexes, Resident Welfare Organisations were not willing to allow workers back even if the employer wanted to resume work.  For this, the union asked, “Apartment owners must pay their domestic workers full wages for the period of the lockdowns and any ongoing and future period where domestic workers are not being prohibited from coming to their place of employment.” They also asked that “Under no circumstances must domestic workers be threatened to come to work if they are unwilling to.” For the safety of the workers, they asked that a regular supply of fresh masks, gloves and hand sanitisers be provided by the apartments to every domestic worker, just like in any other workplace. Besides, to address the issue of their dignity, the union said, “Guards and facility managers must be trained on treating the domestic workers with due respect. Domestic workers must be given the contact number of a member of an internal or external complaints committee for escalating any matters regarding discrimination, exploitation or violation of their dignity.” The union also said that they didn’t have enough data about workers who live with their employers. So they have demanded that a directive should be published to all Resident Welfare Associations and employers to furnish all information about live-in domestic workers, and their health and working conditions.

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Nursing homes go unchecked as fatalities mount

About half of all facilities have yet to be inspected for procedures to stop the spread of coronavirus.

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Karnataka reports 213 cases, testing drops to lowest level in past month

Coronavirus

New cases were reported in Kalaburagi (47), Bengaluru (35), Dharwad (34) and Dakshina Kannada (23).

TNM Staff

Karnataka reported 213 COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 7,213. Despite the steadily rising cases, Karnataka has dropped its testing numbers from 10,177 on Saturday to 5,362 on Monday. This is the lowest number of samples tested since 15 May, when 5,351 samples were tested in the state. In addition, the number of patients admitted in ICU has gone up from 16 reported on Sunday to 56 on Monday. New cases were reported in Kalaburagi (47), Bengaluru (35), Dharwad (34) and Dakshina Kannada (23).  In a continuation of the trend which began last week, 37% of the cases reported in Bengaluru (13) were patients with Influenza-like illness (ILI). On June 10 too, more than half (22) out of 42 COVID-19 patients reported in Bengaluru were taken to hospitals with ILI symptoms.   TNM had earlier reported that health officials are worried that the rise in ILI cases now suggests the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the city. Read: Bengaluru sees rise in patients with ILI turning positive for COVID-19: What to know    Most cases in Yadgir, Bidar and Kalaburagi districts were people who returned from Maharashtra. Of the 7,213 cases in the state, 4,479 cases are people who returned from Maharashtra. Over 1,300 other cases are contacts of people who returned from Maharashtra.  Kalaburagi and Yadgir are among the worst affected districts in the state with 944 and 822 cases respectively. Udupi, the district with the highest number of cases so far with 1028 cases, reported just two new patients on Monday.  Meanwhile, 22 of the 23 cases in Dakshina Kannada were people who travelled from the United Arab Emirates to the district. The lone other case came in contact with someone who previously tested positive.  Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has stated that there are no plans of a fresh lockdown in the state. The state, however, made a key change to its quarantine policy by mandating 3-day home quarantine and 11-day institutional quarantine for people who came to the state from Tamil Nadu and New Delhi. 

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FDA ends emergency use of hydroxychloroquine

The drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, have failed in several recent clinical trials and doctors say they can cause serious heart problems.

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Karnataka issues govt order barring online, offline classes for students up to class 5

Education

The order will apply to all students studying in schools in the state.

Prajwal Bhat

PTI : Image for representation

The Karnataka government on Monday finally issued a government order to stop online and offline methods of virtual teaching for students up to Class 5 in the state. The order (number EP 139 PGC 2020) issued by the Education Department said that this will apply to all students studying in schools in the state under state syllabus and other syllabuses like ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education), CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) and also international syllabus.  The order invoked Section 7 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983 to forbid schools in the state from conducting online classes until the state government issues guidelines for the same. “In the same way, guidelines are yet to be formed for mass media, technology oriented teaching. In case online teaching has been started, they have to be stopped immediately and in the name of online teaching, no fees can be collected by government, aided or unaided schools,” read the order. The order signed by M Sharanabasappa, Under Secretary, Education Department mentioned that the guidelines will be scientific and based on age-specific adaptation of online education for students in Classes 6 to 10 which will be determined by a group of experts.  Karnataka issues govt order barring online, recorded virtual classes for students up to class 5 pic.twitter.com/YNDZuBs2a2 — Prajwal (@prajwalmanipal) June 15, 2020 Professor MK Sridhar will be heading this committee. Sridhar is a senior academic in the state and a member of the draft New Education Policy. Other members of the committee are academics Gururaj Karajagi, Niranjan Aradhya, officials from NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences), representatives of Early Childhood Organisation, KH Jagadeesh, Department of Public Instruction, Gopalakrishna, MR Maruti, MT Reju, state project director, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. TNM had earlier reported how several schools were continuing online methods of teaching even though Education Minister Suresh Kumar had spoken against it. While issues with online classes revolved around inability to teach complicated concepts, activists have highlighted how this method will further widen the gap between the economically weaker and the privileged students. It was on June 10 that the government had first announced that live virtual classes cannot be held for students of lower kindergarten, upper kindergarten and primary classes (Classes 1 to 5). However, at that time, pre-recorded classes were allowed to function.

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Relief for homebuyers: Karnataka notifies new format for sales agreements

Coronavirus

The new rules mandate a proper format for sales agreements in Karnataka, which will also ensure that builders cannot charge buyers any extra costs over and above the amount agreed upon.

Soumya Chatterjee

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After a delay of three years, the Karnataka government has notified the new rule for Agreement for Sale of property in accordance with the  RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) Act, much to the relief of home buyers.  At present, often builders would make sales agreements according to their own whims and fancies without taking note of the buyers’ interests, but with the new rules notified, a uniform sale agreement format has to be followed. Elaborating on this, Shankar Srinivasan (convener of Karnataka Chapter - Fight for RERA) said, “This agreement, now which will be followed across the Karnataka state, is going to benefit all homebuyers of every economic class. The agreement format will guarantee it will be balanced and not only favour the builder as often it used to be. This will make the deal much more transparent and hold the builder accountable.” He added that often, builders would ask buyers to pay over and above the agreed amount citing hike in prices of materials or any excuse that they could manage. Even the delivery date of the property would also be not explicitly mentioned. He said that there will be a mandatory clause of guaranteeing structural integrity of five years for all buildings. He added, “With this, the builder cannot charge the buyer any extra costs towards government charges or development fee.” This development has been warmly welcomed by homebuyers who feel that these new rules will be beneficial, as often homebuyers are shortchanged by builders during the delivery of property. “We are thankful to the Shri V Somanna, Hon'ble Minister for Housing and the initiatives of Karnataka Government Secretary Shri Manoj Kumar Meena IAS and the Chairman Karnataka Rera who have compiled and suggested undiluted Rules for notification,” MS Shankar, General Secretary, Forum for Peoples Collective Efforts, said. He added, “Though delayed for more than three years but it is worth waiting for the buyers. The earlier versions of draft rules had a lot of dilution and we have opposed notification of the same and have been insisting for undiluted version notification of ‘agreement for sale’ as per model agreement notified by Government Of India.” Forum for Peoples Collective Efforts had also submitted a memorandum to push for the same in November 2019.

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