ACB searches Guru Raghavendra Co-Op bank and related offices

Banking

The ACB confirmed in a statement to the press that the head office and a branch office of the bank, both located in Basavangudi in Bengaluru, and the offices of bank officials were searched.

TNM Staff

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Karnataka searched the offices of Sri Guru Raghavendra Co-operative Bank and its office bearers on Thursday, in connection with a case of alleged fraud. The ACB confirmed in a statement to the press that the head office and a branch office of the bank, both located in Basavangudi in Bengaluru, the office of Gurusarvabhouma Co-operative society and residences of bank chairman K Ramakrishna and former Chief Executive Officer Vasudev Maiya were searched. "Money invested by customers into Sri Guru Raghavendra Co-operative Bank was misappropriated to the tune of Rs 1400 crore after money was transferred illegally by bank officials In violation of the rules of the Reserve Bank of India, few bank officials created artificial deposits and lent Rs 150 crore to 60 fictitious customers," stated the release which quoted reports compiled by the RBI and Registrar of Co-operative Societies.. In its brochures and on its website, the bank had claimed NPA's of around 1% but the actual NPAs were in the range of 25% to 30% as per reports of the registrar. The bank has been in trouble since the start of the year when the RBI put curbs for alleged irregularities in transactions. It is head-quartered in Basavangudi in Bengaluru and has been operational since 1999, as per the bank's website. Read: RBI puts curbs on Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank in Bengaluru from doing business The RBI restricted the bank from "granting or renewing loans and advances, making investment, borrowing funds or accepting fresh deposits". Panicked depositors rushed to withdraw Rs 35,000 (the cap placed on withdrawals) following the RBI's announcement. The depositors told TNM that a lack of transparency among bank officials had increased fears among people who invested in the bank.  Acting on orders of the RBI, the state government in Karnataka appointed an administrator - AC Diwakara - who took over power from the bank's board of directors. However, this move was challenged by the bank management who sought a stay on his appointment in the Karnataka High Court. 

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Karnataka wants to cap COVID-19 tariff in pvt hospitals at Rs 5,200 per day

Coronavirus

However, government sources said that private medical establishments are demanding four times more than what the government has offered.

Theja Ram

The Karnataka government is now planning to rope in private hospitals to provide treatment for patients with COVID-19. The Department of Health and Family Welfare in Karnataka has already held four rounds of talks with the Karnataka Private Medical Practitioners’ Association to decide on capping the cost for treating COVID-19 patients in these private hospitals.  The COVID-19 Task Force, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, Health Minister B Sriramulu, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai have decided that private hospitals have to be roped in in order to avoid a situation, where there could be shortage of beds, sources with Chief Minister’s Office told TNM.  Currently, the state government has suggested to cap the cost per day for treating each patient with COVID-19 at Rs 5,200. This will only include cost of hospitalisation and the state government has not given a break up of total cost per day including medicines. However, Health Department officials said that the representatives of the private medical establishments want four times more the cost the government has currently suggested.  “The Ministers in the COVID-19 task force want to go the Maharashtra way, implement the Disaster Management Act and take over the private hospitals and convert them into COVID-19 health care centres. However, this is not going to be beneficial, especially for the private hospitals and the staff working there,” a member of the expert committee for COVID-19 said.  Health Department sources said that the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Jawaid Akthar has been holding talks with representatives of private hospitals in a bid to arrive at a mutually beneficial price cap. “The ACS is trying very hard to arrive at a reasonable rate. But the ministers don’t even want to do that. They want to take over the private hospitals. We have all seen how disastrous this can be. Also, the ACS has taken into account the suggestions of the expert committee to study bed availability. We had suggested that only 50% of the beds in each hospital, both public and private be allocated for COVID-19. There is no point in converting entire hospitals. Where will other patients go?” an expert committee member said.  Meanwhile, sources with the CMO said that Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has directed Deputy Commissioners of all the districts to begin works to ramp up the primary health centres and the taluk-level hospitals as a back-up measure, in order to ensure that even those who do not have COVID-19 can avail tertiary-level care at government hospitals. This decision, sources said, was also taken as most of the tertiary-level district hospitals are now COVID-19 health care centres.  “In many parts of north Karnataka, works have already begun to ramp up infrastructure in PHCs and taluk hospitals. This work should be completed in the next two months. In the meantime, the decision to use 50% beds in certain private hospitals for COVID-19 patients will be taken once talks are finalised and the cabinet approval is granted,” a senior health department official said. 

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4 out of 8 Bengaluru deaths reported on Thursday were patients without comorbidities

Coronavirus

Experts, however, say this is not an issue of major concern but there is a need for early detection.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational image/PTI

For the first time since the onset of the novel coronavirus disease pandemic, Bengaluru on Thursday saw multiple COVID-19 deaths with no known comorbidities. As reported earlier, out of the 12 fatalities recorded in the state bulletin on Thursday, eight were patients from Bengaluru and 4 of them had no known comorbidities. Comorbodity is any underlying health condition in a person like hypertension or diabetes etc. Among them was a 31-year-old man who was admitted in a hospital with influenza like illness (ILI) on June 13 and he succumbed to his illness on Thursday. There was also a case of a 39-year-old patient who succumbed to the disease after he was admitted with ILI symptoms on June 7.  Similarly, a 40-year-old woman with no comorbidities had died on June 8 after being admitted to a designated COVID-19 hospital on the same day. Another patient was a 57-year-old man who was admitted on June 3 and died on June 6. Although the increase in fatality among reltaively younger people without comorbidities is worrying, experts and those working closely with the government feel it is primarily due to late referrals or patients acting against the advice of professionals. Dr Sachinand, Vice Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, who is heading the COVID-19 death audit committee in the state stressed on the need for earlier detection of cases but said the situation is not alarming. “It’s too early to say if it's a matter of concern. See the general trend is that people above 60 years and with co-morbidities are prone to succumb to this disease. But there can be cases of high viral load, individuals with low immunity. It is not that young people are guaranteed not to die. There can be incidents of late referrals or patients not following medical advice. But there can’t be any generalisation, nor is the health status of two humans alike," he said. He added, “Although this is not a matter of serious concern, it is important that we ensure early detection of cases. There can be unlikely cases of a patient being asymptomatic and suddenly showing acute respiratory distress symptoms, so we need to have a close look at oxygen saturation levels of patients. Maybe there are different causes to each of these deaths. So let us not draw a conclusion and take it as a matter of concern just yet.” Dr Trilok Chandra, senior IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer heading the COVID-19 Critical Care Support Committee (patients needing intensive care and ventilator support) said upon further investigation it was found that two among the four had renal issues.   “But overall you see, late presentation (to hospitals) has been a major worry for us. This needs emphasis and there is a need for people to come to report themselves. We are also trying to be more proactive with our Information, Education and Communication (IEC) programs,” he said.  He added, “Other than breathing conditions, there are other symptoms too which cannot be overlooked like that of neurological distress or gastrointestinal symptoms, so people with any of these spectrum of symptoms should immediately get themselves checked. There are also issues of self medication and over usage of over the counter drugs.” Other officials working to counter the pandemic situation in the state also stressed on the issue of late hospitalization and termed it being directly responsible for many fatalities. According to data analysis released by the Karnataka COVID-19 State War Room earlier this month, persons who are elderly and who have comorbidities or who have SARI (severe acute respiratory infection) must reach designated Covid Hospital at the earliest.   While average days spent at hospital by patients who recovered is about 15 days, the average days spent in hospital by those who died is just 3.5 days . Age-wise COVID-19 mortality data According to data from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), 27 out of 50 persons who succumbed to COVID-19 in the city were 60 years and above in age. Out of the 27, eight were above the age of 70 years. Of the victims, 10 were in the 50 to 60 age range. Six people who died were in their 30s and 40s. Only one person who died was under the age of 29. The state data bears similar trends. Among the 114 total COVID-19 deaths in the state, 63 were above the age of 60. Twenty-seven fatalities were in the 50 to 60 age group. The death toll is significantly lower for the 40 to 50 age group, at 13. While six persons belonging to the 30 to 40 age range have died, four persons in the 20 to 30 age bracket have passed away. Only one person between 10 to 20 years of age has died.

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Does Bengaluru have enough beds to tackle the steady increase in COVID-19 cases?

Coronavirus

And is there any other issue that we should be worried about?

Theja Ram

Vitoria Hospital Bengaluru/Representation Photo

With the number of patients contracting the novel coronavirus in Bengaluru increasing steadily, there have been concerns on whether or not there will be adequate beds to house patients in the city. The short answer to the question: most likely, yes.  Bengaluru currently has 408 patients who have COVID-19 and the city has 3,324 beds dedicated for COVID-19 cases. The city has 975 beds vacant in government hospitals; 1,159 beds in private hospitals; and an additional 789 beds in dedicated COVID-19 centres. This is 17% of the total number of beds available across all hospitals both public and private – the total number of beds in the city stands at 19,359.  Health and Family Welfare Department officials say that the city is unlikely to face a shortage of beds in the near future. However, there could be another issue that the city might face. Members of the expert committee for COVID-19 who TNM spoke to said that the lack of coordination between the Health Department and the Medical Education Department, is steadily becoming a cause for concern in managing the situation. An expert committee was formed to look into the condition of government hospitals in Bengaluru dedicated for treating patients with COVID-19. The committee had recommended that the government come up with a segregation plan to include treatment facilities for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients in each of the tertiary-level government hospitals in the city like Victoria Hospital, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, KC General Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases.  “But the government has not implemented this so far. The big problem here is the lack of coordination between the Medical Education Department and the Health Department. Medical college hospitals like NIMHANS, Victoria and RGCID fall under the Medical Education Department’s Director and the Deans of these colleges,” an expert committee member told TNM. In Victoria Hospital for instance, there are 550 beds available. Of these, the government has decided to use 350 beds for COVID-19 and the remaining for other patients. In addition, there are 550 beds in the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute Super Specialty Hospital within Victoria’s campus in Bengaluru. However, the facility is currently being used as a quarantine centre for doctors and nurses working at Victoria Hospital.  “It has been three weeks since the Medical Education Department said that a separate hotel would be converted into a quarantine centre for the health staff at Victoria, so the beds at BMCRI Hospital can be used to treat non-COVID patients who need hospitalisation. But this has not happened. This is because there is no coordination between the department and the Deans of these colleges,” the expert committee member said.  Similarly, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences has offered to allocate an entire wing – Varuna Building – to treat patients with COVID-19. However, this facility has not yet been converted to a COVID-19 facility due to bureaucratic hurdles. The procedure to convert the wing for COVID-19 care requires the Medical Education Department to issue a letter to NIMHANS, asking it to allocate the wing for COVID-19 patients. Without this letter, doctors at NIMHANS say that they cannot convert the building into a COVID-19 treatment centre. “As soon as this is done, the beds will be ready to be occupied. We have everything in place,” a senior doctor at NIMHANS said.  Infosys Foundation, which had offered to convert one of BBMP’s buildings into a COVID-19 healthcare centre, can offer around 300 beds. This facility is located right next to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. It has been two months since the construction began and Health Department officials say it would take another couple of months for it to be completed.  Expert committee members say that although the Health and Family Welfare Department officials are doing their best to tackle the situation, the lack of direction to medical colleges from the Medical Education department, is becoming a problem.  “There is lack of coordination and lack of ownership. They do not get involved in activities related to the National Health Mission. We should look at states like Tamil Nadu where there are no separate departments like health and medical education. A Joint Director of the Health Department can be posted as a Dean of any medical college. This ensures that they don’t shy away from the responsibility,” the expert committee member added.   

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Meghana Raj writes heartbreaking tribute to Chiranjeevi Sarja

Tribute

Chiranjeevi is survived by his wife Meghana who is pregnant.

TNM Staff

Nearly two weeks after the untimely demise of Kannada actor Chiranjeevi Sarja, his wife Meghana Raj took to social media to post a heart-wrenching tribute to him. Meghana was also expecting her first child with Chiranjeevi when he died two weeks ago in Bengaluru after he was brought to the hospital in an unresponsive state. Writing on Instagram, Meghana said, "Chiru, I have tried & tried again but I am 12 unable to put in words what I want to tell you. All the words in the world cannot describe what you mean to me. My friend, my lover, my partner, my child, my confidante, my HUSBAND- you are much more than all of this. You are a piece of my soul Chiru," she said. She described him as a guardian angel in her life. "An unfathomable pain shoots through my soul everytime I see the door and you don't walk in shouting "I am home". There is a sinking feeling in my heart when I can't touch you every minute of everyday. Like a thousand deaths, slow and painful. But then, like a magic spell I feel you around me. Every time I feel weak, you are around me like a guardian angel.You love me so much that you just couldn't," she added.         View this post on Instagram                   CHIRU, I have tried & tried again but I am unable to put in words what I want to tell you. All the words in the world cannot describe what you mean to me. My friend, my lover, my partner, my child, my confidante, my HUSBAND- you are much more than all of this. You are a piece of my soul Chiru. An unfathomable pain shoots through my soul everytime I see the door and you don't walk in shouting "I am home". There is a sinking feeling in my heart when I can't touch you every minute of everyday. Like a thousand deaths, slow and painful. But then, like a magic spell I feel you around me. Every time I feel weak, you are around me like a guardian angel. You love me so much that you just couldn't leave me behind alone, could you? Our little one is your precious gift to me-a symbol of our love- and I am eternally grateful to you for this sweet miracle. I can't wait to bring you back to earth, as our child. I can't wait to hold you again. Can't wait to see your smile again. Can't wait to hear that infectious laughter of yours that lights up the entire room. I will wait FOR YOU and you wait FOR ME on the other side. You will live as long as I breathe. You are in me. I LOVE YOU. A post shared by Meghana Raj Sarja (@megsraj) on Jun 17, 2020 at 10:05pm PDT She further wrote about their unborn child. "You love me so much that you couldn't just leave me behind alone, could you? Our little one is your precious gift to me-a symbol of OUR LOVE- and I am eternally grateful to you for this sweet miracle. I can't wait to bring you back to earth, as our child. I can't wait to hold you again. Can't wait to see your smile again. Can't wait to hear that infectious laughter of yours that lights up the entire room. I will wait for you and you wait for me on the other side," she added. The couple got married on May 2, 2018 after dating for years.  Chiranjeevi Sarja passed away on June 7 after he was brought to the hospital in Bengaluru in an unresponsive state. His pupils were dilated and he did not have a carotid pulse, his doctors said. The last rites of the Sandalwood actor will be held at a farmhouse in Madhugiri, Tumkur, on June 8. Read: Chiranjeevi Sarja brought to hospital in unresponsive state, died in less than two hours  

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Bengaluru’s Vikasa Soudha, SW Railway office to be shut on Friday for sanitisation

Coronavirus

This comes after one COVID-19 case each was reported from the two places.

TNM Staff

Vikasa Soudha sanitisation

.The divisional office of the South Western Railway (SWR) in Bengaluru will be shut on Friday after a COVID-19 case was reported in the SBC division of the office.  "Consequent to an employee of SBC division found to be positive for coronavirus and the same communicated to divisional administration on 18 June, it is informed that divisional office is closed on 19 June for disinfection," read a statement issued by South Western Railway.  The entire divisional office building will be disinfected on Friday by civic officials in Bengaluru.  Meanwhile, Karnataka's mini secretariat Vikasa Soudha, adjacent to the Vidhana Soudha, will also remain shut on Friday for sanitisation, as an employee working there tested positive for coronavirus, an official said on Thursday. "All offices in the 3-floor Vikasa Soudha will remain closed on Friday for sanitisation as a government employee tested positive on Wednesday," a civic official said. The staff working in the Vikasa Soudha will work from home on Friday.  The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is entrusted with the task of containing the coronavirus spread, has already started sanitising a portion of the building in the city centre. "All employees working in various departments located in the building are exempted from reporting to duty on Friday (June 19) and can work from home," said the official. After a Food and Civil Supplies Department official tested positive, all offices on the ground floor of the mini-secretariat were sealed and sanitised. Read: Woman staffer at Karnataka’s Vikasa Soudha tests positive for coronavirus Similarly, officials in Bengaluru had previously shut down Bazaar Street in Halasuru after a COVID-19 case was reported in the area. However, rumours of a COVID-19 case reported in HAL Market and in CMH Hospital area are false, officials told TNM. Read: Bengaluru: HAL market, CMH road shops lose business after alarming COVID-19 messages The city registered 17 fresh cases on Thursday, taking the total number of positive cases to 844. With 14 discharged earlier in the day, 384 have been cured of the infection, while 408 are under treatment. Of the 114 COVID deaths across the state since March 10, Bengaluru accounts for 51 till date.

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Seven candidates set to be elected unopposed into Karnataka's Legislative Council

Politics

One independent and one person claiming to be affiliated to BJP have also filed their nomination papers alongside seven candidates from the BJP, Congress and JD(S).

PTI

BJP candidates R Shankar and MTB Nagaraju

Nine candidates filed their nominations for the June 29 elections to seven seats of the Karnataka legislative council on Thursday. While the BJP has fielded four candidates, the Congress has given tickets to two and the JD(S) to one candidate respectively for the biennial elections to seven seats of the legislative council to be elected by the MLAs. One independent and one person claiming to be affiliated to BJP have also filed their nomination papers at the office of Legislative Assembly Secretary MK Vishalakshi, who is also the returning officer for the polls. "The nominations of two candidates without any proposers is likely to be rejected during scrutiny of the papers on Friday. So seven candidates will be in the fray for as many berths. Hence the election is likely to be unopposed if no one withdraws nominations," official sources said. While scrutiny will take place, Friday, June 22 is the last date for withdrawal of candidature. The election is necessitated as the term of seven MLCs — Naseer Ahmed, Jayamma, M C Venugopal, N S Bose Raju, H M Revanna (all Congress), T A Sharavana (JD(S)) and independent D U Mallikarjuna — will end June 30. Based on their strength in the Assembly, while BJP is in a position to win four out of seven seats, Congress can win two and JD(S) one. Twenty-eight valid votes of MLAs are required for each candidate to win. Four BJP candidates MTB Nagaraj, R Shankar, Sunil Vallyapure and Pratap Simha Nayak filed their nominations today, after the party high command announced their names late on Wednesday. Nagaraj and Shankar had played a key role in the formation of the BJP government after the coup that led to the collapse of Congress-JD(S) coalition.They had subsequently defected to the saffron party. While Nagaraj lost the bye-elections held later, Shankar did not contest in exchange for a Council berth promise. Among the other BJP candidates, Vallyapure is a former MLA from Chincholi and had given up his seat abiding by the party decision to field Avinash Jadhav, while Nayak is a senior party worker and had served as Dakshina Kannada district president. A BJP insider said Shankar and Vallyapure have been given MLC tickets as they had given up their Assembly seats, while Nagraj was considered as he had faced a defeat during the bypolls because party MP B N Bachhe Gowda's son Sharath contested as a rebel. Nayak's candidature is being seen as BJP high command's choice by party insiders, ignoring the state units recommendation of AH Vishwanath, a former JD(S) MLA who had defected to BJP. Two Congress candidates, senior party leader BK Hariprasad and incumbent Naseer Ahmed also filed their nominations today. Hariprasad's name was announced by the party on Wednesday, even as his tenure in Rajya Sabha is to end on June 25. Naseer Ahmed, who is retiring as MLC on June 30 is seeking another term. The choice of candidates by the Congress high command is being seen as a mixed bag for CLP leader Siddaramaiah as Naseer Ahmed is said to be close to him, while Hariprasad is considered among his adversaries. In a surprise move, JD(S) has fielded Govinda Raju from Kolar as the party candidate for the MLC polls. Incumbent MLC T A Sharavana and outgoing Rajya Sabha member Kupendra Reddy were seen as the prime aspirants for the ticket. JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said Govinda Raju was chosen as it would help organise and strengthen the party in Kolar and Chikkaballapura region. The independent candidate who has filed his papers today is P C Krishnegowda, and the one who filed his nomination claiming to be associated with BJP is Mandikkal Nagaraja.    

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