COVID-19: Karnataka increases contingency fund to Rs 500 crore from Rs 80 crore

Coronavirus

Under the contingency fund, the government had earlier room to spend upto Rs 80 crore without budget provision.

PTI

Representational image

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday gave its approval for "The Karnataka Contingency Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2020" to enhance the contingency fund limit to Rs 500 crore in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be an ordinance making one time enhancement in the limit as the government needs money to make payments immediately, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy told reporters after a cabinet meeting. Under the contingency fund, the government had room to spend upto Rs 80 crore without budget provision. ".. but this time due to COVID-19 as we had to give money to some sections that were in distress like barbers, flower and vegetable growers, taxi drivers, among others, we have decided to increase the limit to Rs 500 crore," Madhuswamy said. "As assembly was not in session and as we had to make payments to those in distress immediately, this decision has been taken," he added. The cabinet today ratified the administrative approval given to carry out civil and electrical works to install a medical gas pipeline with high flow oxygen system at district hospitals, taluk and community health centres coming under Health and Family welfare department in view of COVID- 19. The minister said about Rs 207 crore is being approved for this purpose. It also ratified procurement of medical equipment and furniture for public healthcare institutions of the health and family welfare department worth Rs 81.99 crore. According to the minister, the cabinet has decided to bring in an amendment to section 9 of the Lokayukta act, which mandates that the preliminary inquiry contemplated by Lokayukta or Upalokayuta should be completed in 90 days and charge sheeting should be completed within six months. Noting that at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) cess was being collected, he said as the government had brought in an amendment to the APMC act, there was demand to reduce the market cess. "So we have reduced it from 1.5 per cent to one per cent." Approval has also been given by the cabinet to bring Karnataka Vidyuth Kharkane (KAVIKA) and Mysore Electrical Industries (MEI), which are presently under the control of Commerce and Industries department, under administrative control of the energy department. Other decisions taken by the cabibinet include deployment and implementation of "e-procurement 2.0" project on PPP at a cost of Rs 184.37 crore and ratification of the action taken to issue orders on March 24 to release interest free loan of Rs 2,500 crore to ESCOMs for payment of outstanding power purchase dues to generating companies. The cabinet also gave administrative approval for setting up of an Indian Institute of Information technology at Raichur. "Under this, we are committed to provide Rs 44.8 crore in four years for infrastructure," the minister added.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2W2O04C
via IFTTT

Karnataka CM urges Bengalureans not to visit their village in bid to stop COVID-19 spread

Coronavirus

Admitting that the battle against the virus would be long, the CM said that the fight could be won only through persistent efforts and with people’s cooperation.

IANS

Alarmed by the surging COVID-19 cases across the state, especially in Bengaluru, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday urged the state capital’s residents not to visit their villages to prevent the infection’s spread. “I urge the people of Bengaluru not to travel to their villages and prevent the infection from spreading in rural areas,” Yediurappa told reporters. Admitting that the battle against the virus would be long, he said that the fight against COVID-19 could be won only through persistent efforts and with people’s cooperation with the frontline ‘warriors’. “Combating the pandemic through preventive measures, providing treatment to the infected and saving lives are our priority,” he said. With a record 2,228 positive cases on Thursday, the southern state’s COVID-19 tally shot up to 31,105, including 17,782 active cases, while 457 people have died of the infection till date, 17 just in the last 24 hours. Of the new cases in the state, Bengaluru accounted for 1,373, taking its tally to 13,882, including 10,870 active, while 177 have succumbed to the virus since March 9. No deaths were, however, reported in the city on Thursday. Of the 457 patients in intensive care units (ICU) across the state, 292 are in Bengaluru hospitals. Since unlock began on June 1, COVID-19 cases shot up to 15,242 on June 30 from 3,221 on May 31 and to 31,105 in 9 days since July 1. Similarly, in Bengaluru, positive cases shot up to 4,555 on June 30 from 358 on May 31 and rose to 13,882 in 9 days since July 1. The Chief Minister also appealed to all legislators of the ruling and opposition parties to give priority to contain the disease in their Assembly segments. “Visit the COVID-19 designated hospitals and inspect if the required facilities are in place and bring any shortcomings to our notice,” the CM said

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2ZZzonI
via IFTTT

Karnataka CM Yediyurappa seeks people's support in tackling COVID-19

Coronavirus

“This is not a one or two days' affair. We may have to face the problem for many months," the Chief Minister said.

PTI

File photo

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday cautioned people that the COVID-19 pandemic will last many months and sought public support in the fight against the virus. "Let us together control coronavirus. This is not a one or two days' affair. We may have to face the problem for many months," the Chief Minister told reporters after inspecting the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on Tumakuru Road, which has been converted into a COVID care centre with 10,100 beds and claimed to be the country's largest. The centre has been developed in view of the rising coronavirus cases in the city at an alarming proportion. Allaying public fears in view of the surging infections in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister said his government is taking all measures to control the spread of the disease in the state as well as Bengaluru. The government is quickly rectifying the shortcomings the moment they come to notice, he added. Yediyurappa underlined that a centralised and transparent bed allotment system has been put in place and a helpline has been set up in Bengaluru. Stating that people should not lose their trust in the government, the Chief Minister appealed to the people to report to him or his ministers if there is any delay in an ambulance reaching a spot on time or hospitals denying admission to the patients. The Chief Minister appealed to the migrant labourers from Karnataka working in Bengaluru not to migrate to rural areas. "There is no need to unnecessarily migrate from Bengaluru to villages. I request people not to migrate to the villages. It is necessary to prevent the spread of the disease in the villages," Yediyurappa said. Speaking about the COVID care centre at the BIEC, the Chief Minister said it would be ready for operation in a week. He, however, pointed out that this facility will be kept reserved and will be used only when all the beds in the city hospitals are full. According to the Chief Minister, only asymptomatic infected persons or people with mild COVID-19 symptoms will be treated here. "Our effort is that every 100 patients will have a doctor, two nurses, two attendants, a sanitation worker, police and two BBMP marshals will be deployed. In all, 2,200 personnel will be deployed there," the chief minister said. The doctors and paramedics at the COVID care centre will be provided safety and security. There will be trauma care, ICU, ECG, oxygen support and pharmacy. Yediyurappa said the government has tied up with nearby hospitals to treat cases in case of any emergency. There will also be a control room to monitor the activities in the centre. To a question on private hospitals overcharging patients, Yediyurappa said he had told private hospital owners during his meetings with them that they should avoid doing so and in case complaints are received, action would be taken.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/322q8lx
via IFTTT

One month after closure of garment factory in Mandya, workers continue protest

Labour Rights

On Thursday, some workers said that they were approached by factory officials who urged them to resign.

Prajwal Bhat

On June 6, around 1,300 workers employed in a garment factory in Srirangapatna in Mandya district of Karnataka were informed through a notice stuck on a wall in the factory premises, that they no longer had their jobs and that they would be paid half of their wages. Workers from this factory unit – Euro Clothing Company (ECC) II – which is attached to Gokaldas Exports (GE) are protesting their dismissals claiming that it was done in violation of the law.  But over a month after negotiations began between the workers, labour department officials, and representatives of the exporter, there is no resolution yet.  On Thursday, some workers said that they were approached by factory officials who urged them to resign. "Two factory officials came to a worker's residence in Pandavapura coercing them to resign saying that the factory will not open again. They had lists of details of other workers who were in the unit," Jayaram KR of the Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) told TNM.  The New Trade Union Initiative claimed that this was an attempt by Gokaldas Exports (GE), a major apparel exporter in India, to intimidate the workers. "GE has been sending their managers to the factory to intimidate workers and aggravate their already soaring anxiety. They are defaming the union, our affiliate Garment and Textile Workers Union, claiming that the union is delaying the resolution of the dispute by filing complaints which will eventually end up in court. GE is playing with the lack of trust workers have in the judiciary as a method of building coercive pressure on workers to resign," Gautam Mody, General Secretary of NTUI said in a statement.  TNM spoke to a number of workers protesting the layoffs who said that they were living on borrowed money to pay their bills. They were paid half of their wages for June this week. "Around 600 of us have continued to protest despite the attempts of the factory officials to convince us to resign," Jayaram said. Read: Sudden closure of Karnataka garment factory stitching H&M clothes leaves workers stranded The workers stitch clothes for international brands like H&M. In an earlier statement, H&M said that it was following the developments and that the retailer was in close dialogue with both the workers and the supplier to resolve the conflict. A spokesperson from the company told TNM that H&M is fulfilling the payments for orders placed by it with the supplier – Gokaldas Exports. "At this point, our orders at this specific supplier are on similar levels as during the same period last year. We are also fulfilling our payments for goods in accordance with contracts, on time and at the originally agreed price,” an H&M spokesperson wrote to TNM. H&M said that the conflict in Mandya was due to ‘different interpretations of Indian laws’. But labour activists say H&M has not done enough to resolve the conflict affecting the workers who make their products. According to NTUI, H&M sources products from six factories of Gokaldas Exports in Mandya. There are 20 factories in total.  "ECC -II is the only one where a majority of the workers are unionised and has been so for over several years now. Targeting this factory alone amounts to a fundamental violation of right to freedom of association," Gautam Mody said. He added that H&M was encouraging the act of 'union busting', practices to disrupt union activity. Sources in the Labour Department in Mandya told TNM that there was a delay in the negotiations and that the factory officials had given a number of options to the workers to resolve the conflict. However, the workers are adamant that the layoffs were illegal and announced without warning.  The workers are asking the labour department (Karnataka government) to prosecute Gokaldas Exports for non-payment of full wages for the lockdown period. The workers say that alternatively, they are also open to restarting work at the factory if they are reinstated and paid full wages for the layoff period. Read: 1,300 garment factory workers in Karnataka lose their jobs overnight

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2O8roeI
via IFTTT

Disaster response teams in K’taka on the ready for floods amid COVID-19 pandemic

Floods

At present, some bridges in Belagavi district have been shut for public use as a precautionary measure.

Soumya Chatterjee

File photo

With the COVID-19 pandemic already keeping the state government occupied in Karnataka, the disaster management department is staying on its toes to respond to any flood-like situation. At present, some bridges and barrages in Belagavi district in north Karnataka have been restricted for public use. A total of four SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) and five NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) teams are presently spread across the state ready to be deployed in any eventuality. “River Krishna is in spate and there is a lot of intermittent rainfall. As of now, there is no information about floods but we are in a state of readiness. We have four teams of SDRF in four locations in Karnataka. The teams are present at Mangaluru, Bengaluru, Belagavi and Kalaburagi and will respond to rescue calls. A training capsule was done mainly on water training subject both by the NDRF and our in-house training staff in all the four locations 15 days back,” Sunil Agarwal, Additional Director General of Police, State Fire and Emergency Services told TNM. “Each team has 50 personnel each. Usually, 25 of them are fire officers and the rest are home guard and civil defence personnel. We have different types of expertise like landslides, building collapse and flood rescue,” he added. An official working with the State Emergency Operation Centre said at present there is no immediate threat of flooding but some low-lying areas in Belagavi district through which River Krishna flows has been shut for regular vehicular movement. This, after heavy rainfall in the Krishna river catchment area in Maharashtra led to high inflow of water in the state at the border district. Heavy and widespread monsoon rains in August 2019 in the region had triggered floods in many parts of the state, leading to loss of life and property.  Read: Karnataka, Maharashtra to set up panel to manage floods during monsoon “Bhoj- Kunnur, Bhoj-Karadaga, Malikwad-Dattawad, Barawad-Kunnur and Kallol-Yadur bridge-cum-barrages and other minor barrages, culverts primarily in Chikodi taluk of Belagavi district have been shut,” said the official. He added, “With heavy, uniform rain predicted over the next week, all coastal and Malnad districts are also at a level of alert and district-level disaster management control rooms have been made operational.” Sunil M Gavaskar, meteorologist at the Karnataka State Disaster Monitoring Centre said that good rains are underway across the state, especially in coastal districts with active monsoon conditions. “The state emergency operation centre is in touch with the district authorities on a real time basis. For the next seven days, we are expecting light to moderate rainfall across the state with isolated heavy rainfall,” he said. The Indian Meteorological Department has already issued a red alert for Kodagu on Thursday. A NDRF official told TNM that four teams of 30 personnel each in Dakshina Kannada, Dharwad, Kodagu and Belagavi districts are positioned. There is one additional team in Bengaluru which is the regional response headquarters. “In case there is a flood-like situation, we will call teams from outside the state to help us,” the official said.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/31YUyVP
via IFTTT

Biden will heed the CDC on reopening schools, his wife pledges

Jill Biden, a longtime educator, said her husband would defer to scientists on safe plans to reopen schools.

from Health Care https://ift.tt/2ZX3x74
via IFTTT

Trump’s health officials find ways to contradict his message downplaying virus risks

Those in the administration who are grappling with the pandemic's resurgence have had little access to the White House's megaphone.

from Health Care https://ift.tt/2W2ZXHD
via IFTTT