SSLC exam results to be declared in August first week: Karnataka education minister

Education

The evaluation was delayed in districts like Bengaluru due to the lockdown imposed over the outbreak of COVID-19 cases.

TNM Staff

The results of the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations are likely to be announced in the first week of August, Karnataka's Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said on Monday. The announcement came after the minister visited five evaluation centres in Bengaluru. "In 10 days by 30 July, we want to complete the evaluations and we plan to announce the results towards the end of the first week of August," Suresh Kumar said after visiting the centres.  He said that the evaluation of the answer sheets are set to take another 10-12 days. Currently, evaluations of the answer sheets are taking place at 220 centres in the state and Suresh Kumar said that in as many as 120 centres, the process had been completed.  The evaluation was delayed in districts like Bengaluru due to the lockdown imposed over the outbreak of COVID-19 cases from 8 pm on July 14 to 5 am on July 22.  "Due to the lockdown imposed, there was a delay in starting evaluation for 3-4 days. Only 45 evaluators are coming to these centres at the moment but it is being carried out in a safe and healthy manner. We expect the evaluation process to be completed in 180 centres by the end of this week," Suresh Kumar added. Around 8.45 lakh students registered to write the examinations in Karnataka. It was held from June 25 to July 3 amid restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were asked to wear masks and maintain distancing at the examination centres.  The education department allowed students from containment zones and students with COVID-19 symptoms to write the examinations. Thirty-two students who registered for the examinations tested positive for coronavirus but Education Minister Suresh Kumar has clarified that most students did not attend the examinations.   

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Bengaluru: NIMHANS staff protest against lack of insurance cover, isolation facility

Coronavirus

Workers demanded that NIMHANS set up a facility to house workers who test positive for novel coronavirus and are asymptomatic.

Soumya Chatterjee

Protests at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru on Monday exposed the alleged apathy faced by a section of frontline workers dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in the city. The protesters claimed that workers who tested positive for the novel coronavirus while on duty, were sent home without being given the option of institutional quarantine or quarantine in COVID Care Centres. They alleged that most of the workers do not have adequate space in their houses, to maintain physical distancing with their family. Hundreds of these workers, mostly housekeeping staff and hospital attenders, demanded Rs 50 lakh insurance as announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government. They said that it was only contract workers who were facing this ‘apathy’ as staff on the payroll were provided in-house quarantine facilities.  The protests were led by NIMHANS Pragatipara Workers' Union after the outsourced staff were allegedly threatened by the hospital registrar for asking for due protection (like masks and gloves) besides bathing/changing facilities. Members of the Pragatipara Workers' Union said that the administration’s apathy was encouraging the spread of the disease among families of its own workers. Basavaraj, General Secretary of the union, said, “Three of our colleagues have already got the infection and they have been told to isolate at home. We want the hospital to arrange 50 beds for us or else our families will get it (COVID-19) too. When we approach the authorities, they tell us to go to NIMAHNS only, but the management at the hospital tells us that they have no responsibility as we are contract workers.” He added, “We are also required to wear PPE (personal protective equipment) kits but we are not being allowed to bathe within the facility. It’s risky to go home without taking a bath after working in the hospital all day. We do not know what to do. Aren’t we humans too?”    Reacting to the protests, the hospital registrar has now said that the administration will arrange such facilities as demanded by the workers. The strike was withdrawn subsequently. But union leaders claimed that they are now facing the threat of premature termination of their contracts. An official at NIMHANS said that a statement will be issued formally by the administration on the protests.  On the condition of anonymity, he said, “As of today, we are not treating COVID-19 patients unless they need critical psychiatric care. So neither our own staff or contract staff can be treated in our facility. And regarding quarantine facilities for the workers, we are in the process of setting up a facility, so I don’t know why they protested today. I think workers were misled by union leaders.” 

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Dalit man, family beaten and sexually harassed allegedly for touching vehicle in K’taka

Crime

A video of the 28-year-old man being beaten by an angry mob went viral on social media.

Theja Ram

A man can be seen lying on the road, crying out in pain and surrounded by an angry crowd. A young man is beating him with a stick while the crowd eggs him on. This horrifying video was shot in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district, where a Dalit man and his family members were beaten brutally, allegedly for touching a car belonging to members of the Lingayat and Kuruba communities.  #India A dalit man assaulted for allegedly touching a scooter belonging to an upper caste man. FIR registered in local police station in #karnataka 1/2 FIR and complaint copy in the thread pic.twitter.com/ooKl7u3LLC — Kiran Parashar (@KiranParashar21) July 19, 2020 The angry mob did not spare his 26-year-old sister, whose clothes were torn. She was also allegedly sexually harassed in the middle of the road by the angry mob. On July 18, the 28-year-old man was walking along with his father from his residence located within the Talikoti Police Station limits. Both men are daily wage workers and were headed to a construction site near their home around 11 am. Speaking to TNM, the man’s father said that he walked ahead of his son and was about 200 metres away when he heard a commotion. When he turned back, he allegedly saw a group of five men beating his son. “I immediately went back and asked them what happened. The five men accused my son of touching their car. They said, ‘He touched our car and made it impure, now he should be taught a lesson’,” the 28-year-old man’s father, Venkatappa*, told TNM. By 11.30 am, around 15 to 20 people had gathered on the street, about 600 metres away from Venkatappa’s house, and were beating his son. Venkatappa says that he fell to their feet and begged them to leave his son alone. “One of the men there kicked me and started hurling abuses, saying I am from the lower caste. He said, ‘How dare you touch me and make me impure.’ They started beating both of us. They removed my son’s pants and started kicking him and hitting him with sticks,” Venkatappa alleged. Soon after, a crowd of around 50 people gathered around the father and son while they were being beaten. Venkatappa’s daughter and wife, who heard the commotion, rushed to the spot. His 26-year-old daughter begged the men to stop assaulting them, her father said. “Two men who were there just grabbed her. They tore her clothes and started kicking and beating her. When my wife tried to stop them, they beat her up too,” Venkatappa alleged. The men allegedly threatened to burn them alive and also warned them that they would not be able to live without the fear of being killed in the village. “They hurled vulgar abuses at us and they also abused my daughter and wife. They said they would not let us live in peace and that they would burn us alive. I just begged them to let me go. By 12 noon, the Talikoti Police Inspector came to the spot when some people informed him of the violence. He broke up the crowd and also took me and my family members to the hospital,” Venkatappa added. The Talikoti Police have registered an FIR against Mahantesh Devendrappa Basatti, Sharanagouda Biradar, Gurappa Sarjapure, Mahantesh Bagewadi, Manjunath Padavada, Ramesh Naikoodar, Umesh Niralagi, Muttappa Nagarala, Sangaagouda Madari, Nagesh Bagewadi, Sheekhu Hagaratagi, Manjunath Biradar and Erappa Nagarala. The FIR has been registered under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty of a woman), 504 (intentional insult with intent to breach peace), 506 (criminal intimidation)and 149 (unlawful assembly with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (Amendment) Act 2015. Talikoti Police told TNM that the accused are absconding and that they will be arrested soon. “Forty-eight police officers in Vijayapura have got COVID-19 and another 150 of them are in quarantine. We have a shortage of personnel to investigate cases. That’s why it is taking time. We have offered protection for the victim’s family and we expect to arrest the accused persons soon,” the Talikoti Police said.  *Names changed  

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No question of extending lockdown in Bengaluru: New BBMP Commissioner

Coronavirus

Manjunath Prasad’s clarification comes amid speculation that the lockdown would be extended by a fortnight in Bengaluru.

PTI

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Bengaluru civic body’s Commissioner, Manjunath Prasad clarified on Sunday that there is no question of extending the ongoing lockdown, which is set to end on July 22. Manjunath Prasad’s clarification came amid speculation that the lockdown would be extended for another fortnight in view of the increasing number of people contracting COVID-19. The government imposed a lockdown in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural and eight other districts in Karnataka on July 14. The lockdown ends at 5 am on July 22. "The Chief Minister has made it clear that the lockdown will not be extended for any reason, after Tuesday there will not be any lockdown. We will follow the government's orders. There is no question of lockdown," Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad told reporters here. His clarification comes as speculations were rife that the lockdown may be extended for 15 days, despite Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's statement to the contrary. Yediyurappa had on Friday said lockdown was not the solution for controlling COVID-19 and made it clear that there was no proposal before the government to extend it. Manjunath Prasad took over as the commissioner of the city civic body on Saturday evening. His predecessor B H Anil Kumar, along with city Mayor M Goutham Kumar, however, had favoured extension of lockdown. Ahead of the Chief Minister's statement, they had said that in their personal opinion lockdown for 15 days would be good, as that much time is required to break the chain. As of July 18 evening, cumulatively 59,652 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 1,240 deaths and 21,775 discharges. Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 29,621 infections. Out of 4,537 fresh cases reported on Saturday in the state, the district alone accounted for 2,125.  

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Sniffer dog runs 12 km, helps nab murder accused in Karnataka

Crime

The Karnataka Addl. Director General of Police felicitated Tunga for cracking the murder case with her exceptional sniffing traits.

IANS

Image for representation

A nine-year-old sniffer dog ran 12 kilometers at night to trace a murder accused, and helped the police arrest him in Karnataka's Davangere rural area, an official said on Sunday. Davangere is 260 km northwest of Bengaluru. "The Doberman Pinscher named Tunga ran 12 km non-stop from the crime spot at Basavapattana in the city, to a house at Kashipur in the Davangere rural area where the murder accused, Chethan, was hiding and helped us arrest him on July 17," Davangere Police Superintendent Hanumantha Rai told IANS on phone.  The accused Chethan is said to be 25 years old. “Chethan allegedly shot his friend Chandra Nayak dead with a stolen service revolver on July 10, over disagreements on how to share the bounty of gold ornaments, which they had recently stolen with two others. We took the female dog Tunga to the crime spot on July 16. She led the sleuths to the area where Chethan was hiding with two accomplices," Rai recalled. While trained sniffer dogs normally run four to five km from a crime spot, Tunga could track the accused who was 12 km away. When Tunga's handler (Head Constable Prakash) took her to the crime scene at 9.30 pm, she sniffed around and ran 12 km non-stop to Kashipur. She halted at a wine shop then went to a food joint. Then she stopped at a house nearby at 12.30 am. The prime accused (Chethan) was found in the house of his relative. He was arrested after he confessed to the theft and the murder. The police are on the hunt to trace Chethan's two accomplices who fled from the house they were hiding in. The Karnataka Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Amar Kumar Pandey felicitated Tunga on July 17 at a function in Davangere for cracking the murder case with her exceptional sniffing traits.

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Lockdown extended in Kalaburagi until July 27 due to rise in COVID-19 cases

Coronavirus

Kalaburagi presently has 926 COVID-19 patients under treatment.

TNM Staff

The Kalaburagi district administration has extended the lockdown by a week until July 27 following a surge in COVID-19 cases. The lockdown had earlier been imposed from July 14 until July 20. According to an order dated June 19, from the office of the deputy commission and district magistrate, Kalaburagi, the rising cases in the district has prompted the administration to take such a step. Kalaburagi reported 69 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, with 926 patients under treatment presently. The district has so far reported a total of 2743 COVID-19 cases so far. Bengaluru Urban district, which has been in lockdown since July 14, has reported 2156 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. There are currently 24,316 cases of coronavirus in the capital city. However, the Chief Minister of Karnataka has repeatedly said that they did not want to extend the week-long lockdown in Bengaluru beyond July 22. This despite the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city civic corporation, giving a submission to the government that a lockdown extension by a week would be necessary in the city, considering the rising cases and the large number of deaths attributed to coronavirus in Bengaluru. The government is expected to make an announcement regarding a lockdown extension in Bengaluru on Monday. The government and district administrations had put Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Dakshina Kannada and Kalaburagi districts under lockdown last week following a rise in cases of COVID-19. Karnataka has reported a total of 63,772 cases of COVID-19 in the state on Sunday. There are presently 39,370 active cases while 23,065 patients have recovered.

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2014 out of Bengaluru’s 6160 containment zones are in Bengaluru South

Coronavirus

Shanthala Nagara topped the list of wards that with 113 new cases reported on July 19.

TNM Staff

PTI

Bengaluru reported 2,156 new cases of COVID-19 on July 19. However, the number of active containment zones in the city has not increased in the past 24 hours and continues to be at 6,160. The War Room report of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike on July 19 shows that Bengaluru South has 2,014 active containment zones, followed by 1,056 in Bengaluru East, 976 in Bengaluru West, 733 in Bommanahalli, 405 in RR Nagara, 358 in Mahadevapura, 262 in Yelahanka and 103 in Dasarahalli. Forty-four wards in Bengaluru South, 41 wards in Bengaluru West, 30 in East Zone, 15 in Bommanahalli, 11 in Mahadevapura and eight wards in Yelahanka currently have over 50 active cases of coronavirus. In Bengaluru, as per the BBMP’s data, there are 7,746 streets where a COVID-19 positive case has been reported, 945 are apartment complexes with a COVID-19 case, 25 slums have COVID-19 cases and there is one hotel in Bengaluru which has been demarcated as a containment zone. Over the past ten days, Bengaluru East has reported 522 cases, Bengaluru South reported 491 cases, West Zone has reported 370, Bommanahalli 204 new cases, Mahadevapura 134, 140 in RR Nagara, 100 in Yelahanka and Dasarahalli has reported 31, as of July 19. Bengaluru East has reported 26% of the cases that were reported in the city in the past 24 hours, South has reported 25%, West 19%, Bommanahalli 10%, RR Nagara and Mahadevapura both contributed to 7% of the new cases, Yelahanka 5%, and Dasarahalli has 1% of the new cases in Bengaluru. Shantala Nagara topped the list of wards that reported more than 15 cases in the past 24 hours, with 113 new cases reported on July 19. On Sunday, July 19, 2,125 new cases took Bengaluru’s tally to 31,777 positive cases till date. The city also saw 36 deaths, taking the number of deaths in the city to 667. Bengaluru has 24,316 active COVID-19 cases. 6,793 people have recovered in the city till date. Karnataka saw 4,120 new cases on Sunday and 91 deaths were recorded across the state, taking the total number of positive cases to 63,772 and the total number of deaths to 1,331. 

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