Bengaluru railway station installs vending machines for masks, hand sanitisers

Railways

The vending machine is available for the public at certain points in the KSR (Majestic) Railway station in the city.

IANS

In a fresh new initiative, the South Western Railways (SWR) Bengaluru division has started to sell masks, hand sanitisers and personal protective equipment (PPE) kit through vending machines. The vending machines will be available to help passengers ward off coronavirus at Bengaluru’s main city station, an official said on Monday. "In its continued efforts to ensure COVID-19 free, and safe journeys for the passengers, the Bengaluru Division of SWR on Monday formally inaugurated two vending machines for masks, sanitisers and other PPE kits at the KSR Bengaluru station," a railway zone official told IANS. Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna railway station, or Majestic/City railway station as it is popularly known, is the main railway station in Bengaluru. One machine has been set up on platform number one and the second one at platform number eight, the second entry point of the station. In total, the division is setting up five such contactless vending machines in the tech city with two more set to come up at the Yeshwantpur and Bengaluru Cantonment railways stations. However, the vending machines will not accept cash, but only online payments, officials noted. "Passengers can easily procure masks of different kinds, sanitisers of different quantities, gloves and other products from the machines at reasonable rates through contactless payment modes like Google Pay, Paytm and others," said the official.   Today at Bengaluru station we commissioned a contactless mask and sanitiser dispensing unit for the benefit of passengers. The machine accept only digital mode of payment and no cash is allowed. ⁦@PiyushGoyal⁩ ⁦@PiyushGoyalOffc⁩ ⁦@RailMinIndia⁩ pic.twitter.com/TdekbETK7b — DRM Bengaluru (@drmsbc) July 27, 2020   The vending machines are part of a pilot project under the New Innovative Non-fare Idea Scheme (NINFRIS) of the Indian Railways. The Railways has entered into a contract with the TC2 Lab India for setting up the vending machines and for their maintenance. Similarly, the Bengaluru division has also planned even more COVID-19 combatting initiatives such as baggage sanitisation, take-away bedrolls and spit container vending machines, among others. Meanwhile, at the Mysuru station, the railway zone has repaired and reinstalled an old vintage clock on platform number one after undertaking great efforts. "Mysuru station is one of the oldest stations in SWR and all efforts are being taken to maintain the heritage items of the station during redevelopment works," the official said.

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1,267 containment zones in Bengaluru are apartment complexes

Coronavirus

Of the patients who tested positive on Monday, the highest were between the ages of 30 and 39.

TNM Staff

Image for representation/PTI

A total of 12,325 active containment zones were reported by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Monday. This has come down from 12,459 reported on Sunday. With this, there are a total of 16,005 containment zones in BBMP, of which the most number of containment zones are in Bengaluru South. Bengaluru South has 3,935 active containment zones, followed by Bengaluru East at 2,256, Bengaluru West at 1,770 and Bommanahalli at 1,548. RR Nagar has 1,124 active containment zones, followed by Mahadevapura at 937, Yelahanka at 437 and Dasarahalli at 318. Of the total containment zones, 1,267 are apartment complexes — where the floor which has the residence of COVID-19 positive person, and an immediate floor above and below respectively is the containment zone. 13,276 of the total containment zones are streets where a case has been found. On Monday, 1,470 new cases were reported in BBMP limits. Most of the new cases were patients between the ages of 30 and 39 (217 men and 87 women) and 40-49 (201 men and 95 women). The 30-39 bracket also saw the most number of recoveries at 109 men and 71 women out of a total of 784 recoveries. The most number of positive cases on Monday were reported from Bengaluru South, followed by Bengaluru East, Bengaluru West, Bommanahalli, Mahadevpura, RR Nagar, Yelahanka and Dasarahalli.  Map showing the spread of active cases since the beginning in BBMP COVID-19 cases in Karnataka breached the one lakh mark on Monday, as the state reported the biggest single-day spike of 5,324 new infections and 75 fatalities, taking the death toll to 1,953.The day also saw 1,847 patients getting discharged after recovery. Out of 5,324 fresh cases reported on Monday, 1,470 were from Bengaluru urban alone. Twenty six out of 75 deaths reported were from Bengaluru Urban. Bengaluru urban district topped the list of cases with a total of 46,923 infections and a total of 12,189 discharges. 

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'Patient asymptomatic, but no discharge': Bengaluru hospitals accused of swindling

Coronavirus

Dr Om Prakash Patil, Director at Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services (state health department) confirmed that the department has received such complaints.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational image/PTI

Deepak*, a  32-year-old resident of Mahadevapura on July 18 developed a breathing problem and high temperature. As his job involves going from door-to-door, he feared that he had contracted the novel coronavirus, so he got himself tested the next day. Within two days, he got the test result and it came back positive. Fearing that his condition would worsen, he was admitted to a private hospital in Goraguntepalya on July 22. He was admitted even though his oxygen saturation level (SpO2) was at 92. Jagadeesh, a relative of the patient said, “It was me who suggested to him to get tested as he said he had lost his sense of taste. But even before his test results came back he was fine and back to normal. The BBMP suggested that we visit the government hospital to get a formal medical opinion. But my brother-in-law suggested that we go to a private establishment, so we decided to go there as all other hospitals we called said they were not available.” “Even the attendees at the hospital said that since his blood oxygen saturation level is good, he won’t need hospitalisation. But the doctor saw him and prescribed admission and now we are being charged Rs 22,000 per day in a 9-person ward. They are not discharging him even though BBMP officials told them to move him to a quarantine facility,” he added. Jagadesh fears that even though Deepak is fine, staying in a nine-bed ward puts him at a higher risk of cross infection. He further said, “We have asked the hospital to at least shift him to a normal bed as it is draining us financially.” When asked about the incident, Suhas, a nodal officer who is involved in ensuring implementation of government rates in hospitals, said that he would look into the matter. This incident comes even as Bengaluru is facing a shortage of hospital beds, high flow oxygen and ventilators in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this is not the only instance that TNM has learnt about where private hospitals did not want to allow asymptomatic patients to be shifted into a COVID Care Centre (CCC) or go into home isolation, despite government orders. In fact, incidents of private hospitals forcefully charging exorbitant rates in the name of COVID-19 treatment, without the patients getting a lab report confirming the same, have also come to light. Another such instance was reported from the northern Yelahanka zone in the city, where a family of three; a 53-year-old man, his wife and daughter, were admitted to a private hospital after consulting with local Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials. The family was admitted to a private hospital on Ballari Road and were charged Rs 30,000 collectively per day and given a single room for two weeks. While the man was symptomatic, his wife and child were asymptomatic, the family says, adding that the hospital did not discharge them for 10 days despite this. The family was admitted on June 22 and was discharged only on July 4. While the man had received a COVID-19 positive report, the wife and the child never got a formal report or even an SMS from the lab or the BBMP. “After two or three days, none of them showed any symptoms and they asked if they could be isolated at home. The hospital’s management did not allow them to do so, though they were not being administered any medicines. The mother and the child never got their report, so till today, we do not know if they ever contracted the virus,” Om Prakash Reddy, a close relative of the family, said. The family says that BBMP officials were of not much help either, despite multiple complaints. “There was also discrepancy in the BU (Bangalore Urban serial number allotted to positive patients) number as shown by the hospital and the government website. We did not get any clarity,” Om Prakash said. “This had caused them a lot of mental hardship and till date, we have not been given any relief," he added. While officials say that priority should be given to freeing hospital beds for symptomatic patients who need timely medical observation, such decisions by private hospitals are also in violation of a government circular issued on June 23. In another instance, a 54-year-old man who is an asthma patient had breathing difficulties on July 22 and was admitted to a private hospital on the same day. The hospital conducted a rapid antigen test which came back negative. By July 24, his family says that he felt fine and did not want to stay in the hospital any longer. "That is when the hospital told us that he has COVID-19. We asked them how they could say that. In fact, his wife is a doctor and asked why they did not do an RT-PCR test. On the next day, an RT-PCR test was conducted on him, which came back negative on July 26. He was finally discharged on Monday (July 27) morning and was billed Rs 4 lakh," a relative told TNM requesting anonymity. Dr Om Prakash Patil, Director at Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services (state health department) confirmed that the department has received complaints regarding such instances and is reviewing them. He declined to name hospitals which had allegations against them.

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Cong leaders detained in Bengaluru during protest on Rajasthan political crisis

Protest

Congress leaders then staged a dharna at the place where they were stopped. They were released later.

PTI

Several state Congress leaders, including its President DK Shivakumar, were detained by Bengaluru police on Monday as they tried to march towards Raj Bhavan to protest the alleged attempts by BJP to topple the party's government in Rajasthan. Shivakumar, along with Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, state Congress Working President Eshwar Khandre and Salim Ahmed, among others, were stopped by the police midway as they marched from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office on Queens Road towards Raj Bhavan. Congress leaders then staged a dharna at the place where they were stopped. Addressing the gathering, Shivakumar accused the BJP of trying to "murder" democracy by destabilising and removing elected governments. "We wanted to protest against it and submit a memorandum to the President through the Governor, but the Karnataka government, by using police, was not letting us proceed towards Raj Bhavan,” he said. "Despite being a peaceful protest, the police stopped us," he added. Siddaramaiah, echoing a similar view, said peaceful protests against injustice was the right of every citizen. Alleging that the BJP was attempting to destabilise and remove the elected government in Rajasthan as it did in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, he said the Governor's office in Rajasthan was being 'misused' He said that despite repeated appeals by the Rajasthan cabinet, the Governor there had not convened the Assembly session, for the floor test to take place and for the Congress to prove its majority.  The crisis in Rajasthan politics started on July 12 when about 19 MLAs allegedly flew to Delhi following disputes between rival factions of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee. Former Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot claimed he had the support of about 30 MLAs and could topple the Ashok Gehlot-led government in the state. Police subsequently detained Shivakumar and some other Congress leaders and took them to a nearby police station. They were later released. Meanwhile, as the Congress' protest amid COVID-19 pandemic did not follow social distancing norms, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar hit out at that party's leaders.  In a tweet, Sudhakar said, for Congress leaders getting publicity was more important than social concerns.  

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Discontent in Karnataka BJP after MLAs appointed as heads of boards and corporations

Politics

Soon after the list of appointments was out, several legislators expressed their displeasure openly to the media.

TNM Staff

BS Yediyurappa

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's move on Monday to appoint 24 BJP legislators as heads of various boards and corporations led to some openly voicing their displeasure as they viewed it as an end to their ministerial aspirations. The Chief Minister's decision to appoint the MLAs to boards and corporations on completion of the ruling BJP's one year in office was seen as a move to placate them ahead of possible cabinet expansion next month. Soon after the list of appointments was out, several legislators expressed their displeasure openly to the media. Senior party MLA from Chitradurga, G H Thippareddy, who was appointed to the Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Development Corporation, termed it as an "insult". "...I got to know through the media that I have been given a board chairman post...it is not happy news to me. If I have to tell you frankly, it is an insult to me. I will see what the party decides for me," Thippareddy said. Thippareddy pointed out that he had headed the Housing Board way back in 1998 and was at a loss to understand on what basis this decision had been taken. "It is the Chief Minister's discretion.. I will work for the constituency. It looks like being in politics for 40-50 years and being a six time MLA is the only accomplishment," he said sarcastically. Those appointed as heads of boards and corporations include senior MLA Araga Jnanendra to the Karnataka Housing Board, M Chandrappa to Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, Narasimha Nayak to Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, M P Kumaraswamy to Karnataka Market Consultants & Agencies Ltd, among others. Questioned about his appointment, another BJP MLA M P Kumaraswamy from Mudigere, said he would not accept any board or corporation post and would work for the constituency. Hassan MLA Preetham Gowda, while thanking Yediyurappa for appointing him to the Jungle Lodges and Resort Limited, requested him to give the post to someone who wants to be head of a board or corporation. MLAs like Siddu Savadi, Dattatraya Patil Revoor, Neharu Olekar, among others, appointed to boards and corporations, have reportedly decided to meet Yediyurappa. As the voices of discontent came out in the open, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan said the Chief Minister would look into it. "Each one (MLAs) will have different expectations. CM will look into it and resolve it by giving (positions) appropriately," he said. The Chief Minister, later in the day, withdrew the appointment of Thippareddy, who had expressed strong discontent. Three other names were also dropped at the end of Monday. They include Paranna Eshwarappa Munavalli, who was appointed to Karnataka State Financial Corporation, Lalaji R Mendon- who was appointed to Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission and Basavaraj Dadesugur to Karnataka State Social Welfare Board. While Mendon's appointment is said to have been withdrawn for technical reasons, the reasons for the other two are not yet clear. Speculation is rife that Yediyurappa is looking to expand his cabinet in August, and there are too many aspirants for him to manage. While several of the old guard are waiting for a chance to be inducted into the Ministry, those who defected and joined BJP last year like A H Vishwanath, R Shankar and MTB Nagaraj, are now BJP MLCs and are also aspiring for berths. The cabinet currently has 28 members and six berths are still vacant. With PTI Inputs

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As Bengaluru’s Chickpet market opens, shops witness less than 25% of the business

Coronavirus

The market was closed last month following an alarming spike in cases in the area.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

SRIDHARSOLUR ON TWITTER

After the seal down was lifted in Chickpet area by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike(BBMP) following an alarming number of cases in the area, it was reopened after a gap of over a month. TNM spoke to traders of Bengaluru’s central city market on how the lifting of the temporary ban and the new restrictions imposed has impacted business. Praveen Kumar Doshi, the Vice President of the Electrical Merchant’s association in Chickpet market expressed relief to be back in business following the ease in the lockdown over the Chickpet market area. Though the president of the association, D Kothilal, was hospitalised after contracting the virus, Praveen says that he thinks that there is not much risk if all the guidelines are followed. “We are happy to follow all the guidelines of the government of India including distancing and wearing masks. If there are additional guidelines from BBMP, we will be happy to follow them,” he says. “Without doing our business, how long will we survive? If there are no sales then the economy will keep getting worse. We are very happy to be able to go back to work,” Praveen adds.  Chickpet market is a hub for several kinds of businesses and markets, from jewellery, clothes, electrical appliances to fresh fruit and vegetables. However, after reports that many cases were being reported in the area, the market was closed on . Read: Bengaluru’s Chickpet shopping district to close for a week as COVID-19 cases rise Prakash Pirgal, the president of the Chickpet Wholesale Cloth Merchants’ Association said that many shops were opened on Wednesday, however shoppers are yet to return to the area. “We haven’t seen much footfall. We think that demand will take time to revive. During this time, we usually witness frenzied business because of the upcoming Varamahalakshmi festival which is celebrated in a big fashion in the state but we are seeing only about 25 percent of the usual footfall.” Prakash added that “There are about 3,500 cloth shops in the area which do wholesale business  with other states, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala, but the buyers are finding it hard to come because of the various restrictions including requirement of an e-pass. We usually do business within Karnataka as well, with people from places like Davangere and other districts but they find it difficult to come ahead of the festival in the current situation. We feel that until the vaccine comes, things will be bad as people continue to take precautions.” However, not all areas in Chickpet have been permitted to open, as CK Janardhan, President of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce (FKCCI), notes. “We have spoken to the Chief Minister and told him that If they don’t open the market, the entire state will come to a standstill, because this is where the entire state gets its engineering and computer spare parts.” “The Chief Secretary has passed an order (to open the market completely) on Saturday. Still, large surrounding areas of Chickpet have not been opened: JC road, Cottonpet, parts of Avenue road and SP road are not open, though we have been informed that it would take place on Monday. We were given the guidelines that the entire market will not open, but only one side of the market will be open on alternate days. No residents live there as it is a commercial area. However, the BBMP Commissioner has not yet passed an order and we are awaiting this. We don’t know what the delay is because of.” 

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Karnataka breaches 1-lakh mark with 5324 new COVID-19 cases

Coronavirus

Karnataka recorded 75 deaths due to COVID-19 on Monday.

TNM Staff

PTI : Image for representation

The Karnataka government's medical bulletin on Monday reported 5,734 new cases of COVID-19, taking the total active cases in the state to a new record high of 61,819.   Karnataka has now crossed one lakh reported cases of the disease since the first case on March 8. So far, Karnataka has reported 1,01,465 cases of COVID-19 in the state. The bulletin noted that there were 1,847 new discharges in the state, taking the total recovered patients in the state to 37,685. Most of the discharges were in Bengaluru, with 794 recoveries reported. Raichur reported 142 recoveries. Unfortunately, 75 succumbed to the virus on Monday, taking the total death toll in the state to 1,953. State capital Bengaluru reported 26 of these deaths, with nine deaths in Dakshina Kannada, eight deaths in Dharwad, and six deaths being reported in Belagavi district.  The maximum number of COVID-19 cases were reported in Bengaluru. A total of 1,470 cases were reported in the city, taking the total active cases in the city to 33,816. So far, Bengaluru Urban has reported 46,923 cases of coronavirus. Ballari has witnessed a surge in cases, reporting 840 cases on Monday. There are currently 3,258 active cases in the district. Kalaburagi has likewise reported a high case load, with 631 cases of coronavirus, taking the total active cases in the district to 2,158. Other districts have reported less than 300 cases. Mysuru (296), Udupi (225), Dharwad (193) and Belagavi (155) reported over 100 COVID-19 cases while Kolar district reported 142 new cases, taking the total active cases in the district to 673.  Bengaluru Rural reported 138 new COVID-19 cases, Raichur reported 120 cases, Dakshina Kannada reported 119 cases, and Vijayapura and Davangere reported 110 cases each. Rest of the districts reported less than 100 cases on Monday. There are currently 598 people in the state battling for their lives in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Most of these patients are in Bengaluru Urban, with 329 patients on ventilators. The state reported that 9,708 Rapid Antigen detection tests were conducted on Monday, with 18,516 RT PCR tests being undertaken as well. A total of 28,224 tests were undertaken in the state on Monday.  

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