Bengaluru reports 1898 new cases, death toll in state crosses 2000

Coronavirus

This takes the total active cases in Karnataka to 64,434 cases, and the total reported cases so far to 1,07,001 cases.

TNM Staff

Representational image/ PTI

The Karnataka state health department reported 5,536 new cases of coronavirus in the state, out of which 1,898 have been from Bengaluru city alone. This takes the total active cases in the state to 64,434 cases, and the total reported cases in the state to 1,07,001 cases. Meanwhile, among other districts, Ballari reported 452 new cases, while Kalaburagi saw 283 more people testing positive. Kalaburagi reported 283 cases, Balagavi reported 228, Mysuru reported 220 new cases in the district. Kolara has been seeing an increase in cases with 174 new cases in the district. Dakshina Kannada and Dharwada reported 173 new cases each, while Vijayapura 153 new cases. Other districts reported that there were less than 150 new cases each. The state has also reported that there were 2,819 discharges from the state on Tuesday. This takes the total recoveries in the state so far to 40,504 cases. Bengaluru reported the most number of discharges with 572 discharges, followed by Ballari with 529 people who were discharged. Vijayapura reported that 201 people have recovered, Dakshina Kannada reported 200 recoveries and Chikkaballapur reported that 152 patients were discharged. A total of 102 people succumbed to COVID-19 on Tuesday, taking the total death toll in Karnataka to COVID-19 to 2,055 deaths. Bengaluru reported that there were 40 deaths reported in the city on this day, while Mysuru reported 8 deaths, Udupi 7 deaths, Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Dharwad each reported 6 deaths. Hassan reported five deaths. Karnataka reported that there are currently 612 patients who are admitted to the ICU (intensive care unit). Bengaluru reported the most people in the ICU, with 331 people on ventilators. Dharwad reported the second-highest, with 34 people on ventilators. Meanwhile, the state reported that the testing data to be as follows: 16,340 rapid antigen detection tests were conducted, and 21,380 RT-PCR tests were conducted on this date. This means that 37,720 tests were conducted across the state.

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Kannada actor Sudharani alleges Bengaluru pvt hospital refused admission to niece

Coronavirus

Medical Edu Minister Dr Sudhakar has said action will be taken against the pvt hospital.

TNM Staff

Yet another allegation of denial of treatment by a private hospital in Bengaluru has come to light in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This time, the issue has gained greater prominence with Kannada actor Sudharani  forced to face such an issue. The actor has alleged that she had reached Apollo Hospitals in Yeshwanthpur on Monday night with her niece as she was suffering from pain related to urinary infection. Speaking to TNM, the actor said she was forced to take her niece to another private hospital due to lack of adequate medical care given by the hospital. The hospital had denied her admission allegedly on account of not having beds and ventilators. Once she was denied admission by the hospital, she resorted to calling Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao for his intervention. The actor’s niece was given some attention only at the insistence of the city’s police chief at around 11 pm, one hour after she had reached the hospital.  Speaking to TNM, Sudharani said, “After the Commissioner intervened they provided first aid but did not provide her with adequate medical attention. Even without properly listening to her complaints, they kept repeating that they don’t have ventilators and beds.” She added, “So I had to shift her to MS Ramaiah Hospital and she is doing fine now and is likely to be discharged tomorrow. Without even glancing at the patient, they (Apollo) were telling us there are no beds.”  A video of her speaking to reporters on this issue had gone viral. Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar also took note of the incident and he warned private hospitals of  strict action if they don’t comply with government orders. He said that he has come to know of reports of the actor facing the unfortunate situation. The minister said that not only the actor but no one should face such a situation. He assured that disciplinary action will be taken against the hospital. A spokesperson of Apollo Hospitals said that they will issue a statement in this regard only on Wednesday morning.

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Tipu Sultan, Constitution chapters removed from Class 11 books, Congress criticises move

Education

While Congress accused the BJP of trying to rewrite history, the BJP defended the move saying accusations were levelled with mischievous intentions.

Pooja Prasanna

Though the tug-of-war between the BJP and Congress over Tipu Sultan in Karnataka is not new, the two political parties have once again locked horns over the former ruler of Mysore. This time, after chapters pertaining to Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali, Prophet Mohammed and the Constitution were omitted from textbooks of Class 11 students.  With schools being closed in view of the pandemic, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) decided to abbreviate the syllabi of schools. Under the premise that schools would reopen on September 1 across Karnataka, a 30% cut was recommended, with the deleted chapters substituted through assignments.  Deletion of particular chapters in Social Studies textbooks relating to history of Mysuru during the time of Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali, as well as the Constitution, Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ, amongst others, gave way to Opposition parties and sections of civil society accusing the BJP government of furthering their ideological agenda through these cuts.  Karnataka Congress Chief and former minister DK Shivakumar said, “The BJP government in Karnataka is looking at everything in a political light. They want to make their personal agenda replace history. This can’t be accepted. It’s up to them to accept or reject Tipu, Hyder Ali, Prophet Mohammad, or even the Constitution but they form our history. Already, whatever Tipu has done has been reiterated by the President of India in a joint session.” Shivakumar further emphasised that the Congress will take this up with the Karnataka government. “The draft committee is trying to change the curriculum and textbooks should be debated. We will take this up very seriously. I will set up a committee to look into this. You (BJP) may not accept the Constitution but it is not for the Karnataka government to change.” But the BJP defended their government’s move, claiming that there was no political agenda and the deletion is only temporary. Speaking to TNM, BJP spokesperson S Prakash said, “In view of the COVID crisis, the academic curriculum has been curtailed. So the Department of State Education Research and Training (DSERT) has recommended a 30% cut in the syllabus. The chapters related to Tipu Sultan are being continued for Class 7 and 10 and are being discontinued only for Class 11 as recommended by the technical committee; it has been deleted temporarily. The charge that it has been deleted deliberately is far from the truth and is being made with a mischievous intention.” 

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Dakshina Kannada DC Sindhu Rupesh among IAS officers reshuffled in Karnataka

Administration

Sindhu Rupesh has been replaced by Rajendra KV less than a year after she took charge as Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada.

TNM Staff

Sindhu Rupesh

The Karnataka government on Monday shuffled a number of IAS officers, including Sindhu Rupesh, the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district. The decision comes at a time when the Dakshina Kannada district is grappling with 2,672 active COVID-19 cases after it reported 119 new cases on Monday. Hours before her transfer, Sindhu Rupesh had received a death threat. A WhatsApp user responded to a story on Sindhu Rupesh’s remarks about taking action on those assaulting cattle transporters. The user said that she “should be chopped first”. Dakshina Kannada police are investigating the comment. Sindhu Rupesh has been transferred to the position of Director, Electronic Delivery of Citizen Services (EDCS), DP&AR (E-Governance) less than a year after she took charge as DC of Dakshina Kannada in September 2019. She has been replaced by Rajendra KV, who leaves his post as Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Panchayat, Belagavi district. The changes come after Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa made changes in the civic leadership in Bengaluru. BH Anil Kumar was replaced as the BBMP Commissioner last week by Manjunath Prasad, who has served as BBMP Commissioner twice previously. Karnataka has reported over 1 lakh COVID-19 cases and is currently grappling with 61,819 active cases of which 33,816 are in the capital city of Bengaluru. Other transfers include R Vinoth Priya, DC of Chitradurga district, who will take over the position of Director, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Commerce and Industries department. She is replaced by Kavitha Mannikeri, Director of Personnel and Environment, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation. Patil Yalagouda Shivanagowda, the DC of Vijayapura district, has been transferred out and replaced by Pommala Sunil Kumar, who vacates his role as Special Officer (Finance and IT) in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Rajkumar Khatri was placed in concurrent charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Labour department, replacing Maheshwar Rao who had taken charge in May. Maheshwar had replaced IAS officer Manivannan in a sudden decision at a time when Karnataka diluted labour laws in the state. N Nagambika Devi has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary, Social Welfare department.

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Karnataka HC asks govt to reconsider holding K-CET on July 30-31

Court

The Karnataka High Court was hearing a plea filed by students as well as the NSUI, seeking directions to the government to postpone the exams amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

TNM Staff

PTI file image

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday asked the state government to reconsider its decision to conduct the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (K-CET) on July 30 and 31. The court was hearing a plea filed by students as well as the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, seeking directions to the government to postpone the exams amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 1.94 lakh have registered for the entrance examination scheduled to be held on July 30 and 31.  The Bench noted that though the petitioners had moved the court “at the 11th hour,” it is passing orders taking into consideration the rising number of cases in the state and many students may miss exams since public transport is not available.  “The State government has to immediately reconsider its decision of conducting KCET exam. There is a possibility of students missing out on the exam,” the division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Sandesh said, as per Bar and Bench. The court has asked the government to place its decision on record before the Bench by July 29, Tuesday, and asked the state government to look into the issues seriously. The court then adjourned the matter for further hearing to July 29.  Three writ petitions had been filed in the Karnataka High Court against the scheduled examination, one of which was filed by NSUI and students. The petitions had stated that conducting the exams would be “arbitrary and risky” in such “dreadful conditions.” The pleas had added that this would also lead to a violation of  Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution since many students living in containment zones were at risk of missing out the exams. COVID-19 cases in Karnataka on Monday breached the 1 lakh mark with 5,324 new cases being reported. Karnataka now has 1,01,465 cases, with 61,819 active cases. On Monday, Bengaluru saw 1,470 new cases, taking the number of active cases in the city to 33,816.

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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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