Landslides, flooding due to heavy rain throw life out of gear in Karnataka

Karnataka Flood 2020

Incessant rains in north, coastal and interior parts of Karnataka have caused mayhem even as several districts have been issued red alert for the next one week.

TNM Staff

As rains continue to batter and cause mayhem in northern and coastal Karnataka, many parts of the state face the threat of being marooned, either due to flooding or because roads have been damaged due to the downpour. Many houses were submerged in places like Sringeri, Mudigere, Koppa, Kigga and also in parts of Kodagu, Shivamogga, Belagavi and Bellari. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has released Rs 50 crore for flood-relief related work in the state. He is currently being treated after testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Further, Rs 10,000 immediate relief has also been announced in the state for families affected by floods, and Rs 5 lakh for those whose houses have been damaged. As the state is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic as well, the chief minister has also instructed officials to make use of schools, colleges and public places to shelter those affected by rain and floods. Hostels and community halls in the state are being utilised as COVID Care centres. Electricity has been cut off for most of the day in districts like Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and Belagavi. As gusty winds have uprooted trees and electricity poles, officials are finding it difficult to continue power restoration without interruptions. Landslides were also seen in districts like Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru. The one in Kodagu happened in Brahmagiri Hills near Talacauvery and swept away two homes and left four persons missing. Visuals from the landslide near Talacauvery in Kodagu, Karnataka. Search efforts are underway to find four missing people - a local priest Narayana Achar and his family. pic.twitter.com/BwnSsjaUOy — Prajwal (@prajwalmanipal) August 6, 2020 Charmadi Ghat road – which connects Dakshina Kannada district with interior parts of Karnataka – has been blocked off for almost two days now as officials feared landslides with heavy rains continuing in the region. Sringeri-Mangalore highway was also closed after heavy rains caused flooding of the road. Bisle Ghat Hill too witnessed landslides, cutting off the only road to several villages beyond. Landslides caused temporary blockage of a tunnel section of the Konkan Railway at Pernem in Karwar. The state government had to open the gates of a dam in Uttara Kannada district to prevent flooding on the banks of the Kalinadi and Kadra rivers. Flood warning has been issued in Mysuru as well after 40,000 cusecs of water was released into the Cauvery river from the Kabini dam at Beechanahalli in HD Kote taluk. Crops have been destroyed in districts like Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Mysuru and Dakshina Kannada. Officials have been instructed by the chief minister to conduct a survey and assess the crop loss at the earliest. In districts like Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru, cash crop plantations too have been ravaged by the incessant rain and strong winds. There is a red alert in place in the coastal, central, and south interior parts of Karnataka, as the state braces for further rainfall for the remainder of this week.

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174 wards in Bengaluru have more than 140 COVID-19 patients, more recoveries in south zone

Coronavirus

The number of active containment zones declined by 267 on Thursday.

TNM Staff

The number of containment zones in Bengaluru declined by 267 on Thursday, with there being a total of 13,635 active containment zones in the city. Since the time the city started recording COVID-19 cases, a total of 26,339 containment zones have been identified till date, according to the bulletin released by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Thursday. Bengaluru South has the highest number of active containment zones with 2,796, followed by Bengaluru East at 2,656, and Bengaluru West at 2,349. In all the number of containment zones that have returned to normal status in the city is 12,704. The state capital saw 2,544 new cases on Thursday, with Bengaluru West accounting for 27% of cases, Bengaluru East 17%, Bommanahalli 17% and Bengaluru South 14%. RR Nagara has 8% of cases, Mahadevapura and Dasarahalli both had 6% and Yelahanka had 5%. Bengaluru South had the most number of recoveries, followed by east and west. Out of the 198 wards in Bengaluru, 174 have had over 140 cases. On Thursday, 54 wards reported between 11-30 cases, 27 reported 9-10 cases, 29 reported 7-8 cases, 31 have 5-6 cases, 33 have 3-4 cases and 20 have 1-2 cases, leaving only four wards with no new cases on Thursday. Karnataka on Thursday reported its biggest single-day spurt of 6,805 COVID-19 cases and 93 related fatalities, taking the infection count in the state to 1.58 lakh. The day also saw 5,602 patients getting discharged after recovery. As of August 6 evening, 2,897 have died and 80,281 have been discharged, the health department said in its bulletin. Fifteen out of 93 deaths reported on Thursday are from Bengaluru urban, followed by Dakshina Kannada 11, Dharwad and Davangere 8, Udupi (6), Ballari, Mysuru, Hassan and Kolar (4) and others. Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 67,425 infections, followed by Ballari 8,700 and Dakshina Kannada 6,710. With inputs from PTI

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RT-PCR tests in Karnataka drop significantly, experts question strategy

Coronavirus

Speaking to TNM, Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said that soon the state will expand RT-PCR tests again, but did not explain the current dip.

Soumya Chatterjee

Since the start of August, the number of RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) tests for the novel coronavirus in Karnataka have fallen significantly, well below the testing rate recommended by the state’s own high-level technical committee of expert doctors. According to the daily bulletins released by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the number of RT-PCR tests done between August 1 and August 5 are 14,500, 9,915, 12,970, 15,904 and 13685, respectively.  In comparison, the last five days of July saw a much higher number of RT-PCR tests between July 26 to July 31. The daily number of RT-PCR tests for the period were 17,607, 15,995, 21,380, 18,516 and 21,034 respectively.  Considering this, RT-PCR testing has decreased by 27,558 overall or roughly 5,112 tests per day in the first five days of August, compared to the last five days of July.   Incidentally, since the start of August, the number of antigen tests have gradually increased with the seemingly gradual decline in RT-PCR tests. While increase in antigen-based tests is welcomed by independent experts, the underutilisation of the RT-PCR testing infrastructure has been questioned by experts outside the state given its greater efficacy. As reported earlier, antigen tests are much cheaper and can give results within 30 minutes, as opposed to eight hours taken for RT-PCR testing; however, their efficacy is thought to be only 50%. Antigen tests also do not need to be used within a laboratory environment, nor do they pose a biosafety hazard. According to Delhi-based microbiologist Dr Navin Dang, this is a worrying phenomenon taking place across the country. “While ideally every negative result on an antigen kit should be confirmed by a RT-PCR test, this may not be practically possible to carry out due to numerous constraints. Often, people may be sceptical about giving their samples twice. I absolutely believe that all facilities for RT-PCR testing should be efficiently used, but I can understand the convenience of antigen-based kits. But the disadvantage of over-reliability will lead to more false negatives. This will not only lead to further increase of missing patients, but also spread of the disease,” he told TNM. Dr Jacob John, virologist and former professor at the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, said that he would be cautious to criticise the state government's decision on the issue but underscored the importance of RT-PCR tests.   “While there can be false negatives in RT-PCR tests too, it is essential in contact tracing exercise to test for pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic contacts of patients who have already tested positive,” he told TNM. Speaking to TNM, Dr CN Manjunath, member of Karnataka’s technical committee and the nodal officer for COVID-19 testing in the state, accepted that there is an issue of undertesting. He said that ideally, given the resources available, the state should do a minimum of 20,000 RT-PCR tests and 20,000 rapid antigen-based tests daily.  However, Dr Manjunath said that there should not be any significant issue of false negatives.  He reasoned, “If the rapid test shows a positive result, there is no need for confirmation. There is also no need to doubt negative results from asymptomatic persons also. Only if a symptomatic person tests negative, then we need to do a confirmatory test. So, for this, officials have been instructed to collect swab samples of such patients to avoid any doubts. This is the protocol that is being followed.” Govt response When asked why the RT-PCR tests have been significantly low in recent days, state Health Commissioner, Pankaj Kumar Pandey, told TNM, “Last few days we have increased the numbers again, and we will increase the daily testing further.” He, however, did not respond on why there is a drop in RT-PCR tests but denied paucity of adequate manpower or physical resources. State COVID-19 War Room-in-charge and senior IAS officer Munish Moudgil also failed to provide a reason for why the numbers have gone down.  He said, “The state government’s idea is to do maximum tests to detect patients early to prevent deaths by COVID-19. All with symptoms like fever, breathlessness, cough or sore throat are requested to get tested immediately.” He added, “Nothing should be read with the drop in numbers and efforts are on to increase the daily number of RT-PCR tests.”

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Bengaluru records 2544 new COVID-19 cases as Karnataka sees highest single-day spike

Coronavirus

The testing numbers in the state were slightly increased on Thursday after it was reported that 48421 tests were conducted.

TNM Staff

Karnataka reported 6,805 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, of which 2,544 new cases were reported in Bengaluru. This is the highest number of cases reported in Karnataka in a single day. This took the state's tally of COVID-19 cases to over 1.58 lakh of which 67,425 cases were recorded in Bengaluru.  The testing numbers in the state were slightly increased on Thursday after it was reported that 48,421 tests were conducted over 24 hours. This included 27,930 rapid antigen tests and 20,491 RT-PCR tests to detect the virus.  With 5,602 more recoveries, total recoveries in the state rose to 80,281, and this is higher than all active cases, which currently stand at 75,063. As always, Bengaluru registered the highest number of cases with 2,544 infections, increasing the city's tally to 67,427, out of which 32,314 are still active. Among other places, Ballari accounted for 431 infections, followed by Mysuru (361), Shivamogga (292), Belagavi (229), Udupi (217), Dharwad (212), Davangere (197) and Kalaburagi (196). Meanwhile, 93 more patients succumbed to the virus, raising the statewide toll to 2,897. Fifteen out of 93 deaths reported on Thursday are from Bengaluru urban, followed by Dakshina Kannada (11), Dharwad and Davangere (8), Udupi (6), Ballari, Mysuru, Hassan and Kolar (4) and others. Most of the deceased are those either with a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI). Of the 1.58 lakh cases, active cases breached the 75,000 mark to stand at 75,068. A total of 15.81 lakh samples have been tested so far in the state. /

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K’taka Minister says Kashi, Mathura to be ‘liberated,’ Congress demands his removal

Politics

Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa made the statement while reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

PTI

The Congress on Thursday demanded the removal of Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa from the state Cabinet and asked that he be arrested for his statement that grand Krishna and Vishwanath temples would come up in Mathura and Kashi respectively after 'liberating' them. Eshwarappa had made the statement while reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday.  "By asking kar sevaks (volunteers) to launch a similar campaign, the minister (Eshwarappa) is trying to disturb peace in the society," Congress Karnataka unit chief DK Shivakumar said at a press conference in Ballari on Thursday. "Such people should be arrested immediately, police officials should register a case against him and the Chief Minister should remove him from the cabinet," he said. Karnataka Minister Eshwarappa had said on Wednesday that he was of the firm opinion that, "if not today, or tomorrow, Mathura and Kashi temples will be liberated and grand temples would be built there." He was addressing reporters in Shivamogga district. Eshwarappa, a former BJP state president, claimed the centres of Hindu belief, Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura were a kind of a symbol of 'slavery' as "temples of our Rama, Krishna and Vishwanath were destroyed and mosques built." Stating that Eshwarappa is not an individual but a minister who represents the government, Shivakumar on Thursday sought to know from the Chief Minister whether this was his government's stand. Shivakumar, who is a former minister, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to uphold the country's secular values, which has been "dented" by a minister's statement that can cause communal disturbance. "I want you (Modi) to instruct the Chief Minister to sack him immediately and to file a criminal case (against Eshwarappa)," Shivakumar said.  

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CM Yediyurappa announces Rs 10k immediate relief to families affected by heavy rains

Weather

The decision comes at a time a red alert was sounded in six Karnataka districts - Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, and Hassan.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka government would provide Rs 10,000 immediate relief to families affected by heavy rains and flooding in districts across coastal, central and southern areas of the state, an official said on Thursday. "Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has directed all the Deputy Commissioners in the rain-cum-flood-hit districts to provide Rs 10,000 interim relief to the affected families and Rs 5 lakh to those whose houses were completely damaged in the natural disaster," a Revenue Department official said. The decision comes at a time a red alert was sounded in six Karnataka districts — Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, and Hassan. The residents in the districts in the coastal and Malnad region of the state braced themselves for more rainfall over the weekend. As the south-west monsoon advanced and intensified, heavy and widespread rains with gusty winds have been lashing 12 of the 30 districts across the state, wreaking havoc and disrupting normal life due to flooding, landslides, lakes and ponds overflowing, and rivers and their tributaries in the spate. "The Chief Minister also instructed the officials to make use of schools, colleges and public places as relief centres to shelter the rain-cum-flood-hit families, as hostels and community halls have been converted into Covid care centres in the affected districts," said an official. The affected districts have also been advised to conduct a survey of crop loss suffered by farmers for compensation under the centrally-sponsored Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the Weather Based Crop Insurance Schemes. Deputy Commissioners have been told to take preventive measures to protect and provide relief to the people from heavy rains, floods and landslides in the affected districts. "Yediyurappa also directed ministers in-charge of the districts to remain in their constituency and visit the affected areas to assess the damage caused by the rains and flash floods for compensation and relief aid," noted the official. The Chief Minister on Wednesday announced Rs 50 crore for rescue and relief operations in the affected districts across the state. "Bagamandala in Kodagu district where Cauvery river springs near Talakaveri received a whopping 486 mm rain during the last 24 hours, causing flash floods and disrupting normal life as offices, shops and eateries remained shut and public transport was affected," added the official. The water-level in Cauvery and Lakshmanatheertha is flowing at high level while the Sayi layout and Kuvempu layout Kushalnagar is inundated and the affected residents were shifted to safer locations. 

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Karnataka politicians openly flout physical distancing rules, refuse to wear masks

Cutting across party lines, politicians are ignoring precautionary measures despite the CM and former CM having tested positive for COVID-19

Pooja Prasanna

Despite the rising numbers of COVID-19 positive cases in Karnataka, politicians in the state seem to not take precautionary measures-like wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing- seriously enough. Pictures of politicians, from across the political spectrum, interacting with their partymen and supporters without masks and in visible violation of physical distancing has led to allegations of hypocrisy and irresponsibility. TNM had earlier reported how contact tracing for the Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, both of whom have tested positive for COVID-19, has proven to be an uphill task as they had taken part in several public programmes the week preceding their tests. No lessons seem to have been learnt by other politicians in the state. KPCC president DK Shivakumar too has been caught several times without a mask or with his mask on his chin. On Thursday, Shivakumar was snapped at the wedding of Bellari district president of Congress, GS Anjaneyalu. On Wednesday, the Congress leader distributed ‘Arogya Hasta’ testing and protection kits. In both these events, Shivakumar was seen not wearing a mask, with party leaders and workers huddling around him.  On Wednesday, after the foundation stone for Ram Mandir was laid in Ayodhya, Bengaluru South member of parliament, Tejasvi Surya held several victory processions and gave speeches across his constituency. Tejasvi was seen not wearing a mask in most of the pictures and videos released and also brazenly flouted physical distancing with several packed around him to listen to his speech. “On one hand we have government departments releasing PSAs asking people to wear masks and on other hand we have legislators who frame these rules, openly flouting them. Common people are paying a fine for not wearing a mask. Are politicians above law?” questions Sushma Mahabala, Program Lead, B.PAC. While both government and opposition party leaders have been urging the people to take precautionary measures to shield themselves against COVID-19, they have clearly failed to lead by example.  “Politicians across party lines are ignoring physical distancing and basic rules about masks.This is irresponsible as this also sets a bad example in addition to causing spread.” said Vinay Sreenivasa, senior advocate and social worker.  In the Unlock 3.0 guidelines issued by the Karnataka government,  permission for most sectors to open have been issued, leading to life almost returning to normal in the state, except in Containment Zones.   

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