Active containment zones in Bengaluru dip to 13908, South zone has most at 2726

Coronavirus

The state registered 4,267 new cases in 24 hours, while 5,218 recovered persons were discharged from different hospitals in the same time period.

TNM Staff

Image for representation: PTI

Bengaluru saw a small dip in the number of active containment zones in the city as a media bulletin issued on Sunday pegged the figure at 13,908; down from 14,010 active zones reported in the previous bulletin by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The city has reported 28,896 containment zones in total, of which 14,988 have returned to normal. Bengaluru South has the highest number of active zones at 2,726, followed by Bengaluru East at 2,619. On Sunday, Bengaluru East had the highest number of active containment zones at 2,802, which means that it has seen close to 200 containment zones return to normal in a single day. Meanwhile, the BBMP bulletin stated that Bengaluru West had 2,349 active containment zones followed by Bommanahalli at 2,226, Mahadevapura at 1,378, RR Nagara at 1,205, Yelahanka at 762 and Dasarahalli at 643 The BBMP also said that Bengaluru South has seen 5,058 zones return to normal, followed by Bengaluru East at 3,469 and Bengaluru West at 2,279.  Meanwhile, the number of recovered COVID-19 patients exceeded the tally of new cases in Karnataka for the first time on Monday, health officials said. The state registered 4,267 new cases in a 24-hour period, while 5,218 recovered persons were discharged from different hospitals in the same time period, said Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey. Incidentally, the state on Monday witnessed fewer cases as compared to the usual daily average of 5,000 cases. Similarly, Bengaluru also reported fewer cases at 1,243 as compared to its daily average of more than 2,000 cases. With the new cases, the city's COVID-19 tally rose to 75,428, out of which 32,985 are active cases. In another development on Monday, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa was discharged from the hospital after undergoing treatment for COVID-19 and will go into home quarantine. "Thank you everyone for your wishes and prayers. I have been discharged from the hospital and will be in self-quarantine," said Yediyurappa. After his discharge, the Chief Minister was seen walking out of the hospital.  According to the health bulletins shared by his doctors, the 77-year-old leader responded well to the treatment and his vital health indicators were normal during his stay at the hospital and also at the time of discharge.

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Daughters of missing Talacauvery priest quarantined after their driver gets COVID-19

Coronavirus

Their father Narayana Achar, the chief priest of the Talacauvery temple has been missing since a landslide struck their home last week.

TNM Staff

The two daughters of the missing priest of the Talacauvery temple were quarantined upon their arrival in India after their driver who ferried them from the airport to their home in Kodagu tested positive for the coronavirus. Their father Narayana Achar, the chief priest of the Talacauvery temple has been missing since a landslide struck their home last week.  Five people were missing following the landslide and the body of one person — Anandatheertha Swami, the administrator of the Talacauvery temple and Narayana's brother — has been found.  Read: Anandatheertha Swami, who died in Kodagu landslide, was devoted to river Cauvery The two daughters, who live abroad in Australia and New Zealand, arrived on Monday and reached Kodagu in a taxi from the airport. They even visited the site of the landslide and met District-In-charge minister V Somanna. They made a desperate plea to the district administration and the Minister to speed up search operations for their missing father.  The taxi driver tested positive for the coronavirus following which the two women were advised to go into quarantine. The duo are now in Bhagamandala. While minor landslides hit uninhabited areas of the district, a major landslide in Talacauvery left five people missing. The search for the missing persons was initially hampered by bad weather and lack of access to the affected area.   The rains reduced in Kodagu on Monday but there was no significant progress made in the search for missing persons in Talacauvery.   Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy confirmed over 300 houses were damaged in the rains that hit the district last week. Over 500 people were housed in relief shelters.  Kodagu district has reported 701 COVID-19 cases so far of which 262 cases are currently active. 

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Karnataka seeks Rs 4000 crore special assistance from Centre to tackle floods

Karnataka Rains 2020

"We also requested the PM to direct the immediate release of the next instalment of SDRF of Rs 395 crore to Karnataka to take up relief measures," Home Min Basavaraj Bommai said.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka government on Monday said it has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide an additional special assistance of Rs 4,000 crore to handle the flood situation in the state, where the death toll has reached 14. "As per the initial assessment, Rs 4,000 crore loss has occurred. It is a preliminary estimate because rains are continuing. A proper survey has to be done," Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said. Speaking to reporters after attending the virtual meeting chaired by the PM with six states to review the flood situation in the country, he said Karnataka had suffered huge damage in the 2019 floods, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the current flood situation, the government has requested the Centre to provide additional special assistance of Rs 4,000 crore, other than NDRF norms, he said. "We also requested the Prime Minister to kindly direct the immediate release of the next instalment of SDRF of Rs 395 crore to Karnataka to take up relief and rehabilitation measures," he said. This was a preliminary submission and a detailed memorandum would be sent to the Centre in the days to come, he said. Revenue Minister R Ashoka, along with Bommai, attended the video conference in the absence of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who had been undergoing treatment for COVID-19. The Chief Minister has since been discharged. At the meeting, the Prime Minister directed officials to look into providing both immediate and long-term relief to affected states, the ministers said. Ashoka said the state government would utilise the funds available with it to manage the situation and provide relief to those affected until it received the central funds. Meanwhile, several parts of Malnad, coastal and interior Karnataka have been ravaged by torrential rains, causing floods and landslides, affecting lives and property. According to official data, at least 12 districts have been affected, in which 14 people have lost their lives so far since August 1, while five are missing. A total of 87 relief camps have so far been opened across the state, sheltering 1,993 people. Twenty-seven animals have died so far. Bommai said 56 taluks and 885 villages have been affected. "Preliminary assessment of damage is around 3,000 houses, 80,000 hectares of crops, 3500 km of roads... also damage to electrical infrastructure, transformers, buildings, bridges and minor irrigation tanks are there," he said. While there has been some respite in rains in several parts of the state, including Kodagu and Hassan, rains have continued at places in Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and Uttara Kannada, sources said. Though rains have reduced in several parts of north interior Karnataka, heavy inflow into river Krishna and its tributaries has resulted in flood-like situation in parts of Belagavi district and other areas, they said. Similar is the situation with Tungabhadra river as it has submerged low-lying areas in parts of Ballari district, among others. The Met Department forecast for the next 24 hours has said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in coastal Karnataka and ghat areas of south interior Karnataka, while heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in north interior Karnataka. The ministers said they gave details to the Prime Minister at the video conference about the measures taken by the state to provide relief to those affected. They informed him that four NDRF teams and 200 trained SDRF men have been positioned in vulnerable areas and thanked the Centre for reserving four IAF helicopters and deploying the Army for search and rescue operations. Bommai said the state also suggested to the PM, certain long-term measures like commissioning a special project to study and establish an Integrated Flood Forecasting and Response System for inter-state river basins like the Krishna Basin to mitigate flood damage. "We also suggested a special project to study and establish Landslide Hazard Mapping and Development of Early Warning System for high vulnerable areas of the Western Ghats in Karnataka and its adjoining states," he said. The Home Minister said they requested an additional four NDRF teams to be deployed in Karnataka. The state also suggested a scheme to handle soil erosion along the western coast on the lines of the National Cyclone Relief Mitigation Project (NCRMP), he added

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Unable to bear a housewarming without his late wife, Karnataka man installs her statue

News

Srinivas Murthy talks about why he installed the life-size statue of his wife who died in a car accident.

Theja Ram

Dressed in a saree of pink and gold, a middle-aged woman sits on a white sofa. Her husband is seen sitting next to her, his hand around her shoulders. A closer look reveals that the legs of the woman are unmoving. A 57-year-old businessman from Karnataka’s Koppal, Srinivas Murthy, installed a silicone statue of his wife at his newly-constructed home.  On August 8, guests who were invited to the house warming ceremony at Srinivas Murthy’s residence were left speechless after they walked through the door to see a life-like statue of his late wife Madhavi in the living room. The resemblance of the statue to the woman is so stark, it left everyone surprised, he says. “I wanted to do something special in memory of my wife. She died three years ago in a car accident,” Srinivas Murthy narrated. Three years ago, MVK Madhavi was travelling to Tirupati with their two daughters when she met with a fatal accident. The driver allegedly tried to avoid a speeding truck along the highway in Kolar, but the car crashed into the truck. The back of the truck rammed into the passenger side of the car, and Madhavi died immediately due to impact.    His daughters, who sustained minor injuries, recovered physically, but Madhavi’s death left the family broken. Talking about his wife’s dream to own a bungalow, Srinivas Murthy says that he decided to construct a house in her memory two years ago. He approached over 25 architects, but none of their ideas of creating something special for his wife resonated with him.  Over a year ago, he had travelled to Gadag on business. Srinivas, who runs a business exporting hair, heard from one of his vendors about an architect named Mahesh Rangannadavaru. Mahesh suggested that a life-size statue of Madhavi be installed in the foyer adjacent to the living room of the new house.  The architect suggested that Srinivas hire the services of Gombe Mane, popular toy makers in Bengaluru city. “Mahesh told me that Gombe Mane had also done some work for Tontadarya Mutt in Gadag. I don’t regret it at all. This is the kind of gesture I was looking for. I placed  the order about a year ago. I gave them several pictures of my wife. She looks so real,” Srinivas marvelled.    The construction of the house was completed earlier in July. On August 8, Srinivas invited friends and relatives for the house warming, telling them that there was a surprise in store. “Everyone was so surprised. They all believed for a few seconds that it could actually be my wife. It was my wife’s dream to construct a bungalow. Now she is not there to live in it. The statue is a way to reinforce that she is still here,” said the husband.  

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Democrats seize on Trump's payroll tax deferral as an attack on Social Security, Medicare

Entitlements are a key issue for older voters.

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Trump: Executive order on pre-existing conditions is 'a signal'

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COVID-19 patient flees Bengaluru hospital, police begin search

Coronavirus

The 43-year-old woman was admitted to the Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital on July 25 after she tested positive for coronavirus.

TNM Staff

After a 43-year-old COVID-19 patient went missing from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) Hospital on Friday evening, the police have begun a search for her. The woman, a resident of Doddabasti Road, was lodged in the hospital’s B Block, which is designated for COVID-19 patients. The woman was admitted to the hospital on July 25 after she tested positive for coronavirus. She is now being traced by Bengaluru police officials. A case has been registered under section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal Code at the VV Puram police station in the city. Speaking to TNM, Dr Samarth, the casualty medical officer at KIMS, said this was the first such incident reported at the hospital. “We’re facing difficulty in convincing patients to stay in the hospital in some cases because they are scared. But this particular patient did not share any concern with us. We tried to call on the number she used while registering but there was no response, so we decided to file a complaint,” he said.  Dr Samarth said the hospital security personnel are unaware how the patient fled from the place. He added that patients are anxious about the cost of treatment and the lack of insurance covering their treatment. At KIMS, patients are charged Rs 65,000 for the treatment, which can run into anywhere between 10 to 15 days at the hospital. This cost excludes the medicines given to patients during the treatment. Earlier, there were reports of people accused in criminal cases who tested positive for coronavirus trying to escape from hospitals. In June, a COVID-19 patient, who was an accused in a case, escaped from Victoria Hospital. Similarly, a person who had been arrested by the police escaped from the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Hubballi in July. Such cases have also been reported in many places in the country over the last four months.

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