Karnataka to conduct survey to estimate prevalence of COVID-19 cases

Coronavirus

The state's COVID-19 tally breached the 2.5 lakh mark on Thursday while the death toll is 4429.

TNM Staff

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The Karnataka government on Thursday said it will conduct a survey to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 across the state.The survey, which will involve adults over the age of 18, will cover 38 units, including all districts of Karnataka and eight zones of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the state health department said in a press release.However, the release did not specify what kind of survey this will be.  The state's COVID-19 tally breached the 2.5 lakh mark on Thursday and stood at 2,56,975 while the death toll is 4429. Karnataka’s COVID-19 cases began to surge on July 1 and the number of infections continued to climb with 7385 cases reported on Thursday. Out of this, 2912 were reported in the capital city of Bengaluru.  The survey data is expected to guide further state interventions for COVID-19 management, the release said. The survey, dates of which are yet to be announced, will include samples from populations at three risk levels -- low, moderate and high. The low risk category would include pregnant women and persons attending the outpatient department in hospitals or attendees of children or patients. Moderate to high risk populations will include bus conductors, vegetable vendors, healthcare workers, individuals in containment zones and in public areas such as markets, malls, bus stops, and railway stations and the elderly and those with comorbid conditions. Data for the survey will be collected using an app to register patients, update sample collection status and lab results, the release added.   A training programme for this purpose was inaugurated on Thursday by Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey.District Surveillance Officers, District Tuberculosis Officers. Epidemiologists, and personnel of Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres under NACO (National Aids Control Organisation) are covered under the training.

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Biden’s pandemic challenge: A unified plan for a divided country

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Bars likely to be allowed to serve liquor from Sept: K’taka Excise Minister to TNM

Liquor

Bars and restaurants have not been allowed to serve liquor since the last 5 months, leading to a loss of Rs 7,500 crore to these establishments.

Theja Ram

Karnataka Excise Minister H Nagesh, on Thursday, told TNM that bars and restaurants are likely to be allowed to serve alcohol from September onwards. “The association that represents night clubs submitted a memorandum to me today, requesting us to allow these establishments to serve alcohol. I have passed on the same to the Chief Minister. Unlock 5 will start from September and we are very likely to allow them to serve liquor then,” Excise Minister H Nagesh told TNM. The Minister said that the state government is awaiting the Centre’s guidelines for bars and restaurants on whether they are allowed to serve alcohol. “This issue is very likely going to be resolved next month. So far the Centre had not issued any guidelines but we are expecting fresh guidelines before unlock 5.0 is announced,” H Nagesh added. “So many bar and restaurant owners are struggling. Although the government allows them to sell liquor at  MRP, most people don’t go to bars to buy liquor. Maintenance costs stand at Rs 2 lakh per month and this is the bare minimum. Most establishments pay more than this. With no revenue, we are unable to keep the business going,” says Honnagiri Gowda, President of the Karnataka Wine Merchants’ Association. Speaking to TNM, Manu Chandra, President of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that the state government had, in June, asked owners of bars, restaurants and nightclubs to pay half the license fee and the other half in September. With no revenue for the last five months, the association demands that the state government not charge them for the duration at which these establishments were shut down. “Excise wanted renewal fee paid in two installments. For six months we have not been able to use the license for which we paid for. We are paying 50% for nothing. Given the fact that we have been so badly hit, financially, we don't have the wherewithal to pay. It’s important to mention, that it’s an advance renewal fee for an entire year, when no clarity on when the license can be used as intended is clear. Excise is a very large contributor to the state’s revenue. If we are driven to a point where we will be forced to shut down, how can these establishments contribute to the state’s revenue?” Manu Chandra questioned. 

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Mysuru named cleanest among medium-sized cities in the country

Award

Mysuru was declared the cleanest city in the overall category in the first edition of the survey in 2016.

TNM Staff

Mysuru, the cultural capital of Karnataka, was named the cleanest medium city in the 3-10 lakh population category in the fifth edition of the Annual Cleanliness Survey 2020 by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, an official said on Thursday. "Mysuru has been adjudged top city under the 3-10 lakh population category though it missed being among the top five cleanest cities across the country," an official of the city civic corporation said. Mysuru, the city of palaces, was declared the cleanest city in the first edition of the survey in 2016 and ranked among the top 10 clean cities in the subsequent surveys. Indore in Madhya Pradesh received the cleanest city tag for the fourth year in a row.  Union Housing and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri declared the survey rankings in New Delhi earlier in the day and the virtual event (Swachh Mahotsav) was telecast live in the Amba Vilas Palace in the city. Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Surat in Gujarat and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra bagged the top three rankings in the over 1-lakh population category. In the overall national level of above 40-lakh population the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) bagged the best sustainable mega city award. "In the south zone, under the 50,000-1 lakh population category, Hunsur in Mysuru district was adjudged the best city in the Citizen Feedback," said the official. Ramanagara bagged the best city award in innovation and best practices in the south zone. The annual survey assesses the performance of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India programme) Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched on October 2, 2014 to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. In the virtual ceremony held at the Mysuru palace, nine workers of the Mysuru civic body, including Manjula and Nanjundanaswamy interacted with the Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The results of the survey were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic since March. Mysuru Lok Sabha member Pratap Simha of the ruling BJP, district deputy commissioner Abhiram Shankar, city mayor Tasneem, Mysuru city BJP legislator Ramdas and Mysuru civic corporation commissioner Gurudatta Hegde were present on the occasion.

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Final location survey by March 2021 for Mysuru-Kodagu railway line

Environment

Currently, Kodagu district located in the Western Ghats region is not connected by a railway line and environmentalists are fighting to keep it that way.

Prajwal Bhat

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The railway line from Mysuru to Kodagu inches closer to reality after railway officials confirmed the plan to complete the final location survey for the project by March 2021. In a press briefing on Wednesday, Indian Railway authorities said that the tender for the survey was finalised and that the timeline for the completion of the survey is March next year.  The location survey will be conducted from Mysuru to Kushalnagar in Kodagu. "We will finalise the alignment, bridges to be built and the requirement of the land will be fixed. After the final location survey, a project report will be sent to the Indian Railways," PV Satyanarayana, the engineer involved in the survey told TNM. The long-pending plan to link Mysuru with Kodagu through a railway line has been on hold after repeated opposition from environmentalists and litigation issues.  Currently, Kodagu district located in the Western Ghats region is not connected by a railway line. Another railway line is planned connecting Mysuru with Thalassery in Kerala which will pass through Kodagu district. In October 2019, the Karnataka High Court had asked the Indian Railways to seek environment clearances before commissioning rail projects in Kodagu.  Read: Win for environmentalists: Karnataka HC halts Mysuru-Kodagu rail line Environmentalists and citizen groups said that they will oppose the railway project citing the recurring landslides in Kodagu. "We are going to give notices to South Western Railways. We are requesting information on the details of the project particularly on where it will be implemented. Landslides are becoming a recurring feature in Kodagu and this is all the more reason to not disturb the landscape in the hilly areas of the district," Col Muthanna of the Coorg Wildlife Society told TNM. In the last three years, landslides occurred during the monsoon in Kodagu. While in 2018, landslides occurred in Madikeri and Somwarpet taluks, a major landslide occurred in Thora village in Virajpet taluk of the district in 2019. Earlier this month, a landslide struck Talacauvery in Kodagu.  Railway officials said that after the final location survey for the rail line is completed, the impact on the forest areas will be considered. Col Muthanna however stated that the railway line will disturb elephant corridors in Kodagu.  The first attempt to connect Kodagu through a railway line dates back to 1881-82 as per reports published in the Kodagu Gazetteer. The report discussed a proposal for a railway line but the plan was deemed unfeasible. The railway line was a point of contention after Independence but it was only in 2011 that a fresh preliminary survey was approved for the project. The rail project was shelved by the then ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government after it was deemed unprofitable. The project was revived and a survey was later approved in 2014.   The project was opposed by environmentalists and citizen groups in Kodagu and several protests were held against the railway line. A fresh survey was conducted and a plan was drawn up to change the rail project from Mysuru to Kushalnagar in 2018.    

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Man in Udupi held for making bomb hoax call to Mangaluru airport

Crime

A former director of the airport received a phone call claiming that there was a bomb, which is when he immediately called the police.

TNM Staff

A man in Udupi was on Thursday held by the Mangaluru police for allegedly making a hoax call to the Mangaluru International Airport.  According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, a former director of the airport received a phone call claiming that there was a bomb in the airport.  The former director then immediately alerted the personnel at the airport to take necessary action. The police sprung into action and arrested 33-year-old Vasanth, resident of Karkala in Udupi district, in connection with the incident. He is an agricultural labourer. A case was registered at the Bajpe police station in Dakshina Kannada following the call and the police began tracing the caller. Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district police worked together to nab the caller Vasanth from Karkala. After a thorough examination, officials concluded that the call was a hoax, as no bomb was found. "Around 1 pm, former Airport Director M Vasudeva received a call from an unknown person informing him that there was a bomb at the Airport. Authorities and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) got into action and the bomb disposal team subsequently found that it was a hoax call," a press release said, as per a report by ANI. The incident comes months after Aditya Rao, a resident of Manipal in Udupi district, was arrested for placing a bag of explosive material at the same airport. Aditya Rao had surrendered before the police. This was the second time that he was arrested for making such a hoax call; in 2018, he was arrested for making a hoax call to the Bengaluru airport as he wanted to ‘test’ the security at the airport. Later, with an arrest record against his name, he was unable to find a job, and so in 2019, he placed the bag of explosives at Mangaluru airport, in order to ‘show his expertise’ in matters of security. He had wanted a job as a security manager at Mangaluru airport. The Mangaluru International Airport is one of two international airports in Karnataka alongside the airport in Bengaluru.  Read: Mangaluru bomb scare: Why Aditya Rao placed a bag of explosive materials at airport

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Interest in US for higher studies dips, Bengaluru students look to Canada, UK

Education

The education consultancies that TNM spoke to said that there had been a drop in the number of enquiries they are getting for the US, compared to last year.

Geetika Mantri

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Santosh Neelangatil, the principal consultant at Merit Higher Education Consultants, estimates that out of the 200 students he would usually consult for, 120 would go to the United States for higher education. However, this year, a number of unprecedented circumstances have led to students aspiring to study abroad looking at options in other countries. Consultancies say that students are now looking at Canada and the United Kingdom for higher education over the US. “This year, the inquiries for the US have been around 80-100. Even students who are applying to American universities are exploring options in other countries as well, which they wouldn’t earlier,” says Santosh. The US in July rescinded its decision that had disallowed international students from remaining in the country if they did not take in-person classes. This came after a number of lawsuits were filed by educational institutions including Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) over the restriction on student visas. However, the US has also announced that new international students will be barred from coming to the country if they take their classes online during the fall. Additionally, the Donald-Trump led government had also suspended H1-B visa applications till December 31, 2020, back in June. It only introduced exemptions earlier this month allowing conditional re-entry for applicants looking to return to jobs held in the US with the same employer and in the same position and visa category can resume their work.  This, along with the country being worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the political situation – recent unrest, along with the precarious position of immigrants – have brought the US lower in the priority list of higher education aspirants, observe consultancies. Saba, the founder of Enrologies, another higher education consultancy in Bengaluru, has observed a similar trend. She says that among her students, Canada is the top contender for higher education aspirants, especially if they are looking at job-oriented courses such as digital marketing, human resources and so on. “Because it is easier to get a job there after completing such courses,” she explains. The same reasoning applies for the UK, which is emerging as the second most popular destination. “Since the US was sending back international students earlier, it has been really demotivating. They don’t want to spend Rs 40-50 lakh for an online course they will do sitting here, online. In Canada, there is more flexibility of visa rules,” Saba adds. Further, Santosh notes that since last year, they are also seeing students from non-STEM backgrounds wanting to go abroad for higher education for both undergraduate and post-graduate courses – such as economics and design. Australia too is emerging as a popular choice, especially for courses like culinary arts, he adds. Some European countries are also seeing an increased interest. Germany for instance, is popular, because public universities provide free education given the candidate has the required percentage, required score in IELTS and/or German, especially for engineering courses. “France too, because of comparatively more affordable courses; and Malta for nursing and pharmacy courses, because they make you eligible to work in any European country,” Saba notes. Saba says that while enquiries for higher education in the US have reduced to just 3-4 a day since March this year from 6-7 calls per day last year, she expects that the country will return to being a top contender next year, if the pandemic situation normalises. “But if the visa restrictions continue to be there, then other countries will continue to be more popular.”

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