Bengaluru reports 3420 new COVID-19 cases, most patients are men between 30-39

Coronavirus

Bengaluru has a total of 39,911 active coronavirus cases.

TNM Staff

Image for representation/PTI

Bengaluru reported 3,420 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the second highest single day spike the city has reported. The highest number of cases reported till date is 3,495, which was on August 15. Further, 2,383 people were reported to have recovered from COVID-19 and 32 people succumbed to the disease, according to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. Most of the new coronavirus patients are men between the ages of 30 and 39, followed by men in the 20-29 age group, followed by the women in the corresponding age groups. Recoveries on Wednesday followed the same pattern. A majority of the deaths (around eight) were among men above 70 years, followed by men in the 50 to 59 age group. The BBMP COVID-19 War Room Report has not provided an updated zone-wise breakup of the new cases reported on Wednesday. A clear update on containment zones in the city has also not come for four days now. There are a total of 39,911 active coronavirus cases in Bengaluru. Recoveries are up at 93,563, while a total of 2,037 people have died due to the virus. Till date, 1,35,512 have tested positive for the coronavirus in the city. According to the BBMP’s daily bulletin on Wednesday, 73,317 tests – including rapid antigen detection tests, RT-PCR tests and others – were done in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, metro rail services in Bengaluru are set to resume in phases from September 7, adhering to the guidelines to contain the novel coronavirus. "The metro service will resume in phases on the east-west and north-south corridors, as per the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs," Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd Managing Director Ajay Seth told IANS. In the first phase from September 7, the six-coach trains will operate from 8-11 am and 4.30-7.30 pm on the east-west route (purple line).  

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Drug abuse case: Bengaluru police summon actor Ragini Dwivedi for questioning

Drug abuse case

The Central Crime Branch has summoned Ragini and her friend, a government worker, for questioning on Thursday.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru Police on Wednesday issued a notice to Sandalwood actor Ragini Dwivedi to appear for questioning in connection with the drug abuse case. Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil, said that Ragini and her friend, who is a government employee, were  issued summons. They are to appear at the Central Crime Branch's headquarters in Chamarajpet on Thursday. The CCB issued these summons after filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh submitted a list of Sandalwood celebrities to the sleuths, claiming that they are avid users of synthetic drugs, Deccan Herald reported. The CCB suspects that the duo had attended several parties together and are suspected of having consumed drugs.  According to the DH report, Indrajit Lankesh has been summoned for the second time for questioning on Thursday. The CCB had asked him to furnish proof of his allegations of drug abuse in Sandalwood. The CCB has meanwhile begun conducting surprise checks on vehicles. On Wednesday, vehicles at the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus terminal in Majestic were checked. This was after the CCB suspected an inter-state drug racket, TNIE reported. Both state-run and private vehicles were searched at various checkpoints in the city too.  According to Sandeep Patil, the drug peddlers who were arrested allegedly confessed that the product was brought into the city via buses and trains late into the night to avoid detection. Meanwhile, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) has said that it will take action against actors and technicians consuming or selling drugs. The KFCC's members met on Wednesday and its President DR Jayaraj said that the body would report those consuming drugs to the police. “If any actor or any member of the film industry is proven guilty of having consumed drugs or sold them, the chamber will initiate action against them," Jayaraj added.  Jayaraj also maintained that it was wrong to blame the entire industry of drug abuse due to the activities of a few.  

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Bengaluru Metro to operate for limited hours, with only 400 passengers per train

Unlock

The Purple line will begin operations on September 7, while Green line will begin operations on September 9.

TNM Staff

As part of Unlock 4, the metro rail services will become operational in Bengaluru from September 7. The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has decided to operate trains in peak hours between September 7 and 11.  From September 7 to 11, the trains along the Purple Line (Baiyappanahalli to Mysuru Road) will operate between 8 am to 11 am, and 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm with a frequency of five minutes. The Green Line (Yelachenahalli to Nagawara) will begin operating from September 9 and until September 11, trains will operate between 8 am to 11 am, and 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm with a frequency of five minutes. Rules for metro commuters Starting September 11, trains will begin operations for both the Green and Purple lines, and will operate between 7 am and 9 pm. The trains will ply at a frequency of five minutes during peak hours and at 10 minutes during non-peak hours. The trains will begin plying at terminal stations at 7 am and last train will reach terminal stations at 9 pm  Passengers will have to use smart cards only and token sales at counters is prohibited. All passengers must wear face masks. Commuters must use hand sanitizers provided at every metro station and are also advised to carry their own sanitizers.  "Every passenger should stand at the yellow markings at the entry of the station, at entry and exit gates, and at the platform. Social distance of 2 meters must be maintained by all commuters. Not more than 50 commuters are allowed at the platform. The entry to stations will be regulated accordingly," BMRCL said in a statement.  A maximum of 400 passengers are permitted to travel in each train at any given point in time. If a train already has 400 passengers, it will skip stopping at the next station.  Passengers must keep every alternate seat in the metro vacant and standing is allowed only at the marked areas. The train will stop for one minute at each station and for 75 seconds at the interchange station for boarding and deboarding. "Thermal scanning of all passengers will be done by security at entry of the station. Commuters are advised not to carry metallic objects in their pockets to minimize frisking. While using escalators keep one step of the escalator clear of the ahead passenger. Limited  number of people will be allowed in lifts," BMRCL's statement added. 

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Trump pivots to narrow coronavirus testing strategy as election looms

The White House pivot amounts to a tacit admission that the administration’s months-long containment effort has failed.

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‘That’s certainly not my approach’: Fauci rejects pursuing herd immunity

“We certainly are not wanting to wait back and just let people get infected," Fauci said.

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Karnataka IPS officer hospitalised in Bengaluru with bullet injury

Accident

RP Sharma IPS is being treated at the Columbia Asia Hospital in Bengaluru’s Hebbal, police sources confirmed.

Soumya Chatterjee

Senior Karnataka IPS officer RP Sharma, 59, who is posted as Director General of Police Housing Corporation was rushed to a Bengaluru hospital following a bullet injury on Wednesday evening. Police say the injury was caused by accidental firing by the officer himself. “It's an accidental fire at home. He has given in his own handwriting. He is fine, conscious and interacting,” Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant told TNM. He is being treated at the Columbia Asia Hospital in Bengaluru’s Hebbal, police sources confirmed. He is due for retirement in December, sources said.  In 2018, he had severaly criticised the Siddaramaiah government of intefering with the functioning of the police department. The government however took disciplinary action against him after his letter was leaked. The last time Sharma was in news was when he was in charge of Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force in 2017 and had earned praise for works related to removing encroachments from stormwater drains and other government/ public lands. He had become popular as he was acting on public complaints against Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike engineers and officials. Incidentally in 2013 too, he was caught in a controversy when he was then BMTF Additional Director General of Police.  It was alleged that his wife Dr Nagambika Devi, IAS, had already got land from Bangalore Metropolitan Housing Society in 1998 as its member. The land was sold in 2002 but the IPS officer did not disclose this as mandated to the  Mysore Police Cooperative Housing Society (MPCHS). However at that time Sharma had denied any wrongdoing and said that he had himself checked with the authorities on the legal issues. A top police officer in the state said that Sharma was suffering from multiple health ailments.

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Karnataka accepts Centre’s plan to make up for GST shortfall, opt for 1st option

GST

Home Minister Basavraj Bommai who attended the recent GST council meet had said Rs 13,764 crore GST compensation is due from the Centre.

TNM Staff

In a predictable development, the Karnataka government on Wednesday said it has accepted the GST compensation proposal floated by the union government. The BS Yediyurappa-led government said it has decided to opt for the first among the two options offered by the Centre for borrowing to meet the shortfall in GST revenues. WIth this, the state will be eligible for total compensation of Rs 18,289 crore. Non-BJP states like -Kerala, Punjab, Delhi, Telangana and West Bengal have rejected both the proposals.  The decision was taken after Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who also holds the finance portfolio, held discussions with Finance department officials. "After the evaluation of both these options, it is felt that option 1 would be more beneficial to the State's finances. Hence the Government of Karnataka has decided to convey to the Government of India, its preference for Option 1," an official release from the Chief Minister's Office said. It said this would help the State augment its revenue in the present financial year. The CMO noted that under option 1, Karnataka would be eligible for total compensation of Rs 18,289 crore, of which Rs 6,965 crore would come from the cess collected. For the balance of Rs 11,324 crore, the state would be able to borrow through a special window with the entire burden of principal and interest repayment being met out of compensation cess fund in the future, it said. "Further an additional borrowing up to 1 % of GSDP (Rs 18,036 crore) will be available unconditionally and another 1 percent borrowing can be linked to certain reforms as earlier suggested by Government of India. These additional borrowings may also be carried forward to the next financial year if necessary," it said. Under option 2, the CMO said Karnataka would be eligible for a total compensation of Rs 25,508 crore, out of which Rs 6,965 crore would come from the cess collected. The remaining amount of Rs 18,543 crore would be allowed to be borrowed through an issue of market debt. However, in this option, unconditional borrowing of 1 % of GSDP (Rs 18,036 crore) will not be separately available to the state, as a result of which the net borrowing will reduce substantially by Rs 10,817 crore, it explained. Further, under option 2, the interest on the above borrowing through issue of market debt shall be paid by the State from its own resources, it added. Following the GST council meeting last week, the central governmnt had written to states, suggesting options of borrowing money to make up for the Rs 2.35 lakh crore shortfall in GST revenues expected in the ongoing fiscal. The Centre has estimated that of this amount, Rs 97,000 crore compensation requirement is due to GST roll out and the remaining is on account of the COVID-19 impact on the economy. Giving two options, the Centre had said states can borrow either Rs 97,000 crore the deficit arising out of GST implementation or the entire Rs 2.35 lakh crore. Home minister Basavaraj Bommai, who represented the state in the GST council, had earlier said that Karnataka has to get Rs 13,764 crore GST compensation from the Centre for the last four months and it was necessary for the state's economy

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(With PTI inputs)

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