Bengaluru FC adds mental health experts to its team, players to have on-call support

Sport

The programme comes at a time sports, including the Indian Super League (ISL) tournament, will be taking place in COVID-19 bubbles in one location.

TNM Staff

Photo via Bengaluru FC

On World Mental Health Day, Bengaluru Football Club announced that it will provide players and staff at the club with on-call professional mental health help. The programme – Care around the corner – was launched by the club to improve awareness of mental health in sports circles. "The programme entails bringing on board a professional mental health expert who will conduct regular sessions with the first team and staff, along with sessions for the academy teams. The players and staff will also have access to the mental health expert for one-on-one consults at all times by way of video sessions," Bengaluru FC said in a statement. The programme also comes at a time sports, including the Indian Super League (ISL) tournament, will be taking place in COVID-19 bubbles in one location. Sports teams including the cricket team Royal Challengers Bangalore have also invested in getting mental health experts on-board. Rangers FC first created the ‘Care Team’ in September 2019 to help those associated with the club maintain good mental health. Bengaluru FC, which shares a partnership with Scottish football club Rangers FC will also have a team of mental health experts from Rangers conduct workshops with the staff and team members. In September 2019, Rangers had announced the creation of the 'Care Team' to help people associated with the club to maintain their mental health.  “Mental health in sport is such an important conversation, but it’s also one that we don’t have as much as we should in Indian sport. We felt a definite need to add this aspect to the team for this season, and every season going forward," Bengaluru FC CEO Mandar Tamhane said. India and Bengaluru FC goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who has been vocal about the importance of mental wellness and seeking professional help in the past, said that the programme will benefit the team as it will provide a non-judgemental space for players to open up.  “I think it'll be great. I want every player and staff member to use this as an opportunity to become better and have a better understanding about your own self, because as men and as football players we are always told to be strong and not feel. I think it is important to have a safe and a non-judgmental space in a professional club so that players can open up and look after themselves and those around them,” Gurpreet Singh Sandhu said. 

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COVID-19 patients in Bengaluru struggle for ICU, ventilator beds as cases surge

Coronavirus

As of October 10, there were only 21 ICU and ventilator beds vacant in government hospitals in the city.

Theja Ram

Representation photo

On October 9, the number of people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Bengaluru was 5,009. Over the last few months, the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the city have been increasing and the hospitals, especially government hospitals, are running out of ICU and ventilator beds. As of October 9, there were 62,104 active cases in Bengaluru of which 14,261 patients were admitted to designated COVID-19 hospitals both public and private. As many as 1,101 patients are in COVID Care Centres and the rest are in home isolation. On Friday, a resident of north Bengaluru, who had contracted COVID-19 three weeks ago and was in home isolation developed breathing difficulties. He was rushed to a private hospital after an inordinate delay in finding beds. The hospital, his relative said, charged Rs 70,000 per day for treatment - much above the government fixed rates. The cost of COVID-19 treatment at private hospitals was capped at Rs 5,200 per day for a general bed, Rs 8,200 per day for ICU bed with oxygen and Rs 10,000 for ICU bed with ventilator. The prices were capped by the Karnataka Health Department in June this year. As they began looking for a ventilator bed in a government hospital, they were unable to find one. The man died 12 hours after being admitted to the private hospital.  Similarly, on September 15, a 46-year-old man, who had developed breathing difficulties, was unable to find a bed in a government hospital. He was referred to a private hospital in Bommanahalli, who turned him away and referred him to Apollo Hospital in Bannerghatta Road. The man died en route to Apollo.  On October 1, a 67-year-old woman with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness, was admitted to Navachetana Hospital 24 hours after she began having trouble breathing. Her son, a blue collar worker, said that the costs at the private hospital was too high for them to bear and that they had been running from pillar to post to find a ventilator bed at a government hospital.  “We were not able to bear the cost at all as we did not have insurance. After four days, some activists helped us get a bed at a government hospital near Shivajinagar. I had to take loans from friends and family members to pay Rs 3.5 lakh in hospital bills,” Sandeep*, a 32-year-old construction worker told TNM.  As of 12 pm on Saturday, 17 of the 41 ICU beds across 14 government hospitals across the city were vacant, and only four of the 37 ventilator beds vacant. There were zero ICU or ventilator beds available in government medical colleges.  The 118 dedicated COVID-19 private hospitals have 371 ICU beds and 241 ventilator beds. Of these there are only 95 ICU beds and 61 ventilator beds that are vacant. Of the 154 ICU beds in private medical colleges, only one is vacant. All of the 123 ventilator beds have been occupied in private medical colleges.  According to the officials at the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the primary reason for shortage is because beds in government hospitals are filling up faster and the private hospitals are charging more than the government-mandated costs.  “We have conducted checks on many hospitals, which have been fined and yet this is happening. A sub-committee has been constituted which also conducted checks and 22 private hospitals were doing this. Besides, 35 private COVID-19 hospitals for not reserving adequate numbers of beds for patients,” a senior official with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s Health Department said.  The Karnataka High Court on October 6, pulled up the BBMP while hearing a writ petition where several applications related to COVID-19 were being heard. The HC had asked the BBMP to provide full details on the number of beds available and how the state government plans to ensure that adequate care is provided to those in need. The BBMP is expected to file its response by October 11 as the case is scheduled for hearing on October 12. 

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Bengaluru woman set on fire allegedly by husband, father-in-law over dowry

Crime

The woman has third degree burns and is undergoing treatment at Balaji Nursing Home in TC Palya.

TNM Staff

Representation photo

A horrific case of dowry harassment and attempted murder has come to light in Bengaluru on Saturday, where a 25-year-old paan shop owner allegedly porued petrol over his 20-year-old wife and set her on fire over dowry harassment. The incident occurred at TC Palya in the Ramamurthy Nagar Police Station limits on Tuesday evening. The police arrested Suraj Singh and his father Lavaneesh Singh on Saturday at around 11.30 am in connection with the case.  Investigating officers said that Suraj and his father Lavaneesh had allegedly been harassing the woman since September 23 for a dowry of Rs 20 lakh. “The couple was having a lot of fights every day since then and on October 6 the couple had a huge fight in the morning,” Ramamurthy Nagar police said.  In her statement to the police, the woman claimed that Suraj Singh and Lavaneesh allegedly demanded that she bring in dowry of Rs 20 lakh or leave the house. The woman, who refused to ask her parents for money, fought with her husband and in-laws. “In her complaint, she said that she cooked food and went upstairs and became unconscious. She woke up when her husband set her on fire,” the police added. The woman began screaming and ran outside her house while her lower body was on fire. Her neighbours rushed to help her and doused the flames. Police said that she became unconscious and was rushed to the Balaji Nursing Home. She has suffered third degree burns on her lower body and torso.  “She said that her husband set her on fire and escaped. The doctors at Balaji Nursing Home advised her not to register a case but she was adamant. When we got the information from the neighbours, we went to the nursing home and ensured that the medico-legal case was registered,” the police said.  The police have registered an FIR under sections 498A (dowry harassment), 307 (attempted murder, 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) against Suraj and Lavaneesh Singh. The two men, who had absconded since the incident on Tuesday evening, were arrested on Saturday.  “The woman’s family members gave a complaint and we registered an FIR. Right now, we are investigating the incident and also why the doctors did not register a medico-legal case. We are also checking to see if the accused laced her food with substance to render her unconscious. A blood sample has been sent to the FSL,” the police added. 

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After parents outrage, Karnataka govt temporarily stops Vidyagama programme

Education

On Friday parents of 23 children in Belagavi claimed that their children got COVID-19 as they were attending classes under the Vidyagama programme.

TNM Staff

Representation photo

After public outrage over Karnataka government’s Vidyagama programme, the Primary and Secondary Education Minister B Suresh Kumar on Saturday said that he has instructed the education department officials to temporarily stop the programme. Vidyagama programme began two months ago after which district administrations in Belagavi and Kalaburagi conducted random COVID-19 tests for schoolchildren. Twenty-three students in Belagavi and four in kalaburagi tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks. “I have noticed the opinions expressed in some sectors regarding the Vidyagama program that has been implemented in the state. Vidyagama program was implemented by keeping the welfare of the children of the economically backward families in mind. However, the Principal Secretary of the Education Department has been directed to temporarily stop the Vidyagama program until its relevant analysis is completed by the Education Department,” B Suresh Kumar wrote in a Facebook post. Under the Vidyagama scheme, teachers at government schools had to go door to door, gather students at an open place like a playground or temple near their residences and give them notes and clarify doubts regarding the lessons taught they were learning.  While this programme brought relief to students who did not have access to the internet, parents in the M Thimmapur village in Belagavi district's Ramdurg did not allow teachers to even enter the village on Friday after 23 students tested positive. They claimed that the teachers were constantly travelling and spreading the infection to the children.  According to Hebbala, President of the Belagavi Government Teachers' Union, 15 teachers contracted COVID-19 in the district in the last two months alone. The total number of teachers who contracted the virus in the district since March this year stands at 57.  In Kalaburagi district's Mashal village located in Afzalpur taluk, four children tested positive in a randomised test was conducted two weeks ago.

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Kodava attire worn in gay wedding in the US has traditionalists upset

LGBTQIA+

Others within the community pointed out that denying someone their right to wear the traditional attire at their wedding was wrong and discriminatory.

Prajwal Bhat

Kam-rey Vision

Photographs from a gay wedding in California in which a man wore his traditional Kodava attire has led to objectionable comments from a section of the Kodava community in Karnataka's Kodagu district. Dr Sharath Ponnappa, a native of Kodagu and a doctor based in California, married his partner Sundeep Dosanjh in September. Sharath has been a resident of the United States for around 20 years. Sharath and Sundeep married on September 25 in a Sikh-Punjabi ceremony held on the day followed by a traditional Kodava ceremony on the next day. Photographs from the second ceremony featuring the couple in traditional Kodava attire were shared widely on social media  in Kodagu district. However, some members of the Kodava community, an ethno-lingual community from Kodagu district, took exception to the pictures because it was a gay wedding. KS Devaiah, President of the Madikeri Kodava Samajam was quoted by News18 as saying that the community will ostracise Sharath for this “blasphemous” act. "Such a shocking thing has never happened in the past. It is an insult to our community and our beliefs. We can't tolerate such a thing. Gay marriage is one thing and wearing sacred Kodava attire to solemnise a gay marriage is another thing. We are against the latter,” he said. "The use of the traditional Kodava attire in the gay wedding is wrong. Our traditional attire is not something to be misused. It is something to be treated with respect and by wearing it in places like this, it is a mistake. The attire is worn in our traditional weddings and in festivals. It is not worn like this for promotional purposes," Bacharaniyanda Apanna, a native of Kushalnagar and a historian of Kodava culture said. However, others within the community pointed out that denying someone their right to wear the traditional attire at their wedding was wrong and discriminatory, and that Kodava traditionalists should evolve with the times. "I can’t see what this fuss is all about. Times have changed and it was their will and wish to wear whatever they wanted at their wedding. Everyone should relax and let live. Our Kodava costume has been copied for the attendants on The Golden Chariot train, how come nobody made a fuss? In today’s world, all cultures evolve and assimilate each other's practices. The world is a large melting pot," fashion designer and stylist Prasad Bidappa said. He added that the costume worn by Sharath was not exactly Kodava attire. "There was no Kupya (the traditional knee length white achkan) worn. He had taken some elements of the costume but it looked more Yemen inspired than Kodava," Prasad said. Actor Gulshan Devaiah said that the couple's decision to wear Kodava attire is a mark of their respect for Kodava traditions. "It shouldn't happen (the reaction to the photograph) Reading the opposition to it, there is a lack of progressive thinking because I look at the picture and they look beautiful and all that matters to me is the coming together of two people who love each other. I see the fact that they decided to wear the Kodava attire as a mark of respect and celebration of the Kodava traditions," he said. The Kodavas consider themselves to be a martial community, and wear their traditional dress on special occasions including weddings and festivals. “Who is to decide what is ‘special’ for someone other than the individual? Is that privilege given to elders in a society and not the individual in question? At the face of it, logically there is nothing wrong in a gay groom or bride wearing a certain outfit at their wedding. So does this then, amount to homophobia, without admitting to it? That is open to interpretation, but the outrage does seem misplaced from a community that prides itself in being progressive,” a journalist from Kodagu said.   "As a person from Kodagu, I am proud of our traditions and believe we all share it regardless of sexual orientation," Cariappa PM, a Kodava who lives in Boston said. The couple - Dr Sharath and Sundeep - and their families have not commented on the controversy raised by members of the Kodava community in Kodagu.

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Kannada filmmaker Vijay Reddy of ‘Gandada Gudi’ fame passes away at 87

Death

Vijay Reddy was admitted to Chennai’s Apollo Hospital a few days ago and he died on Friday evening after a prolonged illness.

TNM Staff

Renowned Kannada filmmaker Vijay Reddy died on Friday evening after prolonged illness. He was 87 years old.  He was residing in Chennai, which he always called his “home”. He passed away in Apollo Hospital around 6 pm on Friday due to multiple organ failure, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce President DR Jairaj told TNM.  One of the most prolific filmmakers of the 70s and 80s, Vijaya Reddy has directed some of the most famous Kannada films including Gandada Gudi and Badavara Bandhu starring Dr Rajukumar.  Born in Tadepalligudem of West Godavari, he made his debut in films after working as an assistant editor to B Vittalacharya for the film Mane Tumbida Hennu in 1953. In 1970, he directed his first film Rangamahal Rahsya, which became a hit. However, his next two films Modala Ratri and CowBoy Kulla, did not receive good response. Vijay Reddy became a sensation after he directed Dr Rajkumar’s 150th film Gandada Gudi. One of the most iconic films in Sandalwood, the film surrounds the sandalwood mafia.   Vijay Reddy then went on to direct the next five films that Dr Rajkumar acted in, and all of them were hits at the box office. The films Sri Srinivasa Kalyana, Maurya, Naa Ninna Mareyalaare, Badavara Bandhu and Sannadi Appanna, are some of Sandalwood’s greatest films of all time, which he directed. He even directed movies in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. In Telugu, he debuted with Srimathi.  He is also credited with giving Shankar Nag his image of “the angry young man” with the film Auto Raja in 1980. He cast Aarati and Ananth Nag in Mullina Gulabi, which was also a hit. His film starring Ananth Nag titled Naa Ninna Bidalare, a horror film released in 1979, became a superhit. Dr Rajkumar’s son Puneet Rajkumar in a tweet said, “Vijay Reddy, who directed my father's unforgettable films, Gandhaga Gudi, Mayura, Naan Nee Mareyalaare and several others, has passed away. I am fortunate to have acted in his film Bhakta Prahlada. May his soul rest in peace.” ತಂದೆಯವರ ಮರೆಯಲಾಗದ ಸಿನಿಮಾಗಳಾದ ಗಂಧದಗುಡಿ, ಮಯೂರ, ನಾ ನಿನ್ನ ಮರೆಯಲಾರೆ ಹಾಗು ಹಲಾವಾರು ಸಿನೆಮಾಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಿರುವ ವಿಜಯ್ ರೆಡ್ಡಿ ಅವರು ನಿಧನರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನದ ಭಕ್ತ ಪ್ರಹ್ಲಾದ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ನಟಿಸಿರುವುದೆ ನನ್ನ ಭಾಗ್ಯ. ಅವರ ಆತ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ಶಾಂತಿಸಿಗಲಿ. pic.twitter.com/oyd7ajbGrM — Puneeth Rajkumar (@PuneethRajkumar) October 9, 2020

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23 students in Belagavi get COVID-19, parents blame Vidyagama program

Coronavirus

The state government, however, denied allegations that the students were infected due to the Vidyagama programme.

TNM Staff

Representation photo

Even as the debate surrounding reopening schools in Karnataka continues, 27 students in classes 3 and 4 tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Belagavi and Kalaburagi districts. All these children were attending classes on the temple grounds close to their homes as part of the Vidyagama programme of the Department of Public Instruction, and the parents have alleged that it was due to this that the children were infected.  As part of the Vidyagama scheme, teachers who work in government schools must gather 10 to 15 students at a time from their respective grades and meet at public places like playgrounds and temple grounds to clarify doubts and also give students notes to study. While this brought relief to students who did not have access to the internet, parents in the M Thimmapur village in Belagavi district's Ramdurg did not allow teachers to even enter the village on Friday after 23 students tested positive. Thirty students from the Government Kannada Primary School in the M Thimmapur village tested positive over the last 15 days, which angered parents. Pundalik, Belagavi’s Deputy Director of Public Instruction, told TNM that parents were worried that their children had been affected as they began attending classes two months ago through the Vidyagama programme.  "We don't know the reason why they tested positive. We have launched an inquiry. There is no need for parents to panic," he said. In the last 15 days, the district administrations in Karnataka have been conducting random COVID-19 tests on children.  According to Hebbala, President of the Belagavi Government Teachers' Union, 15 teachers contracted COVID-19 in the district in the last two months alone. The total number of teachers who contracted the virus in the district since March this year stands at 57.  He added, “We have advised the district administration not to reopen schools until the cases come down. The parents are in a panic, especially after these 30 children tested positive. If the children are being taught in schools, at least we can sanitise the surroundings regularly. Under the Vidyagama programme, we can't do that. In the meeting CM held with the DCs (Deputy Commissioners) this week, we suggested that the schools not be reopened," he said.  In Kalaburagi district's Mashal village located in Afzalpur taluk, four children tested positive after a randomised test was conducted two weeks ago. In Kalaburagi, DDPI Badagundi said that tests were conducted for 203 students and teachers of which four students tested positive. An additional 24 samples of students and teachers were taken on Monday and the results are awaited. "We don't know whether they got it because of the Vidyagama programme. We will investigate the matter. Parents should not panic and must take precautions like ensuring that the children are wearing masks, that their hands are regularly sanitised and that they maintain social [physical] distancing," DDPI Badagundi said.  Primary and Secondary Education Minister B Suresh Kumar denied allegations that the students were infected due to the Vidyagama programme. “There are 49.3 lakh students and two lakh teachers were a part of the programme. The primary school headmaster of Mashal village of Afzalapura taluk in Kalaburagi was infected one month ago. He has recovered and is back to work. In random testing done by the health department among 203 students, four tested positive. However, they were not infected on the campus,” he said. He also said that there was no evidence to suggest that the children who tested positive in Ramdurg did so because they attended classes under Vidyagama. “Several people there have been infected, including 23 children. The deputy director of public instruction has informed that there’s no evidence that they were infected because of Vidyagama,” he added.  

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