The order, issued on Oct. 21, would strip certain civil service and due process protections from career federal employees who make policy.
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Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Ragini, Sanjjanaa bail plea rejected by Karnataka High Court in Bengaluru drugs case
Both actors face charges under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act as well as charges of criminal conspiracy.
Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed the bail applications of actors Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani, nearly two months after the duo were arrested on allegations of consuming and supplying drugs at parties. Their bail applications were dismissed alongside the bail application of another accused person Prashanth Ranka and the anticipatory bail application of Shivaprakash. The two actors were arrested on September 4 and September 8 respectively by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) for their alleged involvement in procuring and consuming drugs. They were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including 120B (criminal conspiracy) and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) 1985 under sections 21, 21C, 27A, 27B, and section 29. The investigating agency linked the duo to the Sandalwood drugs case. Actors Ragini and Sanjjanaa were denied bail on September 28 by a special NDPS court and have been in judicial custody at the Parappana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru ever since their arrests. The duo celebrated the Dasara festival in jail while Sanjjana’s birthday was also celebrated in jail. Along with the CCB investigation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also probing the two actors along with other co-accused on charges of money laundering. A total of 15 people including a few Nigerian nationals have been arrested in the case so far. Alongside the two actors, party planner Viren Khanna and realtor Rahul Tonse were also arrested by the police while an establishment of Aditya Alva, the brother-in-law of actor Vivek Oberoi was searched in Bengaluru. Actor Vivek Oberoi's residence in Mumbai was also searched, his wife Priyanka Alwa was served summons for questioning as well.Anchor Anushree who is based in Mangaluru was also summoned by the police for questioning. Few others including alleged drug peddlers Loum Pepper Samba, Prashanth Ranka and Niyaz were arrested in connection with the case.
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Bengaluru garbage contractors threaten to stop work as bills not paid for 7 months
Garbage contractors say that the BBMP had only paid the amount due for the first quarter this year.
PTI/Representation Photo
For seven months, the garbage contractors in Bengaluru have waited for payment from the civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and they are now demanding that outstanding bills worth Rs 360 crore must be paid immediately. The contractors are now threatening to stop garbage collection from November 5, if the BBMP does not clear these bills. Speaking to TNM, Balasubramaniam, General Secretary of the SWM (Solid Waste Management) Garbage Contractors Association said that the BBMP had promised to pay outstanding bills in a meeting held on October 19. However, the Palike has now come up with a new rule for making payments. In 2019, the BBMP had issued notices to engineers at ward levels to ensure that the garbage contractors have radio-frequency identification installed in every auto-tipper deployed for garbage collection. This device can track the vehicle's movement. The BBMP had introduced this rule to ensure that garbage contractors do not overcharge the BBMP while billing. "The BBMP had told us they were thinking about bringing in this rule. In 90% of the wards, the engineers had not told contractors that RFID devices must be installed. Now, the BBMP is saying they will pay only those who had installed RFID devices. During the lockdown, we came and collected garbage everyday. Now, the BBMP is causing us trouble," Balasubramaniam said. The contractors say that the BBMP had only paid the amount due for the first quarter this year. The BBMP is yet to pay arrears amounting to Rs 40 crore for the first quarter in addition to Rs 320 crore for the months of April to October. "The BBMP is now asking engineers to certify that vehicles were running during these months when RFID meters were not installed. During COVID-19 we did door to door collection. If we had not done this then what would have happened? Garbage would be lying around all the roads. Last month (October) on 19th the BBMP Commissioner had said that we would be paid the full amount. Today is November 3. Now they are saying only those with RFID meters will be reimbursed. Why should we work for such an agency?" Balasubramaniam questioned. The garbage contractors are slated to meet BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad on Thursday to discuss the issues related to outstanding payments. "If they don't pay us, we will stop this work and we won't continue collecting garbage," Balasubramaniam added. BBMP sources with the Solid Waste Management Department said that the agency has released Rs 70 crore to the accounts department, which are yet to be released for payment. "Depending on the financial condition, we will make the payment for June immediately. We will talk to the garbage contractors and begin reimbursing the money soon," BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad said.
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Karnataka bye-polls: Voting underway in Sira and RR Nagar
At 11 am, the turnout in RR Nagar was reported as 14.4% while the voter turnout in Sira was 23.63%
Sakhi polling booth in RR Nagar
Voting for bye-polls to two Assembly seats - Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Sira - in Karnataka commenced on Tuesday morning amid tight security and COVID-19 induced guidelines. Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. At 11 am, the turnout in RR Nagar was reported as 14.4% while the voter turnout in Sira was 23.63% The electoral fortune of 31 candidates including four women, will be decided by the estimated 6.76-lakh electorate, including 7,000 first-time voters. Of the four women candidates, Congress has fielded political novice, H Kusuma, widow of former IAS officer, D.K. Ravi and Janata Dal (Secular) has fielded Ammajamma, widow of B Sathyanarayana in Sira in Tumakuru. The Sira bye-poll was necessitated after the death of B. Satyanarayana on August 5 after prolonged illness. The Congress has nominated its former minister TB Jayachandra, who lost to Satyanarayana in the May 2018 assembly elections, while Rajesh Gowda is the BJP contestant. The RR Nagar polls were enforced after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate N Muniratna resigned in July 2019 as a Congress legislator. A two-time lawmaker, Muniratna defected to the ruling party in November 2019 after the Supreme Court allowed him to recontest from RR Nagar though he was disqualified for defying the party whip. The BJP has chosen to field Muniratna while the JD(S) has nominated V Krishna Murthy as its candidate for a triangular contest though there are a dozen independents in the fray. The voters will exercise their franchise at the 1,008 polling stations, 678 are in RR Nagar and 330 in Sira. Of the two seats, Congress had won RR Nagar and Janata Dal (S) had won Sira, in Tumakuru in 2018 assembly polls.
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Bengaluru sees 1439 new COVID-19 cases, 14 deaths on Monday
Bengaluru’s positivity rate stands at 10.96%.
Bengaluru recorded 1,439 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the total active cases in the capital city to 26,098. Recoveries for the day stood at 5,925, and 14 new deaths were recorded. Till date, the city has cumulatively seen 3,40,075 COVID-19 cases, of which 3,10,088 have recovered and 3,889 have passed away. In the last 24 hours, 16% of cases were each reported from Yelahanka and Bengaluru West, 15% from Bengaluru East, 14% from Bengaluru South, 13% from Bommanahalli, 11% each from RR Nagara and Mahadevapura and 4% from Dasarahalli. According to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s bulletin, there are 18 containment zones in the city. Bengaluru’s positivity rate currently stands at 10.96%. Karnataka recorded 2,576 fresh cases and 29 deaths on Monday, taking the state’s COVID-19 tally and cumulative fatalities to 8,29,640 and 11,221 respectively on Monday. The state has been showing a steady decline in cases and mortalities in recent days from an alarming over 10,000 infections and around 200 fatalities a day about a month ago. Sharing the encouraging trends, state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar tweeted, "2,576 new Covid cases have been reported in Karnataka today and 8,334 recoveries.7,73,595 people have recovered in the state so far with a recovery rate of 93.24%. State's covid mortality rate stands at 1.35%." He went on to say "Victory is ours in the fight against coronavirus!" and added it would happen if people followed the three precautions of wearing masks, clean hands, and social distance. The total infections comprised 7,73,595 discharges, including 8,334 on Monday, and 44,805 active cases, including 931 in the intensive care units (ICUs) of various hospitals, a bulletin issued by the health department said. About 50% of the fresh cases and fatalities were contributed by the Bengaluru Urban district with 1,439 infections and 14 deaths. According to the bulletin, as many as 123 cases were reported in Tumakuru, 100 in Mysuru, 92 in Mandya, 87 in Hassan, 60 in Ballari, 58 in Chikkaballapura and 51 in Dakshina Kannada and rest were scattered over other districts. Most of those who died of coronavirus were above 50 years of age but there were three people in their 40s and two in their 30s, it said. A total of 78,496 tests, including 65,015 using the RT PCR method, were done, taking the cumulative number of specimens screened so far to 80.91 lakh. With PTI inputs
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Bengalureans driving alone in private cars need not wear masks, BBMP reverses rule
Solo two-wheeler riders will still have to wear a mask.
Representational image/PIxcy.com
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has withdrawn its order mandating the wearing of masks by individuals driving alone in their private car. An order issued by the BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad on Monday said that such persons who are driving alone need not wear masks as long as their windows are rolled up. However, the same order clarified that two-wheeler users who are riding alone must wear masks. Tuesday’s order came after the BBMP Commissioner had sought clarification from the Additional Chief Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department on the same issue. There was huge uproar online by city residents who criticised the move by the BBMP Commissioner’s order issued last week, terming it unscientific. TNM has earlier reported that even the Union Health Ministry in September had announced that it was not necessary to wear masks while driving alone in a car. In its order on Monday, the BBMP said the change in the guidelines regarding use of masks were reached based on the proceedings of a meeting held on Sunday by the Technical Advisory Committee of the state government. In the order issued on Monday the BBMP had said strict implementation of physical distancing and use of masks were necessary to keep the number of new cases low. It said that over the period of the last two months, the positivity rate of the state has come down from 12.79% in September to 9% in October. At present, the police and BBMP marshals are issuing fines to those who violate the mask rule. In BBMP areas like other urban areas of the state, a fine of Rs 250 is slapped while people in rural areas are slapped a fine of Rs 100 for not complying with the COVID-19 rule.
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Karnataka to decide on reopening of schools on Wednesday
Karnataka Minister Suresh Kumar said the government is studying the Andhra Pradesh model for reopening of schools.
Representational image
Karnataka's plan to reopen schools hit a roadblock as the scheduled meeting of the concerned officials could not be held on Monday and has been rescheduled for November 4. After the Andhra Pradesh government reopened schools for classes 9 to 12 on Monday, the Karnataka government too felt the need to deliberate on this model for three days with officials concerned before announcing its final decision. As a result of this, the meeting was convened but due to technical glitches, the meeting had to be called off abruptly. Speaking to reporters, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said, "We are seriously studying the Andhra Pradesh model for reopening of schools. Prior to taking any decision, we need to examine everything as it is a question of students' lives." He added that the state has agreed to reopen colleges from November 17 even as Karnataka is witnessing a trend of COVID-19 cases coming down. "Hence we are also giving it a fresh thought to reopen schools," he said and added that even experts have suggested that it would be better if schools are reopened in a phased manner. The minister said that not every student can afford online education. "Prior to reopening, we need to gather information on various fronts besides the health condition of the teachers and students," he said. "Experts feel that prolonged closure of schools can have a negative impact on a child's mind as well; therefore, we are examining all these things before arriving at a final decision," Kumar said. Earlier in October, there were deliberations to reopen schools but it was then deferred in the wake of a sudden surge of cases. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on October 11 had announced a three-week holiday for students and teachers in schools in Karnataka. The Andhra government reopened schools for classes 9 to 12 as well as colleges on Monday after a gap of over seven months. While students of classes 9 and 10 will have half-day school on alternate days, the AP government plans on beginning school for classes 6 to 8 on November 23 after a reviewing the situation. Classes for 1 to 5 will return to school in Andhra on December 14.
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