Bengaluru reports less than 1000 COVID-19 cases for the first time in weeks

COVID-19

The number of tests did not go down across Karnataka, with close to one lakh samples tested on Sunday.

TNM Staff

Representational image/PTI

For the first time in many weeks, new COVID-19 cases plunged to below 1000 in Bengaluru, with 840 new cases reported on Sunday in the city. Six new related fatalities for the day were also reported. With this cumulatively, the city has reported 3.57 lakh infections, 4,003 deaths, 3.35 lakh discharges, including 847 on Sunday. Its tally of active cases stands at 18,171. A bulletin by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said that there were only two active containment zones in the city, both of which fell under the Mahadevapura zone.  Karnataka reported 1,565 fresh COVID-19 cases as the overall tally reached 8.61 lakh while 21 deaths pushed the toll to 1,529, the Health Department said on Sunday. Only Bengaluru showed the infections in three digits while the numbers in the rest of the districts were either in single-digit or double digits.   The state continued to show a sharp decline in COVID-19 cases and fatalities from over 10,700 cases and above 200 deaths a day two months ago, to a mere 1,500-odd cases and 21 deaths now. According to Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, the COVID-19 recovery and mortality rates were 95.50% and 1.33% respectively.   The total infections comprise 8.22 lakh discharges cumulatively, including 2,363 on Sunday and 27,146 active cases including 746 in ICUs, a bulletin issued by the department said.   There was a welcome trend of zero fatalities in 18 districts of the state, including Kalaburagi, where the first death due to coronavirus took place in the country. According to the bulletin, 79 fresh infections were reported in Tumakuru, followed by 71 in Mysuru, 52 in Chitradurga, 47 in Belagavi, 46 in Mandya and 45 in Uttara Kannada. Bagalkote, Ballari, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapura, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Davangere, Dharwad, Hassan, Kalaburagi, Kodagu, Raichur and Shivamogga were also among the districts where cases were reported. The health bulletin showed that there were three deaths in Mysuru and two deaths each in Ballari and Dakshina Kannada. One death each due to coronavirus was reported in Bagalkote, Davangere, Dharwad, Hassan, Haveri, Tumakuru, Uttara Kannada and Vijayapura. Of the 746 patients in the intensive care units (ICUs), 369 are in Bengaluru hospitals, 39 are in Kalaburagi, 37 are in Mysuru and 30 are in Tumakuru district. Out of 99,606 tests conducted on Saturday, 17,075 were through the rapid antigen detection and 82,531 through the RT-PCR method. The total tests done so far stands at 94.92 lakh, the department added. "Positivity rate for the day was 1.57% and case fatality rate was 1.34% across the southern state," added the bulletin.

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Karnataka to set up Maratha Development Board with Rs 50 crore corpus

Politics

Marathas reside in Karnataka in districts bordering Maharashtra.

PTI

File image

Karnataka is setting up a Maratha Development Authority, with Rs 50-crore corpus for the welfare of the Marathas living in the state, especially in districts bordering Maharashtra. "Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has directed the state welfare department to set up the Authority for the financial, social, educational and development of the Marathas living in the state over the decades, especially in the northwest and northern regions," an official told IANS. The state's northwest region was part of the Bombay Province and northern region of the erstwhile Hyderabad-Karnataka region before they were merged with the southern region in the Madras Presidency to form Mysore on November 1, 1956, for the reorganisation of the states across the country. According to Sakala Maratha Samaj president Keshavanathrao Jadav, the Marathas have been living in Karnataka over the centuries as they took part in the Anglo-Mysore wars since the 17th century and settled in the southern state and became part of the state. "Though our forefathers were from Maharashtra, we migrated to the erstwhile Mysore state to wage a war in favour of Kannadigas against the British," Jadav recalled. The community has been urging the state government to include Marathas under the 2A list of backward classes to benefit from reservations in jobs and seats in educational colleges. The decision to set up the authority comes ahead of the byelection to Basavakalyan assembly segment in the state's northern border district Bidar where hundreds of Marathas live. Though the Election Commission is yet to announce the poll date, the bye-election has been necessitated due to the death of its Congress legislator B Narayan Rao, who succumbed to COVID-19 at a private hospital in Bengaluru on September 24. The assembly constituency also has a substantial number of Maratha and Lingayat voters, and the latter is the community Yediyurappa belongs to. Ahead of the November 3 bye-election in the Sira assembly segment in Tumakuru district, the state government on September 29 had set up the Kadu Golla Development Board to woo the Telugu-speaking Golla community, which has a substantial number of voters. The ruling BJP's candidate Raju Gowda wrested the seat from the JD(S), whose sitting legislator B Satyanarayana's death on August 4 in the city caused the by-elections.

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Drugs worth Rs 24 lakh seized in Bengaluru, three including a delivery associate held

Crime

8.3 kg ganja, 4.3 kg charas mixed in chocolates, 120 gm of mango ganja and 120 gm of Hashish oil were among the seized contraband.

IANS

In a crackdown on banned drugs in Bengaluru, three persons, including two agents and a delivery associate, were arrested and narcotics valued at Rs 24 lakh were recovered from them, the police said on Sunday. The mastermind of the racket is still absconding. "Two agents, Rohit Ram and Ayush Pandey, and delivery person Noor Ali were arrested and sent to 14-day judicial custody for allegedly getting and supplying various types of narcotic drugs to unidentified high-profile customers in the city since January," Bengaluru South-East Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sudheer Hegde told IANS. The drugs recovered from Ali, who was working with the delivery services firm Dunzo till recently, are 8.3 kg ganja, 4.3 kg charas mixed in chocolates, 120 gm of mango ganja, 120gm of Hashish oil, 270gm of charas, 8 gm of brown sugar, 9gm of MDMA ecstasy or molly crystals and 100 slips of LSD. "A team has been formed to trace the mastermind behind the drug racket who is hiding somewhere in north India, as he hired the twin agents, who hail from Jharkhand," Hegde said. A case was registered against the accused trio under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. "As the mastermind is still at large and investigation is under progress, we are not disclosing the identity of the customers to whom the accused were supplying the drugs across the city over the months," added Hegde. These arrests come after on Friday the city police arrested one resident of Chikkaballapur district who used to transport marijuana hidden in his vegetable supply truck from Chilkkaballapur to Bengaluru, which is 50 km away. A senior police officer added that Shivakumar’s modus operandi was to visit cities like Hyderabad, Tirupati, Vijayawada and Vizag to procure ganja from there and store it in his house in Chikkaballapur. He was arrested after he was trapped by policemen who posed as drug dealers.

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Rs 200 crore GST evasion scam linked to Chinese firms unearthed in Bengaluru

Crime

Recent search operations across the country by the Bengaluru Zonal Unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence revealed Rs 1,000 crore worth of fake GST bills.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru Zonal Unit of the Directorate General of GST (Goods and Services Tax) Intelligence said that it has busted several scams by tax evaders and arrested masterminds who created fake invoices worth Rs 1,000 crore. In a press statement, Jane K Nathaniel, Principal Additional Director General, said, “The well-coordinated search operations held across the country during the last few weeks have unearthed GST frauds committed by various entities across the country, including well-established companies, involving fake invoices of Rs 1,000 crores and GST evasion of around Rs 200 crores.” Among the arrested includes Bialadugu Krishnaiah from Andhra Pradesh, who floated Jump Monkey Promotions India Pvt Ltd in collusion with Chinese nationals, the agency said. “The said company was involved in issuance of fake invoices to well-established Chinese companies across India without any supply of goods/services. The amount of Rs 53 cr transferred by Chinese companies (China Construction Sausum (India) Pvt ltd, Qingdao Constructions, etc.) to M/s Jump Monkey for the said bogus transactions appears to have been utilised for funding pay-outs to companies, individuals and other suspicious Chinese activities in India,” the press statement said. The agency said Krishaniah’s associates are absconding. It also said Krishnaiah along with the co-accused had indulged in purchase of cryptocurrency (USDT/Tether) and other illegal activities. All the said activities were coordinated by a Chinese national through personal messaging platforms – WeChat and WhatsApp. In another incident, the agency said a case was registered against Bengaluru-based Benstar Power Technologies India Private Limited for supply of bogus invoices without accompanying goods to various well-established multinational companies in the state of Karnataka. “A major recovery of Rs 12 crores has been effected from one of the recipient multinational companies. The director of M/s Benstar Power Limited and allegedly the mastermind behind the entire schema of fake billing, Mr Suresh Mehta, has been arrested,” the statement said. In another incident, the agency traced and arrested the mastermind, Kamlesh Mishra, a resident of Delhi, for floating bogus companies across India. These bogus companies have allegedly raised fake invoices worth Rs 500 crores involving GST of around Rs 80 crores. The said GST of Rs 80 crores has been availed by well-established companies spread across India. Consequent to searches conducted at the premises of major recipients located in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, an amount of Rs 15 crores has been recovered till date. Investigations are in progress to identify other beneficiaries to recover the tax liability, the agency said.

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Why doctors are urging diabetics to ensure greater preventive measures against COVID-19

COVID-19

Diabetics have a much weaker immune system which makes their bodies more vulnerable to infections.

Soumya Chatterjee

Doctors in Bengaluru have warned patients suffering from diabetes to take extra precautions regarding the current pandemic given the high mortality rate among diabetics. Doctors have  said the precautions will include maintaining personal hygiene, hydrating oneself all around the day adequately and monitoring the  blood glucose and blood pressure levels. Dr Mahesh warned that often, losing weight despite eating normally could be a sign of high blood glucose and patients should not stop insulin treatment even if they are ill. Saturday was observed as World Diabetes Day as done on November 14 every year.  An analysis of COVID-19 mortalities as of June 11 in Karnataka by the State War Room had found coronavirus patients suffering from hypertension or/and diabetes mellitus were the worst affected among patients suffering from all comorbidities. 35.11% of all patients who had died and recovered (not accounting for active patients) had succumbed to the infection. Dr Surekha Shetty, diabetologist at the Karnataka Institute of Endocrinology and Research, said in Karnataka, diabetes is among the top risk factors when it comes to COVID-19 mortality with the others being hypertension and kidney disease. “There is no data to suggest that diabetics are at a higher risk of contracting infection but once they get COVID-19, we have statistics from China and the UK to confirm that their outcomes are poorer (requiring ventilatory support and fatalities) compared to other patients. We do not have any Indian data so far as such,” she said. She added while there is no updated government data on this, the trends which were spotted in June are likely to stay true even till date.  Dr Mahesh DM, Consultant, Endocrinology, Aster CMI Hospital said diabetics have a much weaker immune system which makes their bodies more vulnerable to infections and enable the virus. “According to studies, over half of the estimated 77 million diabetes patients in the country do not know that they have diabetes and therefore may not initiate measures to control it. Diabetes impairs the circulatory systems and makes it difficult for blood circulation all-around the body and slows down the pace of recovery from infections like COVID-19,” he said.  He added both diabetes type 1 or 2 are chronic diseases that produce high sugar levels in the blood (or blood glucose). “Elderly patients particularly are more susceptible to the effects of Covid-19 in a diabetes context. Studies have shown a strong link between controlled blood sugar and lower inflammatory markers, while high blood sugar can lead to severe complications or even cause death,” he added. Dr Mahesh also warned those prescribed medication should not skip medicine as its results may be severe. “Research shows that this may make patients vulnerable to blindness and kidney damage which necessitates dialysis. It can also damage nerves which has serious consequences such as, numbness of the foot can develop when the foot falls asleep due to lack of circulation. This results in patients not knowing or noticing that they have hurt themselves, experienced injury, cut or burn,” he cautioned. Dr Ravindra M Mehta, Senior Consultant , Pulmonology, Apollo Specialty Hospitals said , diabetes often exists with other comorbidities such as hypertension and heart diseases – each of them adds a certain risk. ‘However, this does not imply that every diabetic will get into trouble. The fact is, if you have diabetes, then there is a 6% chance of getting into trouble because of COVID-19,” he said.  “We have about 40-50% of patients admitted at our hospital, who have diabetes and they seem to be at a higher risk. Diabetics also have a metabolic syndrome – they may be obese, have high blood pressure or cholesterol issues. When we give diabetic patients treatment for Covid-19, we have to give them steroids, and that elevates their sugar levels.  This takes it to a higher problem because we then have to recommend higher doses of insulin, and the chances of infection will go up. These are the complicating factors of diabetes and Covid-19,” he explained. 

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Bengaluru riots case: Accused’s family says 17-yr-old being tried as an adult

Law and order

The family has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court alleging the police is violating the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act.

Prajwal Bhat

DJ Halli Police Station, Bengaluru

A petition filed in the Karnataka High Court has sought relief for a man arrested in connection with the riots in Bengaluru on August 11, alleging that investigating agencies arrested him and jailed him at the central prison in Bengaluru even though documents showed that his age is 17. The petition pointed out that those under the age of 18 should be under the charge of a juvenile police unit and should not be in a police lockup or in jail.  "The detenu child continues to be illegally detained in the Central Jail Prappana Agrahara,  Bangalore amidst convicts and criminals which will adversely reflect on his mental and physical health, in violation of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2015 and Rules, 2016 and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution," reads the petition filed in the High Court. The mother of the accused person approached the police soon after the arrest was made on August 12. Basawa Kunale, the lawyer representing the accused in the case, stated that investigating officials were informed that the arrested person is 17 years old and documents were produced to support the claim. "The mother told the DJ Halli police that he was 17 and she also presented the documents related to the accused person to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Still, no action was taken. Then she approached lawyers highlighting that her son is 17 years old and has been lodged in the central prison," the lawyer told TNM. Her son has been in judicial custody for the past 3 months. The lawyer pointed out 10 juveniles accused of involvement in the riots were granted bail in October 2020. They were lodged in the observation home for juveniles. The Karnataka High Court has asked the police to respond to the petitioner's charges by November 18. The NIA took over the investigation in the case in September 2020. The counsel appearing for the NIA stated that the arrested person is above 18 and the court has given ten days time for the agency to furnish documents verifying his age before November 18. Violent mob attacks were reported in DJ Halli and KG Halli in eastern Bengaluru on the night of August 11. The mob attacks occurred after a mob of local residents gathered in protest against a Facebook post that was termed derogatory to Muslims. The post was uploaded by  Naveen P, nephew of Pulakeshinagar Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivas Murthy. The mob was angered after the police took time to take action over the complaint made against Naveen's post and launched violent attacks on two police stations - in DJ Halli and KG Halli - and the MLA's residence in Kaval Byrasandra. The attacks began at 9.30 pm on August 11 and ended in the early hours of August 12 after police opened fire against the mob, leading to the deaths of three people. Muzzammil Pasha, an SDPI leader from Bengaluru, had approached the DJ Halli police station with a complaint against Naveen at 7.45 pm on August 11.  He is now among hundreds of people arrested in connection with the violence while many have been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Former Bengaluru mayor Sampath Raj has also been named as an accused person in the chargesheet in the case framed by the Central Crime Branch (CCB).  Read: How two police stations in Bengaluru became targets of mob violence on Tuesday night     A fact-finding committee appointed by the Karnataka government found that the attack was communally charged while another fact-finding committee by civil society organisations in Bengaluru stated that the there is a lack of substantial evidence to call the incident communal, and stated that the police failed to act expeditiously when they were approached with a complaint.  The CCB is focusing its investigation on the attack on the residence of MLA R Akhand Srinivasa Murthy while the Bengaluru police's east division is investigating 72 FIRs registered at the DJ Halli and KG Halli police station. 421 accused persons, including many residents of DJ Halli and KG Halli, were arrested in the days after the violence. Two main FIRs registered in the case (#195 and #229) invoked the UAPA Act against 163 accused persons. 

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Students oppose Karnataka govt’s move to allow 15% hike in medical education fees

Education

Earlier this week, the Karnataka government had increased the govt quota seats in private colleges by 15%.

Shishir Rao

The decision by the Karnataka government to allow an increase of fees for medical and dental seats in private colleges for the academic year 2020-21 has irked aspiring students. Earlier this week, the fee for government quota seats in private colleges was raised by 15% which amounts to a hike of fee from Rs 1,11,952 to Rs 1,28,746 (hike of Rs 16,794) for MBBS seats and from Rs 72,484 Rs to Rs 83,356 for dental seats.  For institutional seats, the fee is raised by 25% which amounts to a hike of fee from Rs 7,85,565 to  Rs 9,81,956 (hike of Rs 1,96,391) for MBBS seats and from 5,32,818Rs to 6,66,023Rs for dental seats. This decision has come at a time when many people have lost their jobs or have received a reduced pay due to the pandemic and many students particularly in the low income and rural sections have been forced to quit education and joined jobs to support their families. “Many people I know from economically poor backgrounds are very passionate about studying medicine but because of this fee hike they will definitely not be able to opt for medical, they will have to settle for other courses like engineering or some other paramedical course,” said Hemanth P, a medical aspirant based in Bengaluru. He further added, “In case I don’t get a seat in a government college I'll have to take an education loan as my family can’t afford the cost.” Another medical aspirant, Harshita also expressed her disappointment.“I’m very passionate about medicine but if I don’t get a government seat I’ll not be able to afford medical education with this fee hike. Not just me, anybody from middle class families can’t bear such a cost and ultimately I'll have to give up the field,” she said. Many student organizations have also opposed this move.  Ajay Kamath, the state secretary of AIDSO said that the move of the government is anti-student and anti-people. “During this pandemic we witnessed the shortage of doctors in the country and it showed us that a lot more doctors are needed. In this circumstance the thing that was to be done was making medical education more affordable but the government had done the exact opposite by yielding to the capitation fee lobby once again,” Kamath said.  He added, “This move will ultimately lead to discrimination towards students who come from poor backgrounds such as children of workers and farmers.” Hanmanth SH, state convener of ‘White Sparks’ Medical and Dental Students Forum, Karnataka also spoke against the move. “Medical profession is seen with a lot of sanctity because it is a service to humanity. Commercializing this field will create doctors who will be interested in recovering the fees or the investment they made to study medicine. This is a very dangerous thing to society, what sanctity will be left of this profession if it is just another business?” he asked.

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