Karnataka govt to appoint dedicated staff for organ donation facilitation

Health

The Health Department has also decided to equip all district hospitals and medical colleges in the state for organ harvesting.

Soumya Chatterjee

In a step to promote organ donations in the state, the Karnataka Health Department has decided to equip all district hospitals and medical colleges in the state to harvest organs from donors. A Deputy Director, additional staff and 20 organ transplantation organisers will be newly appointed for the State Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO). In addition to this, training will be imparted to the hospital staff, a recently issued government order said. Other than coordinating organ donations in the state across various hospitals, SOTTO will also maintain a waiting list of patients needing donated organs. A government official who did not wish to be named said, “Till now, we did not have an official body of SOTTO, but we were functioning like an ad-hoc department under the Jeevasarthakathe programme. With this new dedicated administrative staff, we will be able to function better. This is being done as per the policy guideline by the National Law School to have an official body for organ donation.” The official added, “With more administrative staff, more government hospitals will be made part of this organ donation pool. Currently only a few government hospitals in the state have licenses to harvest organs.” According to officials, as COVID-19 cases are decreasing in Karnataka, the number of donors is increasing in the state. In 2019, there were 105 donors. From January to March 2020, during the pre-pandemic time, the state saw 25 organ transplants, while nine more took place in the past two months.    TNM in August had reported how the COVID-19 crisis had resulted in shortage of organ donors, which in turn led to deaths of patients who needed organ donations to survive. Doctors had then said acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients were the most affected as they might not have any eligible donors among the near family members. At that time, officials had said that more than 3,000 patients were awaiting kidney donations alone.  wait for HL. read through once. put byline.    ====  Crumb: Health   Karnataka govt to appoint dedicated staff for organ donation facilitation     Karnataka to now have dedicated staff for organ donation facilitation   Blurb: The Health Department has also decided to equip all district hospitals and medical colleges in the state for organ harvesting.   In a step to promote organ donations in the state, the Karnataka Health Department has decided to equip all district hospitals and medical colleges in the state to harvest organs from donors. A Deputy Director, additional staff and 20 organ transplantation organisers will be newly appointed for the State Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO). In addition to this, training will be imparted to the hospital staff, a recently issued government order said. Other than coordinating organ donations in the state across various hospitals, SOTTO will also maintain a waiting list of patients needing donated organs. A government official who did not wish to be named said, “Till now, we did not have an official body of SOTTO, but we were functioning like an ad-hoc department under the Jeevasarthakathe programme. With this new dedicated administrative staff, we will be able to function better. This is being done as per the policy guideline by the National Law School to have an official body for organ donation.” The official added, “With more administrative staff, more government hospitals will be made part of this organ donation pool. Currently only a few government hospitals in the state have licenses to harvest organs.”   According to officials, as COVID-19 cases are decreasing in Karnataka, the number of donors is increasing in the state. In 2019, there were 105 donors. From January to March 2020, during the pre-pandemic time, the state saw 25 organ transplants, while nine more took place in the past two months.    TNM in August had reported how the COVID-19 crisis had resulted in shortage of organ donors, which in turn led to deaths of patients who needed organ donations to survive. Doctors had then said acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients were the most affected as they might not have any eligible donors among the near family members. At that time, officials had said that more than 3,000 patients were awaiting kidney donations alone.  Read: Karnataka witnesses acute shortage of organ donors amidst COVID-19 pandemic  

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The first Covid vaccines were triumphs. What if the next are only OK?

Health experts worry that the public could balk if offered a shot that's only moderately effective.

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IPS officers D Roopa, Nimbalkar lock horns over Nirbhaya Project tendering

Controversy

D Roopa has written to the Karnataka Chief Secretary, seeking a probe against Hemant Nimbalkar over a contentious tender document which was eventually dropped.

Soumya Chatterjee

File image

Karnataka Home Secretary D Roopa has written a letter dated December 26 to state Chief Secretary Vijaya Bhaskar alleging that fellow IPS officer Hemanth Nimbalkar has made a false and motivated complaint against her, TNM has reliably learnt. She has further demanded a probe against Nimbalkar, alleging in turn that he was trying to favour a private company in the Bengaluru Safe City Project. This is in the context of a Times of India report which appeared on Friday suggesting Roopa was under probe by the Chief Secretary for allegedly ‘impersonating’ as Home Secretary and interfering with the tendering process for the multi-crore Bengaluru Safe City Project. (It is unclear where the question of impersonation arises as Roopa is the Home Secretary of Karnataka.) The scope of the Bengaluru Safe City Project – also known as the Nirbhaya Project – includes setting up of 7,500 cameras and other surveillance measures as a means of crime prevention against women and children in the city. The project is being implemented by the Karnataka Home Department. While Hemanth Nimbalkar is the chairman of both the Tender Inviting Committee and the Tender Scrutiny Committee for the project, Roopa is Secretary (PCAS) of the Home Department. On Friday, Times of India published a report that an unnamed IPS officer had impersonated the Home Secretary to get confidential information about the project from a private auditor tasked with drawing up the tender documents for the project. The content of the report is on the lines of a complaint written by IPS officer Hemant Nimbalkar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration) to the Karnataka Chief Secretary on December 7.  TNM has a copy of the complaint made by Nimbalkar to the CS, which doesn’t explicitly mention D Roopa; however, the complaint refers to calls made by Roopa. In this complaint, Nimbalkar said Roopa’s act of seeking details from private auditor EY was “undue illegal interference” for “wrongful gains”. Now, Roopa has sent a complaint against Nimbalkar to the Chief Secretary, making a similar allegation against him. Informed sources have confirmed that in her letter, Roopa has alleged that Nimbalkar was trying to avoid scrutiny of the tender as he was allegedly favouring a private firm for the Rs 1,067 crore project. To prove her point, she has mentioned that the tender (request for proposal) was eventually dropped following a complaint made to the Prime Minister’s office by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a Ministry of Defence company, which had also placed a tender for the project but lost out to a private company. Roopa has said that she was scrutinising the tendering process under the instructions of Additional Chief Secretary Home Rajneesh Goel, IAS, adding that she had spoken to auditor EY in her official capacity to ascertain more facts on the matter. Demanding a probe against Nimbalkar, Roopa asked that he be removed from his position of chairman of both the Tender Inviting Committee and the Tender Scrutiny Committee as he has been chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the multi-crore IMA Ponzi scheme case. In a statement which she has tweeted, Roopa rubbished the allegation of impersonation given she is the Home Secretary. She said, “The complaint against my actions appears to have been made at behest of those benefiting from the biased and unfair tender. Each of my action has been to safeguard public interest and public money in bonafide discharge of my duties as public servant. I myself being Home Secretary, the complaint alleging impersonation is false and motivated.” My whistle blowing in respect of Nirbhaya/safe-city project. pic.twitter.com/AySN4jH2xc — D Roopa IPS (@D_Roopa_IPS) December 25, 2020  

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Family alleges B’luru hosp refused to release body of COVID-19 patient, govt intervenes

Controversy

A video of a man narrating the family’s version, claiming that they were billed Rs 40 lakh, also went viral.

TNM Staff

Representational image

Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar intervened to settle an imbroglio involving a private hospital in Bengaluru and the family of a COVID-19 patient who passed away. While the family alleged that the hospital was refusing to surrender the body of the patient and had billed them exorbitantly, the hospital claimed that the body was to be given to the family only via the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), following COVID-19 protocols. However, the patient's family claimed that the hospital was not giving the body to the BBMP due to the pending bill. According to reports, 62-year-old Bheem Ram Patel from Rajasthan was admitted to Malathi Manipal Hospital in Jayanagar after reporting COVID-19 symptoms, and he subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus. He passed away on December 23 and was found to be positive in a repeat coronavirus test. The family of the deceased said that the patient had not recovered even with 40 days of treatment, and that the hospital had charged them an exorbitant amount. They also claimed that the hospital had misled them to believe that the "virus has been treated". However, they were upset to see that the postmortem report still mentioned the presence of coronavirus. A video with the hospital building in the background and a man narrating the family’s version, claiming that they were billed Rs 40 lakh, also went viral. A statement from the Health Minister’s office said, “The Minister, who was informed about the incident the same evening, contacted the management about the case. The hospital administration explained that there was no fault of theirs and that according to the regulations, the body of the patient has to be handed over through BBMP and gave the details of payment dues.” It added, “Following the instructions from the Minister, the bill was cleared with the amount paid by the insurance company and son of the deceased patient. The body of the patient was handed over according to COVID-19 regulations on 24 December to the family. The bill amount of Rs 10 lakh has been waived.”

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10 UK returnees to Karnataka have tested positive for COVID-19

COVID-19

Samples from these patients have been sent for genome sequencing to establish if they have been affected by the new variant.

IANS

Representational image/PTI

As many as 10 passengers who returned from the UK since November 25 have tested Covid positive so far in Karnataka, state Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Friday. "According to the information I possess, 10 people tested positive. All their samples have been sent to NIMHANS, two to three days are required for genetic sequencing... once that report is out, we will get to know whether it is the second strain, and accordingly we will follow necessary procedures for treatment," he said in response to a question at a press meet. According to him, details relating to this variant are still being deliberated and according to initial studies, another strain of this virus discovered in South Africa is far more severe than the variant found in the UK. “We can take action only after we get the reports of these 10 positive patients. As we get (them), we will take necessary steps. I appeal to the people to have faith in the government, before taking any decision we think hundred times. Protecting the health of the people is our chief concern,” he said. The minister had recently said that nearly 2,500 people came to the state from the UK between November 25 and December 22 in flights operated by Air India and British Airways, and efforts were on to trace, monitor their health and subject them to tests. Responding to criticism against the government, the minister observed that this is the very government that has achieved a recovery rate of 97.5%, and brought down the fatality rate to 1.22%. "After the new variant was discovered, countries like Britain and Germany have adopted stringent measures like ordering lockdown and latter enforcing curfew. What does this indicate?" he asked. Sudhakar added that the decision to enforce curfew after 11 pm was taken keeping in mind the public interest so as to ensure that normal life is not affected. “When almost all our festivals this year were celebrated in a subdued manner, why is this outrage against this night curfew as though it is necessary for youngsters to have fun or party during the new year," he said while cautioning the opposition parties that they will be responsible if anything goes wrong. The state government had announced an eight-day night curfew, but withdrew it on Thursday hours before it was supposed to go into effect. Several ministers in the cabinet reportedly took objections to the decision of enforcing a night curfew while the Opposition expressed apprehensions on whether it would help in containing the spread of the virus, considering the curfew was between 11 pm and 5 am.

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Govt to start safaris in Bannerghatta National Park, activists oppose

Wildlife

The safari route will be run on a trial basis until May 31, 2021 and subsequently finalised based on experience.

Soumya Chatterjee

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In a controversial decision, the Karnataka Forest Department has decided to start a new safari in the Bannerghatta National Park (BNP), located in the outskirts of Bengaluru city. While the government aims to cash in on additional revenue from tourists, conservationists and activists are worried about the dangers associated with increased tourism activity that affects wildlife and flora, fauna of natural habitats. Currently safaris are conducted within the Bannerghatta Biological Park which is located in the edge of the forests and in light of increased poaching, encroachment, activists are questioning the need for a safari in the national park itself. TNM has accessed one order signed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Ajai Mishra who has given the go-ahead for the safari. According to the order,  the Deputy Conservator of Forest, BNP, has been asked to identify and create safari routes. The safari route will be  run on a trial basis until May 31, 2021 and subsequently finalised based on experience. Commenting on this, Joseph Hoover, Member of State Wildlife Board and a veteran conservationist, said, “Since there are already safaris in the Bannerghatta  Biological park, is there a need for safaris in the National Park?” He said apart from a lonesome tiger, there are leopards, bears, wild dogs, elephants, gaur, sambar and spotted deer in the 260 sq km forest landscape. While the safari may enthuse wildlife  photographers and enthusiasts, local activists are not too happy about the order, he said. He added the forest department has been looking for safari options to reduce the stress on Nagarhole and Bandipur Tiger Reserves. Bhanu Prakash, co-ordinator of Bannerghatta Eco Conservation Trust, said, the national park is already suffering from various issues like quarrying, real estate and tourism projects, poaching and heavy traffic in the roads which are crisscrossing the forest. He added, “With these already existing pressures the forest department wants to add to the fragile ecosystems woes.”

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IPS officer in Bengaluru under scrutiny for allegedly impersonating Home Secy

Crime

The unnamed woman IPS officer allegedly impersonated the Home Secretary to obtain confidential details of the Bengaluru Safe City project.

TNM Staff

Image for Represntation/PTI

An IPS officer in Bengaluru has come under the scanner for impersonation. The officer allegedly posed as the Home Secretary on phone and email to access classified information pertaining to the tendering process of the Bengaluru Safe City Project. Police officials have brought this to the notice of Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar and have sought an inquiry. The intervention from the officer was brought to their attention recently. According to TOI, the woman IPS officer impersonated the Home Secretary for personal interests. She reportedly was not linked to the project and the Home Department, aware of the matter, is taking suitable steps. However, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said, “The proposal was being drafted by an independent management consultancy we hired. They received a mail from a third-party asking about the details and they brought this to our notice. We further notified the government.” “The motivation behind the said officer’s act of impersonation is unknown. We can speak about it only after we have thoroughly investigated. The allegations have not been proven yet; once they are, we will initiate the necessary disciplinary action,” he added when asked about the inquiry and impending action against the said officer. The selection process of the service provider for design, implementation and maintenance of the Safe City project is underway.  When asked if this incident will impact the selection process, the Commissioner said, “The incident will bear no direct effect on the tendering process. We will be accepting the tenders in the month of January.” The findings from the inquiry will be notified to the government, he said. Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar remained unavailable for comment. What is Safe City Project? The Safe City Project is an initiative of the Union government to make cities safer for women and children. The project will be carried out under the Nirbhaya Fund, a Rs 10 billion corpus announced by the Union government, under which CCTV cameras, panic buttons, surveillance systems will be installed, and crimes in cities will be mapped using geographic information system (GIS). The Union government is to bear 60% of the cost while the remaining 40% will be borne by respective state governments.   

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