Bengaluru to soon get a ‘Rice ATM', here’s what it means

Food

The dispensing machine, reportedly, can dispense two commodities weighing 25 kgs each per minute.

Sanjana Deshpande

PTI

Rice dispensing machines or a ‘rice ATM’ will soon be set up in a slum in Bengaluru. The initiative is part of Central Government’s project ‘Annapurti’ that is being implemented in a partnership with the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP). The automatic grain dispenser was scheduled to be set up in five Indian states: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. The WFP, Nobel Peace Prize 2020 laureate, has been closely working with the Indian Government to bring reforms in the Targeted Public Distribution System (PDS). Karnataka state Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, K. Gopalaiah said, “We are awaiting a nod of approval from the Centre. We are closely following up with them and will begin the work as soon as the proposal is passed.” The dispensing machine, reportedly, can dispense two commodities weighing 25kgs each per minute; further ensuring that everyone will get their share of grains. Depending on the demand a machine capacitating 100-500 kgs of grains will be installed. “We are looking to set up this machine in the locality where low-income labourers reside. They won’t have to queue outside the ration shops, missing the day’s work; since the machine will be operating 24x7,” said the minister. He added that if permitted by the Centre, they will work on setting up more such grain dispensing machines across the city for those living Below Poverty Line (BPL). The ‘rice ATM’, earlier known as grain ATM, was devised by Piyush Kanel and Ankit Sood who work for the WFP after witnessing the discrepancies in the food distribution system. The creators planned to employ the biometric system to ensure each person gets a fair share.   Minister K Gopalaiah also voiced that they will issue smart cards. “We will finalize the details after consulting the local authorities upon approval, but the entire process will be automated,” he added. The Karnataka State Government currently provides food grains and other essentials to over 1 crore BPL families under their Anna Bhagya scheme.   

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Pandemic budget crunches sink Democrats' hopes for expanding health insurance

Some states are shrinking or delaying plans for coverage expansion as they confront a challenging fiscal reality.

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Karnataka anti-cow slaughter Bill: Yediyurappa-led cabinet passes ordinance

Politics

The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020, was passed by the Assembly on December 9.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka cabinet on Monday took the ordinance route to put into effect the stringent anti-cattle slaughter law in the state, after the government failed to introduce it in the Legislative Council in the recently-concluded legislative session.Minister of Animal Husbandry Prabhu Chauhan said, “As the Congress sabotaged the session at Vidhana Parishad, the Bill could not be passed. But, BJP is firm on protecting cows so the Bill has been implemented through an ordinance.”  "Cow holds a high place in the culture of our country and is a backbone to the livelihood of a farmer. The decreasing number of cows from year to year is concerning. In this condition if we forget our differences and come to protect our cows, we can protect the animal wealth of our state. Just out of political interest, opposing the Bill to create a wrong picture amongst people is not correct," he added. It may be recalled that the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020, was passed by the state Assembly on December 9 without any discussion, despite vocal opposition from the Congress and the JD(S). However, in order to be made a law, the Bill had to get approved by the Legislative Council too. But unlike in the Assembly, the ruling BJP does not have favourable numbers in the Council. While the BJP has 31 MLCs (Member of Legislative Council), the Congress and JD(S) have 29 and 14 MLCs respectively. With the law now passed as an ordinance awaiting the Governor’s assent, it has to be vetted by the Council within six weeks, where the Bill is yet to be introduced. Otherwise, the law will not exist. However, the government can pass a fresh ordinance. It may be recalled that former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy in an interview with TNM had confirmed that his party won’t support the passage of the Bill. With the BJP lacking a majority in the upper house of the state legislature, support from the JD(S) was crucial for the ruling BJP. The new law bans slaughtering of all cattle — cow, calf of a cow, bull, bullock only with the exception of male or female buffalo above the age of 13. The penal provisions of the law say that punishment for the same will result in a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh per animal and three to seven years’ imprisonment. Importantly, the law also allows police to carry out search and seizure on the basis of suspicion that cattle is being sold, purchased or disposed of for the purpose of slaughter. Earlier TNM had reported how the Bill is thought to pose a burden for small-scale farmers in the state. Apart from the Congress and the JD(S), many civil society members and farmer leaders too had opposed the Bill calling it regressive and anti-farmer. Read: Karnataka beef ban: Beyond restaurant menu, here's how things will change

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26 UK returnees in Karnataka test positive for coronavirus, further tests underway

Health

Among those who tested positive, 15 people were from Bengaluru.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Monday said that 26 people who returned from the United Kingdom in the past month had tested positive for the coronavirus in the state. The number increased from the 14 people reported on Sunday. Among those who tested positive, 15 people were from Bengaluru. All those who tested positive were isolated in government hospitals in Karnataka, K Sudhakar said.  Samples of those who tested positive were sent to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru before it was sent to the Union government's designated laboratory. A total of 38,500 travellers came to Karnataka from the UK from November 25 to December 22, when the Union government placed restrictions on flights between India and the UK. Authorities said that of this, 2,500 people came in two flights — Air India and British Airways, and efforts were on to trace these passengers, monitor their health and conduct tests. Sudhakar hinted at stringent action against those returnees from the United Kingdom who were untraceable and had switched off their mobile phones. There could even be police action against them, the minister indicated. "I request the UK returnees to cooperate with us as responsible citizens. You have to get tested. If you don't get tested and switch off your phone, then it's a crime," Sudhakar said. The Minister re-confirmed that genetic sequencing test reports were being prepared as per the Prime Minister's Office's directions. They will be sent to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) which is likely to share the information with the public in a day or two, he said. A release from the Minister's office, quoting him, said that there will be new guidelines for New Year celebrations and that he will hold a meeting with the Home Department regarding this soon. The cabinet will also discuss the decision to reopen schools from January 1. The Vidyagama scheme for Classes 6 to 9 is also set to resume along with regular classes for students from Class 10 and 12. Responding to criticism against the government, the minister pointed out that the government that has achieved the COVID-19 recovery rate of 97.5%, brought down the fatality rate to 1.22%.

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Accident on Bengaluru airport expressway causes pile-up, nine injured

Accident

Traffic on the airport expressway was disrupted for more than 30 minutes as police arrived on the spot to help shift the injured persons to a hospital.

TNM Staff

Nine people sustained injuries after an accident which involved four cars on the Kempegowda International Airport elevated expressway in Bengaluru on Sunday morning. While one of the cars was a cab, three others were private vehicles. The accident took place at Kodigehalli bypass around 7.15 am on Sunday. According to the traffic police, the driver who was heading to the city lost control of the cab, jumped the median and toppled. Three cars going towards the airport hit each other while trying to avoid crashing into the cab. Traffic on the airport expressway was disrupted for more than 30 minutes as police arrived on the spot to help shift the injured persons to hospitals and clear mangled vehicles. A crane was used to lift and shift three cars blocking the road. The people in the cars sustained injuries while the driver in the cab is being treated for hairline fractures on his hands and legs. Police said that the cab driver was driving at 100 km per hour. The accident came on the same day that five persons were killed after a government bus hit a cruiser in Chitradurga. The cruiser had 22 daily wage labourers returning to Bengaluru from Raichur after voting in the first phase of the Gram Panchayat elections when a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus hit the cruiser from the opposite direction on the road. A week ago, the city was jolted by two separate incidents in which drunk triple riders crashed into parked vehicles. Four men involved in the accidents lost their lives including a football coach in the city. 

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Wistron's iPhone factory in Kolar will be operational in 20 days

Industry

Workers at Wistron's manufacturing plant in Kolar had gone on a rampage on December 12 over the alleged delay in payment of salary and overtime wages.

PTI

Karnataka Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar on Sunday expressed confidence that Taiwanese contract manufacturer, Wistron Corporation's iPhone manufacturing facility in Kolar would become fully operational and ready for production in the next 20 days. Speaking to reporters after meeting the officials of Wistron Corp, Hebbar said, "I have spoken to the company officials and they have indicated that in the next 20 days the factory would be operational." Workers at Wistron's manufacturing plant at Narsapura in Kolar district, had gone on a rampage on December 12 over the alleged delay in payment of salary and overtime wages. Wistron had initially estimated the damage at Rs 437.7 crore but later backtracked and said the extent of the damage was about Rs 50 crores, Further, it had informed the Taiwan Stock Exchange in its regulatory filing that the vandalism did not cause a significant impact. The Minister said he could not get the full details about the incident as the senior officials of the factory were not available. He said, "We will hold a meeting in Vikas Soudha next week and ascertain the exact cause of the vandalism." Hebbar reiterated that the industrial policy in the state has been simplified to attract more investment and create more jobs for the locals. He underlined that his department was committed to building a good rapport between management and workers. Blaming the district administration for not reporting the labour department or the public representatives about the incident, the minister said, "The incident would have been averted, had it been brought to our notice." He further said that the management has agreed to retain those who were not involved in the vandalism while those who engaged in violence will be removed. On the ongoing strike at the Toyota Kirloskar manufacturing facility at Bidadi on the city outskirts, the Minister said the factory was shut for 26 days and now the first shift of the unit has begun while the second shift would start in the next 10 days.

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80.71% voting in final phase of Karnataka's Gram Panchayat polls

Elections

The counting of votes will be taken up on December 30.

TNM Staff

Around 81 % voting was recorded in the second and final phase of polling in 109 taluks for 2,709 gram panchayat seats in Karnataka amid the Covid pandemic, an election official said on Sunday. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 30. "Polling was peaceful in all the 109 taluks where 81% of the 1.4 crore electorate cast paper ballots except in the northern Bidar district where electronic voting machines were used as in the first phase of voting on December 22," State Election Commission (SEC) Commissioner B. Basavaraj said. In the 29 of the 30 districts where polling was held in the second phase under Covid guidelines, the highest percentage (91.86) of voting was registered in Bengaluru Rural and lowest (69.51 %) in Kodagu. "As many as 122 COVID-19 patients, including 38 in Chikkaballapur, 23 in Tumakuru, 22 in Hassan and 20 in Dakshina Kannada exercised their franchise between 4-5 pm, as they were allowed to vote in the last hour," said Basavaraj. Elaborate arrangements were made in all the 20,728 booths for free and fair elections. Voters, who had to be masked, were allowed to enter the booth one at a time after thermal screening to ensure social distancing and prevent the virus spread. In all, 1,05,431 candidates are in fray after 3,697 candidates were declared elected unopposed ahead of Sunday's polling. "There are more than 50 % women candidates in the fray, contesting under reserved and general categories. More women also get elected in both the categories," Basavaraj said. Though the local body elections are not contested on party symbols or tickets, the ruling BJP and opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) will claim victory based on the loyalty and affinity of the respective candidates to them. "The candidates are contesting on their names and not on any party symbol. Many of them may be members of the respective parties or owe allegiance to the ruling or opposition parties," added Basavaraj.   Over 80 per cent turnout was recorded in the first phase of polling in 3,019 local bodies in 117 taluks on December 22.   A total of 1.17 lakh candidates were in fray in the first phase after 4,377 were declared elected unopposed ahead of the polling.  

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