A health worker collects nasal swab of a traveler to test for COVID-19 outside a train station in Bengaluru, India. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)Karnataka Bengaluru Coronavirus News April 8 Highlights: Karnataka reported 6,976 new cases of COVID-19 and 35 more deaths on Wednesday, taking the total number of infections to 10,33,560 and the toll to 12,731, the Health department said. The day also saw 2,794 patients getting discharged after recovery.
It said, out of 49,254 active cases, 48,901 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 353 are in ICU. A total of over 2,22,14,842 samples have been tested so far, out of which 1,25,390 were tested on Wednesday alone.
Bengaluru Urban alone accounted for 4,991 fresh cases. Mysuru accounted for 243 fresh cases Wednesday, Bidar 214, Kalaburagi 205, Tumakuru 204, Dakshina Kannada 112, Belagavi 101, followed by others. Twenty-five deaths were reported from Bengaluru Urban, two each from Kalaburagi and Mysuru, and one each from Ballari, Bidar, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Tumakuru and Vijayapura.
Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 4,60,016, followed by Mysuru 57,169 and Ballari 40,182. Among discharges too, Bengaluru Urban tops the list with 4,19,508, followed by Mysuru 54,647 and Ballari 39,092. (PTI)
There are 8,500 booths in BBMP limits and a team will be formed in each booth which will conduct a door to door survey, said health minister Dr K Sudhakar.
"Their mandate will include testing, spreading awareness on isolation guidelines, necessary assistance to Covid infected persons, treatment for home isolated people, stamping, health check up, ensuring oxygen service for the infected persons etc," he said.
Though this programme was unveiled last year, it could not be implemented. But now we will ensure this will happen. Every ward will have one ambulance, 250 ambulances are available, said the minister.
Private hospitals have been directed to reserve 50 per cent beds for Covid patients. Guidelines will be out soon regarding modalities for reference from a government hospital and direct admission. "We have requested the home department to provide 2000 home guards for enforcement of Covid-19 appropriate behavior. I will also request the Chief Minister in this regard", said Dr.Sudhakar.
Instructions have been given to conduct 1 lakh testing per day in Bengaluru and to identify atleast 20 primary and secondary contact for each case, said Health & Medical Education Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar. "Government is also planning to conduct door to door survey", he said.
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Thursday after a meeting with officials of BBMP, Bengaluru Urban and Rural district, the minister said that these measures are initiated in the backdrop of the surge in cases. "People should cooperate if officials visit home for Covid testing", he said.
The Karnataka government recently revised taxi fares across the state following a recent protest by various driver associations in Bengaluru pointing out mismatches in the tariff offered for rides by private online cab aggregators like Ola and Uber. The chorus for a unified tariff grew louder after an airport driver registered with the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) killed himself citing financial constraints.
What is the direct impact of the revised order?
Commuting in Ola, Uber or using services of online app-based taxi aggregators have now become costlier. The latest order by the Department of Transport has led to fares witnessing a hike from 35 per cent to 92 per cent, depending on the category in which the respective car used as taxi falls into.
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Mysuru district commissioner Rohini Sindhuri has issued an advisory for all travellers coming from Bengaluru to get a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test report which is not older than 72 hours while visiting Mysuru from April 10.
This includes people who plan on staying in resorts and hotels. Noting the surge in COVID cases in Bengaluru city and district, the advisory said many people commute between Mysuru and Bengaluru on a daily basis for job and business reasons. Also it being a tourist spot, many tourists travel to the district from the state capital.
Hence, day by day, surge in COVID spread has been noticed in Mysuru, it said.
"In this regard it is appropriate for those travelling to Mysuru district from Bengaluru to have a COVID-19 negative report (not older than 72 hours). It is hereby requested to cooperate to control the COVID spread by following the advisory," it added.
Four migrant labourers have been electrocuted Thursday at Anekal bordering Tamil Nadu in Bengaluru while erecting a pandal, police said. According to police, the incident took place at Indlabele in Anekal Taluk on Wednesday where the groundbreaking ceremony of a multi-storey residential building was held.
The iron structure was being laid beneath a high tension wire, when a pole came in touch with the wire resulting in their death. Two others who sustained injuries have been admitted to the hospital.
The deceased were migrant workers. While three were from different parts of Karnataka, one was from Jharkhand.
The Anekal police have registered a case and began investigations. (PTI)
With rising coronavirus cases, the Archbishop of Bengaluru Rev Peter Machado ordered the suspension of public liturgical services in churches, chapels and institutions of Bengaluru urban and rural districts from April 7 to 20.
'In view of the new stringent directives of the government, issued on April 6 wherein the police department has clamped down on all the public religious services, it is right and fitting that we should cooperate with the government, as it is for our own good, safety and benefit, and to curb the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic,' Rev Machado said in his message to all the churches and church associated institutions.
While prohibiting all the public religious services in churches, chapels and Institutions of Bengaluru Archdiocese from April 7 to 20, Rev Machado said the churches and chapels maybe kept open for private visits and adoration. The priests may celebrate the religious services in private with a few or no participation of the public, he explained.
Rev Machado underlined maximum precautions and standard operating procedures have to be strictly followed. For sacramental celebrations, which are pre-arranged in this period like baptism, first Holy Communion, confirmation, marriages et al, not more than 50 shall be allowed; if possible, with closed door celebrations and SOPs in place.
For funerals also not more than 50 should be allowed, the Archbishop said adding, there will be no funeral mass in the churches, but it may be celebrated in cemeteries with SOPs in place. The archdiocese also decided to perform its services online.
The daily and Sunday Holy Masses, Eucharistic Adoration and other paraliturgical celebrations will be live-streamed on the Archdiocesan YouTube, Facebook and other links. Likewise, the parishes may also live-stream their liturgical services to their parish community by giving sufficient information and publicity for it, the order read. (PTI)
The Indian Railways on Thursday chipped in to mitigate the passengers' woes in the wake of state-owned transport corporations employees' strike, which entered the second day over salary related issues. On the request of the Karnataka Chief Secretary, the Railway Board approved running of special trains to various destinations in Karnataka from Thursday to April 14.
The South Western Railway said in a statement that these trains will operate "with special fare due to strike of Karnataka Road Transport Corporation Employees and for clearing rush of upcoming Ugadi festival".
While there will be one special train on Thursday from Hubballi to Yeshwantpur comprising 16 coaches, the SWR has decided to run nine trains on Friday and Saturday. These nine trains to be operated on Friday are from Yeshwantpur to Bijapur, Yeshwantpur to Belagavi, Mysuru to Bidar, Bengaluru City Railway Station to Mysuru and vice versa, Mysuru to Yeshwantpur and vice versa, Yeshwantpur to Shivamogga and Yeshwantpur to Karwar.
The nine trains on Saturday will operate between Yeshwantpur to Belagavi, Bidar to Mysuru, Yeshwantpur to Bidar, Bengaluru City Railway Station to Mysuru and vice versa, Mysuru to Yeshwantpur and vice versa, Shivamogga to Bengaluru City Railway Station and Karwar to Yeshwantpur.
On April 11 (Sunday), there will be two trains -- from Belagavi to Yeshwantpur and Bidar to Yeshwantpur. There will be no special trains on April 12 and 13. On April 14, there will be five trains from Belagavi to Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru City Railway Station to Mysuru and vice versa; and Mysuru to Yeshwantpur and vice versa. (PTI)
Petrol and diesel prices remained steady across the country for the ninth consecutive day on Thursday, April 8, 2021. The auto fuel prices were last changed on March 30, when petrol fell by 22 paise per litre and diesel slipped by 23 paise in the national capital.
In Bengaluru, petrol is priced at Rs. 93.59 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 85.75 per litre.
Karnataka will start administering COVID-19 vaccines at prominent government and private workplaces from April 11, state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Wednesday.
"Starting April 11, the COVID-19 vaccines can be distributed in all private and government workplaces which have at least 100 eligible and willing beneficiaries above 45 years of age," K Sudhakar told reporters.
Sudhakar said the objective to start vaccination drive at workplaces would accelerate the vaccination drive and ensure quicker and better coverage.
According to him, several large IT firms and industries had requested the government to allow vaccination on their premises. "Companies can now provide vaccination to their employees at their offices if there are more than 100 eligible and willing beneficiaries," the Minister said. (PTI)
Defending his meeting with the Governor against Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa’s alleged direct interference in the affairs of his department, Karnataka Rural Development Minister K S Eshwarappa on Wednesday said it was to seek clarification and not to complain.
Rejecting speculations about change in CM, he said Yediyurappa was his leader and loyalty to the party was utmost important for him.
“I don’t want to talk much on this issue as our national leaders are intervening into it and I’m confident that they will resolve it.. as per Transaction of Business Rules 1977, CM cannot directly handle things. The CM can allocate money to departments but distributing it is left to the department,” Eshwarappa said.
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According to BESCOM, there will be no power supply on Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 6 pm in the areas MEI Layout and Acharya College Road in North Bengaluru to carry out work on overhead to underground conversion.
Apart from these areas, Bhuvaneshwari Nagar 8th Main, SBI Bank Road, Maheshwari Nagar, Kalyananagar, Maheshwaramma Temple, Shiva Temple, Gangadhareshwara Temple, Hesaraghatta Main Road, Mallasandra and other areas will also face power cuts.
A CBI Special Court in Bengaluru on Wednesday sentenced a private individual to five years simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs four lakh in a bank fraud case.
According to the CBI officials, they registered a case on July 31, 2002, against the then chief manager of the Basavanagudi branch of Canara Bank here and others on a complaint from the bank.
Shyam M Ganglani, the private individual, along with other accused, had allegedly cheated the bank in the matter of closing Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) deposits by creating forged applications and caused loss to the extent of about Rs 1.34 crore to the bank.
After investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet on June 30, 2003 against four accused, including the then chief manager of Canara Bank Basavanagudi branch, and private individuals, including Ganglani. The case against the then Chief Manager was abated as he
expired, the CBI said. (PTI)
Setting a new date, senior BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal on Wednesday said Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa will be replaced anytime after May 2. The former union minister, who has been an open critic of the Chief Minister, claimed many ministers and legislators, who were being forced to go before the media and issue statements in the CM's support, will "rise up" after April 17.
"Some say Yediyurappa will be Chief Minister until the sun and moon are there. How is it possible? If he is CM in 2023 also, is the 75 years (retirement) rule not applicable to him?" Yatnal asked. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said "it is a great thing that Yediyurappa got a two-year bonus. He should thank the party high command and workers and voluntarily retire after April 17."
"After May 2, the change will happen for sure, it may happen any day....it will be someone from North Karnataka (who will become the CM)," he said, continuing his attack on the 78-year-old Yediyurappa.
The Bijapur city MLA had predicted Yediyurappa's removal as chief minister several times in the past. He was earlier slapped with a show-cause notice for repeatedly criticising Yediyurappa and his government.
Stating that the BJP central leadership was aware of all developments in the state, Yatnal, taking a dig at Yediyurappa and his son B Y Vijayendra, said, "They (high command) are noticing scams, transfer mafia and how the High Court is blasting the government." (PTI)
Former Karnataka minister Ramesh Jarkiholi was discharged from a private hospital in Gokak in Belagavi district on Wednesday.
He had tested positive for Covid-19 and had failed to appear before the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case. Following his discharge, he was shifted to his house in Gokak.
He was admitted to the hospital on Sunday night after complaints of breathing difficulties.
Jarkiholi was accused of sexually exploiting a woman.
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Bengaluru’s rising Covid-19 cases will be a key focus of discussion for Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa during interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with chief ministers of other states on Thursday.
Bengaluru reported 4,991 fresh cases on Wednesday and 25 deaths. Bengaluru is among the top 10 cities in the country to contribute to the surge in Covid-19 cases in the second wave of coronavirus.
With Covid-19 cases on the rise, the Bengaluru Police on Wednesday imposed Section 144(1) of CrPC in Bengaluru city.
“In the wake of an increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Bengaluru, Section 144(1) CrPC is imposed in city limits from today,” said an order issued by Bengaluru Commissioner Kamal Pant.
Section 144(1) of CrPC empowers the government to direct any person to abstain from a certain act in a bid to “prevent danger to human life, health or safety, or a disturbance of public tranquility”.
Nearly 19 years after the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case based on an alleged bank fraud complaint, a designated court in Bengaluru sentenced a man to five years of imprisonment on Wednesday.
According to CBI officials, the court pronounced the convicted, identified as Shyam M Ganglani, to five years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 4 lakh in a bank fraud case registered on July 31, 2002.
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The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has initiated a crackdown on hotels and other business establishments for not adhering to Covid-19 protocol.
BBMP officials have shut down five establishments including a supermarket for not following Covid-19 rules. According to BBMP, two restaurants in Malleswaram, one in Chamarajpet and one in RR Nagar were shut.
A 25-year-old man aspiring for civil services died by suicide allegedly due to blackmailing by an extortion racket wherein a woman lured him to strip himself online and took videos, police have said.
Initially, a case of unnatural death was registered after the suicide on March 23, the police said. Later, a case of extortion and abetment of suicide against the unknown suspects was registered after it turned out that the victim was blackmailed, they said.
The man had lost over Rs 30,000 to the extortionist gang, a police officer told PTI requesting anonymity. According to him, the woman sent a friendship request in the social media to the man and since then they became intimate friends though they had not seen each other physically.
Later, they exchanged their WhatsApp number too and used to have video chat, the official said. During the chat, the woman lured him to strip himself and recorded it. Once the video was in their hands, the gang threatened to share the video in the social media.
The victim's sister grew suspicious due to repeated calls and messages from unknown people who threatened to upload the video if the money was not paid to them, the police official said. She later approached police on April 3, who took up a case of abetment of suicide and extortion against a gang of over six people. (PTI)
Apart from Bengaluru Urban, which has been driving the state’s Covid surge in the second wave, four other districts reported over 200 cases each on a single day on Wednesday for the first time since the pandemic broke out.
While Mysuru reported 243 new cases, 214 others contracted the infection in Bidar. A further 205 and 204 people tested positive in Kalaburagi and Tumakuru districts respectively.
Meanwhile, a total of 6976 people contracted the infection across the state on Wednesday.
Karnataka road transport corporations employees have announced that the bus strike will continue on Thursday and indefinitely till the Karnataka government implements a salary system as per the 6th Pay Commission for workers of state transport undertakings.
On Thursday morning, passengers had to depend on private operators in Bengaluru's Majestic bus terminal.
The major demands of the protesters are that they are brought under the government’s payroll, which is the 6th Pay Commission, and provided the same privileges and incentives as government employees.
The state government has made alternate arrangements by roping in private transport operators to mitigate the impact of the strike.