At a vaccination centre in Bengaluru. (Reuters)Karnataka Bengaluru Coronavirus News July 8 Highlights: Karnataka logged 2,743 new cases of Covid-19 and 75 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 28,62,338 and toll to 35,601, the health department said on Wednesday. The day also saw 3,081 discharges, continuing to outnumber the fresh cases, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 27,87,111.
Bengaluru Urban reported 611 new cases, as the city saw 693 discharges and 12 deaths. Active cases in the state stood at 39,603. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 1.64 per cent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 2.73 per cent.
Besides Bengaluru Urban, Dakshina Kannada recorded the highest of 14 deaths, Ballari (7) and Dharwad (6). Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Dakshina Kannada accounted for 304, Mysuru 248, Hassan 220, followed by others. (PTI)

The Karnataka government informed the Karnataka High Court that properties and bank accounts of Former minister Roshan Baig’s will be attached in the multi-crore I-Monetary Advisory (IMA) scam.
Baig, who was arrested by the CBI on November 22, 2020, was earlier remanded in 14-day judicial custody by a court. In December last year, he was granted bail by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court.
After the Karnataka State Film Exhibitors Association (KSFEA) submitted a detailed memorandum to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, he directed the officials to issue an order waiving property tax on single-screen theatres for the 2021-22 financial year.
According to the order, the property tax waiver for single-screen theatres will cost the state exchequer Rs 9 crore. The KSFEA in its memorandum to Chief mint stated that with theatres remaining shut for almost 14 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic since March last year, the theatre owners have suffered huge losses.
There are 630 single-screen theatres in the state.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked for the second consecutive day on Thursday, July 8, 2021, touching a record high across the country.
In Bengaluru, petrol is priced at Rs. 103.93 per litre and diesel costs 94.99 per litre.
Two days after a farmer in Karnataka’s Bagalkot district was killed in an accident involving the speeding car of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi’s son, the BJP leader claimed “politics” was behind his son’s name being “dragged into the incident unnecessarily.”
Speaking to reporters in Kalaburagi on Wednesday, the Deputy CM reiterated that his son, Chidanand Savadi, was not behind the car’s wheel. “Politics is being mixed into this incident. I will reveal who is behind this within two days,” Savadi, who is also the transport minister of the state, said.
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The Karnataka Congress Wednesday took out cycle rallies across all 224 Assembly constituencies in the state protesting the “unprecedented hike” in fuel prices and “anti-people policies” of the BJP-led central and state governments.
State Congress chief DK Shivakumar, participating in the protest in Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district, said, “Fuel prices exceeding the Rs 100-mark has strangled commoners. Nothing but BJP’s insensitivity is responsible for this situation. How can the common man afford this cost, which equates to robbery?”
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Rajeev Chandrasekhar, currently a third-time Member of Parliament from BJP in the Rajya Sabha and the national spokesperson of the saffron party, took oath as the Narendra Modi-led NDA government expanded the Council of Ministers Wednesday.
He was an Independent MP representing Karnataka in the Upper House from 2006 to 2018 before he joined the BJP. While in the saffron party, he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from the state for a third six-year term.
Earlier, he served as Kerala NDA’s vice-chairman during the 2016 Assembly elections and media and communication in-charge in the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections,
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The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has constituted a 14-member panel comprising paediatric experts ahead of predictions of a third wave of COVID-19 which may see children at risk.
BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta, in an order, stated that the committee will include five experts: Dr. Sanjay, director of Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, Dr. Mallikarjun, president of Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Dr. Rakshay Shetty, lead paediatric intensivist of Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Dr. Naresh P. from Manipal Hospital and Dr. Vishwanath Kamoji from Columbia Asia Hospital.
The other nine members of the committee, which will be headed by Mr. Gupta, are civic officials. Special Commissioner (Health) D. Randeep will be the member secretary. Chief Health Officer (Public Health) B.K. Vijayendra, Chief Health Officer (Clinical) Nirmala Buggi, and other children’s specialists working in the BBMP will also be on the committee.
Shobha Karandlaje is the new Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Lok Sabha MP representing the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru constituency in Karnataka is identified as one among the few firebrand leaders of the ruling party for being vocal with her remarks on contemporary issues. She is also BJP’s state Vice-President in Karnataka.
The 54-year-old originally hails from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada. While she identifies herself as a social worker, Karandlaje is a postgraduate in Social Work (MSW) and Sociology (MA).
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Abbaiah Narayanaswamy is the new Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment. He is an MP who represents Chitradurga (SC) constituency in Karnataka, who has his origins from Anekal in Bengaluru Rural.
A four-time MLA from his home-turf from 1998 to 2013, the 64-year-old was picked to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2019.
With an experience of serving the public for more than three decades, Narayanaswamy is popular locally for his ability to speak to the point which draws huge crowds at venues where he speaks.
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Karnataka logged 2,743 new cases of Covid-19 and 75 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 28,62,338 and toll to 35,601, the health department said on Wednesday. The day also saw 3,081 discharges, continuing to outnumber the fresh cases, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 27,87,111.
Bengaluru Urban reported 611 new cases, as the city saw 693 discharges and 12 deaths. Active cases in the state stood at 39,603. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 1.64 per cent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 2.73 per cent.
Besides Bengaluru Urban, Dakshina Kannada recorded the highest of 14 deaths, Ballari (7) and Dharwad (6). Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Dakshina Kannada accounted for 304, Mysuru 248, Hassan 220, followed by others.
The bird sanctuary at Ranganathittu on the banks of Cauvery river near Mysuru has reopened for visitors after closure due to Covid-19 induced lockdown.
The Forest Department has asked visitors to strictly follow COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour at the sanctuary and the entire sanctuary including the boats and life jackets had been disinfected, said forest department in a press release.
According to the forest department, the migratory birds are expected to flock the sanctuary from October onwards.
Bhagwanth Khuba has been picked as the new Union Minister of State for New & Renewable Energy, and Chemicals & Fertilisers. The 54-year-old is a two-time MP from Bidar constituency in the Kalyana Karnataka (formerly known as Hyderabad-Karnataka) region.
His rise in politics began as his influence in the area, which was traditionally a stronghold of the Congress, grew steadily after he was fielded as BJP candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
As a debutant, Khuba wrested the seat from former Karnataka chief minister N Dharam Singh. His victory, also fuelled by the nationwide BJP-favouring wave, was widely noted as he won the polls by a majority of 92,222 votes. In 2019, Khuba raised the lead to 1,16,834 when he defeated another strong candidate and former Congress minister Eshwar Khandre, the working president of the party.
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The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will start inter-State bus operations to Kerala from Karnataka starting from Monday.
The bus service from Mangaluru, Puttur, Bengaluru, Mysuru, and other places from July 12.
According to KSRTC, those travelling from Kerala to Karnataka should mandatorily carry a COVID-19 negative certificate not older than 72 hours or a vaccination certificate which should be of at least one dose of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, students and other regular travellers for business or other reasons to Karnataka should undergo the RT-PCR test once in a fortnight and carry COVID-19 negative certificates.
Bengaluru police announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for the police team for their investigation into the rape and torture of a Bangladeshi woman.
Begnaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant on Wednesday announced a reward to the team.
The accused were arrested and the chargesheet filed in a record time of five weeks, said Pant.
Eleven accused have been arrested and the police after a detailed probe filed a 1019-page chargesheet before the court, he added.
A Bengaluru-based real estate development agency has been booked by the Bengaluru Police for allegedly cheating a bank.
The Cubbon Park police have booked Nitesh Estates Limited and its subsidiaries for allegedly cheating Yes Bank by defaulting on a Rs 712-crore loan. A case was registered against the company and its promoter, Nitesh Shetty, recently based on a complaint by a representative of Yes Bank.
According to a complaint filed by Ashish Vinod Joshi, a representative of Yes Bank Limited in Mumbai, the company has borrowed Rs 712 crore for 12 of its projects since February 2016. However, after a few instalments, the company defaulted on the loan and despite repeated reminders, failed to respond.
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