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Beware of dangerous stingrays at beaches of Udupi, Mangaluru

coastaldigest.com news network
September 13, 2018

Udupi/Mangaluru, Sept 13: Beachgoers in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada must exercise restraint and watch where they step when wading in sea water at least for next couple of weeks as the dangerous stingrays are back. The chances are that visitors might get stung by these cartilaginous fishes that swim close to the shore.

In the last few days, nearly a dozen people have suffered injuries after being stung by the stingrays at Malpe beach in Udupi district. In September, 2014 around 60 tourists were reportedly stung by stingrays at the same beach.

According to Sudesh Shetty, leaseholder, Malpe beach, all necessary precautionary measures have already been taken. Lifeguards in the beach have kept the vaccines ready to counter the effect of the sting. A board also has been installed warning people against stepping into the sea.

Even though no such incidents have been report from other beaches in the region so far, experts have urged the tourists and locals to be cautious while venturing into the sea across coastal Karnataka. Experts say that semi-grown stingrays make their way into craters developed on the shores due to the absence of rip currents.

Yathish Baikampady, CEO, Panambur Beach Tourism Development Project, said that normally during this season lifeguards will not let tourists venture into the water as they are aware of the situation.

Attacks if provoked

In fact stingrays are not usually aggressive and attack humans only when provoked, such as if a ray is accidentally stepped on. To avoid stepping on a stingray in shallow water, the water should be waded through with a shuffle. Alternatively, before wading, small stones can be thrown into the water to scare stingrays away.

Contact with the stinger causes local trauma (from the cut itself), pain, swelling, muscle cramps from the venom, and later may result in infection from bacteria or fungi. The injury is very painful, but seldom life-threatening unless the stinger pierces a vital area. The barb usually breaks off in the wound, and surgery may be required to remove the fragments.

It could be recalled here that Australian zookeeper and television personality Steve Irwin was also a victim of stingray. He lost his life on September 4, 2006, within minutes after being pierced in the heart by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary.

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News Network
August 4,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 4 : Without mentioning any party leader's name, Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar on Monday appealed to Congress workers not to make any "defamatory statement" against any political leader on social media platforms.

Taking to Twitter, Shivakumar wrote, "I appeal to Congress workers not to make defamatory statements against any political leader, on matters of health and other issues on social media platforms. It is not in our culture to wish bad for others. Congress is a party that exemplifies brotherhood and humanity."

His statement comes days after Rajya Sabha MP and AICC in-charge for Gujarat, Rajiv Satav comment where he suggested that introspection in the party should begin from the time of the United Progressive Alliance -II government.

Later, Satav took to Twitter to clarify his remarks at Thursday's meeting of the party's Upper House MPs. Satav, through a series of tweets on Saturday, said he was not comfortable discussing what goes on inside party meetings in forums outside.

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News Network
April 26,2020

New Delhi, Apr 26: The Centre will bring back the Indian citizens stranded abroad due to the ban on arrival of international passenger aircraft, only if the respective states they belong to agree to allow them to come back home and make necessary arrangements to quarantine them after their return.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has started consultations with the State Governments on bringing back the Indians, who got stranded in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada and many other foreign countries due to the ban on arrival of international passenger aircraft to any airport in the country. The decision on facilitating their return to the country would be taken after getting feedback on preparedness of the States and the Union Territory to receive them following all required health precautions, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba said.

Gauba on Saturday had a video-conference with the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories to review the implementation of the restrictions on travel and transport as well as the lockdown imposed across the country to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though the Government earlier either evacuated or facilitated the return of nearly 28000 Indians from a number of foreign countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, it almost stopped doing so after the ban on arrival of international passenger aircraft was enforced on March 23 in the wake of the spurt in the number of COVID-19 cases in India.

Thousands of Indian students, tourists, professionals and others are stranded around the world, including in the countries, where respective governments had imposed lockdowns to contain the pandemic. They have been desperately requesting the government on social media to evacuate them.

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News Network
May 30,2020

Bengaluru, May 30: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has announced that on May 31 (Sunday) there will not be a total lockdown and all activities will be permitted and continue like the rest of the week.

The decision was taken in view of demands from citizens and “keeping their interests in mind,” said a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

This means that public transport services - buses, autos and cabs - shops, commercial establishments and others will be open on May 31.

Under a Lockdown 4.0, Karnataka had decided to throw open public transport, except metro, shops and commercial establishments, except Metro, on all six days between 7 am and 7 pm. However, May 24 and May 31 - Sundays - were exempted from the relaxation and a curfew was to be imposed throughout the day.

The Lockdown 4.0 ends May 31 and the government's decision to keep Sunday free comes ahead of the Lockdown 5.0 that the Centre is expected to announce soon.

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