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BJP?sees Rs 190-cr scam in rural development dept

[email protected] (DHNS)
May 7, 2016

Bengaluru, May 7: The BJP on Friday said a lot of procedural and financial irregularities had taken place in the establishment of water testing laboratories and purchases made by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department.shattal

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar told reporters that the department spent Rs 190 crore to establish water quality testing labs in 146 taluks since 2014. RDPR?Minister H?K Patil encouraged nepotism and is directly involved in the scam. The government must cancel the tender for the works and order an inquiry, he demanded.
The senior BJP leader released some documents to support his claims. However, he did not come out with any documentary evidence to show Patil's direct involvement.

Shettar said a certain Prasad Rayapati had got the tenders through his companies in three phases to establish the labs. In the first phase, the work orders were issued for establishing labs in 80 taluks. In the second phase, the work orders were given to Prasad in deviation of the tender process. In the final phase, tenders of other bidders were rejected on technical grounds to help Prasad as he remained the sole bidder.

Rules were changed'
Shettar said that to participate in the tender process, contractors/participants should be either manufacturers or dealers of the products required for a project. Though Prasad was ineligible to participate in the tenders, the department changed the rules to help him. The department stated the work could be taken up in association with another company.

The rules specify that the contractors, of their five years' existence in business, should have transacted business worth Rs 57 crore in two years. To fulfill this norm, Prasad has tied up with Srinivasa Constructions India and gained backdoor entry, Shettar said.

Prasad had not submitted insolvency certificate worth Rs 15 crore, which is compulsory. Prasad and the companies which he has created - Ray Environ - and Global Technologies, Sawant Instrument Private Limited, Hyderabad and Gen Next Lab Technologies, New Delhi have illegally submitted the certificates to get the work orders, he charged.

Shettar said there have been financial irregularities in water testing too. For instance, officials have written to the department that the firm floated by Prasad has taken money without carrying out lab tests on borewell waters. Lab reports have been submitted even for those borewells which have been defunct, he pointed out.

Comments

wellwisher
 - 
Saturday, 7 May 2016

We accept present Govt correption far better than previous BJP Govt. All Kannadigas want a peaceful anti communal Govt. At present Congress N AAP are the right party.
Jai Hind Jai Karnataka

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News Network
August 7,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 7: Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, the state's health department issued fresh guidelines for the disposal of bodies of COVID patients.

"Although an increased risk of COVID infection from a dead body to health workers or family members who follow standard precautions while handling the body is unlikely, the lack of scientific data requires the utmost care to avoid the inadvertent spread of COVID-19 during these times," the statement from the health department's press release read, emphasising on the dignity of the dead and the religious and cultural tradition.

The 23-page press release elaborated on guidelines regarding testing, handling of dead bodies and other specificities in relation to the management of COVID-19 bodies.

"Testing should not be insisted in every case of death, but only when they have a recorded history of influenza-like symptoms. The body should be handed over to the family members/ relatives in a dignified manner immediately after swab collection and hospitals should provide handouts with a list of dos and don'ts in English and Kannada laying down relevant information," the statement said.

It added, "At the mortuary, health care workers, mortuary staff and the family of the deceased body shall not come in direct contact with the dead body and must wear full personal protective equipment (PPE). If the family or relative are for any reason unable to cremate or bury the body, the local health authority shall arrange for the dignified last rites as per the religious traditions of the family."

Regarding autopsies (post mortem) on COVID-19 bodies, the state department said that they should be avoided, except in necessary circumstances.

The statement also gave detailed guidelines regarding the appropriate recording of COVID-19 deaths in line with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines.

Additionally, the health department made a statement about the admission procedure for COVID positive patients referred by other district administrations saying, "It is now mandatory for all the referrals from the BBMP admission and discharge of COVID positive patients to be done through the online COVID Hospital Bed Management System (CHBMS)."

The state's count of coronavirus cases was 1,51,449 in the past 24 hours.

So far, a total of 2,804 people have died due to COVID-19 in the state, while the average recovery rate in Karnataka is 49.3 per cent.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 11: Seven more people have tested positive for coronavirus taking the tally to 214 in the state.

"Coronavirus cases rise to 214 in Karnataka, with seven more people testing positive between 5 PM Friday and 12 PM Saturday," said the Karnataka health department.

According to the health department, all these seven people have a history of contact with COVID-19 patients. Five of them are workers of a pharmaceutical company in Mysuru.

"Out of the total cases in the state, six people have died while 37 others were cured or discharged," added the state health department.

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News Network
March 6,2020

New Delhi, Mar 6: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea seeking framing of a proper mechanism to deal with alleged misuse of the sedition law by the government machinery. A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar dismissed the plea filed by a social activist and said it was open for the petitioner to approach the appropriate authority.

At the outset, the apex court told advocate Utsav Singh Bains, appearing for the petitioner, that he could not seek quashing of an FIR in a sedition case filed against the management of a Karnataka school for allegedly allowing students to stage an anti-CAA and anti-NRC drama.

Bains told the bench that he was not just pressing for a prayer to quash the FIR but the petitioner has also sought a direction for framing of a proper mechanism to deal with the alleged misuse of the sedition law.

"Let the affected party come and we will hear them. Why it should be done at your instance," the bench said, refusing to entertain the petition.

The petition had sought quashing of the FIR against the principal and other staff of the Shaheen School at Bidar who have been booked under sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code.

The plea had also sought an apex court direction for a proper mechanism to deal with alleged government misuse of the sedition law.

Section 124A of the IPC says that "whoever brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards... the Government shall be punished with imprisonment for life...".

The plea had sought a direction to the Centre and the Karnataka government "to quash the FIR registered in connection of seditious charges against the school management, teacher and a widowed parent of a student for staging a play criticising CAA, NRC and NPR."

The petition had claimed that the police "also questioned students, and videos and screenshots of CCTV footage showing them speaking to the students were shared widely on social media, prompting criticism."

The drama was staged on January 21 by students of the fourth, the fifth and the sixth standard.

The sedition case was filed based on a complaint by social worker Neelesh Rakshyal on 26 January.

The complainant alleged that the school authorities "used" the students to perform a drama where they "abused" Modi in the context of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens.

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