As border closure hits medicine supply, three activists in Mangaluru turn Good Samaritans for Kerala patients

coastaldigest.com news network
April 13, 2020

Mangaluru: The Karnataka-Kerala border closure at Talapady amidst nationwide Covid-19 lockdown has not only prevented the movement of vehicles and people from Kasaragod to Mangaluru but also stopped the supply of life-saving drugs from Karnataka’s medical hub to its bordering district.

Hundreds of people from Kasaragod and Kannur districts who were treated in hospitals of Mangaluru for past several years are still dependent on some of the medicines that are available only in Mangaluru. Such medicines have become inaccessible for Keralites following the border closure. Every day, a number of people from Kerala call their acquaintances in Mangaluru to see if there is a way to get medicine.

In fact, Karnataka government has blocked all 23 roads that connect the state with Kerala. The reason given was, Kasaragod is the hotbed of coronavirus and allowing traffic even in emergency cases might lead to spread of Covid-19 in border districts of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru. The attitude has resulted in the death of around a dozen people in Kasaragod district in last couple of weeks.

Even after the intervention of the Supreme Court a few days ago, the authorities in Karnataka are facing the allegation of being hostile either by blocking the way ahead or turning a deaf ear to the patients reaching their border. 

At this juncture, three Good Samaritans – P K G Anoop Kumar of Canara Engineering College, Mangaluru, Satheesh Shetty of Kasaragod Patla and P Jayaprakash of Ponnangala – have come to the aid of the Malayalee patients who are dependent on medicines from Mangaluru. 

The three activists who are currently staying (in fact stranded amidst lockdown) in Mangaluru, are delivering life-saving medicines to patients in Kerala through Kerala fire servicemen and policemen posted at the Talapady border. 

Anoop Kumar says that took the initiative after a woman, Maria Augustine from Chemberi (Taliparamba) Nellikkutty, contacted him for a medicine. He managed to buy it from a medical store in the port city and handed it over to a Kerala fire serviceman at Talapady border. 

All three are activists of Communist Party of India (Marxist). After moving to Mangaluru, they set up ‘We Donate Charitable Society’ to donate blood. The activists say that they are ready to dispatch medicines from Mangaluru to any person in Kerala. Those Keralites who are in need of medicines from may contact: 888471344 - Anoop, 9895135881 - Jayaprakash

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abdullah
 - 
Sunday, 21 Jun 2020

Salute to you dears.  May God bless you.  HOpe public and Govt will appreciate your sacrifice and support you.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 10,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 10: Among over a hundred special flights to be operated between India and United Arab Emirates under the fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission, five flights will be operated from Mangaluru International Airport.

The repatriation flights are also allowed to carry eligible passengers from India to UAE between July 12 and July 26.

These flights will be allowed to carry the ICA approved UAE residents on their onward journey from India to the Gulf country.

According to Air India, while flying from India to UAE, these special flights will carry only those passengers who are destined for the UAE.

Flights from Mangaluru

From Mangaluru, the first special flight will take off on July 13 at 7.30 am and reach Sharjah at 9.30 am.

The second flight is scheduled to take off on July 16 at 9.30 am and reach Dubai airport at 11.20 am.

The third flight will take off on July 19 at 11.00 am and land at Sharjah airport at 1.00 pm.

The fourth flight will take off on July 20 at 7.30 am and reach Sharjah at 9.30 am.

The fifth flight will take off on July 26 at 8.00 am and land at Abu Dhabi Airport at 10.20 am.

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News Network
March 16,2020

Kalaburagi, Mar 16: Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner B Sharat has banned the sale of liquor and ordered the closure of bars and restaurants in the district until further orders in the wake of coronavirus scare.

On Sunday, Sharat said that the public gatherings including local markets, village fairs, Urs festival in Kalaburagi district have been banned.

"Gatherings including local markets, village fairs, Urs festival in the district have been banned as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus until further orders," Sharat said.

The Karnataka Health Department on Sunday said that all the family members and other contacts of the 76-year-old man who died of coronavirus in Kalaburagi are being monitored closely.

The state government has said that six cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state as of now, including one person who died.

"Till date, six COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state including one death. The 5 Coronavirus positive cases are in isolation at the designated hospital in Bengaluru," the government said.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 30: A kidnap case in Bengaluru has proved that crime-based series on TV channels can inspire youth to commit crimes. 21-year-old Chirag R Mehta, who kidnapped a schoolboy and got arrested within an hour after demanding Rs 5 lakh ransom, has told police that he thought of abducting the boy after watching Crime Patrol, a popular Hindi crime anthology series created by Subramanian S. lyer for Sony TV. The kidnapped schoolboy was rescued by the police and reunited with his parents. Son of a gift shop owner from Basavanagudi area in Bengaluru, Chirag has reportedly told police that decided to make some quick money to spend on cricket betting and gambling after learning kidnap tricks from the ‘Crime Patrol’. According to police, Chirag reached a private school around 3pm on Tuesday on a Bounce rental bike and zeroed in on a fourth standard student who was walking out of school. He told the boy he was his father's friend and that he required help to search for a relative who had gone missing. The boy believed Chirag and rode pillion on the bike. Chirag then engaged the boy in conversation and learnt about his father's business and got his mobile phone number. He then made a call to the boy's father, demanded Rs 5 lakh and warned him against approaching cops. However, the boy's father alerted Cottonpet police and special teams were formed to crack the case. While Cottonpet inspector Venkatesh TC's squad verified CCTV footage in and around the school, Chamarajpet inspector BG Kumaraswamy's team started tracking the suspect's mobile phone movements. An hour later, the suspect's location was traced to a hotel on the Lavelle Road-St Mark's Road stretch. Police rushed there, rescued the boy and arrested Chirag.

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