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

Great Job

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Man arrested under Wildlife Protection Act for biting snake to death in Karnataka

coastaldigest.com news network

May 7,2020

Kolar, May 7: A 38-year-old man has been arrested for biting a snake and peeling off its skin at Mustur village in Kolar district of Karnataka.

Mulbagal range forest officer KN Ravikeerthi said forest officials nabbed Kumar, a construction worker, at Mustur on Wednesday and booked him under the Wildlife Protection Act. He was under the influence of alcohol.

Ravikeerthi said Kumar's offence is non-bailable and attracts a jail term of up to three years. The remains of the snake were collected and sent to a lab to ascertain its species. Forest officials said the snake Kumar bit was not a viper as was reported earlier but a rat snake.

On Tuesday, Kumar was riding back home after buying liquor when the snake ca me under his bike's wheels. He tossed the injured snake around his neck, bit it and peeled off its skin. Kumar said the snake had troubled him in the past.

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Ask talibans and Jehadis who has killed and killing innocent people, they will have the better answer for ur question, CD dont filter and post the messages ... accept the fact and post

That u should ask taliban ... and other organistaion , who killes innocent civilians in the name of jehad.

for killing humans there is no jail in India!

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Flood-like situation Continues in several parts of Karnataka

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August 9,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 9: Swollen rivers and flood-like situation continue to threaten lives and property in several parts of Karnataka that have been ravaged by torrential rains over the last few days.

Though there has been a respite from the downpour in some parts, rivers continue to flow above the danger mark, inundating low lying areas in several parts of Malnad, coastal and interior Karnataka.

There are also reports of continued landslides in hilly areas of Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru.

In Dakshina Kannada, heavy rains have submerged several areas in Bantwala and Belthangady, among others, with the Netravati river overflowing and also water being released from nearby dams.

Officials said incessant rains in Cauvery river catchment areas have led to increased inflow in the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya district. Water is being released from it and people living in low lying areas have been warned, they said.

There is also a flood-like situation in Najanagudu and nearby areas of Mysuru as the swollen Kapila river has inundated roads connecting Ooty in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, with water being released from Kabini dam.

There has been some respite from heavy rains in certain parts of Kodagu, which has been ravaged by floods and landslides. However, several areas of the district continue to be in deluge with the Cauvery and Lakshmana Tirtha rivers overflowing due to rains in the hilly areas.

There are also reports of landslides in some parts of the district.

Meanwhile, continuing rains are hampering the search operation by NDRF and authorities to locate five people, including the priest at Talacauvery, the origin of the river Cauvery, who had gone missing due to massive landslides at Bramhagiri hills on Wednesday night.

There are also reports of landslides at a few places in Charmadi ghat region of Chikkamagaluru and the road connecting to Dakshina Kannada has been closed temporarily.

Though Belagavi district has had some respite from the heavy rains, flood like situation continues to persist as the Krishna river and its tributaries are swollen due to continued inflows because of rains in neighbouring Maharashtra.

Inflow has also increased to the Tungabhadra dam of Ballari district due to rains in the catchment areas of Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru.

Authorities have alerted people living in low lying areas about opening dam gates to release water anytime with rising inflow.

There is a similar flood like situation in parts of Yadgir, Raichur and Bagalkote districts with water being released from various dams.

The state government has released ₹ 50 crore for emergency relief and has announced ₹ 10,000 as immediate relief each to affected families.

An amount of ₹ 5 lakh has been announced for completely damaged houses, while in the case of partially damaged ones, relief will be distributed considering the extent of damage.

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Civic body begins razing down tilted 5-storey building after evacuating 35 families

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February 7,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 7: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) ordered the destruction of a tilted building in the city after evacuating about 150 people from 35 families in the vicinity, an official said on Thursday.

"The top portion of the building has been destroyed 70 per cent today (Thursday). Later, the destruction contractor will allow machines to be used," Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Yelahanka joint commissioner Ashok said.

Located on Vinayaknagar Street in Hebbal's Kempapura, the five-storey building being used as a hostel for boys got tilted on Wednesday morning, spreading panic in the neighbourhood.

Though the tilted building owned by one Rahul, a jeweller, was a sound structure, Ashok said a neighbour, Babu, hired a JCB excavator to dig deep beside the affected structure to build his own structure.

"Babu not only dug very deep but also damaged the foundation pillar of the tilted building, weakening the structure and leading to its slant," said Ashok.

Babu has been booked and arrested even as the police are on the look-out for the JCB owner and operator.

The titled building erected five floors unauthorisedly and falls into the B Khata category. It was constructed without the civic body's plan, said Ashok.

A Khata and B Khata denote the two types of khatas that exist under BBMP. Khata is a document which shows a property owner having an account with the municipality to pay taxes. An A Khata denotes that the building owner has paid relevant property taxes and that the building conforms to building bylaws and government rules. A B Khata denotes that the building is in violation of government regulations regarding properties in Bengaluru, even when the civic charges for the property have been cleared by the owner.

"As per procedure, we issue notice, but such constructions are rampant in the city. Under the BBMP jurisdiction, there are 15 lakh B Khata structures," said Ashok.

For all B Khata sites, the civic body does not give any plan and there is no proper control on them, he said.

Ashok said the case to regularise the B Khata buildings to A Khata buildings is currently pending in the Supreme Court.

Luckily, no injury or loss of life has been reported from the tilted building.

The civic body arranged alternative accommodation for the affected families, but most of them chose to stay with their relatives, said Ashok.

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