Burnt remnants of Rs 1,000, Rs 500 notes found in UP

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on Thursday he might not attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and would most likely visit Delhi this weekend for discussions on the pending cabinet expansion.

He was expected to join Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya, chief ministers Amarinder Singh (Punjab) and Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and over 100 Indian CEOs at WEF’s 50th annual gathering on January 21-24.

“Mostly, I may not go for Davos (meet),” he told reporters on Thursday. Last week, he had said he was not keen on travelling to the Swiss town but was considering it as some chief ministers’ attendance was required at the high-profile event.

Eleven Congress-JD(S) turncoats, who contested the bypolls on BJP tickets and won, reportedly pressured Yediyurappa to take a decision on cabinet expansion before the now-uncertain Davos trip; it was even suggested that he should simply cancel the trip. The newly elected BJP MLAs are widely expected to be inducted as ministers. But officials in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said his disinclination to travel had nothing to do with the cabinet exercise.

“It’s mainly because of his health. That place (Davos) has got temperature of minus 4-6 degrees and it will be quite tedious for Yediyurappa at the age of 76,” one official said. BJP functionaries, however, claimed that he was wary of taking a trip amid tensions in the party. “The new MLAs have been breathing down Yediyurappa’s neck. They have pushed him into a corner, demanding that he complete cabinet expansion before going anywhere,” a senior functionary said.

On Thursday, the chief minister said he had sought a meeting with party bosses in Delhi. “To discuss cabinet expansion and other important issues, I plan to travel to New Delhi on January 11 or 12. However, I am still waiting for an appointment with the BJP national president and prime minister,” he said.

While Yediyurappa, his additional chief secretary P Ravi Kumar and political adviser MB Maramkal may not visit Davos, a 10-member delegation from Karnataka, including Jagadish Shettar, is expected to travel. There are reports ministers’ family members might join the delegation.

Bengaluru, Mar 15: The Karnataka government on Saturday issued a statement saying that surveillance and containment measures against the spread of coronavirus have been increased in the state.

"In the wake of coronavirus scare, 104 Arogya Sahayavani (call centre) has reserved 20 lines for receiving calls for COVID-19," read the statement.

It also read that the dedicated seating at the 104 call centre has been increased to 40 and one person form 108 call centre will be responsible for coordinating with the ambulance services.

The statement also read that the government had arranged an orientation for the medical college staff to train them to deal with coronavirus patients.

While six people from the state were reported positive of coronavirus, the Union Ministry of Health, one amongst them was a 76-year-old man from the Kalaburagi region and he died due to co-morbidity.

The state Health Department Commissioner has said that the Telangana government has been notified about the man's death as he was also admitted to a hospital there.

So far, 84 people have been infected with COVID-19 in India.

Mangaluru, Apr 28: Trucks carrying fish loads from Kerala will not be allowed to enter Dakshina Kannada district as the authorities are not being able to control the rush in markets, state Fisheries Minister and district-in-charge Kota Srinivas Poojary said Monday.

The deputy commissioner has been instructed to restrict the entry of fish transport vehicles from outside the district forthwith, in view of the difficulty in maintaining social distancing at the markets identified in the district, the minister told reporters here.

The coastal district has to take more precautionary measures to fight COVID-19 as the number of positive cases have risen in the last couple of days, he said.