CM orders CID probe into Mangaluru police firing

Mysuru, Feb 14: Citing the coronavirus scare prevalent in the city, hotel owners have urged the civic corporation to shut down roadside food vends, calling them a risk to public health.

A team of the city Hotel Owners Association, led by president C Narayanagowda and honorary secretary Ravindra Bhat, met mayor Tasneem Bano and MCC commissioner Gurudatta Hegde on Tuesday and urged them to implement the high court’s ban on street food vending.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the association said it had raised the poor hygiene at such joints amid the coronavirus threat and increasing incidence of chikungunya and malaria in the city. There is no check on the ingredients or water used and the cleanliness of the kitchens and cooking staff, they pointed out. Many of the joints operate near drains and public urinals and don’t have running water for washing or cleaning utensils, they said. Besides, the vends dump unsegregated garbage and compromise pedestrian safety by blocking pavements, they alleged.

“As this involves the livelihood of the vendors, I will take a decision after discussions with the commissioner and elected representatives,” the mayor said while pointing out that MCC had issued identity cards to the vendors after collecting details about them and their stalls. She said the health and education standing committees would also be consulted.

Commissioner Hegde said MCC was planning to move the vendors to designated hawking zones to ensure their livelihood was not affected. He explained that any drive to remove the vends was fraught with law and order problems. “False cases have been filed against MCC officers whenever they conducted drives against footpath food vendors in non-hawking zones. We will consult with the city police commissioner before taking any steps,” he said.

Bengaluru, Apr 17: The Karnataka government has announced the purchase of an additional two lakh rapid test kits for COVID-19 detection at a task force meeting on Thursday.

Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and other senior officials were present at the task force meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwathnarayan.

The Chinese government has agreed to supply rapid test kits to an officially listed company, which will increase the number of tests once it arrives, Ashwathnarayan said.

Moreover, 250 kiosks will be set up in the state to collect saliva samples of a person with COVID-19 symptoms. Such kiosks will be launched one-by-one in taluks of the state.

Ashwathnarayan explained that this would increase the sample collection process and prevent the spread of disease.

Ashwathnarayan said the purchase of the required 25,000 RT-PCR kits was also approved.
He stated that COVID-19 patients should be treated at government-appointed hospitals. A separate coronavirus helpline will be made operational to address the queries of people, Ashwathnarayan said.

During Ramadan, it has been decided not to allow mass prayers, he said. And added that tracing of cases related to the Tablighi Jamaat meeting in Delhi has been completed in the state.

Mangaluru, May 23: Domestic flight services will resume from Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) from May 25 as per the instructions of Union Civil Aviation Ministry. Six Indigo and SpiceJet flights will be operated from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai.

Air-India is yet to finalise its schedule, airport sources said. Three Indigo flights will depart from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai and three flights of SpiceJet will leave for Bengaluru and Mumbai on May 25.

SpiceJet flight will take off from Bengaluru to Mangaluru at 8.30 am and7 pm while Indigo will take off from Mangaluru to Bengaluru at 5.55 pm. SpiceJet flight will take off from Mangaluru at 10.20 am and 9.35 pm while Indigo will depart at 7.30 pm.

From Mumbai, Spice Jet flight will take off at 7.05 am and Indigo at 9.30 am. The Mangaluru-Mumbai SpiceJet flight will take off at 9.05 am and Indigo at 11.40 am. Indigo flight will depart from Chennai to Mangaluru at 5.45 pm and from Mangaluru to Chennai at 8.05 am.