BJP MP Anant Kumar Hegde booked for provocative remarks against Islam

Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday shuffled the portfolios of six newly inducted ministers after they expressed unhappiness about the departments allocated to them barely 24 hours ago.

Three ministers — BC Patil, Anand Singh and K Gopalaiah — received new responsibilities and as many — Shivaram Hebbar, Srimanth Patil and Byrathi Basavaraj — have been saddled with more.

Sources said the six ministers met the CM late Monday night and said they were not happy with the portfolios handed to them. They reportedly threatened not to assume office until their demands were met, forcing the CM to effect the changes early Tuesday.

BC Patil is now vested with agriculture (he had been given forest), Anand Singh forest, environment and ecology (earlier food and civil supplies) and Gopalaiah food and civil supplies (instead of small-scale industries). BC Patil said, “I’m happy I can now be with farmers.” Shivaram Hebbar has been given the additional responsibility of sugar along with labour allocated to him on Monday.

Allocation of the forest portfolio to Anand Singh has raised eyebrows as the Vijayanagara MLA had been arrested in 2013 and 2015 in cases of illegal mining and illegal transportation of mining ore. Singh owned SB Mineral in Ballari and the Lokayukta had charged him with transporting 17,086 tonnes of iron ore without permission or valid licence. He was acquitted in a Belikeri iron ore export case due to lack of evidence.

Byrathi Basvaraj, who has been given the urban development ministry, will also handle Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board and Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation.

Srimanth Patil has received minority welfare department apart from textile.

The exercise of portfolio shuffling is likely to continue with minister K Sudhakar reportedly unhappy with medical education.

In another embarrassment to the CM, Mahesh Kumathalli on Tuesday refused to take over as chairman of the Mysore Sales International Ltd, saying he wants to be a minister. BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal urged Yediyurappa to induct Kumathalli into the cabinet in line with the promise made to him when he joined the BJP before bypolls. “The CM must keep his word,” he said.

Mangaluru, May 5: Even though India is all set to bring back Indian nationals stranded abroad through special commercial flights, no flights have been arranged for the repatriation Kannadigas stuck in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the first phase (May 7 to May 14). However a few flights will fly from Saudi to Kerala and Delhi.

The government is likely to introduce flights from Saudi Arabia to Karnataka (Bengaluru and Mangaluru Airports) in second or third phase.

Fill the Form

All Indian nationals in Saudi Arabia who seek repatriation are supposed to fill form in the following link: https://t.co/K5Hbmr4cFP 

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh has clarified that the purpose is only to collect data and no decision has been taken yet regarding resumption of flights.

High airfare

Even though some GCC governments paid the ticket fares to bring back their citizens, the government of India has clarified that it will not pay the ticket fares of Indian nationals stranded abroad. It is predicted that tickets on repatriation flights from Saudi Arabia to India could be costlier than regular airfare.

Only asymptomatic can travel 

As per Standard Operating Protocol, medical screening of passengers would be done before taking the flight. Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel. During the journey, all these passengers would have to follow the protocols, such as the health protocols, issued by the ministry of health and the ministry of civil aviation," it said in a statement.

Mandatory quarantine

The govt has made elaborate arrangements to conduct medical test on arrival at the Airports. As per plan, based on medical check-up, passengers will be categorised as group A/B/C. Later, they will be quarantined for the mandated days

Respective district administrations have taken steps to quarantine people returning from outside India. Marriages halls, general halls and hostels are being identified for the quarantine.

Bengaluru, May 28: The Karnataka government has done away with previously mandatory COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic international travellers. 

The development comes a day after the government issued a circular, which allowed placing of international travellers into home quarantine if they had completed seven days of institutional quarantine.

A circular signed by Jawaid Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary to the State Government, dated May 27, says that any “person who has completed seven days of institutional quarantine and is asymptomatic can be permitted for home quarantine with a COVID-19 test (RT-PCR), subject to undergoing a medical check-up.”

This check-up equates to thermal screening (with a required temperature of under 37.5C or 99.5F and pulse oximetry of under 94%). 

The circular added that all elderly people, over the age of 60, and those with comorbidities (such as Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, asthma, heart ailment, renal disease...etc) are “required to be clinically evaluated diligently prior to shifting them for quarantine.”

On Wednesday, Pankaj Pandey, Commissioner, the Department of Health and Family Welfare said that these new guidelines were based on recommendations from the COVID Task Force. A member of the COVID Task Force said that new strategies had been formulated based on the latest findings on how the SARS-Cov-2 virus affects people.