Under-19 and Under-16 cricketers selected for KSCA Academy coaching

Mangaluru, May 25: D V Sadananda Gowda, Union Minister for Chemical and Fertilizer, has once again written to the Ministry of External Affairs urging to take steps to operate more repatriation flights from Gulf countries to Karnataka. 

In his second letter in 10 days addressed to Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Union Minister for External Affairs, expressed regret over not giving due priority for the repatriation of Kannadigas in the middle east during the extended second phase of Vande Bharat Mission. 

"I shall be grateful if you could personally intervene and instuct the concerned in arranging flights to Mangaluru and Bengaluru from Gulf countries in existing schedule itself," Mr Gowda urged Mr Jayashankar. 

Bengaluru, Mar 14: Bus-stands and railway stations in this IT city wore a deserted look on Saturday and malls, cinemas, pubs and night clubs remained shut as part of the lockdown announced by the state government following the country's first coronavirus fatality reported from Karnataka on March 12.

Six people in Karnataka have contracted the virus including the 76-year-old man who died due to this disease from Kalaburagi in the state.

A day after chief minister B S Yediyurappa announced the shutdown for a week, the usual rush at the Central bus-stand was missing.

"Since yesterday there is slackness. Today again we are witnessing the same," a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation official told PTI.

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, which runs inter-city and inter-state buses, too has seen a decline in its revenue.

"For the past five to six days we are seeing a drop of Rs 32 lakh to Rs 35 lakh in our daily revenue of Rs eight crore," Bengaluru divisional controller B T Prabhakar Reddy said.

On March 13, Yediyurappa issued instructions to stop all kinds of exhibitions, summer camps, conferences, fairs, marriage, sports and engagement events and birthday parties state-wide for a week from Saturday.

Business at pubs and aars have taken a hit due to the virus threat.

"Our businesses have suffered somewhere between 40 per cent and 70 per cent.

It is very difficult to cope with the situation," said Manu Chandra, Bengaluru chapter head of National Restaurant Association of India.

In Chitradurga district, the annual Rathayatra was cancelled whereas in Bengaluru, a temple displayed a board that it will not distribute any 'teertha' (holy water) or 'prasad' (offering) to devotees in view of the coronavirus scare.

Bengaluru, Jul 10: Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers under the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) on Friday held protests in different parts of Karnataka, demanding personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and a salary of at least Rs 12,000 per month.

According to Madhu Kumari, an ASHA worker from Kalaburgi, ASHA workers currently receive a salary of Rs 3,000 per month.

"Our demand is to increase our wages to at least Rs 12,000 per month. We have been making this demand for the last six months but we have not received any response from the authorities. We will not go back to work until we are given an appropriate response. We did not want to create a difficult situation but the government has given us no choice," Kumari told ANI.

Clad in their signature pink saris, the women were holding posters in their hands and raising slogans to demand appropriate salary for their work and the necessary equipment to protect themselves from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Farhana, an ASHA worker protesting in Shivamogga, said that the women have been making demands for PPE kits since June 30. "We have been taking care of COVID patients for the last few weeks but have not received adequate PPE kits. A few of us received some in the beginning but they were not enough. We are not even given hand sanitiser or masks to protect ourselves," she added.

"We have sent letters to the District Commissioner's Office and to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare but our pleas have gone unheard. We are protesting to get the attention of the concerned authorities," she added.

They also demanded that authorities to conduct their COVID-19 tests as they have to deal with patients infected with the virus.

Sajida, an ASHA worker in Kalaburagi said, "We are very stressed about the COVID situation. We take care of sick people day in and day out, but no one is there to take care of us. We want the government to conduct COVID tests for all ASHA workers in the state."