Mangaluru: Hostels sending back students; hotels too hit by water crisis

Mangaluru, July 8: Dakshina Kannada on Wednesday recorded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases with 183 cases reported in the district, while Udupi reported 31 new cases.

DK also recorded two more fatalities – both patients with co-morbid conditions — taking the total death toll in the district to 28. Udupi has recorded three Covid-19 deaths.

The fresh spike saw total positive cases in DK shoot up to 1,542 and active cases to 819. As many as 12 patients were discharged from hospital on Wednesday. The positivity rate in the district now stands at 0.07 %. Health authorities as on date have received 22,181 samples and 20,153 out of 21,695 samples tested have turned out negative.

MLA’s gunman tests positive

The gunman assigned to former minister U T Khader tested positive on Wednesday and three others who were with him in the escort vehicle have been quarantined, said city police commissioner Vikash Kumar Vikash. A section of police commissioner’s office was shut for sanitisation as per protocol after staff working there were treated as primary contacts. The office per se has not been sealed contrary to ‘reports’ doing rounds in social media, he said.

Deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said the district reported two deaths — one late on Tuesday and the other during the day. The victims are a 57-year-old man and 32-year-old youth. Two of the 183 cases were secondary contacts, 25 were cases of influenza like illness, four cases of SARI, one a case of inter district travel, two with interstate travel, five with international travel history, 22 random samples and five pre-surgery samples.

Udupi district recorded 31 new cases taking the total positive cases recorded as on date to 1,421. Discharge of 1,189 patients meant that Udupi has 229 active cases.

Meanwhile, Kota Shrinivas Poojari, minister for fisheries on Wednesday inaugurated the Covid-19 lab at district hospital in Udupi. Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar inaugurated ambulance monitoring system to ensure expeditious transfer of infected patients to designated treatment centres.

Bengaluru, May 18: Over two months after his appointment as the Karnataka Congress President, DK Shivakumar is likely to take-over the reigns of the party officially on May 31.

"There are two dates, May 31 and June 7. He is most likely to officially take over as KPCC President on the 31st," sources close to Mr Shivakumar told PTI.

After remaining in a virtual vacuum for nearly three months, the party high command on March 11 appointed Mr Shivakumar, known to be the Congress' chief troubleshooter in crisis situations, replacing Dinesh Gundu Rao as KPCC chief.

Mr Rao had quit the post in December 2019 after the party's dismal show in the bypolls when it won only two of the 15 seats and yielded 12.

Congress sources said once the appointment letter came from the high command, he has been KPCC president and officially taking charge was just a formality.

"He will be officially handed over the party insignias and responsibilities relating to bank accounts and cheques, among other things, that has been traditionally followed," they said, adding the official take over was delayed by the coronavirus.

After his appointment as KPCC president, Mr Shivakumar has been meeting a host of senior party leaders and leading the party in the fight against coronavirus.

These include setting up of Congress' COVID-19 task force, alerting the government in its management of the crisis, holding weekly video conferencing with leaders of party's local units to gather information, among other things.

Sources close to Mr Shivakumar said the official take over would be a simple event, looking at the current situation due to the pandemic.

"Very few select party leaders and office bearers, say about 50 odd people, are likely to be in attendance at the simple event at KPCC office," they said, adding that arrangements may be made to telecast the event live for the benefit for party workers and local leaders.

A six-time MLA, Mr Shivakumar had a long wait for his appointment to the coveted post, due to opposition within. There were reports that Congress Legislature Party leader Siddarmaiah had lobbied in favour of one of his confidants for the top job.

In a first, appointment of three KPCC Working Presidents- Satish Jharkiholi, Saleem Ahammed and Eashwar Khandre, was seen as an attempt by those apposing Mr Shivakumar, to weaken his hold on the party.

Bengaluru, Apr 18: Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu drew flak from his own party the BJP as well as the Congress for allegedly letting hundreds of people throng the Rupangudi Road in Ballari to collect food packets from him.

Visuals showed that the people came in hordes and fell on each other to collect the packets Sriramulu was distributing to the poor and needy as relief measure in the wake of lockdown.

The videos showed the minister standing with his team by the roadside and spreading out tables all along to distribute the food kit to the poor people.

Those in the queue had elderly people too.

A majority of people who rushed to grab the food packets did not bother to protect themselves with a mask.

"Whoever has done he has committed a blunder whether it is Sriramulu in Ballari or Anand Singh in Hospet.

All these elected representatives want to show that they are serviing the people in their constitutuency," said Karnataka BJP spokesperson Go Madhusudana.

Flaying the leaders of all political parties for defying norms, Madhusudana sad this has become fashionable for the leaders to perform 'cheap shows'.

He advised Sriramulu that it should have been done with door-to-door delivery of food packets instead of arranging it at the public place.

Congress spokesperson K E Radhakrishna said a case should be registered for defying regulations.

"I am all appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa who were the first to wake up and do something good for the people.

Now I feel sorry for them.

I wonder why they cannot control their own partymen.

People should file FIR against him (Sriramulu)," Congress spokesperson Prof K E Radhakrishna said

Slamming the alleged VVIP culture in the country, Radhakrishna said when the nation is facing a crisis, lavish marriages and grand birthday parties were organised. In the midst of all this health minister organises a food distribution mela, he added.

Attempts to reach the minister went in vain.

However, speaking to reporters at Ballari, Sriramulu admitted that the cases suddenly shot up in the state because of disregard to social distancing.

"People's support to lockdown is essential.

People have to maintain social distancing, without which we cannot control it," the minister said.