Maulana Muhammad Shafi, father of Abdussalam Puthige, passes away

New Delhi, Mar 12: A PIL was moved in the Delhi High Court on Thursday seeking directions to the Centre to take appropriate steps for stopping religious conversion of socially and economically downtrodden people, particularly of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe community.

The plea claims that the government has done nothing to stop religious conversions.

The plea is listed before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar on Friday.

The petition, by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, alleges that many individuals, NGOs and institutions are converting downtrodden persons by "intimidating, threatening, luring by monetary benefits and by other acts, including miracle healing, black magic and more".

"Many individuals/organizations have started conversions of SC/STs in rural areas and the situation is very alarming. The mass religious conversion of the socially economically downtrodden men, women and children, and, in particular of the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe community, is on the rise in the last 20 years," the petition claims.

It further claims as per the 2011 census, Hindus constitute 79 per cent of the population down from 86 per cent in 2001 and if no action is taken "Hindus will become minority in India".

Upadhyay suggested enacting of a law to prevent conversions by force or deceit and to award jail term for any violation.

"Additionally, the State may empower the National Human Rights Commission to deal with the affairs of religious groups and analyse religious discrimination among them," he suggests.

Apart from seeking steps to prevent religious conversions by force, threats or deceit, the petition also wants directions prohibiting religious gatherings "intended to mislead people by making false and untenable claims" to lure ignorant masses to join a particular faith or religious group.

Mangaluru: As many as 178 passengers arrived in the coastal city from Dubai as the second flight under the Vande Bharat Mission landed at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) at 7.55am on Monday.

Among 178 passengers, there were 99 male, 67 female, 11 children and one infant.

Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said that all the necessary arrangements had been made to ensure that the passengers were not inconvenienced in any way. 

“All of them have been provided with health kits, sufficient food, sim cards, etc. We have also set up facilities at the airport where they can exchange foreign currency. The emigration process was conducted only after each passenger was subjected to screening by health department personnel at the airport. We will have their throat swabs tested for Covid-19 on Tuesday,” Sindhu said.

Personnel attired in personal protective equipment gear shifted the passengers’ luggage, while buses had been arranged for transporting them to quarantine facilities, Sindhu added.

Probationary IAS officer Rahul Shinde, additional deputy commissioner MJ Roopa, district health officer Dr Ramachandra Bairy and MIA director VV Rao were among those who received the returning Indians along with the DC at the airport.

Public, including friends and relatives of the passengers, were barred entry to the airport.

Rooms in as many as 10 hotels have been reserved to quarantine passengers flying in to Mangaluru from the Gulf. The rooms are priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,400. Meanwhile, those unable to afford rent will be accommodated at government hostels.

Mangaluru, May 18: The second repatriation flight to the coastal Karnataka from Dubai landed at Mangaluru International Airport at 7.45 pm. today.Mangaluru: As many as 178 passengers arrived in the coastal city from Dubai as the second flight under the Vande Bharat Mission landed at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) at 7.55am on Monday.

Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said that all the necessary arrangements had been made to ensure that the passengers were not inconvenienced in any way.

“All of them have been provided with health kits, sufficient food, sim cards, etc. We have also set up facilities at the airport where they can exchange foreign currency. The emigration process was conducted only after each passenger was subjected to screening by health department personnel at the airport. We will have their throat swabs tested for Covid-19 on Tuesday,” Sindhu said.

Personnel attired in personal protective equipment gear shifted the passengers’ luggage, while buses had been arranged for transporting them to quarantine facilities, Sindhu added.

Probationary IAS officer Rahul Shinde, additional deputy commissioner MJ Roopa, district health officer Dr Ramachandra Bairy and MIA director VV Rao were among those who received the returning Indians along with the DC at the airport.

Public, including friends and relatives of the passengers, were barred entry to the airport.

Rooms in as many as 10 hotels have been reserved to quarantine passengers flying in to Mangaluru from the Gulf. The rooms are priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,400. Meanwhile, those unable to afford rent will be accommodated at government hostels.

Mangaluru, Jul 23: Dakshina Kannada recorded seven more deaths related to covid-19 even as the district saw a spike of 218 new coronavirus positive cases in past 24 hours. With this the total number of covid related deaths in the district mounted to 99. 

Among the seven fatalities, the first one is a 36-year-old man hailing from Davanagere. He was admitted to a private hospital on July 16, and breathed his last yesterday.He was suffering from sepsis septic shock, acute liver injury, and acute kidney injury, acute chronic pancreatitis, ARDS, and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. 

The second victim is a 69-year-old man from Bhatkal, who was admitted to a private hospital on July 7, and passed away July 22. He suffered from heart disease, cancer, renal failure and pulmonary thromboembolism. 

The third one is a 52-year-old man from Palakkad, Kerala. He was admitted to a Wenlock hospital on July 19, and passed away on July 22. He suffered from diabetes, ARDS and respiratory issues. 

The fourth one is an 83-year-old man from Mangaluru. He was admitted to a Wenlock hospital on June 13, and passed away on July 22. He suffered from blood pressure, heart disease and pneumonia. 

The fifth one is a 73-year-old man from Mangaluru, who was admitted to a private hospital on July 21, and passed away on July 22. He was suffering from diabetes mellitus, hypertension, old cerebrovascular accident, hyponatraemia and acute on chronic kidney disease. 

The sixth one a 58-year-old woman from Mangaluru. She was admitted to a private hospital on July 11 and passed away on July 22. She was suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. 

The seventh is a 52-year-old male from Bantwal. He was admitted to private hospital on July 21 and passed away on July 22. He was suffering from heart disease.

As per the district health bulletin, a total of 31,068 samples have been tested so far. 26,854 have turned out negative, and 4,214 are positive till date. Out of these, 2,253 cases are currently active. 1,862 persons have recovered and been discharged. Among the deceased, 12 are from other districts.

As many as 118 patients were discharged on Thursday from Wenlock as well as private hospitals. Of the 218 who tested positive on Thursday, 36 are primary contacts, 110 have ILI symptoms, 16 have SARI symptoms, and contacts of 57 are being traced.