4 cops sacrifice their lives to prevent suicide bomber from entering Prophet's mosque

Bengaluru, May 28: In a first of its kind initiative, the Karnataka government will soon launch 'Statewide Health Register', a project to maintain the health database of all its citizens, announced Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Wednesday.

The project will kick start from Chikkaballapura and Dakshina Kannada districts.

"With a vision to efficiently deliver quality healthcare to every citizen, Karnataka will soon have a Statewide Health Register. The pilot project will be implemented in Chikkaballapura & Dakshina Kannada dist shortly and completed in 3-4 months. @CMofKarnataka @PMOIndia @JPNadda," tweeted the Minister.

The government plans to get the data collected with the help of a team of Primary Health Centre (PHC) officials, revenue officials, Education Department staff and ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers.

"They will visit each household and collect health data of all the members of the family. This will not just help the government to provide better health care facilities, but also build an efficient resource allocation, management and better implementation of various citizen-centric schemes in the state," the minister added.

Sudhakar also said that the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the necessity of having a robust, real-time public health system.

"Very few countries in the world have taken such an initiative. It is a futuristic project which will include 50 per cent partnership of private hospitals. It would be a cumbersome process but if we do this and digitise it, the data could be used for multiple purposes. The data would help us prioritise healthcare based on geography, demography, and other targeted measures. It would also help medical professionals and scientists for innumerable studies," he said.

"We have consulted all specialists from 18 different departments, and taken their advice into account," said the minister.

Mangaluru, Jan 15: A 28-year-old man, who is a first-year MBBS dropout, was arrested by the police after he posed as a doctor and treated patients at a private hospital at Derlakatte on the outskirts of the city.

The arrested has been identified as Mohammed Habib Hussain, a native of Shivamogga, who was residing in Attavar, Mangaluru. He had discontinued studies after the first year due to personal reasons.

The incident took place on Sunday night  at Yenepoya Medical College, Derlakatte. Dr Sampathila Padmanabha, medical superintendent, Yenepoya Medical College, said the accused had come to the medical college at midnight on December 29.

After speaking to the security guard at the hospital entrance, he introduced himself as an assistant to the consulting urologist, and wanted to visit patients at the private ward situated at floor number 7.

After entering, he called the duty nurse to get case sheets. Later, he examined two women patients in the presence of the duty nurse, and also wrote a prescription on the patient case sheet. He also yelled at a nurse, saying that she isn’t doing her duty properly, and left the place.

However, the nurse who grew suspicious, informed the management, after the accused had left the place. The management, who crosschecked about the accused, found out that he is not a doctor, and that he is also not associated with the hospital.

The management sent an advisory to all employees to produce their identity cards, whenever they enter any wards, especially at night, and also to keep an eye on anyone suspicious. The same message was passed on to other hospitals in the vicinity.

The accused again showed up at the hospital on Sunday night. As security guards were told about strangers visiting the hospital in the guise of doctors, he was allowed to enter the hospital premises, so that he can be apprehended. He later went to the reception counter and queried about the consultant urologist. When he noticed that the staff had an idea about what was happening, he tried to flee from the spot. He was later caught by a security guard, and the police were informed. He was arrested by Ullal police station personnel.

Dr Padmanabha added that he used to roam around with his friend in a car. He was also involved in a similar incident at a private hospital in Kankanady, and the same has been informed to the police. He visited hospitals in a car, which has been seized by police.

Bengaluru, Apr 19: A recent government order prohibiting congregations, Ramadan prayers is discriminatory and needs to be withdrawn, JD(S) MLC B M Farookh has demanded.

In a letter to the chief secretary, Farookh pointed out that the order contained certain conditions such as restriction of the use of public address system and delivering Azan in low decibels, which had nothing to do with the prevention of Covid-19 disease.

“These days, Azan includes a call for the community to pray at home and does not offer namaz at mosque. The order also prohibits preparation and distribution of porridge, which has always been taken up in the interest of the poor. The High Court has noted that the relief distribution by NGOs or individuals should not be prevented and the state machinery has to coordinate the same by ensuring social distancing. The ban on distribution of porridge by mosques amounts to discrimination. The order needs to be withdrawn or revisited,” he wrote in his letter.

Further, observing that a religious fair was conducted in Kalaburagi recently, in violation of the government’s social distancing norms, Farookh sought the government to ensure that social distancing norms are enforced with regard to festivals of all communities without discrimination.