Poojary crossed limits of decency; won't tolerate his statements: KPCC

Bengaluru, Feb 21: A young woman in Bengaluru was detained today for holding a placard saying ''Free Kashmir'' at a demonstration in the city to protest against the arrest of college student Amulya Leona who had raised pro-Pakistan slogans at an anti-CAA rally a day ago.

The arrested has been identified as Ardra Narayan, a 20-year-old student of an engineering college at Malleshwaram in the city's western suburb.

"Ardra Narayan is being questioned at the Silver Jubilee Park police station after she was whisked away from the spot and detained for holding the placard with ''Free Kashmir'' written on it," Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said.

On a complaint by Sri Ram Sena activists, who were protesting against Amulya at the venue, the police booked a suo moto case against Ardra under sections 153A and 153B of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) for disturbing peace and harmony.

The placard also displayed ''Give Us Liberation'' and ''Freedom from India'', a Sri Ram Sena activist alleged.

The development comes a day after Amulya, 19, was arrested under section 124A of the IPC for sedition and jailed for 14 days for allegedly shouting "Pakistan Zindabad" at the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally at Freedom Park in the city centre on Thursday.

"We are trying to ascertain if there is any connection between Amuly and Ardra though she was alone at the spot holding the placard," Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) R. Chandrashekar told news agency.

Bengaluru, May 11: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday inaugurated four buses that have been converted into COVID-19 testing facilities in Bengaluru.

State Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Member of Parliament from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya were also present.

"The mobile fever clinic bus initiative was taken by Sanchit Gaurav, Founder and CEO of Housejoy, in association with the Government of Karnataka, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), MP Tejaswi Surya, other partners, to increase the number of COVID tests across Bengaluru and win the fight against the virus," said KSRTC in a statement.

The bus is divided into two zones with beds and a consultation area, maintaining proper hygiene conditions.

The KSRTC said there will be four teams with four mobile bus clinics across Bengaluru - each team comprising of one doctor, three nurses and one lab technician with several volunteers facilitating the process.

The teams will be starting from red zones and will try to screen the maximum number of residents from these zones for symptoms and quarantine those who test positive.

"The testing process will start by providing free glucose, blood pressure test and COVID-19 symptoms consultation for all residents," KSRTC added.

If anyone showcases any COVID-19 symptoms, their swab will be collected immediately for testing by Biognosys Technologies (ICMR certified).

Further, the information will be provided to the government and place the person under quarantine.

"KSRTC has already initiated this mobile fever clinic buses with the association of the District Administration in Mysuru, Mandya, Tumkur, Mangaluru, Bagalkote, Hubli, Belagavi, Bengaluru and Raichur," it said.

According to the KSRTC on April 25, the cost of this clinic construction on a bus is Rs 50,000.

Bengaluru, May 19: Containment zones in Karnataka will be much smaller in size under the latest lockdown norms. However, rules and loopholes will be tightened and action against violators will be stringent in order to check the spread of the disease.

Revised guidelines issued by the Centre to the state, reveal containment zones are delineated based on mapping of cases and contacts. Intensive action will be carried out in these areas with the aim of breaking the chain of transmission. Therefore, the area of a containment zone should be appropriately defined by the district administration/local urban bodies with technical inputs at local level.

The health department is considering shrinking the size of containment zones from the existing 100 metres to open up more space for economic activities. Medical education minister K Sudhakar, also a member of the Covid taskforce, said additional chief secretary (health department) Javed Akthar will issue a new definition of a containment zone after the Covid-19 taskforce holds its next meeting.

“We are planning to further shrink it and restrict containment zones to an apartment complex, independent house or even a lane where the Covid-19 patient resides,” Sudhakar said. He went on to say bigger containment zones will impede businesses and normal activities in the vicinity, something which the government wants to avoid.

The minister said Karnataka will also do away with colour-coding districts. “With restrictions being relaxed for almost all activities, it does not make sense to pursue with colour codes. It is either containment zone or outside containment zone,” he said.

In rural areas, the minister said containment zones will be identified by the taluk heads. Government sources say it is difficult to restrict activities to certain areas or smaller location in rural areas as farmers and people will have to travel to the outskirts of their villages for their livelihood.

An official said, a containment operation (large outbreak or cluster) is deemed successful when no case is reported in 28 days from the containment zone.