Protests erupt across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi against arrest of PFI leader

Mangaluru, May 18: A boat which was engaged in an operation to fix the pipe relating to the reverse osmosis plant of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) at Tannibavi turned turtle due to strong wind.

Two workers had gone missing in the incident that occurred on Sunday late evening, and one of them was rescued shortly thereafter.

The person who has not yet been found happens to be Pandu Pist from Mumbai. The person who was rescued was Santosh from Dakshina Kannada.

Three workers from West Bengal who were facing danger were also rescued.

Bengaluru, Mar 29: There was no shortage of masks and testing kits for detecting coronavirus cases in Karnataka and the government would import them if a need arose, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Sunday said.

Apprising leaders of political parties on measures taken by his government to combat spread of coronavirus, he also told an all-party meeting that the government has decided to provide life insurance cover to police and civil workers and has taken extra precautions to maintain supply of food grains.

"There is no shortage of testing kits, medicines and masks. If there is need, we will import more... We will distribute testing kits to all the district and Taluk hospitals," he was quoted as saying in a government release.

The state has so far reported 76 COVID-19 cases including three deaths and five discharges.

At the meeting held in the Vidhana Soudha here, former chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah said there were shortcomings in the screening of passengers coming from abroad and stressed on the need to maintain supply of essentials.

Yediyurappa said supply of foodgrains would be made through Public Distribution System and the government had taken extra precautions to avoiod any difficulties.

He told the leaders that there was no restriction on agriculture activities in the state.

"I have been regularly holding meetings since March 13 regarding the measures taken to contain the transmission of COVID-19," the chief minister said.

Health Minister B Sriramulu, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar, IT-BT Minister C N Aswath Narayan, Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, Siddaramaiah, JD(S) MLAs H D Revanna, D K Shivakumar and former speaker K R Ramesh Kumar attended the meeting.

Yediyurappa said a task force comprising of ministers and officials has been formed to oversee the implementation of the government orders in view of the 21-day lockdown.

He highlighted the prevailing situation across the globe saying normal life has been paralysed everywhere.

The chief minister also brifed the leaders about the number of clinics all over the state, availability of medicines and protection gear for the doctors and in quarantine rooms in the state.

Flagging concerns over screening process, Siddaramaiah said around 4,500 people were yet to be tracked, which need to be taken up on a warfooting.

"The government is saying that we have not reached the third stage but in Nanjangud, a person contracted the disease though he does not have any travel history. This must be probed," he said.

The former former chief minister asked the government to make sure that the free distribution of food grains to weaker sections take place without any difficulty from April 1, as announced by the Central government.

He objected to police 'excesses' while enforcing lockdown.

Siddaramaiah also asked government to bring the police personnel under special insurance cover.

Mysuru, Jul 20: Police and the Bengaluru City Quarantine Squad apprehended quarantine breacher “Drone Boy” Prathap N M in Mysuru on Monday afternoon.

Police sources said that the 23-year-old youth agreed to surrender following negotiations with officers. 

“He agreed to turn himself in after realizing that he had no other alternative,” said an officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

A team of officers from the Quarantine Squad under Dr Prayag H S and police from the Talaghattapura Police Station under Inspector Ramappa Guttedar said they apprehended Prathap who was staying at a hotel in the Mandi Mohalla area at around 3 pm.

Prathap’s father accompanied the team to convince his son to surrender. Police said Prathap will be returned to the city to be placed into 14 days of institutional quarantine. 

With two cell phones at his disposal Prathap, who is accused of twice breaching home quarantine regulations, fled the city on Saturday. 

Police, who were initially aware of only one cell phone, lost track of the youth as he drove out of the city, turning his phone off near Kengeri.

However, after quizzing the fugitive’s family, police learned that Prathap had a second phone and sim card. “His whereabouts were established on Sunday evening by tracking this second phone,” an official source said.