23 Sangh Parivar, 8 DYFI activists arrested over post I-Day violence

Bengaluru, May 29: Seven out of ten (72 per cent) workers in Karnataka reported having lost their employment during the COVID-19-induced lockdown, according to findings of a survey by Azim Premji University, in collaboration with ten civil society organisations.

The university said in a statement it conducted "a detailed" phone survey of 5,000 workers across 12 states in the country, to gauge the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on employment, livelihoods, and access to government relief schemes.

The survey covered self-employed, casual, and regular wage and salaried workers and it released the findings for Karnataka on Thursday.

Seventy-six per cent of urban workers and 66 per cent of rural workers lost their employment, the survey findings said.

For non-agricultural self-employed workers and wage workers, who were still employed, average weekly earnings fell by two-third.

More than four in ten salaried workers (44 per cent) saw either a reduction in their salary or received no salary during the lockdown.

Six out of ten households reported that they did not have enough money to buy even a weeks worth of essential items, according to the survey.

Eight out ten households reported a reduction in food intake, while less than three in ten vulnerable households (27 per cent) in urban Karnataka received any form of cash transfer from the government, it said.

In summary, the disruption in the Karnatakas economy and labour markets is enormous. Livelihoods have been devastated at unprecedented levels during the lockdown.

The recovery from this could be slow and very painful, the statement said.

As a response to the findings of this survey, the team which has conducted the survey suggested a universalisation of the PDS to expand its reach and implementation of expanded rations for at least the next six months.

It suggested cash transfers equal to at least Rs.7000 per month for two months, and proactive steps like expansion of MGNREGA, introduction of urban employment guarantee, and investment in universal basic services, among others.

Mangaluru, Feb 28: In a shocking incident, an engineering student has committed suicide on the railway track at the Someshwara railway station near Ullal on the outskirts of the city.

The deceased has been identified as S Rayagowda (23) from Belgaum.

It is suspected that he resorted to the extreme step due depression after love failure. Railway police are investigating the matter.

Bengaluru, Apr 15: Karnataka and five other states have their coronavirus antibody test kits stuck in China because of the country's new policy of getting clearance from their government before a company exports its products.

Singapore-based Sensing Self Ltd and China’s Wondfo are the only companies that have cleared Pune's National Institute of Virology (NIV)’s validation for rapid antibody test kit.

Dr CN Manjunath, Director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, and nodal officer for COVID-19 lab testing, Karnataka, said, "Inventory is ready in Hong Kong Airport. Karnataka's consignment is stuck with five other states' consignments: Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Meghalaya. On April 1 or 3, China's policy changed saying any exports going out of China has to be certified by the Chinese government."