Yeddyurappa out at CM over quota promise

Mangaluru/ Udupi, Jul 20: Dakshina Kannada has recorded 89 new covid-19 cases and five deaths whereas as Udupi recorded 98 cases in past 24 hours. 

Dakshina Kannada 

With five new deaths, the covid-19 death toll in the district mounted to 82. Among the five deceased, two are from Mangaluru taluk, one from Beltangady taluk, one from Bantwal taluk and one from Chikkamangaluru district. The deceased include a 2 month old child (from Bantwal). 

Out of the 89 cases, eleven persons had contracted the disease from primary contacts. Two persons had returned from the Gulf. Forty-five persons are suffering from influenza-like illness (ILI), and sixteen persons are suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI). The health officials are tracing the contacts of fifteen others.

Meanwhile, 57 persons were also discharged from the hospital after complete recovery.

Udupi

With 98 new covid-19 cases, the total number of cases in the district today mounted to 2,321. Among them only 661 are currently active. 

1650 patients have been discharged from the hospital after complete recovery, and 11 persons have succumbed to COVID-19 in the district.

As of now, 213 throat swab samples are pending for results, 54 samples were sent for testing on July 20. On Sunday, July 20, 251 samples have tested negative. As of now, a total of 22357 swab samples out of the 24891 have tested negative for the coronavirus.

Mangaluru, Jan 15: Popular Front of India leader Mohammed Saqib came down heavily on Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Dr P S Harsha for justifying the Dec 19 firing which claimed two Muslim lives in the city.  

He was addressing a mammoth crowd of around two lakh people, mostly Muslims, who had gathered at Shah Garden at Adyar in Mangaluru today to register their protest against CAA, NRP, NRC, besides police atrocities on Muslims in Mangaluru.

Criticising the way the commissioner handled the situation on December 19, he said the people have all the right to agitate when their citizenship is endangered. 

“Two men lost their lives. Then Commissioner started releasing misleading videos (to justify the killing),” he said questioning the top cop: “Who are you? Are you a British?” 

“What kind of doctor you are? You are a doctor in creating false stories,” he said whiling taking on the top cop for claiming that protesters had tried to storm the Mangaluru North Police Station.

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Bengaluru, Jul 23: The opposition party Congress on Thursday demanded a judicial enquiry in the alleged scam in coronavirus related medical equipment procurement by Karnataka government.

However, Deputy chief minister Ashwathnarayan and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai denied all the allegations.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar addressed a press conference here and demanded a judiciary enquiry under a sitting High Court judge to investigate "BJP's Corona Scams."

"I made allegations on July 3. Nobody has denied it officially. On July 20, Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu and Deputy Chief Minister Ashwathnarayan in a press conference denied my allegations. Today, I furnished 14 documents. If you go through it, you will find corruption and misappropriation in medical equipment purchase," Siddaramaiah said.

"The documents are available with the government, how can they deny their own documents. They are telling that they have spent only Rs 324 crore but according to me the government has spent more than Rs 4,000 crore and nearly Rs 2,000 crore went in the minister and bureaucrats' pockets," he said.

He further said, "Centre has procured 50,000 ventilators under PM Cares at a cost of Rs 4, lakh per unit. Tamil Nadu has procured at Rs 4.78 lakh. But in our state, the price is between Rs 5.6 lakh to Rs 18.2 lakh. Is this not corruption?"

Siddaramaiah also dared the government to step up for an enquiry if they are "honest and transparent".

"I am demanding, constitute a judicial committee headed by sitting high court judge, let there be an enquiry in detail," he said.

DK Shivakumar said that his party has made the allegations based on government documents and media reports showing corruption.

"Karnataka government is purchasing equipment at high rates. We have exposed BJP's Rs 2,000 crore scams today. The government's main focus is to loot. They have paralysed the state administration," he said.
Denying the Congress' allegations, Deputy Chief Minister, Ashwathnarayan said that the government is ready to discuss this in the Assembly house.

"They have alleged Rs 700 crore misappropriation by health department but we have shown we have spent only Rs 290 crore," he said.

Giving details of the SDRF expenditure towards COVID-19 containment he said, "We have released Rs. 23,220.01 lakh in SDRF accounts and they have spent Rs Rs. 15, 918.99 lakh in various activities like migrant relief measures, measures for quarantine, sample collection, screening from March 14 to July 16."

Karnataka Home Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, said, "Karnataka government has spent Rs 506 crores for medical equipment and Rs 1,611 crores for other activities related to combatting COVID-19. So, we have spent Rs 2,117 crores as of now and there is no corruption in it."