We are not against doctor; KPME Bill is in the interest of poor: Health Minister

Udupi, Jul 7: A hotelier committed suicide by jumping into a well at Hiriadka in Udupi district last evening. 

The deceased is Raghavendra Bhat (48), a resident of Kadiyali and owner of Hotel Shivasagar in Kadiyali.

He had been to his brother's house in Hiriyadka where he resorted to the extreme step. 

He was known for organising tiger dance competitions during Sri Krishnashtami every year.

He had contested the Udupi CMC election from Congress party, but had lost by a few votes. Later he had joined the BJP.

A case has been registered ar Hiriadka police station and investigations are on.

Udupi, Apr 17: The city police on Friday caught a boy who created chaos near Aadi Udupi by throwing fake currency notes on road and fled afterwards.

This boy had thrown fake currency notes on the streets of Vadiraja Nagara near Krishna Mutt.

Few localities had collected the notes and reported this to police.

Bengaluru, Jul 4: A young woman doctor at the Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bengaluru, who had raised an alarm about faulty PPE kits and shortage of N95 masks, has tested positive for the covid-19.

Taking note of this, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha brought the issue to the attention on Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Twitter. Tagging the minister, the MP tweeted, “For your information and I feel, it is a genuine concern.” “Amulya Gowda treated Covid patients at KIMS.

Karnataka Medical Association took to social media to express concern over the development. In a Facebook post it wrote: "Amulya C Gowda is a frontline worker who risks her life every single day. Last week she raised an alarm about faulty PPE kits and shortage of N-95 masks. But the Administrative Medical Officer (AMO) at KIMS, shunned and chastised her for raising this issue. Ever since, she has been buying her own N-95 masks. Today, she tested positive for Covid-19 and appealed to the Hospital authorities and raised her genuine concerns over the faulty protective gear, but she was again harassed and humiliated for raising the issue."

Dr DH Ashwath Narayana, Medical Superintendent, KIMS Hospital, said that all PPE kits at KIMS were certified by SITRA (South India Textiles Research Association), Coimbatore and that they had purchased N-95 masks available in the market. "One cannot claim faulty PPEs are the reason for testing positive. We have purchased whatever PPE kits are available in the market. Healthcare workers across hospitals, private and government, and policemen are also getting infected."

As the new rules by the state government allow healthcare workers home isolation, Narayana said the doctor is recuperating at home and that she is doing fine.

Medical education minister Dr K Sudhakar tweeted, "Doctors are our frontline warriors battling the pandemic. Government has taken all necessary measures to ensure safety of our doctors. I have taken note of supply of defective masks and PPE kits to KIMS doctors and ordered an enquiry. Management will be held responsible if found guilty."