Life in parts of Karnataka may come to standstill on January 25

Bengaluru, May 20: A mysterious "boom" heard in large parts of Bengaluru this afternoon left residents of the city and social media users puzzled. While the source of the sound is being investigated, the Indian Air Force (IAF) indicated that it could be the result of "routine test flights that necessitate going supersonic a times".

The sound was heard from as far as the Bengaluru airport in Devanahalli to the IT hub of Electronic City 54 km away. It was also heard in Kalyan Nagar in east Bengaluru, central Bengaluru's MG Road and areas such as Marathahalli, Whitefield, Sarjapur and Hebbagodi.

IAF said no aircraft of training command was flying in the area. "However, ASTE (Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment) and HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) could have been undertaking their routine test flying, which necessitates going supersonic at times. These are done well beyond the city limits in specified sectors. However, considering the atmospheric conditions and reduced noise levels in the city during these times, the aircraft sound may become clearly audible even if it happened way out from the city," said the air force statement.

Many people had speculated that the sound could have been caused by a fighter jet such as a Mirage 2000.

"We have also asked the Air Force Control Room to check if it was a jet or supersonic sound. Bengaluru police are awaiting confirmation from the Air Force," Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao said in a statement.

It was not an earthquake, Karnataka's state disaster monitoring centre had tweeted earlier.

"Earthquake activity will not be restricted to one area and will be widespread. We have checked our sensors and there is no earthquake activity recorded today," the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said, quoting its director Srinivas Reddy.

"The activity reported in Bengaluru is not due to an earthquake. The seismometers did not capture any ground vibration as generally happens during a mild Tremor. The activity is purely a loud unknown noise," the agency tweeted.

#Bangalore and #BangaloreBoom was among the top trends on Twitter this afternoon.

"We are trying to ascertain the source of the noise," a senior police officer said. "In Whitefield area, we have searched on the ground and so far, there is no damage to any property," he added. There were no calls to the police control room reporting any damage.

Mangaluru, Jul 11: A youth was run over by a lorry after a speeding car knocked his two-wheeler down on Netravati Bridge near Thokkottu on the outskirts of the city today.

The deceased has been identified as Ubaid (28), a resident of Bandikotya in Ullal. According to sources, he was recently engaged and was supposed to get married on July 23.

Shakir, who was with Ubaid on the two-wheeler suffered serious injuries. He was shifted to a private hospital for treatment. 

The car hit the two-wheeler when the two were heading back to Ullal from Mangaluru. 

The impact of the collision was such that Ubaid was thrown on to the road. Within a second a speeding lorry crushed him to death on the spot. 

The car driver sped away after the mishap instead of stopping to help the accident victims. However, local residents chased the car and waylaid it near Thokkotty flyover. 

The car was reportedly driven by Krishna, who works at Someshwar municipality office. He had reportedly purchased the car just two days ago. Police have taken him into custody along with another person who was also on board the car.

Traffic south police have registered a hit-and-run case and investigations are on.

Udupi, Jul 16: With two deaths in a single day, and receiving coronavirus positive report of a person who died two days ago, Udupi district’s covid-19 death toll today mounted to eight. 

A-49-year-old resident of Udupi, was admitted to Ajjarkad government hospital for other ailments. He was suffering from multiple health issues like diabetes and respiratory problems.

Last night he was tested positive for coronavirus and hence he was shifted to Dr TMA Pai COVID hospital in Udupi where he breathed his last today. 

A 54-year-old man from Maravanthe in Byndoor taluk, who was suffering from asthma, today died while being taken from one hospital to the other.

He was admitted to a private hospital in Kundapur on the evening of Wednesday. Today he was being shifted to Manipal hospital. However he breathed his last half way through.  

His body was taken back to Kundapur and throat swab of the deceased was sent for testing. As the sample of the deceased person was taken using rapid test kit, his report was available within half an hour and it showed positive for covid-19. 

Meanwhile, throat swabs of a man from Ankola in Uttar Kannada district, who passed away in Manipal Hospital on July 14, were tested positive today. His funeral was held at the Beedinagudde crematorium as per the COVID norms.