Not only Mohammed Nalapad; BJP MP’s son also involved: Advocate

Mangaluru, May 13: Karnataka revised its standard operating procedure (SOP) for international passengers to allow pregnant women, children and senior citizens to entre home quarantine if they test negative for covid-19. 

The development comes after former minister and Mangaluru MLA U T Khader urged the government to follow the Kerala model in handling the repatriates and take extra care of pregnant women and senior citizens at Mangaluru and Bengaluru Airports.

Passengers will be initially dived into two categories. Category A includes passengers symptomatic on arrival while Category B passengers are those asymptomatic on arrival. 

While category A passengers will be directly shifted to covid-19 hospital, category B passengers will be sent to 14-day institutional quarantine.

If there are pregnant women, children below 10 years of age and senior citizens in category B, they will remain in institutional quarantine until they obtain a negative report (after throat swab testing for covid-19). It may take one or two days to get the throat swab testing report. 

Mangaluru, May 27: Mangaluru MLA U T Khader today urged Dakshina Kannada MP and Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel to pave the way for immediate repatriation of Mangalureans stranded across Gulf countries.

The development comes amidst reports that lack of preparedness on part of the authorities concerned in Dakshina Kannada compelled the Centre to delay the operation of repatriation flights from various Gulf to Mangaluru International Airport under Vande Bharat Mission.

Lakhs of people from Mangaluru region (coastal Karnataka) alone are working in middle eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Thousands of them are currently stranded thanks to covid-19 lockdown and are helplessly waiting for repatriation.

Speaking to coastaldigest.com, Mr Khader said he already spoke to Mr Kateel and brought to his notice the plight of Mangalureans in Saudi Arabia and other gulf countries. "There are a large number of pregnant women, senior citizens and patients who need immediate repatriation. It is the responsibility of the elected representatives and district administration to pave the way for the repatriation of our people and arrange quarantine facilities for them," he said. 

"Mr Kaeel is not only MP of Dakshina Kannada. He is also the chief of Karnataka's ruling party. Hence, he must play a crucial role in facilitating the return of Kannadigas in general and Mangalureans in particular," Mr Khader said. 

Kannur, Jan 23: A member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been arrested for attempting to create unrest in Kerala by hurling crude bombs at RSS office and police picket. The miscreants had reportedly planned to pass the blame on others.

The bomb attack took place of January 16 in Kerala’s Kannur. The accused Prabesh, an RSS hardliner, was arrested from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

According to the Kerala police Prabesh hurled steel bombs towards the police picket in front of Kathirur Manoj Smrithi Kendram, an RSS office.

"He threw bombs during the wee hours of January 16 morning. Following the arrest he has confessed that his aim was RSS office. Kannur, being politically sensitive region, any attack on political party offices will be regarded as an act by the opponent," Kathirur SI Nijeesh said.

"We had a police picket in the region for a few months now. We are assuming he wanted to create unrest in the area by removing the police from the spot. We could contain the situation because of the CCTV visuals. He was identified immediately after the incident. Following the attack he went to Coimbatore and was hiding there. Our team nabbed him from Coimbatore," he said.

The police have also said that the accused Prabesh had many criminal cases pending against him including those under Explosive Substances Act, 1883. He was nabbed by a team lead by Kathirur SI Nijeesh, CPO Rohith and Vijeesh.

The RSS office in the region is named after Kathirur Manoj a senior karyakarta (worker) who was allegedly killed by the CPI(M) activists in 2014. Kathirur Manoj was the prime accused in the attempt to murder of senior CPI(M) leader P Jayarajan in 1999.