PFI, SDPI have terror links; Cong joined hands with them: Shobha

Bengaluru, April 3: The ASHA worker, who was attacked by locals in Sadiq layout area in Bengaluru while conducting a coronavirus survey, on Friday expressed satisfaction with police action in the matter.

"I am happy that five people have been arrested for attacking me while I was conducting a survey in view of COVID-19 in Sadiq layout area in Bengaluru on April 1. We serve the people and work for the betterment of the society," Krishnaveni, the ASHA worker, told news agency here.

ASHA workers, who were deployed to spread awareness about coronavirus and identify suspected cases, were allegedly attacked by a group of locals in the area on Wednesday.

"We had been conducting surveys for the past 14 days ever since a positive coronavirus case was identified in the area. A person came and asked why we were gathering information. We informed him that a positive case was identified in the area," Krishnaveni said.

"They made an announcement from the mosque not to give any information to us. Afterwards, several people came out of their houses and started attacking us," she added.

Police initiated an investigation and have made arrests in the matter.

This comes as the country is under a 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of at least 56 people and infected over 2,000 people.

Bengaluru, Jan 28: Brace for hefty traffic penalties as the state government is all set to reverse a notification on revised fines which came into effect last September following pushback from road users and opposition parties.

The Karnataka government will implement traffic penalties as stipulated in the amended Motor Vehicles Act, 2019, in a phased manner following a diktat from the Centre. The government did not specify the timeline for it.

“At a recent meeting of transport ministers from various states, the Union government explained why it wanted to implement these huge fines. We found it convincing and will implement it in its original form,” said transport minister Laxman Savadi on Monday.

Savadi said India’s image globally has taken a beating due to the high number of road deaths and the Centre wants to change it at any cost. However, he said the entire set of hefty fines would not be reintroduced all at once.

BJP govt revised rates in Sept

The BJP government last September had revised fines on compoundable offences and those which are fined on the spot by traffic cops by 50%- 80%, barring drunken driving and racing.

As per the revised rates, helmetless riding attracted a penalty of Rs 500 against Rs 1,000 notified by the Centre. Driving without a licence attracted a fine of Rs 1,000 for

two- and three-wheelers and Rs 2,000 for light motor vehicles as against the earlier Rs 5,000 for all types of vehicles.

The central government recently told states and Union Territories they should enforce fines as per the amended Act and they cannot be rolled back. The road transport and highways ministry said fines cannot be reduced below the minimum amount fixed by law, unless the President gives his assent.

Bengaluru, Apr 2: In a bid to discourage people from coming out on roads during the lockdown, Bengaluru Traffic Police have inscribed a message that reads, "If you come to road, I'll come to your home."

It was written on the road at Nagenahalli check-post. The message was written by the cops in the regional language.

Meanwhile, nine fresh cases were reported in Karnataka with the count rising to 110 in the state on Wednesday.

Out of the total cases, three persons died due to the virus while nine others have been discharged after recovery.

"COVID-19 cases climb to 110 in Karnataka, with nine fresh cases being reported between 5 pm yesterday and 2 pm today. Out of the total cases, three have died while nine others have been discharged," a bulletin issued by the state health department said.

"Out of 110 cases detected and confirmed in Karnataka so far, seven cases are transit
passengers of Kerala who have landed in our airports and being treated in
Karnataka," it added.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday said that there are 1,834 coronavirus positive cases in India, including 1,649 active cases, 144 cured/discharged/migrated people and 41 deaths.