BJP MLA promotes child marriage to prevent Hindu girls falling in love

Bengaluru, May 1: As Mumbai link surfacing in some COVID-19 cases in Mandya district in Karnataka, JDS leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday blamed the district administration for the situation, accusing it of not quarantining 7,000 labourers who 'returned' from the Maharashtra capital.

"The information we have is that there are about 16,000 labourers from Mandya were working in Mumbai of which 7,000 people reached the district. None of them was quarantined properly," Kumaraswamy told reporters in Bengaluru.

He claimed the district, a stronghold of JDS, was staring at a major spurt in cases due to the careless attitude of the district administration. "Government should initiate action against those who are responsible for the laxity," he said.

However, he did not specify when the 7,000 workers returned to Mandya. When asked about Kumaraswamy's claim, officials said they have to verify it. Of the eight cases reported from Mandya on Friday, three had a travel history to Mumbai, a major COVID-19 hotspot in the country, officials said.

A Health Department official said four of the fresh cases were contacts of a patient who tested positive on April 8 and admitted to a hospital. After weeks of coming in contact with him, the four were confirmed for COVID-19, an official said. The Three people with travel history to Mumbai had, in fact, brought the body of a man who died of a heart attack there on April 24, the official added.

Bengaluru, May 25: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday greeted the Muslim brethren on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, which is being celebrated in a subdued manner due to coronavirus related restrictions.

"Warm greetings of Eid-ul-Fitr. May this festival of peace and harmony bring happiness in life," Yediyurappa said in his message.

He congratulated the Muslim fraternity for cooperating with the authorities by offering prayers at home during the holy month of Ramadan and supporting the government to contain COVID-19.

"I hope the same trend will continue during the festivities of Eid-ul-Fitr too. I thank you all for your support in the fight against COVID-19," he said.

The Eid festivities were a low-key affair as Muslim brethren celebrated the festival indoors in view of lockdown to contain coronavirus on Monday.

People offered the special prayers inside their houses instead of performing it in mosques and Eidgah, the open field to perform prayers, and refrained from going out to greet each other.

As the Karnataka government has ordered Sunday Curfew throughout the lockdown-4 till May 31, the otherwise bustling markets in the urban areas of Karnataka remained shut.

People could not venture out to make necessary purchases on Sunday.

The Jama Masjid of Bengaluru at the City Market had asked the Muslims to offer prayers inside their houses and not go to the burial grounds to express their sentiments for the departed souls.

"Mass prayers are not allowed anywhere in Karnataka. Just five important persons managing the mosques offered the prayers. Similarly, people go to the graveyard to pray for the dead ones but this time we asked people to express their sentiments from inside their homes instead of going to the burial grounds," Maulana Maqsood Imran, the Khateeb-O-Imam, Jama Masjid, Bengaluru, told news agency.

He said, "coronavirus is spreading very rapidly in our country. If we don't follow the guidelines, it will not only cause trouble to us but also to the doctors and the government. It will be the biggest celebration if we abide by the norms."

Bengaluru, Apr 11:  Amid nationwide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19, former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday urged the state government to announce a relief package for farmers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a video conference with Chief Ministers.

Taking to Twitter, Kumaraswamy wrote, "As the lock down continues, what action plan does the government have to tackle the challenges of ensuring marketing channels for farm produce with timely transport and ensuring uninterrupted supply of essential groceries to towns and cities?"

He later asked the government to act "swiftly and effectively".

"On one hand we see farmers throwing their produce in despair and losing their livelihoods. On the other hand supplies to towns are depleting. This is threatening both lives and livelihoods. The government must act swiftly and effectively," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

"I urge the state government to immediately announce relief package to farmers by way of direct benefit transfer mechanism and purchase all the agricultural produce so as to avoid farmer suicides," he added.

With 40 deaths and 1,035 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India on Saturday witnessed a sharpest ever increase in coronavirus cases, taking the tally of the infected people in the country to 7,447, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.