Mangaluru: Fire breaks out at two shops on GHS Road

Bengaluru, Apr 9:  Ministers and members of Legislature in Karnataka will take a 30 per cent cut each in their salaries and allowances to fund the fight against coronavirus in the state, for a year.

An ordinance to reduce the salaries of ministers and legislators by 30 per cent for one year to meet the exigencies arising out of COVID-19 pandemic was approved by the state cabinet headed by chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday.

"... we have cut by 30 per cent salaries and allowances of all ministers, MLAs, MLCs, also speaker, deputy speaker, chief whip every one for one year from April 1, amounting to Rs 15.36 crore," Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister J C Madhuswamy said.

Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, he said, "we have the consent from all the political parties for this, so we have passed the ordinance today."

The Union Cabinet on Monday had approved a 30 per cent cut in salaries of all Members of Parliament and a two-year suspension of the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme.

Bengaluru, Jul 3: The Karnataka government is allowing select asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic Covid-19 patients to recuperate at home as part of home isolation guidelines, an official said on Friday.

"Only those who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic shall be allowed to be in isolation at home," said a health official, highlighting that such patients should be properly oriented on home isolation.

However, before home isolation, a health team will visit the patient's house and assess its suitability for executing home isolation.

Similarly, the patient should be provided with a tele-consultation link for initial triage, daily follow up and during the entire home isolation time.

For a daily update, the patient isolated at home should give a report on his health status to the physician or health authorities.

"The home isolation shall be with the knowledge of the family members, neighbours, treating physician and local health authorities," said the official.

Though home isolation is allowed, it is not a blanket permission for all asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic cases in Karnataka to avail.

"Such cases should have the requisite facility at their residence for self-isolation and also for quarantining the family contacts. A care giver should be available to provide care on 24x7 basis," said the official.

Likewise, the caregiver should also have a regular communication link between him and the hospital during the home isolation.

No patient above 50 years will be allowed to avail home isolation.

"If the patient has the following comorbidities: hypertension, diabetes, obesity, thyroid disease, they shall be well managed and under good clinical control as assessed by medical officer," he said.

However, patients with comorbidities such as kidney diseases, dialysis, heart diseases, stroke, tuberculosis, cancer and HIV cannot avail home isolation.

Likewise, immunity compromised patients and those on steroids also cannot be on home isolation.

Though pregnant women are not allowed to avail this facility, lactating women are allowed after due instruction and assessment.

The Health Department has also issued several other guidelines and protocols for a patient choosing home isolation.

Bengaluru, Jun 8: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday fielded Eranna Kadadi and Ashok Gasti as it's candidates for the June 19 Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka, ignoring the recommendations of the state BJP unit.

The state unit had recommended the names of Prabhakar Kore, Ramesh Katti and Prakash Shetty.

The names of the two candidates were announced in a party statement in Delhi.

The election is scheduled on June 19 to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, represented by Rajeev Gowda and BK Hariprasad of Congress, Prabhakar Kore of BJP and D Kupendra Reddy of JD(S) that will fall vacant on June 25, with their retirement.

June 9 is the last date for filing nominations. Party sources said both Kadadi and Gasti come from an RSS background.

Kadadi hails from Belagavi, while Gasti is a resident of Raichur.

The 54-year-old Eranna Kadadi started his active political career in 1989 and unsuccessfully contested the assembly election from Arambhavi constituency in 1994 on a BJP ticket.

He had also served as the Belagavi district Panchayat president in 2010.

Ashok Gasti is a lawyer by profession and former general secretary of the BJP's OBC Cell.

He is the former chairperson of the Backward Class Development Corporation.