Bengaluru, June 10: The Department of Primary and Secondary Education of Government of Karnataka today ordered a ban on online classes for children from KG to class 5.
The decision was taken following a report based on the report submitted by director NIMHANS, recommending online classes only above the age of 6 years and also following the complaints from several parents about online classes conducted by private schools even for kindergarten kids.
Briefing the media soon after the meeting with department officials, S Suresh Kumar, primary and secondary education minister said, "We have taken two major decisions today. The online classes for LKG, UKG and primary classes should be stopped immediately."
Even collecting fees in the name of online classes should be stopped, said the minister. "We have already issued a circular about it insisting that schools not collect fees in the name of online classes and also requesting schools not to increase fees for the 2020-21 academic year considering financial constraints of several people due to the COVID-19 pandemic," said the minister.
The department, however, also discussed how to engage children during this period as there was no clarity over the reopening of schools for the 2020-21 academic year. "We have constituted a committee to prepare guidelines on how to engage students and increase their knowledge. The committee is headed by Prof. MK Sridhar," he said.
Before taking this decision, the department had three rounds of discussions with various experts, including Prof. MK Sridhar, Prof. VP Niranjanaradhya, Dr John Vijay Sagar and other departments, including the home and health departments.
Bengaluru, May 30: Bengaluru City civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on the food delivery startup Swiggy for irresponsible disposal of waste, an official said on Friday.
"Thinking of food is great - Swiggy. Hope you also think of segregating waste and disposing of it responsibly," tweeted BBMP Solid Waste Management Special Commissioner D. Randeep.
Randeep said a penalty of Rs 50,000 was imposed on Swiggy Kitchen at Katriguppe in the city for the violation.
"The incident with respect to waste segregation has been brought to our notice and happened at one of our kitchens in Bengaluru," confirmed a Swiggy spokesperson to IANS without revealing the exact details.
He said the startup is aware of its civic responsibility and has stringent processes to ensure high standards of compliance.
"While we investigate and rectify the root cause of the matter, we are reinforcing necessary awareness on the best practices to be followed amongst our teams and partner network to ensure complete compliance with waste management," the spokesperson added.
Swiggy has been penalised earlier as well for its irresponsible disposal of waste.
Recently, the BBMP’s solid waste management department has also fined an apartment complex Rs 15,000 for not segregating waste into dry, wet and reject categories.
Waste disposal norms for apartments
"Segregation of waste is mandatory in apartments. Onus of enforcing segregation rules lies on the (apartment) association and waste should be segregated as dry, wet and reject," said Randeep.
InClover Grand Apartments at Baiyappanhalli was penalised for the offence of improper waste disposal. Similarly, BBMP marshals also caught and fined some people openly discarding waste in public spaces.
"Dear citizens, please change your old habits. Our marshals are watching and will fine those who throw garbage in public spaces," BBMP Special Commissioner Randeep said.
He shared the photographs of two scooter-borne individuals being caught in the act and penalised at Kuvempunagar in Bengaluru.
Ballari, Jan 5: Thousands of Muslims, joined by the members of various organisations, on Saturday staged a massive protest in the town condemning the provocative speech by Bellary MLA G Somashekar Reddy.
The police caned the agitators after they tried to lay siege to the house of BJP legislator.
The protesters holding national flag took out a rally from Kaul Bazaar, which passed through the major streets, and culminated at Gadagi Channappa Circle. They raised slogans against the BJP and burnt the effigy of Somashekar Reddy.
The protest sent the traffic haywire Gadagi Channappa Circle and the cascading effect of it was seen across the town. SP C K Babu told the agitators that the MLA has been booked for making provocative speech and pleaded them to hold a protest at Municipal College grounds. But the agitators were in no mood to relent.
Inspector General (Bellary Range) I G Nanjundaswamy has rushed to the town to oversee security. The BJP MLA on Friday made inciting remarks against minorities during his speech at a pro-CAA rally in the town.
FIR against Reddy
The Gandhinagar police in the town on Saturday registered an FIR against MLA Somashekar Reddy, for making a provocative speech, under IPC Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between two religions), 295A (insulting religious beliefs) and 505B.
During his speech at a pro-CAA rally on Friday, Reddy had said, "Hindus are 80% of the population while minorities are 17%. What will happen to you if we hit back? Hence, you should be very careful about your moves and steps."
The legislator came down heavily on those staging protests against CAA in Ballari. "We won't keep quiet if another protest is staged against the CAA. Each Hindu is like Shivaji. Nobody will be alive if all Hindus come out to streets holding swords," he had said.
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We are already facing lot of problems here without food and money.
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