Cong-led UDF retains Vengara Assembly seat in Kerala, BJP finishes fourth

Bengaluru, Mar 7: As a precautionary measure to control the spread of coronavirus in Karnataka, the state government has planned to suspend biometric attendance for the time-being at its offices, also in corporate and IT companies, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Saturday.

He said the government has taken all precautionary measures to control the spread of the virus in the state.

"Our Additional Chief Secretary has already spoken to IT companies yesterday on behalf of the government regarding guidelines that need to be followed, it is part of it...we will do it in the government also in the days to come," Sudhakar told reporters here.

He was responding to a question about suspending biometric attendance at offices in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Asked about suspending biometric attendanceat government offices, he said, "we have planned to do it yesterday."

Sudhakar said so far in Karnataka not even one case has been identified, to that extent we have been taking precautionary measures effectively.

He said from villages to state capital Bengaluru at all levels the health department officials have been activated as part of the precautionary measures.

Also, committees headed by Deputy Commissioners have been formed in all district, he added.

"We have given certain guidelines to people. We have also included private hospitals. We have taken all precautionary measures to stop the virus from entering the state," he added.

In response to a question regarding masks, the Minister clarified that those who have the symptoms of the disease only should use them.

He said, "N95 masks are required only for those who have tested positive, there is not even a single positive case in the state so far...surgical masks that will have three layers can be used by those who have symptoms like cough, cold, fever."

In the state as a precautionary measure 2,500 beds have been kept ready if the situation arises, despite not having a single case.

Bengaluru, Feb 28: “Those who struggle to come up can understand people’s problems better. Yediyurappa is one such leader who has reached this position after a struggle,’’ said former chief minister Siddaramaiah, in praise of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who celebrated his 78th birthday on Thursday in Bengaluru.

Siddaramaiah was the only non-BJP leader on the dais, who not only attended the event, but was present throughout. He released a coffee table book, ‘A Leader who Saw Tomorrow’, on Yediyurappa’s life and achievements, compiled by The New Indian Express.

Dwelling on the political spectrum and human relationships, Siddaramaiah said, “Our ideologies are different, but that is limited to politics. Politics should not come between personal relationships.’’ Recalling his association with Yediyurappa, Siddaramaiah said that in 1983, he and Yediyurappa had entered the Assembly for the first time.

“Yediyurappa did not become chief minister just like that. It took years of struggle and hard work. We both have many similarities — neither of us came from political backgrounds. We came up through struggle and those who come from such backgrounds understand people,’’ he said.

Siddaramaiah said that it was Yediyurappa who first became chief minister, and he had reached the post only five years later. “I am five years younger than him, maybe that is the reason,’’ he said on a lighter note. Yediyurappa has become chief minister four times, but I have been chief minister only once, he added. He also spoke about how Yediyurappa had played an important role in bringing the BJP to power in the state, the party’s first government in South India. “Very few leaders know the pulse of the state and Yediyurappa is one among them,’’ he said.

Bengaluru, Feb 9: Six persons, including three Nigerian nationals, have been arrested for their involvement in a fake kidney racket, through which they duped over 300 people, police said on Sunday.

The case was cracked by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) headed by Banasawadi, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Raviprasad. These people had duped scores of people, by misusing the name of a well known hospital located in Bengaluru.