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Bengaluru, Apr 23: The Karnataka government on Wednesday promulgated 'The Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Ordinance 2020' that provides the state with a power to seal borders, restrict essential services and punish those attacking public servants and damaging public property.

The Ordinance comes after violence in Padarayanapura when the police and BBMP officials were attacked while they tried to take some secondary contacts of a deceased COVID-19 patient into quarantine on April 19.

The Ordinance, which was promulgated after the Centre's guidelines in this regard, said, "The offender shall be liable for a penalty of twice the value of public or private property damaged as determined by the Deputy Commissioner after an inquiry."

It further said that if the penalty is not paid by the offender, then the amount shall be recovered under provisions of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964. The Deputy Commissioner can even attach the property of such offender in due course.

Also, abetment of offence would attract imprisonment of up to two years and a penalty of Rs 10,000 or both.

"No person shall commit or attempt to commit or instigate, incite or otherwise abet the commission of offence to cause loss or damage to any public or private property in any area when restrictions and regulations are in force to contain any epidemic disease," the Ordinance said.

Whoever contravenes such provision shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months, but may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to Rs 50,000, it added.

On Wednesday, the Centre brought an Ordinance to end violence against health workers, making it a cognisable and non-bailable offence with imprisonment up to seven years for those found guilty.

"We have brought an Ordinance under which any attack on health workers will be a cognisable and non-bailable offence. In the case of grievous injuries, the accused can be sentenced from six months to seven years. They can be penalised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakhs," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar briefed media after Cabinet meeting.

Javadekar said that an amendment will be made to the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and ordinance will be implemented.
This comes amid nationwide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19.

Bengaluru, May 4: Former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday said that the health of the migrants who have been allowed to move, should not be jeopardized and appropriate tests must be conducted.

"The task was to send the workers to their places. However, their health should not be jeopardized. This decision made for their benefit should not be a travesty for them. There will also be physical interference on the buses and appropriate tests must be done," said Kumaraswamy.

"The lockdown, which was implemented without any prerequisites, is now loosened without warning. The state government, which has allowed migrant workers to move to the city, has mobilized large numbers of people. By this, the government is playing with their health," he added.

He continued saying that the government should not lose out on an unscientific move that resulted in the loss of thousands of crores of rupees from a custodial lockdown.

"Workers and villages must be sober. The government must take all necessary precautions in this regard," he added.

New Delhi, Jan 25: The latest edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary features 26 new Indian English words, including Aadhaar, chawl, dabba, hartal and shaadi.

The 10th edition of the dictionary, which was launched on Friday, has 384 Indian English words and incorporates over 1,000 new words such as chatbot, fake news and microplastic.

The dictionary focuses on language change and its evolution through the years, and has ensured that the language and examples used in the new edition are relevant and up to date with the times, Oxford University Press (OUP) said.

The new edition comes with interactive online support through the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries website and an app. The website includes advanced features such as audio-video tutorials, video walkthroughs, self-study activities and enhanced iWriter and iSpeaker tools.

"This edition has 26 new Indian English words of which 22 figure in the printed dictionary. The other four are in the digital version," said Fathima Dada, Managing Director (Education Division) at OUP.

Some of other new Indian words in the dictionary are auntie (while aunty already figures in the English dictionary, auntie is an Indianism), bus stand, deemed university, FIR, non-veg, redressal, tempo, tube light, veg and videograph.

The four new Indian English words in the online version of the dictionary are current (for electricity), looter, looting and upazila (one of the areas that a district is divided into for administration purposes).

According to OUP, the new edition provides better, more accurate and understandable definitions with examples, usage notes and additional resources to help the learner use the right word in the right context.

"Prevalence and common usage are the main criteria for enlisting new words. We scan the globe for words which are often used by people while speaking English. Then these words go through a rigorous testing process," Dada said.

"As OUP is the custodian of English language globally, these words have to go through its processes," she told PTI.

The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, she said, has been reinventing itself for nearly eight decades, anticipating the growing learning requirements of learners.

"The 10th edition also is equipped with a strong digital support system, including an app," she said.

It is equipped with several digital tools. With iSpeaker, learners can get help preparing for speaking exams and presentations. With iWriter, learners can plan, write and review their written work. Text Checker allows the teacher to check any text against the Oxford 3000, 5000, and OPAL (Oxford Phrasal Academic Lexicon) written word list.

Resources accessible through online premium access include lesson plans, worksheets, video walkthroughs, and classroom and self-study activities. With the OALD app one can find 86,000 words, 95,000 phrases, 112,000 meanings and 237,000 examples.

The dictionary, which spans 77 years, was originally published in Japan in 1942 and was first brought out by OUP in 1948. The learner's dictionary is based on the original values of its creator, Albert Sydney Hornby, whose aim was to help language learners worldwide understand the meaning of English words.