Embattled tycoon B R Shetty now holds employees responsible for NMC fraud 

New Delhi, Mar 19: Senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes on Wednesday extolled the virtues of 'gaumutra' and shared an anecdote about a man claiming to have cured his cancer by drinking cow urine to drive his point home.

Participating in a debate in Rajya Sabha on two bills for setting up national commissions for homoeopathy and Indian systems of medicine, the former Union minister said, "My extreme friend Jairam Ramesh pulls my leg, when I talk of 'gaumutra'."

Sharing an anecdote, Fernandes said once during a visit to an ashram near Meerut he had met a person who claimed to have cured his cancer by drinking 'gaumutra'.

Many BJP leaders have earlier spoken about the healing power of 'gaumutra'. The Congress has reacted sharply to such remarks.

He also praised the virtues of the Indian systems of medicine. He said when he had severe pain in knee joint and doctors had suggested for replacement surgery. However, he refused and started doing 'Vajrasana'.

"I started Vajrasana, practising yoga, and today I am able to do wrestling without any difficulty," the septuagenarian leader said.

"When (former) prime minister (Atal Bihari) Vajypee ji had a knee surgery, I thought if I had known him earlier, I would have definitely gone to him and ask him to follow 'Vajrasan' and it could have been cured," he said.

He also claimed to have met a person in US aged around 104 years and moving swiftly as a young man.

"Yoga is our wealth. If you practise yoga, may be our budget cost of health can be reduced by 50 per cent. It's way of life," he said.

"Our own Indian systems of medicine will provide a lot of reliefs even before going to a doctor," he said.

Though Fernandes supported the bills but raised objection over the exclusion of yoga and naturopathy.

"I would urge the minister either to amend the bill or bring an assurance that it will bring a separate legislation to cover yoga and naturopathy," he said.

Bengaluru, Jun 1: Karnataka's Department of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday released the protocol for inter-state travellers to the State during phased reopening --#Unlock1.

Five points protocol in this regard are: 1. Mandatory Self- Registration on Seva Sindhu Portal by all travellers before entering Karnataka:

a. Name, Address and Mobile Number to be provided

b. No approval required

c. Use of same Mobile number for multiple registrations not allowed except in the case of a family.

d. Business visitors to give details (name, mobile and address of persons in Karnataka they intend to meet).

e. Transit travellers to provide an address in destination state and indicate exit check post from Karnataka.

2. Health Screening of all incoming persons at entry points.

a. Border Check-posts, Airports, Railway stations and Bus stand

b. Home Quarantine hand-stamping on hand for 14-days period as per quarantine norms

3. Quarantine norms are based on three parameters

I. Symptomatic on arrival from any State: 7 days of Hospital isolation at COVID Care Centre(CCC)/Dedicated COVID Health Centre (DCHC) followed by 7 days of home quarantine or manage as per symptoms.

II. Test immediately on arrival: If positive, shift to Dedicated COVID-19 Hospital (DCH). If negative, no further test required

III. Asymptomatic on arrival:

* For persons coming from Maharashtra

a) 7 days of institutional quarantine followed by 7 days of home quarantine

b) Test if they develop symptoms during the quarantine period

c) Exceptions for Special Category Asymptomatic persons--14-days home quarantine (one attendant to be permitted) and Special category passengers--Death in the family, Pregnant Women, Children aged below 10 years, Elderly aged above 60 years, Serious illness, Human Distress

d) Business travellers from Maharashtra: To establish that one is a business traveller, a person should show confirmed return flight/train ticket which should not be more than 7 days later from the date of arrival.

In case one is coming by road, he/she should provide the address proof of person in Karnataka he intends to meet. In addition, the person should produce -- one having COVID-19 negative test certificate, which is not more than two days old -- exempted from quarantine.

One does not have a COVID-19 negative test certificate, such a person should go for institutional quarantine of two days within which COVID-19 test should be conducted at his/her own cost. After the test result is negative, the person is exempted from quarantine. No hand stamping of the business visitor is required.

e) All travellers from Maharashtra who come with COVID-19 negative test certificate from an ICMR approved lab, which is not more than two days old from the date of arrival, are exempted from seven days of institution quarantine. They can be asked to go for 14 days of home quarantine.

f) Transit traveller from Maharashtra: To establish that one is a transit traveller, a person should show flight/ train ticket for the onward journey which should not be more than 1 day later from the date of arrival. In case one is travelling by road, he/she should provide the identity proof and address proof in the destination state. Such traveller should be hand stamped if travelling by road as "Transit Traveller."

*For persons coming from other States

a) 14 days of home quarantine

b) Test if they develop symptoms during the home quarantine period

c) For persons where home quarantine is not possible, then institutional quarantine should be done, especially when we have a large family or no separate room for home quarantine, slum or overcrowded areas where home quarantine can not be followed.

d) Business visitors from the Other States: To establish that one is a business traveller, a person should show confirmed return flight/train ticket which should not be more than 7 days later from the date of arrival. In case one is coming by road, he/she should provide the address proof of the native State. No quarantine, and no hand stamping for business visitors from other states.

e) Transit traveller from the other States: To establish that one is a transit traveller, the person should show flight/train ticket for the onward journey which should not be more than one day later from the date of arrival. In case one is travelling by road, he/she should provide the identity proof and address proof in the destination state. Such traveller should be hand stamped if travelling by road as "Transit Traveller."

4. Home Quarantine: Home quarantine follow-up for all incoming persons except business visitors and transit travellers

A. For Rural Areas--

* Home quarantine poster on the home door.

* Information to two neighbours

* Gram Panchayat Task Force to carry an overall responsibility of Home Quarantine

* 3-Member team in every village to monitor

* Flying Squad: FIR against violation of home quarantine and shift to institutional quarantine

* IVRS Call-centre outbound calls

* Quarantine watch App-daily self-monitoring upload-Temperature, Finger-tip pulse-oximetry for elderly and persons with co-morbidity

B. For BBMP and other Urban Areas--

* Home Quarantine Poster on the home door.

* Information to two neighbours and resident welfare/apartment owner's association.

* Ward level team to carry an overall responsibility of home quarantine

* 3-member team at booth level to monitor along with the involvement of Resident Welfare/Apartment Owners' Associations

* Flying Squad: FIR against violation of home quarantine and shift to institutional quarantine

* IVRS Call-centre outbound calls

* Quarantine watch App: Daily self-monitoring upload- temperature, finger-tip pulse-oximetry for elderly and persons with co-morbidity

Karnataka government on Sunday issued guidelines, which will come into force from June 1 and continue till June 30.

According to the new guidelines, religious places and places of worship for the public, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services, and shopping malls will be permitted to open from June 8.

Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday announced new guidelines for phased re-opening of "all activities outside containment zones for the next one month beginning June 1.

In an order, Karnataka government said that phased re-opening of areas outside the containment zones, all activities will be permitted, except the following, which will be allowed, with the stipulation of following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be prescribed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 2,922 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the State including 1,877 active cases, 997 recovered and 48 deaths.

Bengaluru, May 7: Fear and anxiety gripped migrant workers who lined up at police stations in the city on Wednesday to register for train services without knowing that the state government had cancelled the train facility.

Senior officials in South Western Railway said they were ready to run special trains for migrant workers. On Tuesday evening, the state government decided to withdraw the requests made for 13 such trains to north India after realtors said they need the labourers here.

Migrants continued to stream into the railway station at Majestic, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre and even the bus station hoping for some travel arrangement. Many who were aware of the government web portal, stood in front of the BBMP ward office or police stations for enrolment.

In Varthur, over 100 migrants stood in front of the police station and sought to know what happened to the forms they had submitted four days ago. "We first went to the BBMP office and were shooed away by an official who directed us to go to the police station. We want to go home and demanded that the police help us. There was no response first. Then they came out and beat us," said Pintu Kumar from Mohanpur of Bhagalpur district in Bihar.

Though a video clip accidentally shot by Kumar showed two police personnel charging the cane at them, a police officer from the Varthur station, however, disputed the claim. "The video doesn’t show the cane landing on any person. We were beating the seat and tyre of two-wheelers to send the migrants away," he said.

At Mahadevapura, the workers came in groups and submitted the forms at the police station.

At the railway station in Majestic, a group of labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand had walked from several areas in south Bengaluru only to be told that there is no train. Mahendra, a labourer from Jharkhand, said they received 5 kg rice and nothing else in the last 45 days. "Now, I don’t want food. I don’t want the job or money. I can't get stuck here. I want to go home,” he said.

'Restore dignity'

Activists and leaders wrote an open letter to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa questioning the decision to cancel trains without consulting labourers and protesting the violation of their fundamental rights.

The letter had support of 522 organisations and individuals, including Dalit rights organisations and trade unions. It urged the government to restore the dignity of the migrant workers. "We demand recognition of the autonomy and dignity of the migrant workers to decide their travel plans. No one should be forced either to stay back or to return to their home states," it said.