Engineering sisters commit suicide after fight with parents over love & marriage

Davanagere, Jul 4: Referring to allegations made by former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's charge about corruption while purchasing COVID-19 equipment, Health Minister B Sriramulu said the state government is ready for any kind of probe in this regard.

Speaking to media persons here on Saturday, he said the government has maintained accounts for each purchase of equipment related to Covid-19. 

"So, Congress leader's allegations are far from the truth. Siddaramaiah has vast political experience. It is unbecoming of such a leader to make ridiculous allegations. The government is ready to release white paper on purchase of equipment related to Covid-19," he said.

He said Karnataka stands third in the country in collection of throat swabs and examination of people related to Covid-19. The entire country has hailed Karnataka's role in containing Covid-19, Sriramulu he added.

Kasaragod, Apr 3: Kerala reported nine new cases of coronavirus on Friday, with seven from the worst affected Kasaragod district, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

With this, the total number of coronavirus positive cases in the coastal district alone mounted to 136.

Besides, Kasaragod, one case each was detected from Thrissur and Idukki, he told reporters after a COVID-19 review meeting this evening.

Currently, 251 people are under treatment for the virus in the state and 14 were cured today, Vijayan said.

A total of 1.69 lakh people are under surveillence in the state and 706 are in various hospitals.

Two fatalities have been reported from the state so far.

Hubli, April 6: A disinfection tunnel was installed at the entrance of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market here on Sunday.

The tunnel, installed with the help of Young India.org, sprays people with a small percentage of Sodium hypochlorite solution through nozzles in order to sanitise them before they enter the market.

"It is helpful for all the farmers, vegetable vendors and other people who are coming and going to the APMC market. This is very useful," said Jagdish Shettar, Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries, Karnataka.

With regards to any plans of more devices being added in the near future, Shettar added: "Firstly, we will have to see what would be the public's reaction and then, later on, we will decide."

President of Confederation of Indian Industry, Hubli VSV Prasad said that the setting up of this tunnel can help curtail the spread of Coronavirus "by disinfecting the bacteria of the body".

While it was on the trial stage right now, Prasad hopes that the trial is successful and the chamber is set up in more public places. With regards to the cost of the tunnel, he said: "The cost is around Rs 1.5 Lac to Rs 2 Lac and hopefully it will come down once we go for production," he added.

Srinivas Joshi, a representative of Young India.org, speaking to news agency said: "We have added 1.8 percent of Sodium hypochlorite solution in 100 litres of water. It is pumped through high-pressure pumps and sprayed like a mist via nozzles for 3-5 seconds which is very less time to cause any kind of allergy."

"People who are allergic to chemicals should avoid going through this chamber. We are putting signboard very soon," he added.

The number of positive cases of coronavirus in the country continues to surge. As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 3,577 with 83 deaths.