Fear of epidemic outbreak looms as water contaminated in Karnataka

Hubballi, Jan 29: Thousands of people took part in a protest march against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) causing traffic snarl in the city on Tuesday.

Various Dalit organisations had taken part in protest organised under the aegis of the 'Samvidana Samrakshana Samiti'.

KPCC members including MLA Prasad Abbayya, former Minister A.M. Hindasageri and office-bearers also joined the protest.

They congregated first at B.R. Ambedkar Statue near the Head Post Office in Hubballi. Holding flags and banners, the protesters marched from Ambedkar statue to mini Vidhana Soudha covering Lamington Road, Sangolli Rayanna Statue and Kittur Chennamma Circle.

Mr. Abbayya said that despite opposition from various minority communities and progressive organisations, the Union government had not changed its stand. The opposition would continue till the new law was repealed, he said.

He termed the CAA as a draconian law that meted out injustice to not only Muslims but also to Hindus. “Giving citizenship based on documents is highly condemnable. At a time when the country is undergoing an economic slowdown, it is highly condemnable that thousands of crores are being spent to enact the law. The Union government should immediately abolish the new law,” he said.

They submitted a memorandum to the Hubballi tahsildar that was addressed to the President, seeking abolition of the new law. In view of the march, the police had diverted traffic and had made elaborate bandobast.

Kasaragod, Apr 17: Even as this district continue to remain in the high-alert red zone category of Covid-19, Kasaragod has slowly but steadily been limping back to restraint level of the pandemic from a possible slipping into a stage-3 of community spread early this month.

Thanks to the stringent and committed measures implemented by the district administration crisscross the district besides total isolation of few localities by enforcing triple lockdown.

The district had been a Covid-19 hotspot ever since an NRI who returned from the Gulf violated quarantine protocol and travelled wide and far by meeting and contacting with several people including two MLAs of the district. That apart the irresponsible attitude of the people who broke the rules of quarantine and lockdown norms also made things go from bad to worse resulting in contributing for a near-half of the total positive cases in the state at the beginning of April.

Bengaluru, Apr 29: Indian women have always been the epitome of beauty, strength, and intelligence. Today, the success of Indian women across various walks of life has proven that they have earned this reputation.

One such dedicated social worker is Dr Sunitha Manjunath, the Founder of 'Sumanaa Foundation' of Sanjay Nagar in Bengaluru.

Sumanaa Foundation, based out of Sanjay Nagar in Bengaluru has been on the forefront to support people in distress due to COVID-19. 

The foundation under the leadership of its founder Dr Sunitha Manjunath procured a total of 20000 kgs of farm-fresh produce in four phases from farmers who are unable to sell it due to the COVID Lockdown and have distributed it across 6000 families across Bengaluru city.

"We have procured these vegetables after identifying farmers who are unable to sell their produce due to the challenges of lockdown.

This initiative not only supports the farmers by helping them get the right price for their produce, but also gives us an opportunity to get vegetables at a reasonable price by escaping all middlemen and commissions. We have identified 6000 poor families mainly around Bengaluru city who have not been able to earn their daily wages and given them coupons.

The foundation members identify genuine cases and give them coupons which can be redeemed in exchange of an essential vegetables kit," said Dr Sunitha Manjunath, the founder of Sumanaa Foundation.

These vegetables have been procured from Chikkaballapura, Doddaballapura, and surrounding villages and included vegetables like onions, tomatoes, capsicum, green chillies, beans, carrots, brinjal, potatoes, beetroots etc. These farmers got a fair price for their produce and were overjoyed to know that their harvest is being distributed free of cost to needy and deserving families.

Sumanaa Foundation has been actively supporting the city administration in fighting COVID-19 pandemic. In the recent weeks the foundation has distributed sanitisers and masks to BBMP Pourakarmikas.

The foundation also cooked food for over 400 people each day. This food was handed over to the city administration, which further distributed this to the police department and other staff working across government departments during these testing times.

Dr Sunitha, an engineer by qualification, had enjoyed a high-flying corporate career with BOSCH. She was offered a global role, which she turned down to setup her NGO, 'Sumanaa Foundation' and to serve the needy in and around her locality. Over the past seven years, the NGO with 70 members has done a wide range of activities to support the poor and needy in Bengaluru.

The core team of Sumanaa Foundation works under the leadership of its president Dr Sunitha Manjunath and includes young and energetic individuals like Manjunath K, Prakash K, Vidya Prakash, Sindu Gowda, Byregowda, Nishita Arjun, Arjun Varadaraj and Manoj Kumar
'Meal of Humanity' is a notable initiative of Dr Sunitha Manjunath and her team. Under this program, over 300 poor people are served mid-day meals every day. 

This is currently a self-sustained program with no external funding. Dr Sunitha Manjunath, her family members, and friends contribute their hard-earned money to bring smiles to hundreds of migrant workers and daily wage laborers.

'Wall of Humanity' is another unique concept implemented by Sumanaa Foundation. People can leave used or unnecessary daily use products like clothes, toys, groceries, etc at a designated area. This can be picked by anyone in need of these items. This self-helping model has touched the lives of hundreds of people in and around the area of Sanjay Nagar.

Regular blood donation camps, eye checkups, scholarship for students, tailoring machine distribution, environmental initiatives, Swacch Bharath programs, wall painting across the roadside are just a few among the hundreds of activities undertaken by Sumanaa Foundation regularly under the leadership of Dr Sunitha Manjunath and her team of friends.

"A life without an aim is worthless and so is a death without achievement. The aim of my life is to touch the lives of the hundreds of people who are not as privileged as you and me. I'd like to thank my husband Manjunath, my In-Laws and my friends from Sumanaa Foundation who work tirelessly alongside me across all our initiatives," said an elated Dr Sunitha Manjuanth on receiving the 'ET Power Icons' award for Excellence in Social Service and Public Initiatives.

Dr Sunitha Manjunath has also been awarded the prestigious 'Kempegowda Award' and many more such awards for her contribution to the society.