Former minister, JDS leader Amarnath Shetty no more

Bengaluru, June 19: Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa''s home-office in the city centre was shut for sanitisation after the husband of a woman employee working there tested COVID-19 positive, an official said on Friday.

"The chief minister''s home-office has been closed for sanitisation after the employee''s husband tested positive for coronavirus," an official of the Chief Minister''s Office told media persons here.

The employee did not report for duty for two days after her husband was infected with the virus.

"The chief minister''s engagements, including an official event involving the state police department were shifted to the Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat)," said the official.

As the employee was on outpost duty, she did not come in contact with the Chief Minister or his cabinet colleagues and other senior officials.

Earlier in the day, the divisional railway manager''s office in the city centre was shut for sanitisation after a visiting employee tested positive for coronavirus.

"The three-floor DRM office has been closed for the day for santisation and all employees have been advised to work from home as one of our staffer who visited the office early this week tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday," senior Divisional Commercial Manager Krishna Reddy told media persons here.

The DRM''s office is located adjacent to the Krantivira Sangoli Rayanna (KSR) main railway station in the city centre.

The state''s mini secretariat Vikas Soudha adjacent to the iconic Vidhana Soudha in the city centre has also been shut for sanitisation after a government employee working in it tested COVID positive.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), entrusted with the task of containing the virus spread, has already sanitised a portion of the massive building in the city centre.

After an employee of the food and civil supplies department tested positive, all offices on the ground floor of the mini-secretariat were sealed and sanitised.

The city registered 17 fresh cases on Thursday, taking the total number of positive cases to 844. With 14 discharged earlier in the day, 384 have been cured of the infection, while 408 are under treatment.

Of the 114 COVID deaths across the southern state since March 10, Bengaluru has accounted for 51 till date.

Kochi, Jan 12: Golden Kayaloram, the fourth and last Maradu residential apartment was razed by controlled implosion in Kochi on Sunday afternoon as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

The building came crashing down, leaving the entire area in a cover of white smoke.

Earlier today, Jain Coral Cove, the apartment having the maximum number of housing units among the illegally built buildings, was razed down at 11:02 am.

The authorities coordinated the operations from a control room set up at the office of the Inland Waterways Authority of India.

As per municipal records, there were 122 housing units in Jain Coral Cove and 41 in Golden Kayaloram.

The prohibitory orders that were clamped in the area will remain imposed for the day. The district administration on Saturday imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

On Saturday, the 19-floor H2O Holy Faith apartment complex with 90 flats and the Alfa Serene complex with twin towers were demolished at 11 am and 11:05 am respectively.

The buildings are razed for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules. The directions in this regard were passed by the Supreme Court last year. 

Belagavi, 12: Even though the investigation into the four abandoned country pistols that were recovered by the Karnataka police on the outskirts of Waghawade village in Belagavi taluk last weekend did not make any headway, the police are verifying if the weapons had been used by the assassin of Gauri Lankesh for training.

Four country pistols were found abandoned on the outskirts of Waghawade on Sunday. Locals informed that the police had taken the weapons for inspection.

Prima facie it appeared that the weapons were rusted and had not been used for long. Cases had been registered against unidentified persons and investigations were in progress.

After reports that the weapons could have been used for training by the assassin of Gauri Lankesh in the forests in Khanapur, a few kilometres away from the spot wherein they were found, police have been looking into this angle too.

Sources said the condition of the weapons indicated that they have not been used for decades but to allay doubt all aspects were being looked into.