Govt. allocates Rs. 15 crore for Jayalalithaa memorial

Udupi, May 30: A total of 45 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, including 17 children were discharged after recovery from the designated hospital in Udupi.

This comes as a big relief amid the rising number of cases in the district.

A total of 164 cases has been confirmed in the district so far.

Kasaragod, Jul 26: First funeral, now wedding. Forty-three persons who attended a wedding at Pilankatta in Chengala panchayat in Kasaragod on July 17 have tested positive for Covid-19, said district medical officer (DMO) A V Ramdas.

They include the bride and the groom. Collector D Sajith Babu has asked all those who attended the wedding to go into home quarantine for 14 days. Those with Covid symptoms should get in touch with the nearest primary health centre, he said.

The DMO said samples of 128 persons linked to the wedding were tested, of which 43 turned out positive. Earlier, 44 persons who attended a funeral in Cherkala in the first week of July had tested positive. The funeral was declared a cluster and the government had to test 522 persons linked to the funeral.

The collector said those taking part in funeral or weddings without following the Covid protocol would be booked under the Kerala Epidemic Diseases Act. If convicted, they would face up to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of `10,000. Kasaragod police said they will register a case in connection with the wedding. 

Pilankatta ward member Abdulla Kunhi K B said it was not a big fat wedding. The ceremony held at the bride’s house at Pilankatta was attended by less than 100 people, he said.“Theirs is a big family with four houses in one compound. 

As many as 30 members are staying in these houses,” said Kunhi. Nine of the 30 have tested positive.Of the 15 guests, who came from the bride’s mother’s house, 12 contracted the infection. “The rest of the infected persons were among the groom’s guests,” said Kunhi, who did not attend the wedding. The groom and the bride’s father returned from Dubai three months ago.

1,049: state records biggest recovery
A total of 1,049 Covid patients recovered on Saturday. This is the first time that the number of recoveries crossed the 1,000-mark in the state. The previous highest was 968 reported on Friday. So far, as many as 8,613 patients have recovered.

roping in ayush experts a challenge  
Plan to bring AYUSH practitioners for treating positive patients at CFLTCs is going to be a challenge for the government. It turned out that respective associations were planning to approach the government with an individual charter of demands. 

Bengaluru, Mar 30: Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL) has received the first tranche of Rs 2,000 crore following disinvestment of Global Village Techparks to repay debts following the death of its founder V G Siddhartha.
In August last year, CDEL executed definitive agreements with entities belonging to Blackstone Group and Salarpuria Sattva Group for investment in GV Techparks, a wholly-owned subsidiary of group company Tanglin Development Ltd (TDL), at an enterprise value of Rs 2,700 crore.
The balance amount is expected to be received after the receipt of few statutory approvals, CDEL said in a statement.
"Out of the money received in first tranche, the company has paid off its debts in full including principal and interest amounting to Rs 1,644 crore to the lenders despite difficult economic conditions," it said.
Post this payment, the consolidated debt of the company and its subsidiaries stands at Rs 3,200 crore as on March 27. This includes debt of Rs 1,400 crore of its subsidiary Sical Logistics Ltd where disinvestment process is in progress.
"The company and subsidiaries have repaid around Rs 4,000 crore to the lenders since the beginning of this financial year," CDEL said.
"With the continuous support of stakeholders of the company, the current management is working to ensure better liquidity and operational efficiency. The company is confident of the future ahead despite various challenges," it added.
The company has been in rough waters after its founder V G Siddhartha took his own life as debt strains began to emerge in his company. Since his death in July last year, CDEL has been trying to divest its assets to pare debts.
On July 30, 2019, CDEL informed stock exchanges about Siddhartha's disappearance. In a letter that was purportedly written by him, the Cafe Coffee Day founder said: "I could not take any more pressure from one of the private equity partners forcing me to buy back shares."