Has BJP started Taliban in Hinduism, asks Shashi Tharoor

Kasaragod, Apr 2: Kerala reported 21 new cases of coronavirus with eight from the worst affected Kasaragod district, taking the tally of active patients to 256, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday.

Besides, Kasaragod, five positive cases have been detected from Idukki, two from Kollam and one each from Thiruvananthapuram, Pathnamthitta, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur, he told reporters here.

At least 1.65 lakh people are under survillence in the state, 643 in various hospitals.

Presently, 256 people are under treatment for the virus in the state where two fatalities have occurred, Vijayan said.

Bengaluru, Jan 23: City civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) levied a penalty of Rs 50,000 on the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for using single-use plastic cups during the recent India-Australia one-day international match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

"Despite many awareness meetings, BBMP has found that single-use plastic cups were used during yesterday's cricket match and has fined KSCA Rs 50,000 as penalty," tweeted the civic body commissioner BH Anil Kumar.

The state cricket association treasurer Vinaya Mruthyunjaya said the civic body gave a general notice without detailed information on plastic use.

"We have been environmentally friendly for the last many years and at all gates, security has made sure no plastic or flex was allowed inside the stadium," Mruthyunjaya told media.

Mruthyunjaya said KSCA sought information from the civic body as to where the single-use plastic cups were found in the stadium during the India-Australia match.

On January 16, KSCA president Roger Binny inaugurated a plastic bottle shredder at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, in addition to other green initiatives at the cricket ground such as solar panels, sub-air system, biogas unit, rainwater harvesting and others. 

Similarly, in December 2019, BBMP cracked down on popular fast food eatery – Adyar Anand Bhavan in HSR Layout and fined the establishment Rs 1 lakh for plastic use.

In October, the BBMP fined eateries including McDonald's in central Bengaluru for using plastic.

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.