Hat-trick victory for Nalin Kumar Kateel as Congress bites the dust in DK

Bengaluru, Feb 11: Onion price dropped to Rs 25-30 per kg on Monday, down from the dizzying Rs 200/kg in December and January. The price had spiked because of excess rain, which ruined the crop in several parts of the country.

With supply stabilising, especially from Maharashtra and northern Karnataka, and exports banned, the rate is now easing, officials said.

Consumers may be smiling but farmers are worried as they are not able to make more than Rs 17/kg as against the expected Rs 40.

"We get onions from Nasik and Sholapur in Maharashtra. Nasik onions used to be exported but since that is currently banned, they are landing in Bengaluru, leaving the market here with a surplus," said K Lokesh, president, Karnataka State Onion Merchants Association.

A farmer from Sholapur wh o was part of a onion growers' delegation which met traders in Bengaluru, said, "The cost of everything has gone up. Labour charges and fuel prices are draining us. How can we survive? How can I pay for my children's education?"

Another Sholapur farmer rued: "My daughter's wedding is in March. How am I going to meet all the expenses? I have to pay for labour, transportation, gunny bags and when everything adds up, I don't get to save more than Rs 30,000 in a month."

Bengaluru, May 18: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday said that people from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu will not be allowed in the state till May 31.

"We have decided not to allow entry of people from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu till May 31," Yediyurappa said after a meeting with state ministers and senior government officers to discuss the guidelines issued by the Centre regarding the fourth phase of nationwide lockdown.

"State road transport corporation buses in Karnataka and private buses will run. Strict lockdown measures in containment zones and economic activities will be permitted in other areas. Sundays will be total lockdown across the state. Home quarantine will be strengthened," he added.

The Chief Minister further said that all shops will be allowed to open and all trains running within the state will be permitted.

The central government on Sunday extended the ongoing COVID-19 induced nationwide lockdown till May 31, but with a set of new relaxations commencing from Monday. The Union Home Ministry has also given powers to States/UTs demarcate areas in Green, Orange and Red zones, which will allow them to start activities except in containment zones.

According to the guidelines, "all other activities will be permitted except those which are specifically prohibited under these guidelines. However, in containment zones, only essential activities shall be allowed, as mentioned earlier."

Mangaluru, May 8: Migrant workers, stranded in Karnataka due to lockdown, staged a protest on Friday at the Central Railway Station here, demanding to be sent back to their respective native places.

The workers demanded the state government to take measures and send them back to their homes.

Maintaining social distancing and covering their faces with masks, the workers were holding placards which read -- "We want to go home Jharkhand, We want justice and we want to go home."

They appealed to the state government to arrange trains and buses to ferry them to their native places and threatened to walk home if denied transport.

Several protests have erupted in different parts of the country, such as Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, as stranded labourers took to the roads demanding to be sent back home.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on May 1 had issued an order to extend the ongoing lockdown by two more weeks from May 4 with some relaxations.