IMD issues red alert for several districts in Kerala

Kalaburagi, Mar 14: Utter negligence of Kalaburagi health department officials was one of the main reasons for the death of his father, alleged family member of Kalaburagi man and India's first COVID-19 victim here on Friday.

The victim's son said 'if officials of Kalaburagi health department had advised us to admit his father in isolated ward, which was opened in Gulbarga Institute of Medical science (GIMS), my father's survival time may have been extended,' he said.

Bengaluru, Mar 13: Senior IPS officer KSR Charan Reddy, who was the Additional Director General of Police in Criminal Investigation Department, Karnataka passed away in Bengaluru on Friday after prolonged illness. 

He was reportedly battling cancer for at least three years now and had suffered multiple recurs after treatment. 

"Shri Charan Reddy, IPS, ADGP, Karnataka State, passed away this morning, after a prolonged illness. He was one of our finest officers. Always stood tall and held his head high!! May his soul rest in peace," Retired IPS officer and former Director General of Police (Fire Services) MN Reddi tweeted. 

IPS officer Charan Reddy was heading the Special Investigation Team of the Lokayukta when he arrested Vijayanagara MLA Anand Singh in 2015 for illegally transporting iron ore out of Ballari. The illegal mining scam had rocked the former BJP government in 2011.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa condoled his death and said that he was an honest officer in the state. "Charan Reddy was a dedicated and honest officer. I pray that his soul rests in peace. I pray that god gives his family the strength to go through such a turbulent time after his departure," BS Yediyurappa tweeted. 

A 1993-batch IPS officer, Charan Reddy KSR is originally from Chittoor and has served under various departments of the state's police force. He was serving as the Inspector General of Police in Belagavi division in 2013, when he was transferred to Bengaluru as the IGP (Training). In 2014, he was posted as the IGP of the SIT probing the illegal mining scam in which former Tourism Minister Gali Janardhana Reddy is also allegedly involved.

He was transferred out of the SIT in Lokayukta in 2016 and posted as Additional Commissioner of Police (law and order) in Bengaluru. He served as the ADGP of Crime in Mangaluru in 2018 and was later appointed as the Additional Director General of Police (training) the same year. In 2019, he was transferred and appointed as the ADGP of CID.

Mar 11: The Karnataka government on Wednesday started a campaign called 'Namaste over Handshake' that encourages people to greet in the traditional Indian style, to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

The campaign also includes health advice on how people can protect themselves from the infection by adopting hygiene practices such as regularly washing hands to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

As part of the campaign, the state health and family welfare department has uploaded a poster on the social media, featuring a 'Bharatnatyam' dancer draped in a red saree saying 'Namaste'.

"Use Namasthe to greet others, fight against corona" read a message on the poster online.

The poster has health helpline numbers (104 and 011- 23978046) for public queries on the viral disease, which has claimed 4,251 lives worldwide.

A health department official told PTI that as part of the campaign, posters have been uploaded on social media and it would be printed and despatched to different districts to be put up at important junctions.

"We had been working on this idea. Kerala has already done it. They are using Kathakali dancers whereas we are using a Bharatanatyam dancer as our model," the official said.

Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar too had insisted that people should adopt 'Namasthe' or 'Namaskara' to greet people instead of handshakes or hugs.