Industrialist BM Farooq likely to get Rajya Sabha ticket from JD(S)

Hubballi, Mar 31: In a bid to increase the country's capacity for isolation facilities, the Railways is converting sleeper class coaches into isolation wards by modifying the coaches as per prototype issued by Railway Board to make them suitable to act as quarantine hubs. On South Western Railway (SWR) a total of 312 coaches will be converted for isolation/quarantine wards.

"The coaches will be equipped with basic facilities needed as per medical guidelines. Provision is being made for charging points of mobiles and laptops. Mosquito nets with space for paramedics etc are also being made available. Each coach will provide 8 berth cabin for isolation facility.

Zonal Railways have been advised to prepare coaches as per isolation cabin prototype to meet the needs of the patients by Railway Board," a press statement of SWR reads.

The efforts of Indian Railways have been aimed not only to supplement the present health infrastructure of the nation but also to contribute to national efforts to fight the coronavirus.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country stand at 1,251.

Bengaluru,  Jul 9: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that he was opposed to a tie-up with Janata Dal-Secular in the last Lok Sabha elections but the party high command did not listen to him.

"I had suggested that we should fight alone (in Lok Sabha elections) because JD-S votes would not have come to us and our votes would not have gone to JD-S," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.

Congress leader said that he was the only one to make the suggestion and he did not get support.

"I was the only one to raise a voice that's why it was not heard by (party) high command and I did not get support. We might have won over seven seats in parliament election if we had fought alone," he said.

After forming government in Karnataka in 2018 with support of JD-S, Congress had fought the 2019 general election in a pre-poll alliance with the party. Congress could only one seat of the 21 it contested and JD-S also won one seat of the seven it contested.

Bengaluru, Jul 5: A 50-year-old woman with breathing difficulties died on Saturday after a shortage of beds forced 12 hospitals to refuse admission.

Her husband Babu said the family had approached 12 hospitals in three days, including Victoria Hospital and other private facilities, who all slammed their doors on them, citing a shortage of beds. The woman died on Saturday, a few minutes into her admission at KC General Hospital.

Second death 

A 35-year-old man, Manjunath, also died on Saturday after enduring fever for three days and being refused admission at several hospitals due to a shortage of beds.

As his condition worsened, his wife admitted him to a private hospital on Saturday after hours of ordeal. But the man died less than 15 minutes after getting admitted. Hospital authorities took swab samples from the deceased and said the body would be handed over after the test results.

BBMP personnel also failed to shift the body of a Covid-19 patient in Kalasipalya almost a day after the death.

Despite civic workers disinfecting the place, the neighbours were in a state of panic after the body was kept at home.