Infant suffocation: 1-year-old baby dies while eating ‘chakkuli’

Mandya, Jun 13: Degree colleges will begin classes after the lockdown is lifted and dates for examinations will be announced later, said deputy chief minister CR Ashwath Narayan on Friday.

Speaking at College of Agriculture, Mandya (VC Farm) on Friday, Ashwath Narayan said the lockdown will be completely phased out on June 30 and degree colleges will begin classes after that. “We will speak with all stakeholders to chalk out measures as to how to reopen degree colleges amidst coronavirus scare. All students must continue their studies and be prepared for exams,” he said.

Narayan said the cabinet has approved to upgrade VC Farm as a university and an ordinance will soon be promulgated in this regard. “There is a need to change the present curriculum to meet present day requirements. VC Farm will be made into a world class agriculture university and a vice chancellor will be appointed,” he said.

“Apart from traditional education, we must concentrate on skill-based education as it should create more job opportunities. We are committed to establish more skill-based educational institutes in Mandya district,” Narayan said.

Later Narayan visited Shivaragudda near Maddur and inspected 48 acres of government land which could be used for establishing skill-based education institutions. “This land was earlier used for imparting skill-based education in a collaboration with Denmark. Sir M Visvesvaraya had established skill-based institutions here in 1923 and now they have become defunct. The then prime minister of Denmark had inaugurated this century old institution. We will revive it and this will help local youths,” he said.

‘Ticket promised only to R Shankar’

When asked, Narayan said R Shankar, who quit the Congress-JD(S) coalition and joined BJP will be given a party ticket to contest the legislative council election. “Except Shankar, the high command did not promise council tickets to those who quit congress and JD(S) and joined our party. It is true that there is hectic lobbying in BJP to get tickets,” he said.

Mangaluru, Jun 10: A youth, who staged suicide drama at Netravati River Bridge near Thokkottu on the outskirts of the city, reportedly found alive in Shivamogga today.

Praveen Saphalya a 28-year-old man from Kurnad village in Bantwal taluk was missing since yesterday. His motorbike was found abandoned on the Netravati bridge at around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (June 9).

It was suspected that he had committed suicide by jumping off the bridge. Hence, police and fire fighters had launched a search operation for his body in the river with the help of divers on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, the missing person reportedly surfaced in Shivamogga this morning.

According to sources, Saphalya was working as salesman for SLRK Limited, is reportedly deep in debt. Unable to face the harassment of his creditors, he had parked the bike on the bridge and left the city, sources said. Local police are probing the matter.

Also Read: Mangaluru: 33-year-old man found dead on Netravati river bank

Mangaluru, Jul 10: A 58-year-old official of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has died due to the coronavirus infection, taking the death toll in the paramilitary force because of the disease to nine, officials said on Friday.

Assistant Sub Inspector K B Premsha, posted in the CISF unit that guards the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), passed away at a local hospital on Thursday, they said.

He was admitted to the hospital on July 5 with fever. His COVID-19 test report arrived on July 7 and it was positive. Premsha breathed his last on Thursday, officials said. He was a resident of Kodagu in Karnataka.

This is the ninth COVID-19 death in the force that has recorded 1,137 cases till now, according to an official data.

Of the total cases reported in the force so far, 410 are under treatment across the country, nine have died and the rest have recovered, officials said.

They said that 20 personnel tested COVID-19 positive on Friday while 22 have recovered over the last 24 hours.

The about 1.62-lakh strong CISF is the national aviation security force guarding 63 airports at present and it is also tasked to guard vital installations in the aerospace and nuclear domain.