KCCI appeals to exclude Dakshina Kannada from list of corona hotspot areas

Mangaluru, May 22: There will be complete lockdown in Dakshina Kananda from 7 p.m. on Saturday (May 23) to 7 a.m. on Monday (May 25). 

Announcing this today, Deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh clarified that there would be no restrictions on sale of newspapers, vegetables, fish, meat, milk and medicine.

Other shops, hotels and bars will remain closed. Movement of private vehicles also banned during this period.

Under lockdown period, people are instructed to stay indoors and all non-essential activities are restricted. 

Under coronavirus lockdown, people can step out only for essential activities like medical supplies, grocery shopping, and hospital appointments.

Wedding with permission

If marriages have been scheduled already on Sunday, they will be considered as a special case. However, prior permission is must for scheduled weddings, said the deputy commissioner.

Marriages can be permitted by ensuring social distancing, capping the number of guests at 50 and strict compliance with all other guidelines.

No AC, no consumption of liquor and paan, no invitation to people aged above 65 and below 10 and also pregnant women are some of the guidelines to be followed for holding marriages or events.

Containment zones 

In the corona containment zones that have been sealed no one can step out, only home delivery of essential services are allowed. Only movement of medical vehicles will be allowed and no one will be allowed to perform any other activity. No one will be allowed to step out of their home even for essential services. The govt may take legal action if anyone is seen out of their home.

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.

Bengaluru, Jul 23: The opposition party Congress on Thursday demanded a judicial enquiry in the alleged scam in coronavirus related medical equipment procurement by Karnataka government.

However, Deputy chief minister Ashwathnarayan and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai denied all the allegations.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar addressed a press conference here and demanded a judiciary enquiry under a sitting High Court judge to investigate "BJP's Corona Scams."

"I made allegations on July 3. Nobody has denied it officially. On July 20, Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu and Deputy Chief Minister Ashwathnarayan in a press conference denied my allegations. Today, I furnished 14 documents. If you go through it, you will find corruption and misappropriation in medical equipment purchase," Siddaramaiah said.

"The documents are available with the government, how can they deny their own documents. They are telling that they have spent only Rs 324 crore but according to me the government has spent more than Rs 4,000 crore and nearly Rs 2,000 crore went in the minister and bureaucrats' pockets," he said.

He further said, "Centre has procured 50,000 ventilators under PM Cares at a cost of Rs 4, lakh per unit. Tamil Nadu has procured at Rs 4.78 lakh. But in our state, the price is between Rs 5.6 lakh to Rs 18.2 lakh. Is this not corruption?"

Siddaramaiah also dared the government to step up for an enquiry if they are "honest and transparent".

"I am demanding, constitute a judicial committee headed by sitting high court judge, let there be an enquiry in detail," he said.

DK Shivakumar said that his party has made the allegations based on government documents and media reports showing corruption.

"Karnataka government is purchasing equipment at high rates. We have exposed BJP's Rs 2,000 crore scams today. The government's main focus is to loot. They have paralysed the state administration," he said.
Denying the Congress' allegations, Deputy Chief Minister, Ashwathnarayan said that the government is ready to discuss this in the Assembly house.

"They have alleged Rs 700 crore misappropriation by health department but we have shown we have spent only Rs 290 crore," he said.

Giving details of the SDRF expenditure towards COVID-19 containment he said, "We have released Rs. 23,220.01 lakh in SDRF accounts and they have spent Rs Rs. 15, 918.99 lakh in various activities like migrant relief measures, measures for quarantine, sample collection, screening from March 14 to July 16."

Karnataka Home Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, said, "Karnataka government has spent Rs 506 crores for medical equipment and Rs 1,611 crores for other activities related to combatting COVID-19. So, we have spent Rs 2,117 crores as of now and there is no corruption in it."