Kerala tops Health Index, Uttar Pradesh worst performer

Bengaluru, Jul 17: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday said lockdown is not the solution for controlling COVID-19 and made it clear that there was no proposal before the government to extend it in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru urban and rural areas are currently under "complete lockdown" since 8 pm of July 14 and it will be effective till 5 am on July 22.

With the spike in cases, speculations were rife that the current lockdown is likely to be extended for 15 days, as that much time is required to break the chain.

"Lockdown is not the solution to control COVID. There is no proposal before the government to extend the lockdown," Yediyurappa was quoted as saying by his office in a release.

The Chief Minister today chaired a meeting with Ministers who have been made in-charge of eight zones in the city and officials regarding the COVID-19 situation in Bengaluru.

Earlier too, on July 13, the eve of the lockdown, Yediyurappa had said the government did not plan to extend it in Bengaluru urban and rural districts, and had appealed to the people to cooperate by not paying heed to rumours.

However, earlier today city Mayor M Goutham Kumar and commissioner of the civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike B H Anil Kumar had favoured its extension.

They had said that in their personal opinion, a 15 day lockdown would be good, as that much time is required to break the chain.

The Opposition Congress too had asked for a minimum of 15 days lockdown after taking expert opinion.

"Respected Chief Minister, you have imposed lockdown in Bengaluru, but it is difficult to expect results from this lockdown, which has been imposed just for for the sake of it.

Take expert opinion and enforce strict lockdown in Bengaluru at least for 15 days.

If not, even if God comes,it will be difficult to protect Bengaluru," KPCC Working President Eshwar Khandre tweeted.

Speaking to reporters after attending the meeting chaired by the CM, Revenue Minister R Ashoka said lockdown will not be extended and all activities can resume as usual from July 22.

"Lockdown will not be extended. I'm saying this after discussing with the Chief Minister. There is no such thinking before the government.

CM has got report from the experts, it was discussed in the meeting.

By lockdown we can only postpone things, we have taken that breathing time.

If we continue lockdown it will keep on continuing," he said.

The Minister said the process of sealing places, wherever required, would continue.

He said the plan to conduct more tests was discussed at the meeting and all the required zone wise arrangements would be made

"We also discussed about beds and shortage of ventilators and steps will be taken to arrange for them," he said.

As of July 16 evening, cumulatively 51,422 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 1,032 deaths and 19,729 discharges.

Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 25,288 infections.

Out of 4,169 fresh cases reported on Thursday, a whopping 2,344 were from Bengaluru urban alone

At the meeting, the Chief Minister said all necessary steps should be taken to clear all the difficulties faced by infected patients in getting admitted to hospitals.

The CMO statement quoted Yediyurappa as directing Ministers to hold meetings with private hospitals to ensure that COVID and non COVID patients get treatment.

Warning of strict action against private hospitals if they don't allocate beds for COVID patients,he said volunteers and nodal officers would be appointed to gather information about admission of such patients and availability of beds

The Chief Minister said rapid antigen tests should be conducted on those dying at hospitals or homes and necessary action taken to hand over the bodies or to conduct last rites as per the procedures, depending on the cause of death.

Recruitment was on to appoint doctors to resolve shortage, he said,adding that volunteers have been identified in each ward for micromanagement and ambulances allocated.

Marriage halls and lodges have been selected in all wards for those not having separate quarantine facilities, Yediyurappa said and stressed on increasing testing.

Deploying extra police force at places where there are chances of people gathering in large numbers, ensuring beds availability and ambulances within two hours of a patient testing positive- with decentralized monitoring, giving priority to those symptomatic above 65-years during allocation of beds were among directions given by the Chief Minister.

Bengaluru, Jan 29: Ramesh Jarkiholi on Tuesday demanded that he and all the newly elected MLAs, who won the bypolls after defecting from the Congress and JD(S), be inducted into the cabinet — likely on January 31 — as promised by chief minister BS Yediyurappa.

"We are hoping all 11 MLAs will be made ministers," Jarkiholi said. "That is what the BJP and the CM promised us and we hope they will keep their promise." This is the first time Jarkiholi has spoken in public on cabinet berths, ever since reports surfaced of the party high command not being in favour of inducting all the turncoats into the council of ministers.

Jarkiholi also said fellow rebel AH Vishwanath should be given a ministerial berth.

Vishwanath, formerly of the JD(S), had lost the bypolls. Jarkiholi said the rebellion would not have succeeded had it not been for Vishwanath.

"Those of us who rebelled against the JD(S)-Congress coalition government got a shot in the arm when Vishwanath supported us," Jarkiholi said. "It is imperative that we support him," he said, even as he sought to distance himself from comments made by newly-elected MLAs ST Somashekar and D Sudhakar, who said Vishwanath cannot demand a ministerial post.

Meanwhile, the BJP issued another deadline — January 31 — to expand the cabinet. "In all likelihood, cabinet expansion will take place on Friday," said an aspirant for a berth. But several BJP functionaries are skeptical of meeting the new deadline.

"Till now, the CM has not been given the green signal by the high command. This is all I can say," said a senior minister in Yediyurappa’s cabinet, while insisting he wouldn’t be surprised if the exercise was postponed till the Delhi elections are over.

Former minister and independent R Shankar, who along with Mahesh Kumatalli and Shrimant Patil accompanied Jarkiholi to a trip to Nanjangud, Mysuru district, has upped the pressure on Yediyurappa to field him in the bypoll to the lone vacant council seat. "I am confident the CM and the BJP will honour promises made to me," Shankar said.

The former minister had joined the BJP during the rebellion, but was not given a ticket to contest the bypolls.

In Chikkamagaluru, deputy chief minister Govind M Karjol insisted he is prepared to step down if needed to enable new entrants into the cabinet. "I’m a disciplined solider of the party. If the BJP directs me to submit my resignation, I will do so and return my official car and take a bus to Bengaluru," Karjol said. He said anyone who doesn’t respect the party line will not grow. "It is imperative to toe the party line," he said.

Bengaluru, Feb 21: Historian Ramachandra Guha on Thursday refuted Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai's claim that the latter had apologised for police allegedly manhandling him during an anti-CAA protest in the city, saying he received no such call or apology.

The writer further said even if such an apology had been offered, he would have rejected it.

"The Home Minister of Karnataka has claimed on the floor of the State Assembly that he apologised to me by phone for the manhandling by the Bengaluru police on 19th December 2019. This is false.

I received no such call or apology," Guha tweeted.

"Even if such an apology had been offered, I would have rejected it.

The imposition of Section 144 was illegal (as the Karnataka High Court has since held) and I was proud to be one of thousands of peaceful protesters who defied the States arbitrary action on that day," he said in another tweet.

During his reply to the debate on law and order situation in the state, Bommai on Wednesday claimed that he had apologised to Guha.

The minister was apologising to senior Congress MLA and former Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar for police serving him notice and detaining him along with others at Mangaluru airport in December for trying to enter the city despite restrictions following violence there.

Stating that anti-CAA protests have taken place peacefully across the state, he had said, there might have been minor discrepancies, like that with historian Ramachandra Guha, being manhandled during a protest.

"I have called and apologised to him," he had said.

Guha was detained on December 19 for staging a demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens at the Town Hall here, in defiance of the prohibitory orders imposed in the city.

He was taken away by police personnel and led to a police vehicle parked nearby.

Leader of Opposition in the assembly and former chief minister Siddaramaiah said Bommai has committed a "perjury" in the House, and asked him to apologise to people and Guha in front of media.

"Bommai has committed a perjury on the floor of the House. It answers the question of where @BJP4India workers derive their motivation to spread fake news.

Bommai has insulted the people whom he represents," he tweeted and demanded that he apologize to people and Guha.