Mangaluru expat killed in worksite explosion in Qatar

Mangaluru, Mar 29: The second day of a total clampdown by Dakshin Kannada district had no impact as panic-stricken people rushed to buy essential commodities in markets in the City on Sunday without caring for Social distance to be maintained.

Since the crowd swell within minutes the police were forced to order the shops forcibly as otherwise, it might have led to spread of dreaded killer Coronavirus COVID-19.

The rise in Covid-19 cases in Dakshina Kannada and the neighbouring Kasargod district had forced the district administration to declare on total bandh on Saturday and Sunday but in vain.

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on Thursday he might not attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and would most likely visit Delhi this weekend for discussions on the pending cabinet expansion.

He was expected to join Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya, chief ministers Amarinder Singh (Punjab) and Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and over 100 Indian CEOs at WEF’s 50th annual gathering on January 21-24.

“Mostly, I may not go for Davos (meet),” he told reporters on Thursday. Last week, he had said he was not keen on travelling to the Swiss town but was considering it as some chief ministers’ attendance was required at the high-profile event.

Eleven Congress-JD(S) turncoats, who contested the bypolls on BJP tickets and won, reportedly pressured Yediyurappa to take a decision on cabinet expansion before the now-uncertain Davos trip; it was even suggested that he should simply cancel the trip. The newly elected BJP MLAs are widely expected to be inducted as ministers. But officials in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said his disinclination to travel had nothing to do with the cabinet exercise.

“It’s mainly because of his health. That place (Davos) has got temperature of minus 4-6 degrees and it will be quite tedious for Yediyurappa at the age of 76,” one official said. BJP functionaries, however, claimed that he was wary of taking a trip amid tensions in the party. “The new MLAs have been breathing down Yediyurappa’s neck. They have pushed him into a corner, demanding that he complete cabinet expansion before going anywhere,” a senior functionary said.

On Thursday, the chief minister said he had sought a meeting with party bosses in Delhi. “To discuss cabinet expansion and other important issues, I plan to travel to New Delhi on January 11 or 12. However, I am still waiting for an appointment with the BJP national president and prime minister,” he said.

While Yediyurappa, his additional chief secretary P Ravi Kumar and political adviser MB Maramkal may not visit Davos, a 10-member delegation from Karnataka, including Jagadish Shettar, is expected to travel. There are reports ministers’ family members might join the delegation.

Bengaluru, May 22: Karnataka government on Thursday said that there will be no inter-district check-posts for health screening in the State.

"There will be no inter-district check-posts for health screening in the State. Any health screening for passengers travelling by public transport -- buses and trains -- will be done at the origin of the journey and all those passengers found asymptomatic will be allowed to travel," reads the statement issued by the Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare Services.

It further reads: "The agencies running public transport (KSRTC and others, Indian Railways, private bus operators) should ensure health screening of passengers before the start of the journey. There will be no health screening of passengers travelling by private vehicles across districts in Karnataka."