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Bengaluru, Jan 2: The Congress leadership in Delhi is expected to start the process of selecting a new party chief for Karnataka next week. There are strong indications the race has narrowed to DK Shivakumar and MB Patil.

Party insiders said the leadership almost finalised Shivakumar’s name as the president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), but the decision was put on hold after requests by some senior members.

“It’s not that we are against Shivakumar. We think the party should have a Lingayat at the helm since community strongman and chief minister BS Yediyurappa is at the fag end of his long political career. There’s an opportunity here for a Congressman to occupy that space,” said a senior Congress politician, who didn’t want to be named.

That’s where the candidacy of Patil, a Lingayat, scores high.

The party, however, doesn’t want to compromise on quality and wants an efficient KPCC president who can unite two rival factions within the party, one led by Siddaramaiah and another by former union minister KH Muniyappa.

The need to pick a new state president arose after Dinesh Gundurao resigned from the post last month, taking moral responsibility for Congress’s poor showing in the byelections. Siddaramaiah also stood down as Congress party legislature leader.

The insiders said the new KPCC chief could be announced after January 16. The party might also appoint two working presidents and a new legislature party leader, who will automatically become the opposition’s voice in the assembly.

For the latter position, the name of senior Dalit politician and former deputy chief minister G Parameshwara is doing the rounds. But the party, the sources said, could still ask Siddaramaiah to reconsider his decision and stay on.

Many Congress members had raised questions over his stewardship after the bypoll disappointment. They said on his watch, the party had also fared badly in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections, demanding that he be held accountable.

Siddaramaiah is expected to visit Delhi next week to discuss the leadership issue with party boss Sonia Gandhi. Some other senior Congress members, including BK Hariprasad, are also likely to meet her.

Bengaluru, Jun 7: Fatalities due to coronavirus reached 61 in Karnataka with two more deaths, while 239 more tested positive for the viral infection, pushing the tally in the state to 5,452, the health department said on Sunday.

The total COVID-19 cases in the state include 2,132 discharges, 3,257 active cases and 61 deaths. A 61-year-old woman suffering from hypothyroidism and was diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) died on Saturday whereas a 57-year-old man having filariasis and chronic nyeloid leukemia died on Sunday in Bengaluru.

Most of those who contributed for Sunday's new cases were interstate passengers. 183 passengers, most of whom returned from Maharashtra were tested positive for the virus, the health bulletin said.

According to the health department, 39 coronavirus positive cases were reported in Kalaburagi and Yadagiri, 38 in Belagavi, 23 in Bengaluru urban, 17 each in Dakshina Kannada and Davangere, 13 in Udupi, 12 in Shivamogga, nine in Vijayapura, seven in Bidar, six in Ballari, five each in Bengaluru Rural and Hassan, three in Dharwad, two each in Gadag and Uttara Kannada and one each in Mandya and Raichur.

India today reported the highest single-day spike of 9,971 new Covid-19 cases and 287 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the country to 2,46,628

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Hubli, April 6: A disinfection tunnel was installed at the entrance of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market here on Sunday.

The tunnel, installed with the help of Young India.org, sprays people with a small percentage of Sodium hypochlorite solution through nozzles in order to sanitise them before they enter the market.

"It is helpful for all the farmers, vegetable vendors and other people who are coming and going to the APMC market. This is very useful," said Jagdish Shettar, Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries, Karnataka.

With regards to any plans of more devices being added in the near future, Shettar added: "Firstly, we will have to see what would be the public's reaction and then, later on, we will decide."

President of Confederation of Indian Industry, Hubli VSV Prasad said that the setting up of this tunnel can help curtail the spread of Coronavirus "by disinfecting the bacteria of the body".

While it was on the trial stage right now, Prasad hopes that the trial is successful and the chamber is set up in more public places. With regards to the cost of the tunnel, he said: "The cost is around Rs 1.5 Lac to Rs 2 Lac and hopefully it will come down once we go for production," he added.

Srinivas Joshi, a representative of Young India.org, speaking to news agency said: "We have added 1.8 percent of Sodium hypochlorite solution in 100 litres of water. It is pumped through high-pressure pumps and sprayed like a mist via nozzles for 3-5 seconds which is very less time to cause any kind of allergy."

"People who are allergic to chemicals should avoid going through this chamber. We are putting signboard very soon," he added.

The number of positive cases of coronavirus in the country continues to surge. As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 3,577 with 83 deaths.