Mangaluru welcomes 2016 with gusto

Mangaluru, Apr 25: In the backdrop of protest staged by locals against the cremation of a 75-year-old woman, who was tested positive for coronavirus, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B on Friday stated that there is no chance of anyone getting infected from a corpse.

Protocols, as laid by the Centre with regard to cremation of Covid-19 patients, will be followed, said Sindhu in a statement.

The release added that the COVID-19 victims would be buried as per their religious customs. Not more than 20 people would be allowed to perform the last rites. Even closest relatives of the deceased would not be allowed to touch or bathe the body, the release said.

Udupi, Feb 23: Karnataka's minister for Tourism and Culture CT Ravi on Sunday said that India is losing money as because people travel abroad to visit casinos.

Arguing that casinos are being used by countries to promote tourism, he took to Twitter to highlight the issue, saying, "During my interaction with FKCCI, I had mentioned that many countries have promoted Tourism through Casinos. Isn't it a fact that lakhs of Indians go abroad to play in Casinos? Can anyone stop them? At the moment, there is no proposal before Our Govt to set up Casinos here,' he tweeted in the morning.

He also urged the Central government to stop people from visiting abroad.

Yesterday, the minister had stated that he has no intention of developing "casino tourism" in the state.

"I only expressed my opinion on how other countries have promoted tourism, during a discussion. Casino tourism is one such thing, I have no intention of developing it here," Ravi had told media when asked to comment on Karnataka government's proposal of casinos in Coastal Karnataka.

"What I meant was many Indians go and spend there, our money should be spent here itself," he had said.

Mangaluru, June 12: Juma prayers were held in dozens of mosques across coastal district of Dakshina Kannada including the city of Mangaluru for the first time in nearly three months upholding all the safety norms including physical distancing. 

For the first time in the recent history of Mangaluru, juma prayers were stalled in all the mosques for 11 consecutive weeks as part of nationwide coronavirus lockdown. 

While many mosques were reopened for the congregational prayers in the region on June 8 (Monday) after receiving approval from the government, many others are yet to be opened as Muslim religious leaders are taking additional precautionary measures to prevent the spread of covid-19 apart from following all the guidelines issued by the government.

“Around 400 people participated in the Juma prayer at Zeenat Bakhsh Juma Masjid. All the safety guidelines were followed. Sadaqatul Nadwi delivered the sermon and led the prayers,” S M Rasheed Haji, executive member of the mosque committee told coastaldigest.com.

“As per the guidelines, devotees performed Wudu (ablution) at their homes and also carried their own musalla (prayer mat) to the mosque,” said a Jalaluddin, a cleric who offered Juma prayers in Ullal.  

The guidelines issued by the government to the mosques also include disinfecting the premises at regular intervals, maintaining physical distance, wearing masks and finishing prayers in “minimum permissible time”.