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Bengaluru, Jul 15: Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has announced temporary halt of production at its plant in Bidadi, which is on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

“Halting production will be from July 14 (second shift) to July 22 (first shift) and this is in accordance with the directives issued by the Government of Karnataka as well as to support the Govt. in their constant efforts to flatten the curve of the rising Covid-19 positive cases in Karnataka,” a statement from the company said.

Bengaluru Urban and Rural, and other districts are, are under lockdown from 8 pm on July 14 to 5 am on July 22.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, TKM has adopted a very proactive and multi-faceted approach to safeguard the physical as well as the mental well-being of all its stakeholders including customers, its employees, dealer and supplier partners,” the company said.

“The office staff at TKM’s corporate and regional offices, continue to work from home to help mitigate risks. In addition to the safety protocols that are being followed, TKM has provided safety kits containing essential items like sanitisers, 3 ply masks and handwashes to 5000 employees, their family members and their neighbourhoods.

“TKM understands the urgency of the situation. During these difficult times, TKM is taking obligatory actions to contain further spread and will continue to respond in accordance with guidance issued by the Government and its internal standards,” it added.

Bengaluru, May 3: Karnataka Government has allowed the movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons who are stranded and also those who want to go to their residence as a "one-time measure" from district to district, after obtaining "one-day, one way" passes issued by concerned authorities.

Consequent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) new guidelines on lockdown measures, the government of Karnataka issued new guidelines on lockdown measures which will come into effect from May 4 for the period of two weeks.

In an order issued on Saturday, Chief Secretary and Chairman, State Executive Committee, Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority stated, "In the exercise of the powers, conferred under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the undersigned, in his capacity of Chairman, State Executive Committee, hereby order to permit movement migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons who are stranded and also those people who want to go to their residence as a one-time measure from district to district with one-time one-day one-way passes issued by concerned Deputy Commissioners of the districts/Deputy Commissioner of Police in Commissionerates for strict implementation."

The details of the passes issued shall be shared by the issuing Deputy Commissioners of the districts/ Deputy Commissioner of Police with the receiving Deputy Commissioners of the districts/Deputy Commissioners of Police shall follow the SOPs prescribed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the movement of such persons, the order read.

It is reiterated that this would be a one-time one-day one-way pass for the individuals to reach their final destination.

Meanwhile, three deaths and 12 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the 24 hours in Karnataka, said the state Health Department on Saturday.

According to the Health Department, the total number of coronavirus positive cases in the State is now 601. 271 patients have either been cured or discharged. The virus has killed 25 people so far in the State.

Dubai, Apr 11: An Indian expat in the UAE is facing police action for allegedly insulting Islam on social media in response to a Facebook post on the coronavirus, according to a media report.

Rakesh B Kitturmath, who worked as a team leader at Emrill Services, an integrated facilities management (FM) headquartered in Dubai, was sacked on Thursday after his post sparked outrage on social media, the Gulf News reported.

“Kitturmath’s employment stands terminated with immediate effect. He will be handed over to Dubai Police. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards such hate crimes,” said Stuart Harrison, CEO of Emrill Services.

"As an organisation, we have worked hard over the years to embrace diversity and create a culture of inclusion, where every nationality, religion and background is welcomed and celebrated. We have a strict social media policy for our employees to ensure they respect our values, both inside and outside of work," the newspaper quoted Harrison as saying.

Harrison said they are trying to find out if Kitturmath was still in the UAE, according to the report.

“We have over 8,500 employees so this may take a while. That said, we have fired him. If he’s still in the country, he will be handed over to Dubai Police,” he said.

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Originally from Ranebennuri, Karnataka, Kitturmath joins an ever-growing list of Indian ex-pats who have landed in trouble for alleged Islamophobic messages in recent days.

Earlier this week, Abu Dhabi resident Mitesh Udeshi was sacked for posting a cartoon mocking Islam on his Facebook page while a police complaint was filed against Sameer Bhandari of Future Vision Events & Weddings’ in Dubai after he asked a Muslim job seeker from India to go back to Pakistan.

The UAE outlaws all religious or racial discrimination under a legislation passed in 2015.

The anti-discrimination/anti-hatred law prohibits all acts “that stoke religious hatred and/or which insult religion through any form of expression, be it speech or the written word, books, pamphlets or via online media.”