Congress workers demand shifting of Passport Office to Zilla Panchayat

[email protected] (CD Network)
July 17, 2012

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Mangalore, July 17: Congress workers led by Ivan D'Souza held a protest outside the Passport Seva Kendra in Mangalore on Tuesday criticizing its functioning and lack of facilities at the centre.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. D'Souza said that more than 350 appointments are given every day but no adequate facilities have been created for the benefit of the people who come to the Centre. People are made to wait unnecessarily for long hours and there are no enough seating arrangements for them. The Centre does not possess enough toilets and the ones which are existing are in pathetic condition. People who come to the centre are asked by the Passport Kendra staff to use the toilets of the nearby petrol bunk, Mr. D'Souza alleged.

The police intervened and stopped Mr. D'Souza and other Congress workers when they tried to enter the office in protest to close it down.

The office must be closed down and an office to offer passport services must be opened at the Zilla Panchayat, Mr. D'Souza demanded.

R R Chitnis, Assistant Passport Officer, stepped out to calm the protestors down. Accusing the staff of the Kendra of behaving rudely with the people, Mr. D'Souza asked Mr. Chitnis to look into the matter and take up the issue of providing facilities to people at the Kendra at the earliest. The improper functioning of the Kendra has been bringing bad name to the Congress party as it is a central government initiative, Mr. D'Souza said, warning that the Union External Affairs Minister would be made to make a surprise visit to inspect the services being offered at the centre in the days to come.

A memorandum listing various demands such as increase in acceptance of applications from 450 to 600, introduction of walk-in facility, setting up of a helpline for the benefit of applicants and illiterate people, non-involvement of agents and simplifying of passport procedure, parking facility, besides other demands, was submitted to Mr. Chitnis on the occasion.

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News Network
July 7,2020

Tumakuru, Jul 7: Coronavirus is spreading at the community level in Karnataka, said minister, JC Madhuswamy on Monday.

"Medical condition of eight infected with coronavirus admitted in Tumkur COVID Hospital is critical. There is no guarantee of their lives as per the information. We somewhere feel we are worried that coronavirus is spreading at the community level," Madhuswamy, Tumakuru district-in-charge minister, told reporters here.

"We have reached a point where it is difficult for the district authorities to restrain it, even though we are trying to restrain it. Somewhere the situation is going out of hand," he said.

The minister confirmed that the cumulative toll in the district due to COVID-19 rises to 9.

Earlier, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Deputy CM Ashwath Narayan, Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar have denied of community transmission of coronavirus in Karnataka.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 23,474 coronavirus cases in Karnataka including 13,255 and 372 deaths.

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News Network
July 27,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 27: Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that when COVID-19 has made life and livelihoods difficult, it is unfortunate that charges have been levelled of irregularities in the procurement of COVID-19 equipment.

"The Congress which has levelled charges against the ruling BJP has not so far filed a complaint with any investigating agency. Instead, the Congress has limited itself to getting publicity. On the other hand, the ruling BJP instead of coming clean by ordering a probe into the main charges is indirectly admitting the scam," Kumaraswamy said on Sunday.

"By washing dirty linen in public, both the Congress and the BJP are playing a cruel joke on people instead of protecting their lives," he said.

Hitting out at the BJP, he asked, "Why is it that the BJP is not ordering an investigation into the Rs 2,000 crore Covid 19 corruption charges levelled against the government by the Congress? Why is the government keeping quiet on the corruption charges?"

He said, "Is this the leadership provided by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa? There could be political pressure on seeking resignation of his Ministers. But why has no action been initiated against any officers? Is there any effort to destroy the evidence by retaining officers in their existing postings?"

"Hunger for publicity is evident when we look at the press conference by five Ministers at a time," he said.

The government has countered the charges of the Congress but backtracked on ordering an investigation, he said.

"Would this not give rise to suspicion that the government is involved in the scam?" he asked.

He also asked why Congress leaders have not filed a complaint before any investigating agency despite "possessing documents to prove the charges".

"Are the Congress leaders trying to get publicity or are they concerned about the welfare of the people? The Congress Legislative Party leader is seeking an account (Lekka Kodi) while the BJP president is seeking answers (Uttara Kodi). Is it enough to give such questions and answers?"

Is there a concrete legal plan to deal with the irregularities? he asked.

"Looking at the way the Congress leaders have addressed media conferences and taken to social media campaigns, it appears that they are trying to get publicity," he said.

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News Network
April 28,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 28: Trucks carrying fish loads from Kerala will not be allowed to enter Dakshina Kannada district as the authorities are not being able to control the rush in markets, state Fisheries Minister and district-in-charge Kota Srinivas Poojary said Monday.

The deputy commissioner has been instructed to restrict the entry of fish transport vehicles from outside the district forthwith, in view of the difficulty in maintaining social distancing at the markets identified in the district, the minister told reporters here.

The coastal district has to take more precautionary measures to fight COVID-19 as the number of positive cases have risen in the last couple of days, he said.

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