Saffron activists allegedly attack man in revenge act, victim loses fingers

Mangaluru, Jul 26: Karnataka government has initiated steps to provide insurance cover for priests and others working in temples coming under the Endowment Department -- a move that will benefit 50,000 people and their families.

Speaking to media here on Saturday evening, Minister for Endowment Kota Srinivas Poojary said there is a need to implement the decision at the earliest to provide relief to the priests and families of employees working in temples.

Department officials have been directed to include employees of state-owned temples under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyothi Bima scheme and also enrol them under State Bank of India’s group personal accident insurance policy at the earliest. The Central insurance scheme will provide Rs 2 lakh cover to family members in case of death due to accidents.

Bengaluru, Jan 12: Protesters plan to intensify their anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act movement from sit-down satyagrahas and rallies to street and door-to-door campaigns in different parts of the city.

The street campaigns began on January 1 with 20-30 volunteers of Hum Bharat Ke Log, reaching out to people in Koramangala and Whitefield and explaining the CAA, National Population Register (NPR), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and related issues. They have organised four campaigns.

According to Zia Nomani, member of Hum Bharat Ke Log, the campaign will intensify soon. “Over 200-400 volunteers will organise nukkad sabhas and other activities around JP Nagar and Banashankari,” Nomani said.

She added that though protests began as a medium for people to vent their concerns, more needs to be done.

“We have realised that many people have begun working on their personal documents and want to help them understand what CAA is all about,” Nomani said.

Volunteers will talk to people at street junctions, discuss issues and run signature campaigns. They say: “Our movement is focussed on reaching out to people. Pro-CAA workers too started a door-to-door campaign last week.”

Avani Chokshi, an advocate who participated in a campaign, said though people had a cursory idea about these issues, they didn’t know the details. “It through such campaigns that we can reach more people. It’s important to talk to people who haven’t made up their mind about the issues or are even pro-CAA,” said Avani, adding, “It hard to combat hatred in a short span of time. The movement needs to be sustained.”

Activist Geeta Menon, who has been at the forefront of the street campaign, says they were heckled at some places.

Bengaluru, Jun 18: Two employees at a plant of Toyota Kirloskar Motor in Karnataka's Bidadi have tested positive for COVID-19, the automobile company said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the auto major, the two employees had attended work on June 7 and 16 respectively.

"As a first step and through appropriate contact tracing, TKM has started identifying all those employees who may have had primary or secondary contact with the infected employees for necessary treatment and quarantine wherever necessary and is in contact with the local government authorities," the statement said.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors had restarted operations after weeks of nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus on May 26. It said that all necessary precautions were to maintain social distancing and all Central and state government directives were being followed.

"However, despite all such measures, two employees at TKM's Bidadi plant tested positive for COVID-19 on June 16th, 2020. Operations at TKM plant has already been temporarily suspended so that required disinfection can be carried out at the plant," the statement said.

"TKM has extended all necessary support to the infected employees for medical treatment as well as quarantine procedures. The company is in touch with the families of the infected employees so as to support them to handle this situation carefully without further complications," it added.