NRI Habeeb Ur Rahiman Uppinangady conferred doctorate

Bengaluru, Apr 14: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to extend COVID-19 lockdown till May 3.

"Our government will strictly implement the Government of India guidelines, which will be issued tomorrow. Lockdown will be followed more stringently till April 20 as Prime Minister said and the situation will be closely monitored. I appeal to the people of Karnataka to voluntarily cooperate with us to contain this disease," Yediyurappa said.

The chief minister urged the people to respect seven major points that Prime Minister Modi raised in his televised address to the nation on Tuesday, while announcing the extension of coronavirus-induced lockdown.

"I appeal to people to follow the seven measures Prime Minister advised to follow, such as taking care of elders in the house especially those suffering from chronicle illness; strictly maintaining social distancing; enhancing immunity by following guidelines of Ayush Department; download Arogyasetu app; help the poor and needy; to be considerate about your colleagues and employees and not to sack them; and respect the police, healthcare professionals," Yediyurappa added.

The chief minister also assured that there is no scarcity of medicines, essential services and goods.

"We will make all efforts to carry out agriculture activities without any hurdle. I make a special appeal to migrant labours to stay wherever they are and be safe... Stay home and be safe," he said.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 247 COVID-19 positive cases in Karnataka including 59 cured, discharged, migrated and six deaths.

Ahmedabad, Feb 24: US President Donald Trump arrived in Ahmedabad on Monday for the first leg of his India trip.

The Air Force One plane carrying Trump and his wife Melania landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport here at 11.37 am, officials said.

It was scheduled to land at 11.40 am.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached Ahmedabad over an hour before Trump did, was present at the airport to welcome the US president at the airport.

In Ahmedabad, Trump will visit Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram, take part in a roadshow with Modi and jointly address over one lakh people at a cricket stadium, before heading for Agra to see the iconic Taj Mahal with Melania.

Trump, who is also accompanied by daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and top brass of his administration, will get a taste of India's cultural melange during his high- optics Gujarat itinerary, after the bonhomie between the two leaders at the 'Howdy, Modi!' event in Houston last year.

The US president and Modi will participate in a roadshow from the airport to Sabarmti Ashram and from there to the newly-built Motera cricket stadium, where over a lakh people are expected to be present for the 'Namaste Trump' event.

Dance groups and singers from different parts of the country will be performing on stages that are dotting the 22- km route of the 'India roadshow' in the city.

Huge billboards of the two leaders and replicas of historic places in Gujarat have also been placed along the roads where people will greet the two leaders.

Over 10,000 police personnel, besides officials of the United States Secret Service, and personnel of the National Security Guards (NSG) and the Special Protection Group (SPG) have been deployed for the high profile visit.

The seventh US president to visit India, Trump on Sunday retweeted a video in which his face was superimposed on the hit Indian movie-character Bahubali, showing him as a great saviour.

Modi will accompany Trump to the Sabarmati Ashram, which was home to Mahatma Gandhi from 1917-1930 during India's freedom struggle.

Several world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have visited Sabarmati Ashram in recent years.

Ashram secretary Amrut Modi said Trump will spend 15 minutes at the place.

"Trump will visit the 'Hriday Kunj'. If he wishes, he will spin a charkha (spinning wheel). We will also gift him a coffee-table book, and a book containing 150 quotations of Gandhi," the Ashram official said.

Hriday Kunj is a room on the Ashram premises where Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi had lived for 12 years between 1918 and 1930.

The official said the US President would be briefed about Gandhiji and the importance of charkha as a symbol of self-reliance.

There will be a cultural extravaganza at the Motera stadium during the 'Namaste Trump' event, where Trump and Modi will address the gathering.

Bollywood singer Kailash Kher and some Gujarati folk singers will perform at the stadium, officials of the Gujarat Cricket Association said.

Students of various government and private schools have also been roped in to perform at cultural events and they have been practicing for days, an official said.

Billboards with slogans hailing Indo-US relations and having pictures of Trump and Modi walking together, shaking hands, and waving at the crowd during the 'Howdy Modi' event are dotting the city.

Belagavi, Feb 11: Tension prevailed for sometime here after a few villagers spotted four country-made pistols disposed in the garbage site by the road between Markandey Nagar – Waghavade village on Sunday. Police rushed to the spot and seized the arms which are believed to be of Portugal era.

Sources said some villagers noticed a pistol lying along with heaps of refuse. They informed Bhavakanna Patil, the owner of the agricultural field adjacent to the garbage site. Patil and the villagers checked the garbage and found three more pistols totalling four.

Police said the pistols are about 50 to 60 years old. Going by their condition, all rusted, it is believed that they were left unused for a long time. The Belagavi rural police who have filed a suo motu case related to the incident are getting into the skin of case to trace the owners and those who disposed them in the garbage pit. 

According to preliminary investigation, it is learnt that such pistols were in vogue during Portugal rule in Goa. There are chances that those who inherited the arms may have disposed it for the fear of possessing weapon illegally. The chances of some notorious people who reside in the vicinity near Waghavade and surrounding areas, where burglaries and dacoity are frequently reported, disposing the arms due to the fear of police also cannot be ignored. Police Commissioner Lokesh Kumar was not available for comments.