Officials demanding bribe from beneficiaries will face stringent action: CM

Bengaluru, Jul 8: Karnataka on Wednesday reported the biggest single-day spike of 2,062 coronavirus cases and a record 54 fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 28,877 and the death count to 470, the health department said.

778 COVID-19 patients were also discharged after recovery in the state.

Out of the fresh cases reported today, 1,148 cases were reported from Bengaluru alone with 22 deaths.

The previous biggest single-day spike was recorded on July 5 with 1,925 cases.

As of July 8 evening, cumulatively 28,877 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 470 deaths and 11,876 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said out of 16,527 active cases, 16,075 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 452 are in ICU.

The dead include 22 from Bengaluru urban, Dharwad seven, Ballari four, three each from Hassan and Raichur, two each from Ramanagara, Chikkaballapura, Vijayapura, Tumakuru, Mysuru, and one each from Bidar, Dakshina Kannada, Kalaburagi, Chikkamagaluru and Bengaluru rural.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounted for 1,148 cases, followed by Dakshina Kannada 183, Dharwad 89, Kalaburagi 66, fifty nine each from Ballari and Mysuru, Bengaluru rural 37, Ramanagara 34, Chikkaballapura 32, 31 each from Udupi and Haveri, Bidar 29, Belagavi 27, Hassan 26, and 24 each from Bagalkote and Tumakuru.

While Chikkamagaluru reported 23 cases, it was 20 in Mandya, Uttara Kannada 19, Davangere 18, 17 each from Raichur and Shivamogga, Kolar 16, 11 each from Yadgir and Koppal, Gadag five, Vijayapura four, and Chitradurga two.

Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with 12,509 infections, followed by Kalaburagi 1,816 and Dakshina Kannada 1,534.

Among discharges, Bengaluru urban tops the list with 2,228 discharges, followed by Kalabuagi 1,351 and Udupi 1,178.

A total of 7,59,181 samples were tested so far, out of which 19,134 were tested on Wednesday alone.

According to the bulletin, so far 7,11,319 samples have been reported as negative, and out of them 16,503 were reported negative today.

Mangaluru, Jun 19: Mohammad Haneef Guddemane, a cattle trader, who was thrashed by the miscreants of Bajrang Dal while legally transporting cattle last weekend, today appeared before media and demanded appropriate action against the assailants.

The attack took place on June 14 at Urwa in the city when he was transporting four buffalos along with all necessary documents. The attack was also captured on a CCTV camp. 

The victim, who addressed a press conference today, said that it was not the first time he is transporting cattle as into animal and husbandry for years. 

“I had bought 10 she-buffaloes on June 13 from Ranennur and obtained certificate from the local government veterinary doctor after which the animals were brought to my village,” said Haneef, who is a resident of Jokatte on the outskirts of the city. 

He said that he was transporting four out of the ten she buffaloes he had bought to the slaughterhouse at Mangaluru on June 14 when a gang of around 15 members which intercepted his vehicles near Urwa police station dragged him out of the vehicle, rained abusive words at him, made blasphemous remarks about his religion, and hit him with a helmet besides kicking him. 

He said that three of the assailants were armed with sabre, iron rod and wooden sticks. 

"They also tied me to the vehicle and assaulted. They also attacked me with their arms but I escaped. Their plan was to kill me. Fortunately, the police reached the spot and the assailants escaped. However, they thoroughly damaged my vehicle and robbed Rs 7,800 I had with me. I got treated at Highland Hospital in the city," he stated.

Expressing shock over the soft corner approach of the police towards the assailants, he said that only six of around 15 attackers were booked by the police. 

“All the accused were let off by the police after registering petty cases. Ironically, the police had not recorded my statement. On the day of attack, they had asked me to sign on a paper. It contained the complaint written by themselves. Hence, on June 17 I visited the Urwa police station and recorded my statement,” he said.

He said that even though he has all the documents pertaining to the cattle that he had purchased, the police had registered false cattle theft charge against him. 

Former city mayor K Ashraf, Hyder, bother of the victim and Shamsuddin, Jokatte gram panchayat vice president were present at the press meet.

Also Read: Mangaluru: Bajrang Dal men thrash cattle trader after waylaying buffalo-laden vehicle

Mangaluru, May 5: Even though India is all set to bring back Indian nationals stranded abroad through special commercial flights, no flights have been arranged for the repatriation Kannadigas stuck in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the first phase (May 7 to May 14). However a few flights will fly from Saudi to Kerala and Delhi.

The government is likely to introduce flights from Saudi Arabia to Karnataka (Bengaluru and Mangaluru Airports) in second or third phase.

Fill the Form

All Indian nationals in Saudi Arabia who seek repatriation are supposed to fill form in the following link: https://t.co/K5Hbmr4cFP 

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh has clarified that the purpose is only to collect data and no decision has been taken yet regarding resumption of flights.

High airfare

Even though some GCC governments paid the ticket fares to bring back their citizens, the government of India has clarified that it will not pay the ticket fares of Indian nationals stranded abroad. It is predicted that tickets on repatriation flights from Saudi Arabia to India could be costlier than regular airfare.

Only asymptomatic can travel 

As per Standard Operating Protocol, medical screening of passengers would be done before taking the flight. Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel. During the journey, all these passengers would have to follow the protocols, such as the health protocols, issued by the ministry of health and the ministry of civil aviation," it said in a statement.

Mandatory quarantine

The govt has made elaborate arrangements to conduct medical test on arrival at the Airports. As per plan, based on medical check-up, passengers will be categorised as group A/B/C. Later, they will be quarantined for the mandated days

Respective district administrations have taken steps to quarantine people returning from outside India. Marriages halls, general halls and hostels are being identified for the quarantine.