A P Musliyar exhorts religious leaders of Dakshina Kannada to promote peace

Hubballi, Apr 20: Dejected over failure to get alcohol for almost one month, a forty-five year old man and his sister died after consuming hand sanitizer in Kalghatgi taluk of Dharwad district on Sunday.

The deceased persons, identified as Basavaraj Venkappa Kuruvinkoppa and Jambavva Kattimani (50) of little hamlet Gambyapur, died at Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS).

The wife of the deceased person has lodged a complaint at Kalghatgi police station stating that her husband had been addicted to alcohol since the last 10-12 years.

Basavaraj and his sister have reportedly consumed hand sanitizer several times since the last 2-3 days, severely deteriorating their health as they felt it is replacement for liquor and has high levels of spirit content.

They were admitted to KIMS only by Sunday early morning after complaining of serious pain in the stomach. The KIMS director Dr Ramalingappa Anthartani said that the deceased appears to have consumed too much sanitizer and the doctors couldn't save their life as they approached the hospital very late.

He also claimed that he is awaiting the postmortem report to know how much quantity of hand sanitizer the deceased had consumed.

"Condition of the patients was very critical when they were admitted to KIMS hospital. It seems that they had drunk too much hand sanitizer for non-availability of liquor. Consumption of hand sanitizer could prove fatal as it has high chemical contents" KIMS director Dr Ramalingappa Anthartani said

The Karnataka government has prohibited the sale of liquor ever since the Centre declared lockdown to control the spread of Coronavirus. This has prompted the alcohol addicts to buy liquor by paying hefty prices in the black market.

But, many poor people in villages have started consuming cheaper hooch and this trade has recently flourished in the rural areas.

Hooch trade has also prompted officials of the excise department to conduct raids in several villages of North Karnataka region. The many theft cases of liquor shops are reported in Karnataka as drunkards have become desperate to get alcohol.

The Karnataka government was planning to allow the sale of liquor after the end of the first phase of lockdown. But, the rising cases of Corona positive cases has prompted it to extend the ban on liquor sale until May 3.

Mangaluru, May 23: In order to ensure that students do not miss out on their studies due to educational institutions being shut owing to the coronavirus lockdown, Dakshina Kannada Pre-university College Principles Association (DKPUCPA) is conducting online classes on YouTube for pre-university students.

The online lessons are shot by lecturers at St Aloysius College and the lectures are then uploaded on YouTube enabling students to watch them online.

"The whole world is currently in a crucial situation because of COVID-19, and because of the lockdown, all are forced to stay indoors. Usually, we used to conduct lectures in a class full of students, but now it is a new experience that we are providing the same information to students in their absence," Rajaram Rao, a lecturer said while speaking to news agency.

He said at present these classes are being conducted for second year pre-university students.

If any student has a doubt on any concept, he said they can contact the teachers. "At present, students also are getting information about the teachers who have uploaded the videos. All the information about the teachers is already being uploaded on the system so that they can contact the teacher," he said.

Dhanya, a student, hailed the DKPUCPA for the setting up of the online classes despite the prevailing situation.

"The teachers who have taught in these classes have taught very well, as if they are teaching right in front of us. It has been very useful for me during this time," she said.

The nationwide lockdown imposed to combat the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic has been extended to May 31.

Bengaluru, Mar 6: At least 13 persons, including women and children, were killed and five critically wounded when an SUV collided with a car that had crashed against a road divider moments ago near Kunigal in Tumakuru district of Karnataka in the early hours of Friday, police said.

Of the victims, while 12 died on the spot, a child breathed his last in a hospital, they added.

The injured were admitted to the hospital, the police said.

Among the dead, 10 were from Tamil Nadu and three from Bengaluru. All of them were pilgrims who were on their way to Dharmasthala in Karnataka.

There were five women and two children among the dead, the police said.

"Thirteen persons have died. The incident occurred post midnight. A car crashed against the road divider and another car collided with it," Tumakuru Superintendent of Police (SP) K Vamsi Krishna said.

The police had to struggle to pull the bodies out from the mangled vehicles.

On learning about the incident, relatives of the victims rushed to the spot.