Rapist gets death sentence, throws bricks at media, snatches police rifle

Mangaluru, Jul 16: Streets in Mangaluru wore a deserted look as the city woke up to the first morning of the seven-day lockdown on Thursday.

The lockdown is being observed after the state government announced it as a necessary step to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The week-long total shutdown came into effect in the Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district from 8 pm on July 15 till 5 am on July 22.

The state government allowed relaxation between 8am to 11 am for purchasing of essential commodities. A slight rush was observed during the hours of the relaxation.

Karnataka has so far reported 47,253 positive COVID-19 cases, including 27,859 active cases and 18,466 recoveries.

So far, 928 people have lost their lives due to the infectious virus in the state.

Bengaluru, Mar 4: Seeking to allay fear among the citizens in the wake of Coronavirus scare, Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu on Wednesday made an appeal to the people not to pay heed to rumours spreading on social media.

In a series of tweets, Mr Sriramulu assured people that the government has taken adequate measures to ensure that the disease does not spread further. "Don't lend your ears to rumours about the Coronavirus in the social media. Rely only on the authentic information," he tweeted.

The minister's tweet came as Bengaluru reported the first case, after a techie from the city with a travel history to Dubai and interaction with Hong Kong-based people there, was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad.

As panic gripped the city, Mr Sriramulu said the apartment where the software engineer was staying has been sanitised. Besides, his 25 colleagues have been identified. One of them has been admitted to the hospital as a precautionary measure and his blood sample has been sent for lab test.

"So far 40,207 people have been screened at the International airport. 251 blood tests have been done, of which 238 were found negative, while the rest of the reports are yet to come," Mr Sriramulu tweeted.

The health department said three people have been admitted to the isolation ward at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD).

Meanwhile, a parent appealed to people not to panic about the Coronavirus in the techie's apartment, where his son too resides. "My son is from the same apartment. To update everyone, there is absolutely nothing wrong here. It was more of panic on social media that created this," he said in a message.

He said that the man who is in Telengana and testedpositive stayed in this building on February 21. "His roommate was taken to hospital and has tested negative," he said. It is been two weeks since the incident. The virus cansurvive only for 48 hours under optimal conditions, he noted. "Everyone in this building is safe. Please educate yourself. Refrain from spreading panic and misinformation." he added.

Gadag, May 9: It is the month of April, and the season of mangoes is very much here. However, the mango farmers of Gadag are suffering huge losses amid the coronavirus lockdown due to the absence of transportation facilities along with several other issues that have been impacting their business adversely.

Speaking to media persons, Vishwanath Odugowdar, a mango farmer said, "Due to transportation problems we are not being able to export mangoes to different countries. We are trying to sell them in nearby markets."

"We are not in a situation to pack, transport and export the mangoes to different countries as we did earlier especially 
when it comes to Alphonso mangoes which is one of the most loved varieties. So, we are packing mangoes at our place. Somehow this year we have got very good quality of mangoes," he added.

Farmers here are incurring huge losses as mandis and markets across the country are shut while the transport of Alphonso mangoes has also come to a halt owing to the lockdown.

The small and medium scale farmers in places like Gadag, Dharwad, Bagalkote in north Karnataka have started packing the mangoes themselves in their farms in a bid to sell the fruit themselves.