Religion row: Decision on expert panel deferred

Newsroom, May 26: A migrant worker died of hunger while a 10-month-old boy suffering from fever and breathing difficulties died negligence in two separate incidents onboard Shramik Special trains in Uttar Pradesh.

The 46-year-old dead migrant worker’s nephew, who was accompanying him, said that the victim had not eaten anything in the last 60 hours.

Raveesh Yadav said that no food or water was provided on the train, which they had boarded from Mumbai to travel to their native place in Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav and his uncle were working as construction workers in Mumbai.

Yadav told the paper that the train had left the Lokmanya Terminal in Mumbai, at 7pm on May 20 and arrived at its final stop, Varanasi Cantonment station, at 7.30am on May 23.

“But my uncle, who was complaining of hunger and pain all over his body, fainted half an hour before we reached Varanasi Cantonment and died within a few minutes,” Raveesh was quoted as saying.

He added that he and his uncle were hungry when they boarded the train but could not find food or water to buy.

Railways’ apathy

Meanwhile, the family of 10 month old child, who died in the train, alleged that the railways did not arrange for a doctor despite their repeated pleas.

The railway doctors had been moved to Covid-19 hospitals and by the time a doctor was provided at Tundla railway station, it was too late, the report quoted the child's grandfather, Dev Lal, as saying.

Lal said that the family members had tried to speak to the GRP at many stations, including at Aligarh, where the train had halted. "But they showed no interest and said any help would be available only in Tundla,” Lal said.

Railways officials then took the kin to a quarantine centre in Tundla, as they suspected that the baby had died because of the novel coronavirus.  It was only on Monday that the incident came to light when another individual at the quarantine facility intimated journalists after the condition of the child's mother worsened.

Last November, the mother of the child, Priyanka Devi of Bihar's Notan village in West Champaran, had gone to visit her parents who reside in Noida with the baby, who was then just four months old. Her husband Pramod Kumar is a farmer, the report added.

Bengaluru, May 12: People returning to Karnataka from other states will have to remain in quarantine">institutional quarantine even if they are asymptomatic, according to Department of Health and Family Welfare Services, Government of Karnataka

"All persons returning to Karnataka from any State, symptomatic or asymptomatic shall be kept in quarantine">institutional quarantine," read an order issued by the State Health and Family Welfare Services.

It further read, "For persons claiming to come from Goa, Deputy Commissioner of receiving district should verify and in the event of adequate capacity not being available, can put them in home quarantine for a period of 14 days, if the claim regarding the origin state is confirmed."

"Deputy Commissioner/Special Commissioner, BBMP will fix the rates for hotels where such returnees will be staying on a payment basis," the statement read.

Bengaluru, May 17: At least 54 new COVID-19 positive cases have emerged since last evening, raising Karnataka's tally to 1,146, a health official said today.

Among the 1,146 cases, 611 are active and isolated in designated hospitals across the state, 497 patients got discharged and 37 died of the virus.

Of the new cases, Mandya district alone reported 22 cases, followed by 10 in Kalaburgi, 6 in Hassan, 4 in Dharward, 3 each in Kolar and Yadgir, 2 each in Dakshina Kannada and Shivamogga and 1 each in Udupi and Shivamogga.

New Cases Reported: 54
Total Active Cases: 611
Total Discharges: 497
Total Covid Deaths: 37
Death of Covid +ve patient due to Non-Covid cause: 1
Total Positive Cases: 1146