Revenue officials in Dakshina Kannada given deadline to clear RTC files

New Delhi, Mar 30: Congress MP Rajmohan Unnithan on Monday approached the Supreme Court seeking directions to open the Karnataka-Kerala border to allow movement of ambulances and other emergency vehicles for the transport of essential items to Kerala.

Unnithan, who is an MP From Kerala's Kasaragod constituency, filed a plea seeking direction to Karnataka to open the borders with Kerala and in particular Kasargod-Mangalore border at Talappadi.

The petition sought directions to Karnataka to allow the movement of ambulances, emergency vehicles, trucks and other vehicles carrying essential and non-essential items to Kerala. It also sought to stay the blockade imposed by Karnataka with its border states.

The plea also sought directions to Karnataka to register an FIR and constitute a special investigation team (SIT) under the supervision of this court to enquire against the concerned authorities including the police officials whose action led to the death of two citizens.

It said that the imposition of such a blockade at a time when the supply of commodities is itself hit hard and when a medical emergency has plagued the entire country is a clear violation of Articles 21 and 19(d) of the Constitution.

"This blockade has also resulted in cutting off the essential lifeline of National Highways and State Highways and major District Roads leading to the State of Kerala which has resulted in the shortage of supply of essential and non-essential items to the State of Kerala leading to shortage supply of food and medical supplies," the plea said.

"This ill-planned and dangerous blockade has claimed the life of a 70-year-old woman who was denied entry into Karnataka even for the purpose of urgent medical treatment which was only available in the medical hub of Mangalore. This is a clear case of violation of the right to life with dignity by the state as citizens are made to die on the roads because of the action of the state which is in total disregard to Article 21," it added.

This comes as the country is under a 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which according to the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs has claimed the lives of 29 people and infected a total of 1071 people as on Monday morning.

Udupi, Apr 29: Udupi Deputy Commissioner G Jagadeesha on Wednesday said that though the district was in the green zone in connection with COVID-19, there would not be any further relaxations and the lockdown would continue till May 3.

According to a statement, he said that no fresh Covid-19 cases have been reported for the past month. However, the district is not immune to the threat of the infection. Thus, the lockdown would continue till May 3 with minimum relaxation.

The district has already initiated relaxations and mandatory guidelines have to be implemented, he further said.

Bantwal, Jun 5: A very rare white python, which had entered a house at Kavalakatte in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada, was caught by snake catcher Snake Kiran on Friday handed over to the authorities of Pilikula Nisargadhama.

This extremely rare white coloured python known as Albino was seen in the house of one Naushad.

The occupants of the house as well as residents of the area were panicky over seeing it. 

Later a friend of Naushad informed Snake Kiran who caught it and handed over to the care of Pilikula as per the advice of forest officer Sridhar.