Sanjeeva Matandoor, Mattar Rathnakar Hegde to lead BJP in DK, Udupi

Udupi, May 19: Within minutes after health and family welfare department announced four fresh covid-19 cases in Udupi district, a girl who had come from central part of Karnataka tested positive for the coronavirus thereby taking the count of cases detected after last evening to five. 

With this the total number of confirmed covid-19 cases in the district rose to 16. Three among them have recovered. One patient died last week. There are 12 active cases. 

According to sources, the 17-year-old girl from Chitradurga had visited KMC hospital in Manipal for cancer treatment on May 16. 

Her throat swabs were sent for corona testing on the following day. Today she obtained a positive report. Hence, she was shifted to Dr TMA Pai Covid hospital.

Bengaluru, May 12: In a scathing attack on the ruling BJP in Karnataka and warning the Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa government against any move to amend the Labour laws and APMC through an ordinance, former chief minister and JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday asked Mr Yediyurappa to work in the interest of the people and not to budge under any pressure from the Centre or to please party bosses.

Speaking to media here on Tuesday he questioned the urgency to bring forward such ordinances on important subjects and asked the government to have a public debate on it and also discuss it in the assembly.

“I'm warning the government… I have been watching everything silently till now, I have not caused any embarrassment to the government. I want to tell the government, don’t push us to do it,” Kumaraswamy said

New Delhi, Apr 4: The Supreme Court on Friday urged Karnataka and Kerala to amicably resolve their issues concerning a border blockade that has choked the free flow of vehicles carrying essential items and patients in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Karnataka, which imposed the blockade, justified that its border was sealed to “combat the spread of the pandemic by preventing the movement of people from the bordering districts of Kerala to Karnataka”.

The State had moved the Supreme Court, challenging a Kerala High Court order on April 1 to open the border. Kerala has countered that patients from the State cannot be denied access to health care. Besides, the blockade has severely affected the supply of essential items, from medicines to food, to Kerala.

On Friday, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Deepak Gupta urged the States to not confront each other in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis. Instead, it asked the Chief Secretaries of both States to sit with the Union Health Secretary and iron out a solution. Meanwhile, the apex court urged Kerala not to take any precipitative action based on the High Court order.

The court issued notice to Kerala on the appeal filed by Karnataka, represented by advocate Shubhranshu Padhi. It listed the case for further hearing on April 7.

Karnataka, in its appeal against the High Court order, said the blockade was put in place in the interest of public health. The situation regarding Coronavirus was “really dire”, it said. It warned that opening the blockade would cause a law and order issue as its local population wanted the border to remain sealed.

Karnataka argued that Kerala was the “worst-affected” State in the country with nearly 194 coronavirus cases. In this, Kasaragod, adjoining Karnataka, was the “worst affected” district of Kerala with over a 100 positive cases.

MP’s plea

The court also separately considered a writ petition by Kasaragod MP Rajmohan Unnithan for an order to forthwith open the State border.

The parliamentarian, represented by advocates Haris Beeran and Pallavi Pratap, urged the court to issue an ex-parte stay on the operation of the blockade imposed by Karnataka with its border States.

Mr. Unnithan said Karnataka’s blockade was “ill-planned and dangerous” and had led to loss of lives. Two patients from Kerala, in need of urgent medical care, died after their ambulances were denied entry at the border by the Karnataka authorities.