Secure Nithyananda, Centre tells Karnataka

Mangaluru, Mar 28: After a youth from Dakshina Kannada who tested positive for the deadly Covid-19 revealed that he had travelled by a bus, authorities have requested all his fellow passengers to visit their nearest district hospital. 

The 21-year-old man hailing from Belthangady taluk had flown from Dubai to Bengaluru on March 21 and on the same day travelled to Mangaluru by the KSRTC bus bearing registration number KA 19, F3329. 

As he was suffering from fever and cough he was admitted to Puttur government hospital on March 24. He was tested positive for the novel coronavirus on March 27.   

It is not yet know how many passengers were there on board the above mentioned bus which had departed Bengaluru at 4:30 p.m. on March 21. It is believed that most of the passengers who travelled by this bus are residents of Dakshina Kannada. 

Hence, the KSRTC authorities today requested all the passengers who travelled by this bus to visit their nearest district hospital for necessary checkup. The passengers also were urged to quarantine themselves for next couple of weeks.

Mangaluru, May 17: Former health minister U T Khader demanded that the authorities carry out a scientific analysis of the five deaths that occurred due to Covid-19 in Dakshina Kannada. 

“The number of fatalities vis-à-vis the number of positive cases in the district is worrying, and the district administration and health department should not take the matter lightly. Lapses, if any, in dealing with the co-morbidity factors should be addressed, lest it become a major health challenge,” he warned.

Addressing reporters on Saturday, Khader, said only carrying out such types of analysis will help the health department combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in the future. “At present, the only data available with the health authorities here and in the state war room, is the number of people tested and number of positive cases,” Khader said.

“Any strategy to combat Covid-19 must be built around scientific analysis of causes of how the disease is spreading and to do so, concrete efforts must be made to find the source of the cluster at the First Neuro Hospital in Padil. A analysis of reasons that caused the deaths, will also come in handy for the authorities to prepare suitable advisories for the people, who in turn could take informed decisions,” Khader noted.

Bengaluru, Jun 26: Karnataka's Commercial Taxes Department has sealed off an undeclared warehouse with imported goods worth Rs 4 crore in Bengaluru and found 60 GST registrations linked to a Chinese national from Wuhan.

The tax department officials found 25,446 China-made electronic and fast-moving consumer goods worth Rs 4 crore stored in the warehouse which was not declared to the tax authorities.

Commissioner of Commercial Taxes MS Srikar said in a statement that the officers noticed that one person from Wuhan City, China, got the premises in Bengaluru on lease.

They also found that about 60 registrations (both central and state jurisdictions) under the GST Act, in the name of a number of persons for online trading of imported China-made goods, had a single address which was vacant.

Most of the registrations were found irregular in the filing of returns and payment of tax. Majority of the firms either filed nil returns or were non-filers. The registration data showed that one business was registered in 2017-18, 43 in 2018-19, 14 in 2019-20 and two in 2020-21. Most of the 60 firms were private limited companies and 24 persons were interchangeably directors in 58 firms.

At the time of raid, neither the lessee, the Chinese national, nor any of the other 59 registered taxable persons were available at the business premises and no one came forward to participate in the proceedings in spite of providing sufficient time.

It is learnt that the Chinese national is operating the business from Wuhan City since January 2020 with the assistance of some of his agents/employees in Bengaluru.

It has also been learnt that multiple registrations are being taken for a better rating on e-commerce platforms, Srikar said.

The raids were led by Nitesh K Patil, Additional Commissioner, Enforcement, South Zone.
The Commercial Taxes Department is closely watching the genuineness of newly registered persons and conducting post-registration verification visits.

Any registration taken with mala fide intention of evading taxes will be dealt with seriously, the Commissioner said.