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Bengaluru, May 20: A mysterious "boom" heard in large parts of Bengaluru this afternoon left residents of the city and social media users puzzled. While the source of the sound is being investigated, the Indian Air Force (IAF) indicated that it could be the result of "routine test flights that necessitate going supersonic a times".

The sound was heard from as far as the Bengaluru airport in Devanahalli to the IT hub of Electronic City 54 km away. It was also heard in Kalyan Nagar in east Bengaluru, central Bengaluru's MG Road and areas such as Marathahalli, Whitefield, Sarjapur and Hebbagodi.

IAF said no aircraft of training command was flying in the area. "However, ASTE (Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment) and HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) could have been undertaking their routine test flying, which necessitates going supersonic at times. These are done well beyond the city limits in specified sectors. However, considering the atmospheric conditions and reduced noise levels in the city during these times, the aircraft sound may become clearly audible even if it happened way out from the city," said the air force statement.

Many people had speculated that the sound could have been caused by a fighter jet such as a Mirage 2000.

"We have also asked the Air Force Control Room to check if it was a jet or supersonic sound. Bengaluru police are awaiting confirmation from the Air Force," Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao said in a statement.

It was not an earthquake, Karnataka's state disaster monitoring centre had tweeted earlier.

"Earthquake activity will not be restricted to one area and will be widespread. We have checked our sensors and there is no earthquake activity recorded today," the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said, quoting its director Srinivas Reddy.

"The activity reported in Bengaluru is not due to an earthquake. The seismometers did not capture any ground vibration as generally happens during a mild Tremor. The activity is purely a loud unknown noise," the agency tweeted.

#Bangalore and #BangaloreBoom was among the top trends on Twitter this afternoon.

"We are trying to ascertain the source of the noise," a senior police officer said. "In Whitefield area, we have searched on the ground and so far, there is no damage to any property," he added. There were no calls to the police control room reporting any damage.

Bengaluru, Jul 19: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa convened a meeting with Private Medical College Hospitals on Saturday to assess COVID-19 management and directed them to provide 50 per cent of the beds, as promised, with effect from Sunday.

The chief minister said that private medical college hospitals need to cooperate as there is a sharp rise in COVID-10 cases in the city. He further said that it has come to the notice of the government that some institutes are denying treatment of COVID-19 as well as non-COVID patients.

The chief minister expressed his concerns over media reports stating several people died as they didn't get timely treatment due to denial from the hospitals. He said that Bengaluru should continue to lead the country as a role model in COVID-19 management.

During previous meetings, private medical colleges had agreed upon providing around 4,500 beds, which would make the total beds available in government and private medical colleges 6,500.

The chief minister expressed dismay over some colleges not providing the number of beds as promised and also about certain lacunae which were noticed by ministers during their visit.
During this emergency situation, we should show humanity. COVID and non-COVID patients shall not be denied treatment and the balance in healthcare system shall be maintained, he advised.

He assured them of all support, including providing doctors and nurses if need be.
The private medical colleges had assured to provide 50 per cent of beds and some colleges offered 80 per cent of the beds for COVID treatment.

Nodal officers have already been appointed to monitor the availability of beds in these medical colleges.

It was decided to issue a notice to Vaidehi Medical College for their absence in the meeting.

Kasaragod, Jun 2: Kumbala police on Tuesday arrested 20 persons on charges of misbehaving and obstructing a medical team who were on official duty for Covid-19.

Police sources said the incident occurred at Kumbala beach near here on Monday evening when a group of locals misbehaved and obstructed an eight-member medical team, comprising of doctors and health workers, from carrying out a survey to asertain whether there has been a community spread of Covid-19 in that locality.

The health team was on a mission to gather data of people who had interacted with expatriates after they had returned to hometown recently.