States should take stringent action: PM on cow vigilantism

Bengaluru, Mar 12: Karnataka government on Wednesday issued a temporary regulation -- Karnataka Epidemic Diseases, COVID-19 Regulations, 2020 -- which aims to prevent the spread of the disease.

According to the regulation, all government and private hospitals should have flu corners for the screening of suspected cases of COVID-19.

All hospitals during the screening of such cases shall record the history of travel of the person if he or she has travelled to any country or area where COVID-19 has been reported in addition to the history of coming in contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 shall be recorded.

Any person with a history of travel in the last 14 days to a country or area from where COVID-19 has been reported must report to the nearest government hospital or call at toll-free helpline number 104 so that necessary measures if required, may be initiated by the Department of Health and Family Welfare.

If a suspected case of COVID-19 refuses admission or isolation, the offices authorised under Section 3 of the regulation shall have powers to forcefully admit and isolate such case of a period of 14 days from the onset of symptoms or till the reports of lab tests are received, or such period as may be necessary.

No person, institution or organisation shall use print or electronic media to spread misinformation on COVID19. If a person is found indulging in any such activity, they will be punished.

If the cases of COVID-19 are reported from a defined geographic area, the district administration of the concerned district shall have the right to implement the following containment measures but not limited to these in order to prevent the spread of diseases:

* Sealing of geographic

* Barring of entry and exit of the population from the containment area

* Closure of schools, offices and banning public gathering

* Banning vehicular movement in the area

* Designating any government or private building as a containment unit for the isolation of cases

* The staff of all govt departments shall be at the disposal of the concerned district administration of the concerned area for discharging the duty of containment measures

Any person, institution or organisation found violating any of these regulations, shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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

Bengaluru, Feb 23: Bolstered by the Supreme Court's interim nod for the gazette notification of the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal award by the Central government, Karnataka decided to allot funds for the drinking water project in the state's northwest region, an official said on Saturday.

"Funds will be allotted in the state budget for fiscal 2020-21 to complete the Kalasa-Banduri project across the Mahadayi river for supplying drinking water to the four drought-prone northern districts in the state," the official of the water resources department told media on anonymity.

As Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa also holds the finance portfolio, he has agreed to allocate funds for the project, held up for years in the legal battle with the neighbouring Goa and Maharashtra over the sharing of the river water among the three coastal states.

Yediyurappa is slated to present the state budget for the ensuing fiscal in the legislative assembly on March 2.

"We will resume the project work once the Centre notifies the award though it will be binding on the final outcome of the apex court's hearing the review petitions of Goa and Maharashtra against the Tribunal award," the official noted.

A division bench of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Hemant Gupta on Thursday passed an interim order on the Tribunal award, allowing the central water resources ministry to notify it for implementation and posted the case for final hearing in July.

The Tribunal on August 14, 2018 allocated 13.42 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of the river water to the southern state for irrigation and drinking water supply to towns and villages across Bagalkot, Belagavi, Dharwad and Gadag districts, which are in the arid region of the Deccan plateau.

The four districts are about 400-550 km northwest of Bengaluru in the southern state.

Of the 13.42 tmcft water, 5.5 tmcft will be used in the river basin and for diversion into the depleted Malaprabha reservoir while the balance 7.92 tmcft will be utilized for hydel power generation instead of allowing the water to go into the Arabian Sea on the state's west coast through Goa.

Goa, which opposed Karnataka's demand for 36.66 tmcft, was allocated 24 tmcft, while Maharashtra got 1.3 tmcft.

The Tribunal assessed that 188.06 tmc feet water is available at 75 per cent dependability.

The three-member Tribunal is headed by Chairman Justice J.M. Panchal, Justice Viney Mittal and Justice P.S. Naayana.

The Union government had set up the inter-state Tribunal on November 16, 2010 for the djudication of the Mahadayi basin water allocation among the three riparian and contiguous states.

Goa and Maharashtra claimed 122.6 tmc feet and 6.35 tmc feet of the river water respectively.

The Tribunal, which commenced sittings on September 6, 2012, held 1,209 sittings for over 6 years.

Supreme Court senior counsel F.S. Nariman represented the state before the Tribunal to present its case.

The Tribunal's chairman and two members inspected the river basin area across the three coastal states from December 12-24, 2013.

The 77km-long Mahadayi or Mandovi river originates at Bhimgad in the Western Ghats in Belagavi district and flows into the neighbouring Goa through Maharashtra and joins the Arabian Sea off the west coast.

Though the river flows 29 km in Karnataka and 52 km in Goa, its catchment area is spread over 2,032 km in the southern state as against 1,580 km in the western state (Goa).