Supporters stage protest demanding cabinet berths for Roshan Baig, Reddy

Bengaluru, Apr 28: Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday suggested that the government can allow sale of liquor in green zones. 

“Merely because there is an economic slowdown in the state, I don’t recommend that alcohol should be allowed to be sold. But, wherever there are green districts, they can open (liquor sale) with certain restrictions, I think,” Siddaramaiah, the leader of the Opposition, told reporters. 

There are 14 districts in the state that are categorised as green because they do not have any active COVID-19 cases. The green districts are: Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Haveri, Davangere, Shivamogga, Chitradurga, Udupi, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Ramanagara and Kolar.

There is tremendous pressure on the B S Yediyurappa administration to revive the economy as the lockdown has dried up all revenue sources. Excise, alone, accounts for 18 per cent of Karnataka’s own tax revenue. 

The Excise department recently suggested allowing regulated sale of liquor through the state-run MSIL outlets. The government, however, did not approve it fearing crowding and backlash from the Centre.

Bengaluru, May 7: A 55-year old woman from Davanagere became the 30th COVID-19 related fatality in Karnataka, where a total number of infections has crossed 700-mark, with eight new positive cases being confirmed, the health department said on Thursday.

The deceased woman was a known case of diabetes and hypertension, she was admitted with a complaint of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and was on a ventilator, the department said in its mid-day situation update.

She died today at a designated hospital in Davanagere, it said.

"Eight new positive cases have been reported from last evening to this noon...

Till date 701 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 30 deaths and 363 discharges," the update said.

The eight new cases reported include three from Davangere, indulging the deceased patient; also three from Kalaburagi, and one each from Hirebagewadi in Belagavi district and Bengaluru urban.

While four cases are contacts of patients earlier tested positive, three are with the history of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and one is a SARI case.

Five among eight new cases are women and three are men.

Udupi, Jul 14: Abhijna Rao, a student of Vidyodaya PU College, Udupi, has emerged state topper in the science stream of II PUC. 

Abhijna has secured 596 marks in the II PUC examination-2020, the results of which were announced on Tuesday July 14. She scored a perfect 100 marks in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science (PCMC). In Sanskrit and English she scored 100 and 96 marks respectively.

She had secured second position in the Karnataka SSLC examinations two years ago.

She is daughter of Asha Rao and Vittal Rao, a retired professor. Her sister Raksha Rao has completed Engineering from NITK Suratkal.

“After securing second rank in the state in SSLC, my target was to score more in PUC examinations. My parents and lecturers have supported me in my studies. All my teachers gave me proper guidance. Vidyodaya College also supported me. I was studying on a daily basis. The exams were easy and I had expected to score above 590. I am very happy to score 596," she said.