VBM repatriation flight from Dammam lands in Mangaluru

Bengaluru, Mar 19: The Karnataka government has extended the statewide coronavirus shutdown till March 31 as the number of positive cases rose to 14, of whom 11 are those who came in from foreign countries.

In an emergency Cabinet meeting, the state government set up a task force of four ministers to lead the defence against the virus. This core team will have Rs 200 crore to orchestrate the combat.

When chief minister B S Yediyurappa announced the shutdown last week, it was to be in force until March 21, but it was always unlikely that the Covid-19 scare would have waned by then.

Several more restrictions were announced today. Quarantine will be mandatory for all passengers arriving from foreign countries. While schools, colleges and business establishments will continue to be closed, restrictions have been extended to marriages, fairs and social functions as well.

Public entry to Vidhana Soudha, Vikas Soudha and the M.S. Building has been barred till March 31.

While setting up the task force, the government has earmarked Rs 200 crore for the coronavirus campaign. The chief minister said there is no dearth of funds for fighting the virus.

The task force will have deputy chief minister Ashwathnarayana, home minister Basavaraj Bommai, medical education minister Sudhakar, health and family welfare minister B Sreeramulu and chief secretary T M Vijaybhaskar.  Sreeramulu will head the task force.

The task force will monitor coronavirus cases on a daily basis and orchestrate the response of all stakeholders. It will issue a daily bulletin on the epidemic and also run awareness campaigns.

With quarantine now mandatory for passengers coming in foreign countries, community centres, hotels, convention centres, resorts and even PGs will be rented to accommodate the new arrivals.

The compulsory quarantine will be for 15 days.

A quarantine stamp will be imprinted on the right hand of passengers coming in from foreign countries.

Since the Centre has relaxed the rules for using SDRF funds, the state government will draw from it to contain the pandemic; therefore, there will be more funds available to all districts, chief minister B S Yediyurappa said in the Assembly.

In further measures, all passengers and suspected Covid-19 cases will be tracked by their mobile phones.

Primary stage

“We are in the first and second stages of the epidemic. The virus is still at a primary stage and has not spread to community level," medical education minister Sudhakar said in the Assembly.

"It is important that we do not let the epidemic enter the third stage. It is possible if we implement stringent measures. People have responded positively to the state government’s measures and are cooperating with our decisions," Sudhakar said.

Bengaluru, Jul 11: The Bharatiya Janata Party led government of Karnataka is planning to ban cow slaughter as well as the sale and consumption of beef in the state by bringing Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation Bill, 2012.

"Many states have passed the Anti-Cow Slaughter Bill. We are preparing to implement it in Karnataka as well. The state government will soon implement a ban on cow slaughter, sale and consumption of beef on the lines of many other states," said Prabhu Chauhan, the state's Animal Husbandry Minister.

The Anti-Cow Slaughter Act is already in place in several states like Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh among others.

Last month, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government passed a draft ordinance to prevent cow slaughter, providing maximum rigorous imprisonment of 10 years and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh.
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Cow Slaughter Prevention (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 aims at making the existing Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955 more effective towards cow safety.

In Karnataka, the BJP-led government had promised to ban cow slaughter in its manifesto for 2018 state assembly election.

"The government will form a team of experts to look into once the current pandemic situation eases," Chauhan stated, adding that if necessary, the team of experts will visit states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat.

The then BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government had passed the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Protection Bill in 2010 but it failed to get presidential approval. Three years later, the Bill was withdrawn by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.

"I will discuss this matter with Chief Minister and if this pandemic situation eases, by next session, if not by upcoming assembly session, we will try to bring Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill," Chauhan added.

Shivamogga, Feb 1: A three-year-old girl who fell out of a moving vehicle had a miraculous escape in Agumbe Ghat section in Teerthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district of Karnataka.

The incident took place in the early hours of Friday when 12 members from three different families were returning from a tour of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The girl was reunited with her family after 30 minutes of high drama.

The child, identified as Anavi, is believed to have fallen from the vehicle as it negotiated hairpin bends on the Agumbe Ghat road, 350km from Bengaluru. The child's parents, Binu and Lincy, from NR Pura in Chikkamagaluru district, and other family members reportedly dozed off and did not realize the child had fallen off the vehicle until they covered a distance of about 20km.

One of the family members noticed that child was missing from the seat next to the door. When the driver realized the door latch had given way, they suspected the child could have slipped out of the vehicle.

Then the family started searching along the road and learnt from a forest guard at the Agumbe checkpost that a missing child was found and it had been handed over to Agumbe police station.

An advocate who identified himself as Vinay spotted the girl child as he passed the deserted stretch minutes after the vehicle left and picked her up and handed her over to Agumbe police.

The child sustained minor injuries in the fall. She was provided medical treatment before she was handed over to the parents.

Sources said it wasn't known how the vehicle door opened. One theory is that the girl could have accidentally unlocked the door while clutching the latch in the bumpy ride on the ghat. Police did not file any complaint.

Similar incident

This incident is almost a rerun of a Kerala incident in which a one-year-old baby fell off a moving jeep and was reunited with its mother hours later in September 2019 in Idukki district.

The baby had slipped off the mother's arms while she dozed off in the vehicle. CCTV footage showed the baby, after falling on the road, crawling towards a lit-up area close by, which turned out to be a forest checkpost. Family realised child was missing after 20km.