VHP leader Ashok Singhal dies at 89

Bengaluru,  Mar 26: The nationwide lockdown in the view of coronavirus outbreak has driven some people to the edge. In Karnataka, within less than 24 hours, two cases of people creating trouble for police personnel have come to light.

On Wednesday, a middle-aged man was shot in his leg by the police after he tried to assault two police constables of Sanjaynagar police station. The police constables were identified as Manjunatha and Basavararaju.
The accused reportedly breached the check post at Bhoopasandra. He and his friends were over-speeding and performing stunts on bikes. When the policemen tried to secure them after giving them a chase, they attacked the cops.

When they were taken into custody, one of them again tried to escape and hurled stones and bricks on the cops. In order to prevent further assault, the police then fired two rounds – one in the air and the second one on his left leg.

Mangaluru/ Bengaluru, May 10: Nearly 11,000 non-resident Kannadigas who are seeking repatriation from various countries across the world should be ready to shell out a huge amount for a two-week private quarantine in Karnataka before reaching their home.

The Kannadigas stranded in Gulf countries including UAE and Saudi Arabia have already expressed shock over the high airfare for repatriation during coronavirus lockdown. Another shocker is heavy quarantine fee once they reach their home state.

Officials in Mangaluru and Bengaluru have confirmed that administration has fixed charges for quarantine facilities starting from Rs 1,200 up to Rs 4,500, including food per day. 14 day quarantine will be mandatory for all healthy and asymptomatic international passengers. Hence, they should be ready to pay Rs 16,800  to Rs 63,000.

The other option is government quarantine centres: hostels run by social welfare, backward classes welfare and minority welfare departments but they are far from satisfactory. This is in stark contrast to the plush government quarantine facilities in Kerala.

In Mangaluru

The first repatriation flight to Mangaluru International Airport is expected to land on Tuesday, May 12 from Dubai.

The quarantine facilities include lodges, hostels and service apartments. Rates are fixed based on four categories: basic, economy, medium and premium. The basic facilities are mainly hostels of educational institutions, and the rest are budget and star hotels, said Rahul Shinde, probationary IAS officer, who is In-charge of the quarantine facilities for those being repatriated.

In Bengaluru

As many as 350 international passengers are set to arrive in Bengaluru at 3 am on Monday, May 11. So far, nobody has opted for government quarantine facilities, according to Lakshman Reddy, Joint Director, Social Welfare Department.

In Bengaluru, there are 55 hostels of the social welfare department, 51 of the backward classes welfare department and 12 of the minority welfare department. “We provide them with three square meals a day,” he added.