Will Congress field U T Ifthikar from Kasaragod LS seat?

coastaldigest.com web desk
March 13, 2019

Kasaragod/Mangaluru, Mar 13: The Indian National Congress, which has been trying to wrest Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for past three decades, is reportedly mulling to field U T Ifthikar Ali, younger brother of Karnataka’s minister for urban development and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge U T Khader, in the 17th Lok Sabha elections.  The coastal district of Kerala will go to polls on April 23.

According to party sources, Ifthikar’s name is among a few shortlisted Congress leaders’ names being considered by the high command to be fielded from Kasaragod. The list of aspirants from this segment also includes former Kasaragod MP B Rama Rai, senior advocate Subbaiah Rai and former Kannur MP Abdulla Kutty.

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls Congress had lost to CPI (M) leader  P Karunakaran with a small margin of around six thousand votes in Kasaragod, which has around 13.5 lakh voters including around 60 percent of Hindus and 30 percent of Muslims. Hence Congress is likely to prefer Ifthikar, whose family is known for promoting secularism and communal harmony in coastal Karnataka, sources said.

Even though Ifthikar, who is the Syndicate member of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka, is currently based in Mangaluru, he is not a stranger for the people of Kasaragod district as his family hails from Uppala region.

On the other hand Kasaragod too shares close ties with Mangaluru. In fact prior to the implementation of States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the present Legislative Assembly seats of Manjeswar, Kasaragod, Udma and Kanhangad in Kasaragod district were part of South Kanara (South) LS constituency of erstwhile Madras State. In 1956, South Kanara (South) LS constituency was replaced by Mangaluru LS constituency, which gradually became Dakshina Kannada constituency. The parts of Kasaragod and Hosdurg (Kanhangad) seats were merged with Kerala and became a part of Kasaragod LS constituency. Kasaragod still has a considerable number of Kannadigas that share an emotional bond with Karnataka.

Despite, hailing from a politically influential family, Ifthikar has so far refrained from electoral politics. However, elections are not new for him. He has been the “poll strategist” for his elder brother who has registered four successive victories in Mangaluru assembly constituency after the demise of his father and four-time MLA U T Fareed in 2007. Besides, Ifthikar enjoys close contact with several bigwigs of Congress including its supremo Rahul Gandhi and former union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. He also has maintained a good relationship with several prominent NRI businessmen from Kasaragod district and heads of educational institutions, hospitals in the region.

He is also a known personality in health, social, educational fields in costal belt of Karnataka and is president of Dakshina Kannada Physiotherapy Teachers Association, Sport & Fitness Training Federation of India and executive committee member of the Indian Association of Physiotherapy. As chairman of U T Fareed Foundation, he has undertaken many charity activities. Being a social activist he is involved in various social service activities.

While contacted, Ifthikar told coastaldigest.com that he has been associated with Congress since his college days and that he would not hesitate to jump into poll fray from Kasaragod if the party high command wishes. “I will abide by the high command’s decision,” he said.

Comments

Kannadiga
 - 
Wednesday, 13 Mar 2019

Kasargod will witness real development if a Kannadiga becomes its MP. Malayalees are showing step-motherly attitude towards the people of Kasargod.

Unni Krishna
 - 
Wednesday, 13 Mar 2019

Not a bad choice. Kasaragod also need some respite from communist politics. Let Congress field this handsome gentleman.

Anand T
 - 
Wednesday, 13 Mar 2019

UTI is the best choice for Kasaragod district. Efficient and people friendly. 

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News Network
June 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 24: Karnataka Minister of Medical Education Dr K Sudhakar said on Tuesday that the directors of institutions will be held responsible if any there are any complaints and lack of facilities in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

'Since a couple of days, there are reports in media regarding the admission of COVID-19 patients, lack of hygiene and the supply of sub-standard food to patients. The country is appreciating Karnataka and Bengaluru for controlling the spread of coronavirus. This was possible due to tireless efforts from past several months and these kinds of reports emerging now cannot be tolerated," Sudhakar said.

He added, "There can be no compromise in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. It must be ensured that these kinds of complaints will not be repeated. Directors of hospitals will be held responsible if there are complaints."

The medical education minister further said that asymptomatic patients will be kept in COVID-Care Centres and if they develop symptoms in the care centres, they will be shifted to hospitals for further treatment.

"Since the COVID-19 cases are increasing, private hospitals have been roped in to treat coronavirus patients. Officials have to ensure that beds are reserved and all arrangements are made as per the government order. Guidelines will soon be issued for monitoring asymptomatic cases in COVID care centres," he added.

Karnataka on Tuesday reported 322 fresh COVID-19 positive cases and eight deaths.
According to the state health department, the total number of positive cases has mounted to 9,721 and 150 deaths. So far, 6,004 people have been discharged.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 21: The total number of Covid-19 cases in Karnataka breached the 70,000 mark on Tuesday as the state reported 3,649 fresh infections, while 61 fatalities took the death toll to 1,464, the health department said.

The day also saw 1,664 patients getting discharged after recovery. Out of 3,649 fresh cases reported on Tuesday, a whopping 1,714 were from Bengaluru urban alone. As of July 21 evening, cumulatively 71,069 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, which includes 1,464 deaths and 25,459 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said that out of the 44,140 active cases, 43,557 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 583 are in Intensive Care Units.

Twenty-two out of 61 deaths reported on Tuesday are from Bengaluru urban, followed by five each from Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru and Dharwad, four each from Kolar and Belagavi, three each from Hassan, Tumakuru and Haveri, Bidar 2, and one each from Chikkaballapura, Chikkamagaluru, Chamarajanagara, Gadag and Vijayapura.

Most of the deceased either had a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI). Out of 3,649 cases tested positive on Tuesday, contacts of the large number of the cases are still under tracing.

Among the districts where new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounted for 1,714, Ballari 193, Dakshina Kannada 149, Mysuru 135, Yadgir 117, Uttara Kannada 109, Hassan 107, Kolar 103, followed by others.

Bengaluru urban district topped the list of positive cases, with 34,943 infections, followed by Dakshina Kannada 3,829 and Kalaburagi 2,966. Among discharges Bengaluru urban was on top with 7,476 discharges, followed by Kalabuagi 1,834 and Udupi 1,731.

A total of 10,64,734 samples were tested so far, out of which 43,904 were tested on Tuesday alone, the bulletin said. It said that 19,328 of the 43,904 samples tested today were rapid antigen tests.

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News Network
January 14,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 14: A woman has sustained burns on the left hand and the left chest in a vicious acid attack that occurred as she walked home in Mallappa Layout, Seegehalli, near KR Puram in Bengaluru.

Prabhavathi, the victim, and her husband, Radhakrishna Reddy, own an acre and six guntas of land in Seegehalli. They had constructed 20 houses on the parcel and rented them while keeping the rest of the land empty and building a boundary wall around it, according to a senior police officer. 

Four men named Ravi, Kumar, Ashirvadam and Shekar laid claim to the land and demolished the boundary wall two years ago. When the couple approached the cops, Manjunath, a sub-inspector from KR Puram police station, visited the spot along with other officers and allegedly abused Reddy and his family. 

Reddy then approached a senior police officer who suggested that he file a complaint against the sub-inspector as well as his rivals for threatening the family. The case is pending in a case. 

On January 7, Ravi, along with four others — Raghu, Kabalan, Ashrivadam and Munireddy — mocked Prabhavathi as she walked home. They asked her to withdraw the complaint. When she ignored them, one of the men motioned to another person. In a flash, a man in the group threw acid on Prabhavathi. The liquid fell on her left hand and left chest, gashing them. Her screams drew her family who rushed her to a hospital. 

Reddy said the suspects had been intimidating them to sell the remaining land. He accused the KR Puram sub-inspector of “threatening” the family.

According to Reddy, following their complaint, a departmental enquiry was launched against the sub-inspector and his promotion was stalled. He suggested that the suspects had used the acid attack as a weapon to “silence” and force them into withdrawing the complaints. 

Following the acid attack, KR Puram police booked eight people — Ravi, Raghu, Kabalan, Ashirvadam, Munireddy, Sachin, Rahul, and Kumareshan — under IPC sections 326 (a) (acid attack) and 506 (criminal intimidation). Efforts are on to track them down. 

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