Yeddyurappa will be Karnataka CM for next five years: Sadananda Gowda

Bengaluru, Jul 8: Karnataka on Wednesday reported the biggest single-day spike of 2,062 coronavirus cases and a record 54 fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 28,877 and the death count to 470, the health department said.

778 COVID-19 patients were also discharged after recovery in the state.

Out of the fresh cases reported today, 1,148 cases were reported from Bengaluru alone with 22 deaths.

The previous biggest single-day spike was recorded on July 5 with 1,925 cases.

As of July 8 evening, cumulatively 28,877 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 470 deaths and 11,876 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said out of 16,527 active cases, 16,075 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 452 are in ICU.

The dead include 22 from Bengaluru urban, Dharwad seven, Ballari four, three each from Hassan and Raichur, two each from Ramanagara, Chikkaballapura, Vijayapura, Tumakuru, Mysuru, and one each from Bidar, Dakshina Kannada, Kalaburagi, Chikkamagaluru and Bengaluru rural.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounted for 1,148 cases, followed by Dakshina Kannada 183, Dharwad 89, Kalaburagi 66, fifty nine each from Ballari and Mysuru, Bengaluru rural 37, Ramanagara 34, Chikkaballapura 32, 31 each from Udupi and Haveri, Bidar 29, Belagavi 27, Hassan 26, and 24 each from Bagalkote and Tumakuru.

While Chikkamagaluru reported 23 cases, it was 20 in Mandya, Uttara Kannada 19, Davangere 18, 17 each from Raichur and Shivamogga, Kolar 16, 11 each from Yadgir and Koppal, Gadag five, Vijayapura four, and Chitradurga two.

Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with 12,509 infections, followed by Kalaburagi 1,816 and Dakshina Kannada 1,534.

Among discharges, Bengaluru urban tops the list with 2,228 discharges, followed by Kalabuagi 1,351 and Udupi 1,178.

A total of 7,59,181 samples were tested so far, out of which 19,134 were tested on Wednesday alone.

According to the bulletin, so far 7,11,319 samples have been reported as negative, and out of them 16,503 were reported negative today.

Bengaluru, May 5: Life is limping back to a new normalcy in most parts of Karnataka with easing of Covid-19 induced restrictions yesterday as the State headed into the third phase of lockdown started since March 24.

According to the guidelines issued by the Centre, industrial activities, construction works, essential, non-essential shops, delivery of essential goods through e- commerce, courier and postal services, banking and agriculture activities, plying of four-wheelers and two-wheelers and inter-state movement of goods vehicles is permitted in all the zones, whereas buses are allowed to ply only in green and orange zone districts.

This apart, sale of liquor was also allowed at the designated shops. Police said vehicular movement is allowed only from 7am to 7pm for ordinary citizens.

Clarifying about the movement of people, Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao tweeted, "From Monday you don't need a pass to move in Bengaluru between 7am and 7pm. After 7 pm and up to 7am the following morning, even if you have a pass you are not allowed to move except medical and essential service. Checkpoints will remain and your ID may be asked. Please be responsible." After the restrictions were lifted, heavy vehicular movement was witnessed in parts of Bengaluru leading to traffic jam in some areas.

Chikpet, which is the main trade area in Bengaluru, saw some activities.

With restrictions on public transport continuing, this unusually crowded place had very less footfall. "Movement of public is limited due to ban on public transport, such as city buses and Metro Rail.

"The trade activities are taking place between retailers," trade activist and joint secretary of Jain International Trade Organisation Sajjanraj Mehta said .

Select liquor shops in the city and other parts of the state pulled up shutters after being closed for about six weeks due to the lockdown with tipplers thronging them in huge numbers at many places.

Some traders in the city complained that they received notices regarding the Tax Deduction at Source for the month of April "thought here were no trading activities."

Meanwhile, Chief minister B S Yediyurappa announced on Monday that free bus service for migrant labourers, which is operating smoothly, has been extended till Thursday.

Bengaluru, Feb 18: A 26-year-old Kannada singer committed suicide over alleged dowry harassment on Monday. Sushmitha, a playback singer who got married to Sharath Kumar about one-and-a-half years ago, hung herself from the ceiling at her parent's home in Nagarabhavi, Bengaluru on Monday.

The singer sent a Whatsapp to her brother and mother before hanging herself early morning on Monday. She accused her husband and his relatives of dowry harassment in her death note.

According to Bengaluru Police, the singer has accused her husband, his sister and his aunt of harassing her for dowry in her death note. On Monday morning, Sushmitha's brother alerted the police after he found her dead body hanging from the ceiling. She used her dupatta to hang herself.

Sushmitha had lent her voice for Kannada songs in films like Haalu Thuppa and Srisamanya.

Police informed that Sushmitha sent a Whatsapp message to her brother, Sachin, at around 1 am on Sunday and explained that her husband Sharath and her relatives have been harassing her since the time she got married. Sachin read the message at around 5:30am and rushed to her room where he found her hanging from the ceiling.

In the text message, Sushmitha wrote that her husband, Sharath, his sister, Geetha, and his aunt, Vydehi, harassed her and they were the reason behind her ending her life. She also stated that she did not want to end her life in their house and hence came to her parents’ house.

The Annapoorneshwari Nagar police have registered a case of dowry death, charging her husband and his sister and aunt based on complaint filed by Sushmitha’s mother Meenakshi. The three accused are on run after hearing about her death and police said that efforts are on to trace them.

Sushmitha's husband Sharath Kumar is a manager in a car showroom and a resident of KS Nagar in Bengaluru.