Youth held for posting objectionable pic of deity on social media  

Mangaluru, Jul 12: The Expert Committee set up by the District authorities to inquire into death due to Covid-19 in Dakshina Kannada district declared that the death was due to patients late reporting to the hospitals and severe co-morbidities.

''Many were scared to visit the hospitals for treatment. Any patient suffering from fever, cold should stop self-medication and seek the advice of doctors. From what we have observed, the mortality was among patients who reported late to hospitals. Many had ignored symptoms assuming it to be a common cold,'' Expert Committee members Dr Hansraj Alva and Dr Muralidhar Yadiyal told mediapersons on Saturday night.

Wenlock Hospital Superintendent Dr Sadashiv said of the 38 deaths reported in the District, the expert committee had analysed 35 deaths. 9 persons who died are below 50 years old, 10 are in the age group of 50 to 60 years, 11 in the age group of 60 to 70 and five in the age group of above 70 years.

Bengaluru, May 18: A large number of people in India are planning inter-city bus travel within a month of the lifting of travel restrictions, according to a randomised online survey of over 10,300 customers of redBus, India's largest online bus ticketing platform.

Nearly 57 per cent of the respondents are planning to travel within a month post the lockdown. However, there is a high standard of expectation on the implementation of measures to make buses safe for travel with over 79 per cent wanting deep cleaning and sanitisation of buses after every trip.

Hand sanitisers, mandatory masks and temperature screening for all passengers are next in expectations for bus travel. Over 78 per cent of the respondents want the implementation of hygienic conditions at boarding points and 70 per cent want social distancing protocols to be implemented at boarding points.

"The survey does underscore the fact that given the adherence to safety protocols, bus travel is possibly one of the safest options for travel since the number of travellers are fewer, checks can be done individually and the whole factor of pick up and drop as close to home as possible minimises the number of contacts throughout the journey," said redBus Chief Executive Officer Prakash Sangam.

In addition, online booking further reduces the number of contact points as people can book bus tickets directly from their home. Further, there is a heightened awareness of personal hygiene and safety measures which is important for the travel to be safe.

"The large number of people waiting to travel not only points to the need but also the importance it has for the revival of economic activity as very few of them would be travelling for leisure," said Sangam.

The survey also showed that passengers put a very high consideration on hygiene, sanitation and disinfection -- over 73 per cent -- and social distancing (63 per cent) and much lower consideration to traditional factors such as travel cost (22 per cent), comfort (21 per cent) and punctuality (18 per cent).

The survey was conducted among redBus customers across India. Only 5 per cent of the respondents were willing to postpone their travel to over six months while the rest had plans to travel within that period.

Bengaluru, Jun 27: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday emphasised on giving a new dimension to the city by strengthening the infrastructure and improving various other sectors including health and housing.

He was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the 108-feet-tall bronze statue of Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru, at the Kempegowda International Airport near here. The statue would be built at a cost of Rs 66 crore in one-and-half years.

Yediyurappa said Bengaluru has earned the fame of Garden City and Silicon Valley of India. Noting that the state capital was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world and internationally acclaimed hub of information technology and biotechnology, he said, "We need to give a new dimension to this city and strengthen the infrastructure. We have to focus on health, housing, pollution control, traffic management. Our government has taken various measures to develop the city," the chief minister said.

On Kempe Gowda, Yediyurappa said though the city did not have a perennial river, he built hundreds of lakes and interconnected them. His water management reflects on his foresightedness, he added.

"Kempambudhi, Dharmambudhi, Sampaniram and Halasuru lake are among the major lakes gifted to the people of Bengaluru. He had set up the markets called Chickpet, Akkipet, Balepet, Kumbarpet, are still the major trade hubs," Yediyurappa said.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, deputy chief ministers Govind Karjol, Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Laxman Savadi and many other ministers were present on the occasion. The event was organised on the 511th birth anniversary of Kempe Gowda. Kempe Gowda was a chieftain of Vijayanagara dynasty who founded Bengaluru around 550 years ago.