10 more venues cleaned under Swacch Mangaluru drive

Bengaluru, Jun 8: Karnataka recorded 308 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, with the majority of patients being domestic returnees, raising the state's tally to 5,760 an official said, here on Monday. "Over 308 new cases were reported from Sunday 5 pm to Monday 5 pm," said the health official.

Like everyday Maharashtra returnees accounted for 96 per cent (267 cases) of the 277 new cases. Majority infections in Karnataka nowadays are returnees, mostly from the state's northern neighbour.

A few returnees also came from Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. There was one international returnee, a 23-year-old man from Dakshina Kannada, who came from the UAE. Only 24 new infections were contacts of earlier cases.

On Monday, cases spiked in Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Bidar, Udupi, Bengaluru Urban, Ballari and Gadag.

Among the new cases, Kalaburagi contributed (99), followed by Yadgir (66), Bidar (48), Udupi (45), Bengaluru Urban (18), Ballari (8), Gadag (6), Shivamogga and Dharwad (4 each), Hassan and Dakshina Kannada (3 each), Bagalkote (2) and Koppal and Ramnagar (1 each). Four patients are suffering from Influenza-Like Illness (ILI).

Meanwhile, record 387 patients got discharged in the past 24 hours. On Monday, three persons - A 67-year-old man, a 48-year-old woman and another 65-year-old woman, all from Bengaluru Urban, succumbed to coronavirus.

Of all the cases, 3,175 are active, 2,519 discharged, 64 dead and 14 in the ICU.

In the past 24 hours, Karnataka tested 8,779 people. Of this, 8,231 reports returned negative. A number of tests were lower than other days. In total, 3.93 lac samples have been tested so far, of which 3.8 lac have returned negative.

Currently, Udupi is leading the state's COVID-19 burden with 628 active cases, followed by Kalaburagi (539), Yadgir (488), Raichur (276) and Bengaluru Urban (176) among others.

Bengaluru Urban has accounted for 18 deaths, followed by Kalaburagi (7), Bidar, Vijayapura, Davangere and Dakshina Kannada (6 each) and Chikkaballapur (3 each), among others.

Mangaluru/Udupi, May 20: Islamic scholars belonging to different schools of thoughts including two prominent Qadis have issued special guidelines asking all Muslims in the region to offer prayers and celebrate Eid al-Fitr at home this year in keeping with the extended covid-19 lockdown.

Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan is rather a ‘humanitarian event’ than a fiesta. This year Eid is likely to be observed in coastal Karnataka on May 23 or May 24 depending on sighting of the new moon.  

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Muslims are preparing for — and reconciling itself to — a most unusual Eid bereft of all the usual trappings like huge prayer congregations, ceaseless shopping, social visits and the inviting warmth of an Eid Mubarak embrace.

In their separate messages, Udupi Qadi Bekal Ibrahim Musliyar and Mangaluru Qadi Twaqa Ahmed Musliyar have urged Muslims to refrain from all kinds of public gatherings during Eid. Noting that Muslims in the region have followed all the advisories in issued by the government to contain the spread of coronavirus in the blessed month of Ramadan, they have urged them to follow the guidelines during Eid too.

On social media groups, messages like “no new clothes, just wear your best clothes” are being circulated among family and friends, urging people to fill the festive void with the spirit of giving. The suggestions range from paying a needy child’s school fee or someone’s rent to helping a lockdown-hit trader revive his business.

Following guidelines are issued by the top clerics ahead Eid

1) There will be no Eid prayer in mosques or Eid-gahs. Hence, Muslims should offer Eid al-Fitr prayer in their homes with family members.

2) Distributing Zakat al-Fitr among needy is mandatory. However necessary safety measures should be taken while going out such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance. As there is lockdown from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day, Zakat al-Fitr can be distributed a day before Eid or on the day of Eid before evening. 

3) Women, children and elderly people should not step out of the houses.

4) Avoid visiting graveyards or other places.

5) All mosques are closed due to lockdown. Hence, observe Eid in a simple way and set an example for the society. 

6) Strictly follow all the guidelines issued by the state and central governments

Bengaluru, Mar 7: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday said that the Upper Krishna Project (UKP) will be completed within the next three years.

Speaking in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said: "After discussing with the officials of the finance department, we have decided to allocate Rs 10,000 crore funds for the third phase of UKP. This project will be completed within a span of three years."

Yediyurappa also said that the government will hold talks for additional funds from the Central government.

The leader of Opposition, Siddaramaiah, interrupted and said that the CM has announced this just to gain the confidence of MLAs from north Karnataka.

"The government could have announced it in the budget itself or else the Chief Minister could have announced it at the time of discussion on the budget. Where are the funds with the government to complete the project? CM has announced this just to gain the confidence of MLAs who hail from north Karnataka," said Siddaramaiah.

Deputy Chief Minister Govinda Karajol while speaking to the media welcomed the Chief Minister's statement and said that the earlier government didn't allocate a single penny in the last seven years he added.