Always opposed terrorism; Ready to face any probe: Dr Zakir Naik

Bengaluru, Jul 16: Rattled by the spurt in Covid-19 positive cases, a Karnataka minister on Wednesday said only god would save the people from coronavirus pandemic.

"Only god has to save us from the virus or the people should be made aware of the infection so that they wear mask and maintain social distancing," state Health Minister B Sriramulu told reporters in Chitradurga, 205-km northwest of Bengaluru.

Noting that the infection does not differentiate between rich and poor, police, doctors, politicians or legislators, Sriramulu said the communicable disease could rise to alarming level in the ensuing two months, as the cases were rising daily the world over.

"Who can control coronavirus? In the present situation, only god has to save us. Otherwise, the people should become aware of its (virus) consequences. If we have made mistakes, we are ready to face punishment for them," said Sriramulu, who is the ruling BJP's legislator from the Molakalmuru reserved assembly segment in the district.

Refuting the opposition Congress charge that the cases were rising in the state due to negligence by ministers, officials and legislators, Sriramulu said Karnataka was performing better than other states till the cases began to steadily rise since unlock started and the people were moving in violation of the guidelines.

A record 3,176 cases were reported from across the southern state during the day, taking the Covid tally to a whopping 47,253, including 27,853 active cases after 18,466 were discharged, with 1,076 during the day, while 928 succumbed to the virus, with 87 in the last 24 hours.

In Bengaluru, which is under 9-day lockdown since Tuesday night till July 22 morning, 1,975 positive cases were registered, taking its tally to 22,944, including 17,051 active after 5,455 were discharged so far, with 463 during the day, while 437 died of the infection, with 60 in the last 24 hours.

Mangaluru, May 22: Following requests from Kannadiga entrepreneurs in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and persistant efforts of former deputy chairperson of the NRI Forum of Karnataka government Dr Arathi Krishna, the government of India has finally approved the repatriation of stranded Indian expatriate workers amidst prolonged covid-19 lockdown through chartered flights arranged by their employing companies particularly in Gulf region and elsewhere. 

The government has also issued a Standard Operation Protocol (SOP) to be followed to be followed by those who hire the flights. The government's nod will not only allow repatriation of larger number of citizens, who are on wait-lists, but also allows private airlines to get their aircraft, crew, and operational staff actively working again in preparation for resumption of scheduled flights. 

Zakaria Jokatte, CEO of Al-Muzain Est. and K S Sheik, Director of Operations at Expertise Contracting Co. Ltd - both Mangalurean entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia - were among those who had sought permission to hire chartered flights for the immediate repatriation of their hundreds of employees. 

The NRI entrepreneurs in Gulf have thanked Dr Arathi Krishna for continuously persuading the authorities concerned to issue green signal for the operation of chartered flight at a time when there were only a few scheduled flights under Vande Bharat Mission. 

Welcoming the move Dr Arathi Krishna told coastaldigst.com that Indians stranded in any foreign country can utilize this facility. "Initially, I was approached by Mr Zakaria and Mr Sheik who wanted chartered flights to help their employees fly back to India. I asked them to write to the Indian Ambassador in Saudi Araia Mr Ausaf Sayeed. Then I requested the ambassador to forward the request to Joint Secretary Dr Nagendra Prasad, who is in charge of gulf division in the Ministry of External Affairs, and then to Secretary on charge of Gulf and then I requested Secretary of Economic Relations Mr T S Tirumurti who was also in charge of Gulf to follow this up," she said. 

"There were similar requests for chartered flights from African countries too. Then I persisted officers constantly to take it up to the Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and now all the people requesting this from Saudi Arabia have got confirmation from the ministry and communicated by embassy to those who had requested for the chartered flights," she said.