Anant Kumar Hegde fiasco a closed chapter, says Yeddyurappa

Bengaluru, Jul 16: Karnataka Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar on Thursday paid a surprise visit to the C V Raman Hospital in Bengaluru and urged the administration to follow COVID-19 guidelines properly. He also took stock of the hospital's preparedness to fight the deadly virus.

The minister noticed a number of flaws and warned the hospital to go strictly by the guidelines. He saw that despite 15 high-flow oxygen beds lay vacant, only two patients were admitted. He then asked the hospital to send asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients to COVID-19 care centres so that beds were available to those who need these.

"Doctors' profession is a noble one and in a situation like this everyone should perform their duty with utmost humanity and compassion. During this crisis, we should all be kind and empathetic," the minister said. He also ordered the suspension of two officials for not following the guidelines and not giving the right treatment to patients.

He noticed that the hospital lab collected less number of swabs and instructed them to collect a minimum of 500 swabs per day. Pointing out the under-utilised beds and ICUs, he observed that because of such negligence by officials, the government is being blamed despite working day and night for the past four-five months.
During this visit, the minister also interacted with the patients through video call and enquired about the services provided to them by the hospital.

"Surprise visits will continue. I will be in touch with every lab and get the right number of tests done on a daily basis," the minister said while speaking to the media.

He also urged the people who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their plasma to save other lives, adding that donors will receive a reward of Rs 5000 as a token of appreciation.

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday launched 'Sapthapadi', a mass marriage program in Bengaluru.

The state authorities will provide a mangalsutra worth Rs 40,000 and Rs 5,000 to the groom. They will also give Rs 10,000 to the bride after marriage.

The state government has also informed that the department has shortlisted some temples where the mass marriages will be held.

Yediyurappa also confirmed that the government will help communities like Muslim and Christians also to organise mass marriage as per their respective rituals.

According to the state government guidelines, issued last year in November, both parents of the couple should attend the ceremony if the duo wants to avail benefits of this offer but those who want to marry without their parent's permission do not stand a chance here.

Also, those wanting a love marriage will not be able to reap the benefits of the scheme. The plan is to conduct about 1,000 marriages in 90-100 temples.

The couples wanting to tie the knot are expected to register themselves 30 days before the scheduled date in the temple. Following which a list will be prepared.

Bengaluru, Feb 17: The Karnataka govt has set up an exclusive helpline 104 'Arogya Sahayavani' for Coronavirus assistance to people with recent travel history to China and other affected countries, a statement said here on Monday.

According to the statement, the Karnataka Department of Family and Welfare set up the exclusive helpline 104, 'Arogya Sahayavani' on Sunday. People, who recently traveled to China and other affected countries and who have developed symptoms of Covid-19 virus are requested to immediately contact 104–Arogya Sahayavani or the health authorities and provide all necessary details in order to take precautionary measures.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the recent novel Coronavirus (COVID 2019) as an International Public Health Emergency of International Concern.