UP cop killed by saffron extremists was investigation officer in Akhlaq lynching case

Bengaluru, May 29: A cost-effective state of the art glove box testing booth for swab collection was inaugurated by Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar at Victoria hospital.

Inaugurating the specially designed booth for safer, easier and quicker testing, Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar said that the portable booths can be used at border check posts and hot spots.

"The testing method involves the collection of samples from inside a box of aluminium and glass. The suspected corona virus-infected individual, whose samples are being taken, has to walk up to the booth and stand in front of the glass exterior. The healthcare worker inside the kiosk collects the sample and then, follows the sanitisation process before proceeding to take the next sample. The collection process, fully contactless, gets over in five minutes," the Minister said.

Dr Sudhakar also said: "This booth significantly reduces manpower requirement and the need for PPE kits. The main advantages of this procedure are that it needs fewer healthcare workers and strictly adheres to the norms of social distancing. 

The booth is low-cost. Each model costs about Rs 15,000-20,000."
It is also portable and can be mounted on a vehicle and transported to any location.

It can be particularly useful for collecting samples in hot spots and border checkpoints, he added. 

A motley group of as many as 150 birders ‘walked the chirp’ in search of their feathered friends in and around the countryside of Manipal. The occasion was the 10th Edition of Manipal Bird Day organised by Manipal Birders Group on Sunday, February 2nd, 2020.

The day began ‘Bird Walk’ from Hotel Sheela Sagar (Opposite MIT campus) at 6:30 a.m. The birders divided themselves in smaller groups of 10-12 members and followed 13 different trails which took them through different terrains like hills, plains, paddy fields and wetlands. The idea was to sight as many birds as possible and record their presence in the region.

When the walk ended at about 10:00 a.m., the different groups have recorded a total of 125 species of birds, which was a bit lesser than the sighting of the yester years. “The 10th edition this year has seen a very good growth of interest among people. At the same time a decline has been seen in the bird species sighted compared to previous years,” said one of the organisers. Some of the rare birds sighted were Indian Pitta, Oriental Turtle Dove, Fork-Tailed Drongo Cuckoo, Orange Breasted Green Pigeon, Eurasian Marsh Harrier and Malabar Pied Hornbill.

The bird walk was followed with an interaction session at KMC Food Court and MAHE Vice Chancellor Dr. H. Vinod Bhat presided over the function. He felicitated six people who actively participated recently in a rescue mission of abandoned birds in Manipal.

A program then continued with a talk on ‘Ethical Photography’ by Dhruvam Desai, final year student of MIT, Manipal. This was followed by ‘Backyard Birding’ with Shubha Bhat from IISc Bangalore. She spoke on different ways to feed the birds with water using different materials for bird baths. “I have recorded 120 species of birds from bird baths in my garden,” she said. She encouraged the participants to have bird baths in their gardens or flats which will help quench the thirst of these little winged wonders during summer.

The participants involved themselves actively in the interaction sessions. The event was accompanied with an art exhibition titled ‘Feathered Jewels’ by Aditya Bhat. He presented around 18 paintings all from his memory of birding encounters.

Participation in Manipal Bird Day was open to all and entry was free.

MANIPAL BIRD DAY

Manipal Bird Day is an annual event dedicated to celebrating birds in Manipal. This day long event brings together a large number of birders from Manipal, Udupi, Mangalore, Mysore, Bangalore, Davangere and other places. Around 150-200 people gather and are split into different teams. They visit the assigned regions and count as many birds as possible. This non competitive event focuses on spreading awareness regarding the diverse avifauna around us. Turn out for this event has been increasing from 3 people to 200 in last 10 years. This is the 10th edition of Manipal Bird Day.

MANIPAL BIRDERS CLUB

Manipal Birders Club started as a Facebook group after the release of the first edition of “A Birders Handbook to Manipal” to share information about the latest sightings. It is now a formal group of over 500 like-minded members that meets at least once a week to go on bird walks. It is now a large birders community and a medium to organize events, bird walks and discussions about birds and sightings.

The next step would be to involve a higher number of local and young birders who will dictate the change in environment around the town in the coming years. With the co operation of Zoology and natural sciences students and other nature enthusiasts and faculty of different colleges weekly birding sessions have been conducted to involve and encourage more and more people to bird and get connected to the nature and to try to understand the changes happening around us, the media release issued by the group said.

Jan 14: A police complaint was lodged on Tuesday against BJP West Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh for his threat to "beat up" and "shoot' " anti-CAA protesters, whom he called "infiltrators".

The complaint was registered in Ranaghat police station of Nadia district by a Trinamool Congress worker Krishnendu Banerjee, who alleged that Ghosh was inciting communal passion.

Addressing a party rally on Sunday in Ranathat, about 80 km from Kolkata, Ghosh went ballistic, saying the governments in BJP-ruled Assam, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have shot dead "like dogs" those protesting against the new Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Alleging there were one crore infiltrators in the state, Ghosh had accused them of destroying public property worth Rs 500-600 crore during the violent protests against the CAA last month

"Friends, please know these people who are opposing Hindus and Bengalis. In whose interest are they doing this? There are one crore infiltrators. They are having their meals and staying here on our money".

He accused the state's Mamata Banerjee government of remaining silent a spectator to the violence.

"This (violence) happened because there was neither any baton charge, nor firing, nor was any FIR filed. Why? Didi's police did not arrest anybody... because they vote for her".

He then referred to the three states ruled by the BJP.

"In Assam, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, our governments have shot dead these devils like dogs. They were taken elsewhere and then again cases were filed against them. They will come here, eat, stay, and then destroy property. Do they think this is their zamindari?"

He had said once a BJP government was installed in Bengal, "We will hit them with sticks, shoot them and also send them to jail. Our governments have done exactly that. Mamata Banerjee doesn't have the guts to do anything".

However, his incendiary comments did not meet the approval of sections in the party.

Union Minister Babul Supriyo came out with a tweet slamming Ghosh and distancing the BJP from the comments.

"Very irresponsible of Dilip Da to have said what he said. It is a figment of his imagination... BJP governments in UP and Assam have never resorted to shooting people for whatever reason," he tweeted.

Supriyo's tweet was retweeted by nominated Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta, considered close to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

But Ghosh did not budge and aggressively asked whether the party was being run by Shah or Supriyo.

"People comment according to their understanding. What I feel is that our governments have done it, and so I said all that. If we get a chance we will also do such things," he said, sticking to his earlier comments.

Supriyo also hit back. "Just as he has remarked 'whatever Babul Supriyo has understood he has said', similarly I am saying this is Dilip da's personal opinion, and it has no connection with the party".