Bengaluru, Apr 27: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Monday demanded that the Karnataka government announce a special package for farmers who are on the verge of quitting agriculture as their profession following losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Please announce special package for the farmers to bail them out of the loss due to the lockdown.
Drop many of the schemes in the budget but don't leave the farmers in distress," Gowda said in his letter to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
The JD(S) supremo said the way relief has been announced for the milk producers by procuring the unsold milk and distributing it to the slum dwellers, the same assistance should be provided to the farmers of the state.
"If you don't come forward to assist the farmers, then they will be forced to sell their land," Gowda cautioned the Chief Minister.
The former prime minister said the farmers are on the verge of falling in the debt trap and may be compelled to take the extreme step of suicide due to the losses.
Gowda said the farmers are unable to sell their crop because they are not getting proper price for their produce and are selling their crop at a throwaway price to minimise their losses.
"In just one month farmers reached the brink of bankruptcy as they are unable to sell the standing crops in lakhs of acres of land," Gowda said.
The JD(S) supremo has been championing the cause of farmers in the state and highlighting their sufferings.
On April 3 Gowda has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look into the plight of farmers, labourers and the middle class people due to the lockdown.
"In such times of crisis, we should see to it that there is no disruption in farming activities by ensuring proper marketing channels to agricultural produce, especially perishables.
Only then we can sustain our long battle against this pandemic," Gowda said in a tweet.
Bengaluru, May 10 The asymptomatic and healthy people among international passengers will now have to undergo institutional quarantine for 14 days, according to the new standard operating procedure (SoP) issued by the Karnataka government for a third time.
The SoP, which has been revised twice, was issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department on Saturday, May 9.
The international passengers will be divided into two categories upon their arrival at the airports. Symptomatic will be directly sent to the covid-19 hospitals. Asymptomatic will not be allowed to go home directly. They will be sent for mandatory quarantine for 14 days in hotels and guest houses.
Earlier, international passengers had to undergo seven days of institutional and seven days of home quarantine.
Passengers will also be tested only twice — once on arrival and for the second time on the 14th day — instead of the earlier decision to test thrice. They will be discharged from the facility if they test negative.
The first group of 350 people are expected to arrive from London at 3 am on Monday at the Kempegowda International Airport, said Lakshman Reddy, Joint Director, Social Welfare Department.
Flights are expected from Singapore on May 13, Jeddah on May 14 and San Francisco on May 15.
Among the stranded include 4,408 tourists and visitors, 3,084 students, 2,784 migrants and 557 ship crew.
Bengaluru, May 29: Karnataka reported 248 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, and with that, the state tally surged to 2,781.
A 50-year-old woman, resident of Chikkaballapura district, succumbed to the infection on Friday. She was admitted to a private hospital on May 24 following acute kidney injury and pneumonia. As her condition deterorted, she was shifted to a designated hospital in Bengaluru Urban on May 28, where she tested COVID-19 positive.
Out of the 248 cases, only 16 persons have contracted the virus inside the state. The remaining are the people who have returned from Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Ireland.
The maximum number of people, who tested positive for COVID-19, have returned from Maharashtra. Most of these people are residents of Udupi, Kalaburagi, Yadagiri and Raichuru.
Besides, five people have a travel history to Delhi, while one person each has tested positive on returning from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Ireland.
Fifteen people have tested positive within the state and have been infected by persons who had previously tested positive or have a history of Influenza-like Illness and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness.
Out of all the cases, 10 have been reported in Bengaluru Urban while one has come up in Bengaluru Rural.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Karnataka government asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to reduce the number of flights coming in the state from the five worst-hit states -- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
"Karnataka has appealed to the Civil Aviation Ministry to take steps to lessen the air traffic to the state, with the sacred intention that there may not be adequate quarantine facilities if there is a huge turnout in a short span of time," state Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy explained.
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