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Bengaluru, May 27: Amidst helpless calls for learning to live with coronavirus and make a new beginning, the government of Karnataka is considering to reopen schools in the state from July 1.

Primary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar discussed the issue with the officials from the department at a meeting held on Tuesday. 

The expert committee in its report submitted to the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development recommended reopening of schools on July 1. The state department of primary and secondary education also discussed the issue. 

However, no decision has been taken yet and final decision is expected to out in a day or two. A source said that since the timetable for SSLC examination had been published and the lockdown was expected to be lifted after May 31, it had been planned to reopen the schools on July 1.

Following the recent representation by several academicians and social activists urging to cancel SSLC exams, the primary education minister met chief minister and briefed him about preparations for the safe conduct of exams.

“As of now there will not be any changes in SSLC exam schedule. We have reviewed the situation and preparations are underway for ensuring safety of children,” the source added. 

The report submitted by Nimhans about online education is yet to reach the secretariat.

Bengaluru, Apr 21: The Karnataka Government may spare its employees from salary cuts this month despite severe resources crunch it faces following steep fall in revenue collection due to the ongoing lockdown to fight the coronavirus, official sources said on Tuesday.

As of now, there is no problem with April salary and we can manage. But if May also turns out to be a wash-out (in terms of revenue collection), then the situation is going to be very tough, a senior Minister said.

Ministers and members of Karnataka Legislature are taking a 30 per cent pay-cut for a year from April 1 this year. Opposition Congress in the state has vehemently opposed any possible move to cut salaries of government employees.

You just cant even imagine, the Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had told news agency in an interview earlier this month on the economic impact of the lock-down on the state's finances. Yediyurappa had also said that the government is now not in a position to implement Budget proposals, barring important ones, with all kinds of revenue collections having completely stopped following the lockdown.

The government recently said it proposes to regularise unauthorised properties in the state by imposing penalty, and also auction more than 12,000 corner sites belonging to the Bengaluru Development Authority, as part of resource mobilisation drive.

A 32-year-old Dalit man was allegedly stripped and assaulted by a group of 13 youth in Karnataka's Vijayapura for reportedly touching a motorbike of an upper caste owner, police said on Monday.

"On a complaint by the Dalit victim (Kashinath Talwar), we have booked the 13 accused and investigating the incident, which occurred at Minajgi village near Talikoti on July 18," Vijayapura district Superintendent of Police Anupam Agarwal told reporters here.

"Though Talwar claimed that he touched the bike by mistake and pleaded for mercy, he said the accused severely thrashed him with sticks and footwear and took off his pants while he lay on the road haplessly," Agarwal said, citing from the victim's 2-page complaint in Kannada.

A video clip of the assault went viral on the social media and triggered outrage in the district against the upper caste accused, as the intervention by the victim's parents did not stop them from carrying the assault. Vijayapura is 524km northwest of Bengaluru.

Dalit man stripped, thrashed in Karnataka village just for ‘touching’ bike pic.twitter.com/pMLSnaVcTp

— coastaldigest.com (@coastaldigest) July 20, 2020

Talwar's father Yankappa also alleged that he, his wife and their daughter were also attacked by the accused when they tried to rescue him from being brutally assaulted.

In a related development, two-three women in the village also filed a complaint with the police against Talwar for allegedly eve-teasing and 'flashing' before them.

"We have summoned Talwar to inquire about his conduct as the women alleged that he teased them, touched them inappropriately and exposed his private parts while they were washing clothes outside their houses," Agarwal said.

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Here is the FIR and complaint copy pic.twitter.com/mKmJ2NC5bR

— Kiran Parashar (@KiranParashar21) July 19, 2020