Shun prayers, lamp lighting at functions, says Kerala Minister

Mangaluru, Jun 10: A youth, who staged suicide drama at Netravati River Bridge near Thokkottu on the outskirts of the city, reportedly found alive in Shivamogga today.

Praveen Saphalya a 28-year-old man from Kurnad village in Bantwal taluk was missing since yesterday. His motorbike was found abandoned on the Netravati bridge at around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (June 9).

It was suspected that he had committed suicide by jumping off the bridge. Hence, police and fire fighters had launched a search operation for his body in the river with the help of divers on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, the missing person reportedly surfaced in Shivamogga this morning.

According to sources, Saphalya was working as salesman for SLRK Limited, is reportedly deep in debt. Unable to face the harassment of his creditors, he had parked the bike on the bridge and left the city, sources said. Local police are probing the matter.

Also Read: Mangaluru: 33-year-old man found dead on Netravati river bank

Bengaluru, Jul 7: There seems no impact of Covid-19 on kharif crop sowing in Karnataka with the current year actually being ahead of previous years, according to an official here on Monday.

"In agriculture, as far as sowing is concerned, there is no impact of COVID-19," Agriculture Commissioner Brijesh Kumar Dikshit told IANS. One of the reasons, according to Dikshit, is that people in rural areas are aware, but not scared of the pandemic.

"In rural India, coronavirus is there. People are aware, not scared. They are taking precautions, but don't have any phobia," he said.

Another reason was that by June the number of infections in Karnataka was not as high as other states, when a lot of sowing was done, he said.

By the end of June, Karnataka saw 15,242 Covid-19 cases. Of that, 7,074 were active.

The sowing is ahead of previous year as it's mostly dependent on weather. "It's ahead of previous years. Agriculture is directed by weather and rains had been slightly earlier this year," he said.

According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, at 185 mm the state received 14 mm less rain in June against the normal 199 mm. "It's like a normal year, or slightly a good year," he said.

Some crops will be sown in the last fortnight of July and few more will extend up to August 15. "The last two weeks will be critical and on July 31 we should be able to tell whether we are short or ahead," he said.

According to preliminary indications, the Commissioner said the area under agriculture is increasing this year, which could also be because that labourers might have come back.

Bengaluru, Mar 31: Ten persons who were under home quarantine in Bengaluru and had escaped to their native places, were arrested on Monday.
A case has been registered against them at Gurmitkal Police Station, said BH Anil Kumar, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) Commissioner.

Seven new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Karnataka between Saturday 5 pm and Sunday 2 pm.

The total number of positive cases in the state stands at 83, out of which five have been cured and three have lost their lives, according to the Karnataka Health Department.