U T Khader mulls health cards for employees of hotels, eateries across Karnataka

[email protected] (CD Network)
May 10, 2014
Bangalore, May 10: Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister U?T Khader has come up with a new plan of issuing health cards to employees of all hotels and eateries in the State to ensure they are hygienic, healthy and fit to work.

Speaking to media persons he said that his department is pushing for a more hygienic environment at hotels and roadside eateries in the light of the Food Safety and Security Act (FSSA.

utk“As part of the project, we are planning to issue health cards to hotels and eateries certifying their product quality is good for consumption,” said Khader.

If the plan is implemented, health cards will be issued to hotel and eatery workers after they undergo a physical examination by local government doctors, the minister said.

Currently, the department is formulating an action plan to put the scheme in place. There are as many as three lakh registered hotels and eateries in the State.

On the strict implementation of the Act, Khader said the department was trying to recruit more food safety inspectors.

Now, there are sanctioned posts for 377 food inspectors. Of these, 117 posts have been filled and 260 are vacant.

He said there had been a lot of talk over the last four years, but little had been done due to lack of political will to implement the FSSA.

“We are looking at fresh ideas to strengthen and implement the Act. I?also suggest that there needs to be decentralisation of power to act against those violating the FSSA. So, we are looking at assistant commissioners at the district level, and tahsildars at the taluk level to be nodal officers for food inspectors,” said Khader.

In the last four years, only 425 cases of adulteration and 225 cases of misbranding' have been filed against hotels, eateries, food and grocery stores, etc. Of these, only in four cases the department has fined the violators. It has collected a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh in these four cases.

The department officials claim that the rest of the cases are pending in various courts.

The department officials said the government would also direct eateries and hotels and grocery and food stores to display notice boards indicating they are covered under the FSSA.

They said the government would be giving out the numbers and designations of the district officers and the locations where citizens can send food samples for testing.

“In Bangalore, we have two government labs to test food. Along with them, we have seven private labs which can also conduct tests on food samples to detect their quality. Citizens can approach these labs for getting food samples tested and then register a complaint with our district officers,” Khader said.

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News Network
April 22,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 22: A team of officials raided the Big Bags International Pvt Ltd premises here on Tuesday following the apprehensions expressed by locals that the company has violated lockdown rules by resuming operations on April 20.

On Monday several workers of the firm from Kerala, Tumakuru and Bengaluru were reported to be at the premises to resume operations.

The raiding team asked the management to temporarily shut down operations and asked the workers to leave the place.

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News Network
March 9,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 9: The BJP government in Karnataka on Monday scrapped the Shaadi Bhagya Scheme that was launched by Congress government in the state in 2013.

Under the scheme, Rs 50,000 was given to Muslim brides for marriage expenses after they submitted their Aadhar and BPL cards.

While the previous coalition government had allocated Rs 60 crore budget for the scheme, the BJP government decided to discontinue the scheme. Congress called the move by the state government as "anti-minority".

"They have launched a scheme for the majority community. I welcome that. But why are you discontinuing one scheme? It is a small scheme where marginalized people get a little help from the government," Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad told reporters.

"He (Karnataka Chief Minister) has wilfully reduced the money allotted to all the schemes," he added.

BJP MLA Basavana Gowda Patil Yantal welcomed the decision of the Karnataka Government to scrap the scheme.

"The minority does not need appeasement because equal citizenship needs to apply to all in this country. I wholeheartedly welcome this move by the Karnataka Government," Yantal told reporters.

"Should we not give the majority people anything in India? India not giving anything to the majority, is that secular? We have already given them Pakistan," he said.

The MLAs from the minority community in the state have demanded a meeting with the Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

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News Network
February 16,2020

Mangaluru, Feb 16: Leaving spectators awestruck, Karnataka's Srinivasa Gowda ran 142.5 meters in 13.62 seconds at traditional buffalo race Kambala, following which people started comparing him to former Jamaican Sprinter Usain Bolt.

Gowda, who is from Mudbidri town, accomplished the feat during a Kambala race in a paddy field in Kadri on February 1.

"People are comparing me to Usain Bolt. He is a world champion, I am only running in a slushy paddy field," said Srinivasa Gowda.

People took to social media and drew a parallel between him and Bolt. Twitterati hailed Gowda and his accomplishment on the muddy grounds.

Kambala is an annual buffalo race held in the southwestern state of Karnataka.

Traditionally, it is sponsored by local Tuluva landlords and households in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.

"I'll call Karnataka's Srinivasa Gowda for trials by top SAI Coaches. There's lack of knowledge in masses about the standards of Olympics especially in athletics where ultimate human strength & endurance are surpassed. I'll ensure that no talents in India is left out untested," Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted on Saturday.

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