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Archives for September 2020

43 Karnataka doctors died of Covid-19

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On Tuesday, 66-year-old Dr Venkatesh, a resident of Nanjangud in Mysuru, succumbed to dead

MYSURU: On Tuesday, 66-year-old Dr Venkatesh, a resident of Nanjangud in Mysuru, succumbed to Covid-19. He is the 43rd doctor in Karnataka to die of the disease while battling a pandemic that has tragically claimed thousands of lives the world over. Indian Medical Association data shows 43 doctors on the frontlines of the pandemic died of Covid-19 since March, with the highest casualties in  Bengaluru and Mysuru regions. Data shows seven doctors each from Bengaluru and Mysuru died of the illness and of the 43 doctors who died, 21 were aged 60-69 and five were above 70 years. 

Data show that over 14 doctors were in the 40-59 age group, and three were between 27-37 years old. IMA data shows that over 80% of the deceased doctors were affiliated with private hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. While most of them were general practitioners and physicians, the number also included psychiatrists, ENT specialists, gynaecologists, radiologists, anaesthetists.

The medical community is enraged that many of the deceased doctors have not yet received government compensation they were privately employed. “We submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, appealing that the government include private doctors under the state insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh, but have not received a response. We have also requested the government to compensate doctors called for duty according to the  Seventh Pay Commission guidelines,” said Dr Madhusudhan Kariganuru, president of the Indian Medical Association, Karnataka.

Karnataka’s Covid fatality rate dipping, CM Yeddyurappa tells PM Modi

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Yeddyurappa informed the PM that the state has set up 136 testing laboratories and testing has been increased to about 70,000 samples per day.

BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday regarding the Covid-19 situation, pointed out that the fatality rate in Karnataka was coming down and presently stands at 1.54 per cent, while it was 2.6 per cent in July. The PM held a video conference with the CMs of the seven high Covid-prevalence states — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab — to take stock of the situation.

Yediyurappa informed the PM that the state has set up 136 testing laboratories and testing has been increased to about 70,000 samples per day. So far, about 43 lakh samples have been tested. All symptomatic patients are shifted to hospitals immediately after the test results are out and a target has been set to identify all contacts of Covid-19 positive cases in 24 to 48 hours and quarantine them, he said.

The CM said the number of oxygen beds in government hospitals has been increased from 7,000 to 18,000, and will be further enhanced to 31,000. Over 3,000 ICU beds in government and private hospitals have been reserved for Covid patients. Besides standard treatment, “We are also ensuring that patients are given ‘novel drugs’, including Remdesivir, for free.’’ The government has also made available 2,000 ambulances, he said.

Govt working on increasing oxygen  capacity in hospitals, says BSY

On the issue of oxygen supply, Yediyurappa said permission has been given to convert industrial oxygen cylinders into medical cylinders and work on increasing the storage capacity in hospitals has been taken up on a war-footing. It may be recalled that during the previous video conference with the PM, Karnataka had requested for setting up of liquid oxygen plants. Availability of liquid oxygen for medical purposes is presently around 375 metric tons per day. “But if there is a surge in the number of positive cases, we will not be able to provide sufficient medical oxygen without affecting industries”, the CM said.

He suggested that the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion can incentivise the industry to set up new oxygen generation units. Hospitals are also being encouraged to ramp up oxygen production at their levels, he said.

Other suggestions by the CM included a mission mode approach for the next six months, strict enforcement in containment zones and dynamically redefining them, re-testing of all symptomatic negatives in antigen tests, graded opening of economic activities after ensuring adequate testing and hospital infrastructure, regular monitoring of those in home isolation and more focus on the nine districts with high mortality rates.

Nepalese stage protests against China’s land encroachment

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The activists chanted slogans such as ‘Return Nepal’s land’ and ‘stop Chinese expansionism’ it said.

KATHMANDU: A civil society group in Nepal has launched protests against China for allegedly constructing buildings on the country’s territory in Humla district, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The activists chanted slogans such as “Return Nepal’s land” and “stop Chinese expansionism,” it said.

According to media reports here, China has allegedly constructed 11 buildings on the Nepalese territory in the Humla district bordering Tibet.

The disputed area lies in Lampcha village of Namkha Rural Municipality in Humla district.

Beijing has maintained that the constructions were carried out on the Chinese side of the border.

The reports also said that Pillar Number 11 that defined the Nepal-China boundary was missing from the area.

“There was just a hut in the area in 2005,” Dattaraj Hamal, assistant chief district officer of Humla who visited the disputed area recently, was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post. “I talked to the people there and reported to the chief district officer,” Hamal said.

“e in turn reported to the Home Ministry.

He now has gone to the area as per the Home Ministry’s instructions.

” Chakka Bahadur Lama, a Member of Parliament from Humla, said that as long as both sides do not ascertain the location of the missing pillar, the dispute will continue.

On Tuesday, a Nepalese delegation led by Chief District Officer of Humla had reached the area to talk to Chinese officials, My Republica reported.

However, the Chinese security personnel had returned them saying that the land falls on the Chinese side of the border, the paper added.

During a meeting between the two sides in 2015, Nepal and China had agreed to ascertain the location of the missing pillar, but no steps were taken on the matter, the paper said, citing Paljor Tamang, chair of Ward No 6 of the rural municipality where the disputed area lies.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu refuted the allegations and said the buildings were constructed on the Chinese side of the border.

“The government of China has conducted necessary investigation into the matter and the Nepal government can also do so if needed,” said a statement issued by the embassy.

“China and Nepal have no territorial disputes.

The two sides have always maintained close communication on border affairs,” the statement said.

“China and Nepal are friendly neighbours. China has always respected Nepal’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Drugs probe: Designer Simone Khambatta reaches NCB guest house

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Rakul Preet Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Shraddha Kapoor. (Photo | Instagram)

MUMBAI: Fashion designer Simone Khambata reached the NCB guest house here on Thursday morning to appear before the agency in connection with its probe into an alleged Bollywood-drugs nexus, an official said.

Khambata’s name cropped up in the questioning of some persons during the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) probe into the matter.

She reached the NCB guest house at Colaba in south Mumbai around 9.30 am, the official said.

Besides Khambata, the NCB has also summoned actor Rakul Preet Singh and talent manager Shruti Modi to appear before the probe team on Thursday, he said.

Rakul Preet Singh in her official statement she has “not received the alleged summons either at Mumbai or Hyderabad so far”.

However,NCB officials said the actress has been issued summons.

She was contacted through various platforms, including a phone number which is available with the agency.

But, there has been no response from her so far, the official said.

Some WhatsApp chats of the persons who were questioned earlier by the NCB suggested discussion about drugs, he said.

The NCB, which began the probe after a drugs angle came to light in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s alleged suicide, has now widened its investigation and asked some ‘A-list’ celebrities of the Mumbai film industry, to “join the probe”, an official said on Wednesday.

Earlier, NCB sources had claimed that there was a “reference” to Rakul Preet Singh and Sara Ali Khan in the statement of Rajput’s girlfriend and actor Rhea Chakraborty, who has been arrested in the case.

The NCB on Wednesday summoned actors Deepika Padukone, Shraddha Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan and Rakul Preet Singh, among others, for questioning.

COVID-19 Update India reports 86,508 new cases as tally crosses 57 lakhs

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The number of new recoveries in India have exceeded the new cases for 5 consecutive days, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has said as the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic.

India’s Covid tally has crossed the 57-lakh mark with a spike of 86,508 new cases. 1,129 deaths on Thursday

The total case tally stands at 5,732,519 including 9,66,382 active cases, 46,74,988 cured/discharged/migrated & 91,149 deaths, Health Ministry’s latest update informed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to press on with full strength in opening economic activities alongside fighting the coronavirus pandemic and suggested that they should now focus on “micro-containment zones” to curb the disease.

The prime minister also questioned the efficacy of one or two-day local lockdowns imposed by certain states from time to time and asked them to reassess as to how effective they are in curbing the disease.

India, Sri Lanka to hold virtual bilateral summit on September 26

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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa will hold a virtual bilateral summit on September 26, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Wednesday.

“The summit will give the opportunity to two leaders to comprehensively review the broad framework of the bilateral relationship soon after Parliamentary polls in Sri Lanka and in context of time-tested friendly ties,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

The virtual summit is the first official interaction between the leaders after they met in New Delhi in February this year.

Last week, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had telephoned and conveyed their birthday wishes to PM Modi and expressed strong desire and commitment to further strengthen the relationship between the two neighbouring countries.

PM Modi had thanked both the leaders for their warm wishes and conveyed that he is looking forward to work with them to further expand cooperation between the two countries in line with India’s Neighbourhood First policy.

“Both Sri Lankan leaders expressed their strong desire and commitment to further strengthen the relationship between the neighbouring countries. They expressed appreciation for the continued bilateral cooperation including in the joint fight against COVID pandemic,” the statement added. 

Fraud-hit PMC Bank gets new administrator

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PMC bank and RBI are continuing to engage with the stakeholders to explore the possibility of finding a viable and workable solution for the resolution of the bank,” it said.

Account holders line up in front of a branch of PMC Bank (Photo| Bloomberg)

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday appointed former Union Bank of India executive A K Dixit as the new administrator of PMC Bank, replacing J.B. Bhoria, who stepped down on September 22 due to health reasons.

A year after the RBI superseded the board of crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank, the RBI-appointed administrator is yet to succeed in finding a resolution plan for the bank. Citing reasons behind sluggish turnaround, the regulator said massive losses and steep erosion in deposits pose challenges to revival.

“While the administrator of PMC bank and the RBI have been exploring various options for resolution of the bank, several factors such as huge losses incurred by the bank resulting in its entire net worth getting wiped out, steep erosion in deposits, etc. continue to pose serious challenges in finding a workable plan for revival of the bank,” the RBI said.

The cooperative bank has also been making efforts for recovery of bad loans but has been constrained by the Covid-19 pandemic and legal complexities, RBI said. “Nevertheless, in the interest of the depositors, PMC bank and RBI are continuing to engage with the stakeholders to explore the possibility of finding a viable and workable solution for the resolution of the bank,” it said.

On 24 September last year, RBI put severe curbs on PMC Bank, including on cash withdrawals, amid a probe into accounting lapses.The directive is valid till December 22 this year as of now.  Of its total loan book of Rs 8,383 crore as on March 31, 2019, about 70 per cent had been taken by real estate firm HDIL. While the efforts to recover money from HDIL are still halfway, the administrator has approached major banks with a merger request.

Rescue operation
While enhancing the withdrawal limit to Rs 1 lakh in June, the RBI had said “more than 84 per cent of the depositors of PMC will be able to withdraw their entire balance”.

KKR to invest Rs 5,550 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures for 1.28 per cent stake: Company statement

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KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore in the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail Ventures

Reliance Retail

Global investment firm KKR is set to buy a 1.28 per cent equity stake in Reliance Industries Ltd.’s retail business, according to a company statement. 

“This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. This marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs 11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year,” Reliance Industries said in a statement

KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore in the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail Ventures.

Operating India’s largest, fastest-growing, and most profitable retail business, Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of RRVL, has up to 12,000 stores nationwide.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said: “KKR has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to industry-leading franchises and has been committed to India for many years.

We look forward to working with KKR’s global platform, industry knowledge, and operational expertise across our digital services and retail businesses.”

This marks KKR’s second investment in Reliance after it pumped in Rs 11,367 crore in Mukesh Ambani’s Jio platform for a 2.3 per cent stake earlier this year. 

Henry Kravis, co-founder, and co-CEO said “Reliance Retail’s new commerce platform is filling an important need for both consumers and small businesses as more Indian consumers move to shopping online and the company offers tools for Kiranas to be a critical part of the value chain.”

Meanwhile, on September 9, RIL had announced the divestment of 1.75 per cent stake in the retail arm to private equity firm Silver Lake Partners for Rs 7,500 crore.

Analysts had earlier predicted that Reliance Industries’ stake sale in its retail arm will enable the company to pursue other growth initiatives while maintaining zero net debt status and also help solidify its position in the market.

HD Kumaraswamy skips day 1 of Karnataka Assembly session, stays in resort near Hassan

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Political leaders and media were banned from entering the resort after HDK reportedly directed the security to not allow anybody inside till their stay.

Kumaraswamy, his wife Anita, son Nikhil and daughter-in-law came to Hoysala village resort on Sunday. 

Political leaders and media were banned from entering the resort after HDK reportedly directed the security to not allow anybody inside till their stay.

Interestingly, the JDS leader visited Hassan with his family despite knowing that the Karnataka assembly was to start from Monday.

The health workers led by district family and health officer Dr Satish visited the resort, along with a mobile COVID-19 testing van and conducted swab tests for HD Kumaraswamy, the result of which came out to be negative.

Nikhil and his wife have visited different religious places and offered pooja on Sunday in the district.  

Sources said that Arkalgud assembly MLA AT Ramaswamy reportedly called HDK to discuss the alleged dictatorship of former minister HD Revanna in the district. 

It may be recalled that in a recent press conference, AT Ramaswamy took HD Revanna to task by calling him  a ‘dictator’ for appointing Honnavalli Satish of Arkalgud constituency as director of HDCC bank.

Ramaswamy also said that he will not take the responsibilities of party activities in future.

Farm Bills: Farmers, other outfits call for Karnataka Bandh on Friday

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BENGALURU:  The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Aikya Horata Samithi on Tuesday have called for a Karnataka bandh on Friday (September 25) against the Farm Bills and said that over 50 organisations have extended their support.This comes in the backdrop of the ongoing sit-in protest by farmers in Bengaluru since Monday against the passage of the Centre’s ‘contentious’ farm bills in Parliament and the state’s Land Reforms Amendment Act which was tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday.

The protests will continue till Saturday when the monsoon session of the Karnataka Legislature will end.
Dalit organisations, labour unions, private taxi owners’ association, lorry owners association and auto unions in Bengaluru have come in their support and backed the bandh call. Speaking to the media, the farmer leaders said the bandh was a stern warning to the Central and State governments. They claimed that the Karnataka Truck Owners Association confirmed their support and trucks won’t ply on the bandh day. All national highways and state highways will remain closed. They said auto rickshaws and cabs will be off the roads.  

“Since the government is not taking it seriously, we want the larger public, trade unions, opposition parties and other labour unions to support us in our fight,” said one of the farmer leaders. On Tuesday, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and Congress State chief D K Shivakumar, JDS leaders H D Revanna and Basavaraj Horatti visited Freedom Park where the farmers are on a protest to extend their support.G C Byyareddy, convener,  All India Kisan Co-ordination Committee, said,  “The farmers have been asked to close all highways across the state on September 25 and a huge protest will be held at Mysuru Bank Circle in Bengaluru. Students, workers’ unions and dalits are participating.” 

V Gayatri, core committee member of Aikya Horata Samithi, said that “the protest is not motivated by any political party and 29 organisations including dalit and women units are protesting against the bills.”  While the bills, which the Central government claims will help small and marginal farmers get competitive prices for their produce, the Karnataka government’s Land Reforms Amendment Act allows non-agriculturists to purchase agriculture lands and the APMC Act amendment allows private players to directly purchase produce from farmers. Both have been attacked by farmers and opposition leaders as “anti-farmer” and “anti-worker”.

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