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BJP MLA Who Asked If BBMP Is Hajj Bhavan Or Madrasa To Recruit Muslims In War Room, Now Accused Of Blocking Beds For His Supporters

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Courtesy:The Cognate

By Shaik Zakeer Hussain

In a startling revelation, BJP MLA Satish Reddy, who a couple of days ago was seen in a video asking if BBMP was a Hajj Bhavan or a Madrasa to recruit Muslims, and made allegations against officials for running a racket of allocating hospital beds to COVID patients in exchange for bribes is now accused of allotting beds to his supporters in the same case.

Satish Reddy, the BJP legislator from Bommanahalli reportedly put his agents in the BBMP war room, who in turn were booking beds for his supporters. Reddy and his agents are alleged to have issued threats to officials in the war room to prioritise his supporters over other

The paper reported that the beds were also being sold for monetary exchange to distressed patients.

On Tuesday, Reddy accompanied by Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya, Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya, and Chickpet MLA Uday Garudachar held a press conference accused city municipal officials of accepting bribes to allot hospital beds. They alleged that a “nexus of BBMP officials and frontline health workers” were creating artificial scarcity and that beds were being booked under the name of asymptomatic patients who were in home isolation.

The BJP legislators also picked up on Muslims working in the BBMP COVID war room and took objections to them working there. In the video of the incident that has since gone viral, they were seen barging into a BBMP COVID war room and asking officers present if BBMP was a Hajj Bhavan or a Madrasa to recruit Muslims.https://www.youtube.com/embed/cWS2ZwsfUfM?feature=oembed

The South zone war room has 205 designates telecallers, of which only 17 were Muslims. In the video, Surya is seen asking the BBMP official what process was followed to recruit the volunteers in the COVID war room, and read out a list of 17 people, who all happened to be Muslims. Surya, Reddy, and the other BJP leaders were seen asking officials to remove the Muslim employees from the war room.

The Cognate got in touch with some of the sacked employees, who said that they were not given any reason why they were removed from their jobs.

CM Yediyurappa asks suppliers to pump more oxygen into Karnataka

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BENGALURU: After 24 patients lost their lives in Chamarajanagara owing to oxygen shortage among other reasons, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa held an emergency meeting with oxygen manufacturers and suppliers in Bengaluru on Monday. As per the Chief Minister’s own estimate, the state requires approximately1,471 tonnes of oxygen per day given the spike in the number of Covid-19 cases. In his meeting, Yediyurappa said a ‘green corridor’ for oxygen transportation will come up in the state to ensure timely supply to hospitals. 

The state can manufacture 812 tonnes of oxygen per day, including from industrial sources. With many industries coming forward to convert industrial oxygen for medical purposes, the amount produced in the state has increased slightly. The state also gets supply from the Centre. The daily allocation was 300 metric tonnes till the last week of April. It went up to 800 metric tonnes after Yediyurappa, in the Chief Ministers’ meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanded an increase in the allocation of oxygen to the state along with the drug Remdesivir. The state is also expected to receive four tankers of liquid oxygen from Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. 

At the meeting, Yediyurappa asked officials to ensure minimal wastage of oxygen supplied by the Centre. “We have to reduce the time taken to refill empty oxygen tankers,” the CM said. Taking a cue from the Union Health Minister’s idea to explore the feasibility of converting existing nitrogen plants to produce oxygen, the state government is looking to convert nitrogen and argon tankers available for supplying oxygen instead. Given the shortage of manpower, the state is also looking to hire LPG tanker drivers to ferry oxygen tankers in emergencies.

An appeal has been made to manufacturers to coordinate with officials directly to ensure smooth supply of oxygen to hospitals. Meanwhile, the clinical expert committee on Covid-19 in the state has provided guidelines for minimising the wastage of oxygen. These guidelines also lay down the responsibility of the health team regarding the judicial use and the responsibility of the hospital administrators in monitoring and auditing oxygen use. 

Multiple probes launched into bed booking scam communal angle surfaces

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BENGALURU: As frenetic investigations and corrective measures got under way a day after the alleged bed allocation scam in Bengaluru was exposed – reportedly by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and other BJP leaders – a senior official, known for his efforts in Covid management, expressed grief over social media posts linking him to the incident. He has also raised objections over the issue being “communalised”, with 16 people belonging to a minority community coming under the under the scanner.

Karnataka Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanatha Shetty initiated suo motu proceedings into the alleged scam and directed the Lokayukta police to conduct an independent probe and submit a report within three weeks.The city police too registered two criminal cases in Jayanagar police station, arresting nine people, including two doctors. Four others are being questioned.

Preliminary investigations have revealed the involvement of staff members of private hospitals too. The accused have been charged with breach of trust, cheating and extortion under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, besides provisions of the Disaster Management Act. Both the cases have now been transferred to the CCB for further investigation.

The BBMP Chief Commissioner, Gaurav Gupta, said the issue is being parallely investigated by the South zone special commissioner. The BBMP Joint Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) and in-charge of Covid Care Centres in Bengaluru, Sarfaraz Khan, expressed pain over being dragged into the alleged bed booking scam, with social media posts demanding that he be held “accountable” although he is not involved with the Covid war room. 

Karnataka records highest single-day Covid surge with 50k-plus cases

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BENGALURU: Karnataka reached yet another scary Covid peak since the onset of the pandemic by recording 50,112 new cases in a day, breaching the 17-lakh mark in the total number of cases at 17,41,046. The State’s positivity rate for the day was 32.38 per cent. The State is also not far behind from reaching the second spot in the country in the highest number of cases, as Kerala in the second spot has 17,43,933. But Karnataka is at the second spot in the number of active cases at 4,87,288 and has an active case ratio of 27.5 per cent.

The State recorded its highest single day Covid deaths at 346. Most of them were from Bengaluru Urban at 161. Deaths were also reported from Vijayapura, Ballari, Hassan, Uttar Kannada, Mysuru, Kolar, Mandya, Tumakuru, Kalaburagi, Dharwad, Ramanagar, Gadag, Ballari and Raichur. The total number of Covid deaths is now 16,884. The case fatality rate stands at 1 per cent.On the brighter side, the State reported the highest discharges at 26,841, taking the total to 12,36,854. The State’s recovery ratio stands at 76.1 per cent which is lower than in many districts.

Bengaluru Urban recorded 23,106 new cases and the total number of positives are now 8,63,380. Total Covid deaths are at 7,006. Across the State, 86 are positive with the UK Strain, six with South African strain and 62 with the double mutant B.1.617.The State crossed the one-crore mark by inoculating 1,00,72,795 people.Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar tweeted, “K’taka has received 1,05,49,970 doses from Centre & State Govt has procured 3 lakh doses. Vaccine is our biggest weapon to defeat pandemic & Govt is leaving no stone unturned to vaccinate everyone at the earliest.”

Tamil comedian Pandu passes away due to Covid

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Popular Tamil comedian Pandu passed away due to Covid on Thursday. The 74-years-old actor and his wife tested positive for coronavirus recently and were under treatment at a private hospital in Chennai. 

According to reports, Pandu’s wife still remains in ICU.

India reported 4,12,262 new Covid cases, 3,29,113 discharges and 3,980 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per Union Health Ministry data.

Pandu began his career as an actor in the year 1970 with the Jaishankar-Muthuraman starrer Maanavan.  His has also been a part of films like ‘Ghilli’, ‘Kadhal Kottai’, ‘Pokkiri’ and ‘Ezhaiyin Siripil’. ‘Indha Nilai Maarum’ was the last movie he acted in. 

Pandu was running a design company called ‘Capital Letters.’ It is said that the actor had designed the iconic flag of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) and Tamil Nadu tourism logo.

30 districts showing rising trend in number of Covid-19 cases for two weeks, most in south

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Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said Bengaluru (Urban) has recorded 1,49,241 cases over the last one week, followed by Chennai, which has recorded 38,379 cases.

NEW DELHI: Thirty districts in the country are showing a continued rise in the number of coronavirus cases for the last two weeks, of which 10 are in Kerala, seven in Andhra Pradesh, three in Karnataka and one in Tamil Nadu, the Centre said on Wednesday.

Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said Bengaluru (Urban) has recorded 1,49,241 cases over the last one week, followed by Chennai, which has recorded 38,379 cases.

He said in Kerala, Kozhikode, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Alappuzha, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Kollam districts have recorded a continued rise in the number of cases for the last two weeks.

Kerala reported the highest single-day spike of 41,953 coronavirus cases on Wednesday.

It had recorded 37,000 cases on Tuesday.

East Godavari, Chittoor, Srikakulam, Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Anantpur and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh have also recorded a rise in the number of cases in the said period, Agarwal told a press briefing here.

Besides Bengaluru (Urban), Mysuru and Tumakuru districts of Karnataka, Solapur and Satara districts of Maharashtra have recorded a high number of cases over the last two weeks, he said.

Scientists at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology had on Tuesday said the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus is fast replacing the N440K variant in south India.

In the north, Gurugram and Faridabad districts in Haryana and Dehradun district in Uttarakhand have recorded a spike in the number of cases over the last two weeks, Agarwal said.

Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh have also been showing a rising trend in the number of cases, he added.

“We are working with the states on how to control this infection,” Agarwal said.

Double mutant tied to surge, 3rd wave inevitable: Centre

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COVID testing

NEW DELHI:  The Centre on Wednesday came up with a grim warning that a third Covid-19 wave in India was inevitable and admitted for the first time that B.1.617, an Indian mutant of the virus, could be fuelling the massive surge in the country. “A phase three is inevitable, given the higher levels of the circulating virus, but it is not clear on what time scale this will occur. We should prepare for new waves,” said K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Centre said on Wednesday.

Amid clamour for stricter measures to contain the spread of the fierce wave, Niti Aayog member (health), V K Paul, who also heads the national Covid-19 task force, did not rule out the possibility of a national lockdown to break the chain of the virus.  Listing the Centre’s guidelines like night curfews and restrictions in districts with over 10% test positivity rate and more than 60% ICU bed occupancy, Paul said: “In that direction there is a clear balanced advisory. At the same time, if anything more is required, those options are always being discussed, and decisions, as required, will be taken.” 

Meanwhile, data shared during the briefing marked the B.1.617 variant – also known as double mutant – as a “variant of concern”  for the first time.  Samples collected from at least 18 states, which underwent genomic surveillance, showed the presence of the variant. This variant, along with E484Q and L452R mutants, was first identified in February. Its spread has been exponential, overtaking several other local variants, including  N440K and B.1.618, suggesting that it was more transmissible.

Data from  other countries suggest that while E484Q can escape antibody neutralisation, L452R increases infectivity. According to the WHO, this Indian strain has been detected in at least 17 countries, including the UK, US and Singapore. Sources said that following a request by the UK government, India has agreed to send samples of B.1.617 for examining  the efficacy of the available vaccines against it.  Renu Swarup, secretary of department of biotechnology, said initial data has shown that vaccines in India effectively neutralised the variants in circulation. More work is underway to fully establish the findings, she added.

Lockdown-like situation already in many states

Maharashtra: Lockdown-like curbs imposed since April 5
Odisha: Two-week lockdown since May 5
Andhra Pradesh: Two-week noon-to-6 am curfew starting May 5
Kerala: Mini-lockdown till May 9, night curfew
Telangana: Only night curfew so far
Tamil Nadu: Shops selling essential commodities can function till 12 noon
Karnataka: Corona Curfew extended till May 12
West Bengal: Shops to open from 7 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 7 pm
Jharkhand: Lockdown since April 22
Madhya Pradesh: Staggered Janta Curfew in various districts
Uttar Pradesh: Corona Curfew till May 10 morning
Bihar: 11-day lockdown starting Wednesday
Punjab: Non-essential shops shut till May 15
Haryana: Lockdown from May 3-10
Rajasthan: Virtual lockdown from April 19 to May 3
Chhattisgarh: Lockdown extended till May 15
J&K: Corona curfew in 14 districts till Thursday morning; four districts under curfew till May 10
Northeast: Almost all states have clamped night curfew; complete lockdown in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district

Plea in Bombay HC seeks Z-plus security for Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla, his family

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The plea requested the court to give order to Maharashtra government and Pune Police Commissioner to file an FIR in the matter based on the petitioner’s complaint which he has already submitted.

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawala

MUMBAI: A writ petition on Wednesday has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking Z plus security for Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla and his family. The petitioner has said Poonawalla should be given Z plus security for himself and his family, and his assets should be protected keeping the threats which were made to Poonawallah as per media reports.

The plea requested the court to give order to Maharashtra government and Pune Police Commissioner to file an FIR in the matter based on the petitioner’s complaint which he has already submitted.

He also requested that by the time the order on his petition comes, Poonawalla and his family should be given ample police protection and there should be police deployment at Serum institute and other properties of Poonawalla.

On May 2 Poonawalla had complained of receiving threats from politicians and “powerful men” demanding quick delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine that his firm has been producing.

Poonawalla had also complained of being “vilified and blamed”, and hinted at starting a new vaccine production unit in the United Kingdom. He had said he had received calls from “some of the most powerful men in India”, including “Chief Ministers, heads of business conglomerates and others”.

PUBG set to make a comeback in India with desi makeover

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BENGALURU: Popular mobile game PUBG will be re-launched in India as Battlegrounds Mobile India, South Korean game developer Krafton announced on Thursday. PUBG was banned in India along with more than 100 other Chinese apps last year following increased geo-political tensions with the neighbouring country.

Amidst increasing concerns of data privacy/storage flagged by India’s electronics and information technology ministry, Krafton said that it will be working with partners to ensure data protection and security, at each stage. “This will ensure privacy rights are respected and all data collection and storage will be in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in India and for players here,” the company said.

After the popular mobile game was banned in India in September last year over its ties with Chinese internet giant Tencent, the game developer had said that it will take on all publishing responsibilities within the country. “As the company explores ways to provide its own PUBG experience for India in the near future, it is committed to doing so by sustaining a localized and healthy gameplay environment for its fans,” the company earlier said.

Krafton has also revealed the logo of Battlegrounds Mobile India, with a striking India tricolor flag cover, while adding that data security and privacy will be its top concerns. “Battlegrounds Mobile India, a battle royale experience, will have a period of pre-registration before the launch. The game will be available to play only in India. Krafton will collaborate with partners to build an esports ecosystem while bringing in-game content regularly, starting with a series of India specific in-game events at launch, to be announced later,” the company said.

India was the top overseas market for the PUBG app outside China, accounting for 28.8% of the total 644 million downloads, as of September 2020, data sourced from Sensor Tower indicated.

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