Pramesh Jain

The West Division police of Vijayanagar police helped a blind couple with ration after the couple went to the station to seek help for their livelihood.The couple and their family,living in RMC yard slum,was suffering without food during the lockdown.senior officer said,Our sub-Inspector Manu attached to Vijayanagar police station when he visited the police station for duty noticed a blind couple Basavaraju and Chinnamma,along with their two sons sitting inside a seized autorickshaw in the station premises on Monday morning.
PSI,Manu noticed them and upon enquiry,they told him that due to the lockdown,they not been able to work and were facing difficulty to eke out a living and have come to seek help from Public.
Moved by their plight,Manu gave them confidence and said not to worry and took down the list of items they needed from groceries to diapers for the toddler.
The PSI,Manu,told them not to worry and told them will help you out don’t worry if the lockdown is extended for 2 more months will get you all items which can be used for next six months and he arranged the ration and other items within a hour and also arranged an Autorickshaw to drop the family back home.
The blind couple Basavaraju and Chinnamma thanked Manu for all the help.
The Sub- Inspector of police Manu hail from Boodithittu village near Hunsur and he has achieved this appointment through sheer determination and hard work after overcoming all obstacles and shortcomings.Even the income from farms is seasonal and the family works in farm only for a few months.The rest of the year, they work as labourers for daily wages.
Manu a son of farm labourer Karinayaka and Sharadamma couple of Boodithittu located along the border of Nagarahole National Park,is the one who have scripted the success story and also brought laurels to the school which he studied.
His achievement is more notable because he was selected to the post under General Merit category,despite having had the option of reservation under ST quota.
After having his elementary education at Boodithittu Government School.He studied PUC at Periyapatna Government PU College and Degree at Maharaja’s College,Mysuru.
After completion of his degree,Manu,the eldest son, took up the written exam for Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) recruitment in 2014 under General Merit Category and passed out with flying colours,securing 30th rank among the successful candidates.
After undergoing training at Mysuru’s Police Training Academy,he is currently serving as a PSI at a Vijayanagar Police Station in Bengaluru. 
It is significant to note here that he chose to let go of ST reservation to which he was rightfully entitled to.
Villagers of Boodithittu, who are delighted with the achievement of Manu of their own village, were hopeful that he has studied only in Government School and College, will bring more laurels to the village and the taluk,serving the Police Department.
However, Karinayaka,the proud father of the two PSIs,not forgetting his past,continues to earn his livelihood as a street vendor,running a small business as farming activity has not yet picked up in his village.
Manu is from Periyapatna near mysore transferred recently to Bengaluru Manu’s younger brother is also serving in police as Sub inspector.
After hearing the news Chief secretary of Karnataka P Ravikumar immediately instructed and told Tahsildar and Revenue Inspector to get them Ration card and includes them in pension schem of the government for life time and the government too visited the blind couple’s house and provided them.
As the News was appeared in all the local news channels and paper and on social media platforms.Two more people came forward to help the blind couple and donate Rs.10,000 every month for their livelihood i never expected this much support and it will be a great help to the couple, Manu said in his statement.
With this noble and excellent gesture by PSI Manu people on twitter appreciated the police sub inspector for his humanity. Good at helping needy & Good at enforcing rules. That’s West Division Police in Bengaluru. Superb work .
Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant appreciated the PSI by tweeting from his official twitter handle as,
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see!
Highly appreciate the noble gesture by PSI Manu of @vijayanagarps who helped a blind couple and their children with food, groceries, and diapers for the toddlers.
He also arranged an autorickshaw to drop the family back home. Commendable work!.
Finally Chief Secretary of Karnataka Government,P Ravikumar,Home Minister, Basavaraj Bommai,Director General and Inspector General of Police,Praveen Sood,Commissioner of police,Kamal Pant,Addl CP West,Soumendhu Mukherjee,DCP West,Dr Sanjeev M Patil,ACP Vijayanagar Sub-Division,K Nanjundegowda,PI, Sathish Kumar and other officers and staff appreciated the PSI Manu for his noble service and humanity for the blind couple’s he shown whole department appreciated this noble gesture and service  did by PSI he added.

Pramesh Jain

Paediatric wards being set up in district hospitals to tackle possible third Covid wave: Karnataka Health Minister: Dr.Sudhakar.

Paediatric wards and oxygen generation plants are being set up at all district hospitals in the state to ensure preparedness for a possible third wave of the Covid-19,Karnataka Health Minister Dr.Sudhakar K said on Tuesday.

While addressing the media after chairing a meeting with senior health department officials to review the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the state,Dr Sudhakar said,Oxygen generation plants will also be set up in every taluk hospital and district hospitals across the state.

A dedicated 70-80 bed pediatrics ward will be arranged in all district hospitals.Additional pediatricians and nursing staff will also be recruited wherever it is necessary.A special training session will be conducted through RGUHS to train MBBS and other technical staff.

The minister said that the government is preparing to tackle a possible third wave.

We cannot say that third wave has started. Second wave is yet to subdue.We must take care of our children to protect them from the virus.

Till the age of 19,children should be treated in consultation with pediatricians.We need to create awareness about this,he stressed.

Seven genomic labs will be established across the state to study the mutated strains found in second wave.

“These labs will come up at five medical colleges, Wenlock Hospital, Mangaluru and Vijayapura District Hospital.

This study will help us to understand the virus better and for development of better medicine and treatment protocol based on the nature of virus,” said Dr K Sudhakar.

CM to decide on easing restrictions:

The minister stated that the Technical Advisory Committee has submitted its report and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa will decide on the modalities of easing restrictions gradually.

Experts have advised that restrictions can be eased if positivity rate is less than 5 per cent and the number to cases come down to 5,000. However, positivity rate is still high in many districts. So we need to exercise caution,he said.

Karnataka has received another consignment of 1.64 lakh doses of Covaxin.The available stock will be used to vaccinate citizens above 45 years who are due for second dose.

The vaccine will be eventually made available to all once the supply increases,Dr Sudhakar added.

He asserted that vaccination centres should not deny giving the jab to a beneficiary once the slot is confirmed.

Action will be initiated against those centres which deny vaccine even after slot confirmation, he further said.

State to receive more stock of Amphotericin B

Dr K Sudhakar said that black fungus is treatable, adding that in some cases where the infection has reached the eyes of a person, removal becomes inevitable to weed out even the tiniest trace of the infection so that it doses not invade the brain.

“If the fungus affects the brain, it is very dangerous. Hence, eyes are removed to stop the spread to brain and not due to lack of medicine.

Treatment of black fungus will be decided by ophthalmologists and ENT specialists based on the condition of each case.I am in constant touch with the central government to ensure sufficent supply of the medicine, he added

It has been reported that two kids whose parents have recovered from Covid might have been infected from Kawasaki.Malnutrition and other social factors are among the causes for this. Government is closely tracking such cases, he added.

 ENGALURU: The supply of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) under the central quota to Karnataka to sustain COVID-19 patients on ventilators have been way less than the demand of 1,200 tonnes daily.

According to the data shared by the authorities, on May 30, the state received half of the requirement — 545.85 tonnes of oxygen with a shortfall of 654.15 tonnes. Besides, it received 791.85 tonnes on May 29, 686 tonnes on May 28, 730 tonnes on May 27, 875.07 tonnes on May 26 and 728 tonnes on May 24.

The eight oxygen-producing units in Karnataka, which are located in different parts of the state, are the major source of medical oxygen though they too are unable to meet the demand.

On May 30, the state manufacturer supplied 425.85 tonnes of oxygen against the target of 830 tonnes daily, 572 tonnes on May 29, 446 tonnes on May 28 and 730 tonnes on May 27.

Apart from the state oxygen-producing units, Karnataka is receiving oxygen from Tata Angul, Jamnagar and Rourkela Steel plant.

During the second wave of COVID-19, which began approximately in the first week of March this year, the daily infections hovered between 40,000 to 50,000.

Due to stringent restrictions from April 27 which will be in effect till June 7, the cases came down drastically.

On Monday, the state reported 16,604 fresh infections and 411 fatalities due to COVID-19 whereas there were 3.14 lakh active cases. However, the demand for oxygen remained high in view of the high number of active cases in the state.

“We still need 1,200 tonnes of oxygen, but we are getting way less than it,” an official told PTI requesting anonymity. According to him, the Chief Minister has written to the Centre to increase the supply of oxygen and the High Court has also ordered the Centre to give Karnataka its share of LMO.

“The Government of India has ordered but outside supply isn’t coming. We have written on that,” the official added.

Meanwhile, the South Western Railway on Tuesday said it ferried about 240 tonnes of oxygen in Karnataka. The Oxygen Express brought 120 tonnes of LMO from Jamshedpur and 119.64 tonnes from Raigad in Maharashtra.

BENGALURU:  Congress Legislature Party chief and fomer CM Siddaramaiah on Monday lashed out at the Narendra Modi government — that completed seven years in office on Sunday — accusing it of taking the country back 70 years in just seven years. Armed with data comparing growth indicators in 2014 and now, Siddaramaiah listed out seven “disasters of Modi”.

“The Modi government is selling off enterprises that were built with the sweat and blood of Indians over the past 70 years. The only enterprise they are running successfully is a factory of lies. From LPG, fuel to cooking oil prices are skyrocketing. People are struggling without jobs, standing in queues for oxygen, medicines and food, but businessmen from Gujarat seem to be increasing their wealth,” Siddaramaiah said, insisting that the Modi government’s achievement is being the source of wealth spike for industrialists Ambani and Adani.

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government is contemplating unlocking the lockdown in a phased manner by easing restrictions provided COVID-19 infections in Bengaluru come down to less than 1,000 a day, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka said.

Replying to a query on lifting the restrictions on June 7 when the current lockdown which is in effect since May 10 comes to an end, Ashoka said there is a request from some sectors to lift curbs stage by stage.

He, however, warned that the lockdown will continue if the number of infections do not come down.

“The restrictions will be eased only when the infections reduce. For example, in Delhi, the cases are about 1,000 a day. In Bengaluru, the number should come below 1,000 a day and in Karnataka, it should be limited to just 2,000 to 3,000. Then only the government will consider easing the lockdown,” the Minister said. According to him, the lockdown has helped to control the infections and deaths due to COVID.

Ashoka said the government has not yet received any report from the TAC. Things will be clear only on June 6 when the Chief Minister will hold a meeting with ministers, officials and the TAC members.

“We will decide whatever is in the interest of people,” he added. Meanwhile, a senior official too said that there is talk about lifting curbs in a phased manner. “There is a discussion going on at the government level to unlock the lockdown stage by stage. The coronavirus cases would be under control only if the restrictions are eased in a phased manner. Even we (officials) are also recommending the same,” Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta told reporters here.

His statement came just a week before the current lockdown comes to an end on June 7. The daily COVID infections and fatalities in Karnataka had crossed 50,000 and over 600 respectively in the last week of April. It reduced to 20,378 infections and 382 deaths on Sunday.There are 3.42 lakh active cases in the state as on Sunday.

State minister Basavaraj Bommai said it was decided at a meeting on Friday that the Chief Minister would call a meeting of all Ministers and decide on how to implement the lockdown.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said the question of extending the lockdown may not arise if only the public cooperated and there is a decline in COVID-19 cases.

Speculations have been rife that the government may extend the lockdown once again following the Centre’s direction to continue with the COVID-19 guidelines till June 30.

“Lockdown will be there till June 7. Depending on the situation, we will take further decisions. For now, it will be there till June 7. All the strict measures that need to be taken will be followed till then,” Yediyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters after a three-hour-long meeting with MPs, legislators and public representatives from Mysuru, Hassan, Belagavi, Kalaburagi and Vijayapura districts that have high caseload of the virus cases, he said any further decision would depend on the situation and decline in cases.

“If people cooperate, the question of extending it (the lockdown) after June 7 may not arise, people will have to cooperate. We will put in all our efforts,” he said.

The State government had initially announced 14 days of closedown from April 27, but imposed a complete lockdown from May 10 to May 24 as the cases increased.

Citing lockdown yielding results and experts advice, it was extended till June 7.

Earlier in the day, State Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai indicated that the lockdown may be extended following Centre’s direction to do so till June 30, and that the Chief Minister would take a decision after meeting his Ministers.

“The positivity rate has not come down completely, it has to come to below 10 per cent, and in rural areas the cases are about 22,000-23,000, it has to go below 10,000, even the number of deaths will have tocome down, only then we will be able to manage the health infrastructure,” he said.

While the positivity rate in the State on Friday stood at 16.42 per cent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 1.75 per cent.

The Centre had, on Thursday, directed the States and Union Territories to continue the COVID-19 guidelines till June 30 and asked them to go for intensive and local containment measures in districts with a high number of cases to check the spread of the deadly disease.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla had said strict implementation of containment and other measures has led to a drop in the number of new and active cases, across States and Union Tterritories, barring some areas in the southern and northeastern regions.

Stating that the government would try to implement the suggestions given by public representatives at the meeting today aimed at controlling COVID, Yediyurappa said there are no financial issues, and by utilising the available funds all efforts have to be put in for controlling the virus.

Expressing hope that the situation would be overcome in four or five days with efforts from everyone, he said already each gram panchayat has been given Rs 50,000 (under State Disaster Response Fund).

The total number of active COVID-19 cases had fallen below the four-lakh mark, and on Friday there were 22,823 new cases and 401 deaths.

While the total number of infections so far stood at 25,46,821, the toll was 27,806.

The day also saw 52,253 getting discharged, with this tally outnumbering the fresh cases.

Out of the 22,823 new cases reported, 5,736 were from Bengaluru Urban which saw 31,237 getting discharged and 192 deaths.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday accused BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and his uncle Ravi Subramanya of making money through vaccines and demanded that an FIR be registered against them and they be removed as MP and MLA respectively.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that according to an audio tape leaked through social media, Subramanya purportedly took a bribe of Rs 700 per vaccine at a private hospital in Karnataka.

Surya is seen promoting the hospital in ads, he alleged.

“The membership of Tejasvi Surya from the parliament should be ended immediately, we owe the people of Karnataka. The membership of Ravi Subramanya, third-time MLA from Basavanagudi, should be ended right now,” he told reporters.

Khera alleged that a supervisor of a private hospital clearly tells a public member that per vaccination he will have to pay Rs 900 as Rs 700 of this have to be given to Ravi Subramanya, a BJP MLA from Basavanagudi in Karnataka, who is Surya’s uncle.

“These are shocking, startling revelations. It is like getting caught red handed. This is a private hospital. Earlier this week, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who is also the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had advertised his own picture along with this hospital, exhorting people to get vaccinated from this hospital,” he alleged.

“We want to ask Mr Prime Minister, this Tejasvi Surya is his blue-eyed boy. We demand answers, how on earth were vaccines being diverted from government hospitals to a private hospital,” he asked.

“There should be an FIR lodged against Surya and Subramanya, Mr Prime Minister,” the Congress leader said.

Citing the case of cash for questions in which members were expelled from Parliament, he said this is a case of cash for vaccines.

“Tejasvi Surya’s Parliament membership should be ended with immediately,” he demanded, adding, “If you want to save the lives of people of Karnataka, this is hardly any sacrifice for you Mr Prime Minister. This is the least you can do.”

BENGALURU: The Ramamurthy Nagar police, who are interrogating the suspects accused of sexually abusing and torturing a 24-year-old woman in the city recently, have unearthed that the victim had to repay a sum of Rs 5 lakh which she owed them, but was avoiding them whenever they sought repayment.

Meanwhile, the police will produce the victim before the magistrate on Monday to record her statement under Section 164 of CrPC, while all the accused will be sent to judicial custody, another officer added. The investigation team has already video-recorded the victim’s statement on Saturday.

Four days ago, a gang of seven Bangaladeshis, including two women, were arrested by the city police after video footage of the act emerged on social media in Assam, with that state’s police tweeting an alert across the North-East. A day later, however, two of the accused were shot at by Bengaluru police, after they allegedly tried to attack them in a bid of escape.