Karnataka News Live: South African woman held with heroin worth Rs 56 crore in Bengaluru

Karnataka social welfare minister B Sriramulu on Friday distanced himself from his alleged close aide Rajanna, a day after his arrest on a complaint by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's son and BJP state vice-president B Y Vijayendra that he had misused his name and cheated people.

A South African woman has been arrested with eight kgs of heroin worth Rs 56 crore in the international market, a Customs official said on Friday.

Amid reports of a sonic boom in Karnataka capital Bengaluru, the Indian Air Force has denied "flying activity or any any known action".

Karnataka Social Welfare Minister B Sriramulu on Friday distanced himself from his alleged close aide Rajanna, a day after his arrest on a complaint by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's son and BJP state vice-president B Y Vijayendra that he had misused his name and cheated people. Rajanna (40) was arrested from a hotel here by the Central Crime Branch sleuths on Thursday for allegedly cheating some people after convincing them he was close to Vijayendra, police said.

As evidence of the curve flattening, with 14,302 patients discharged, recoveries were four times the 3,203 new Covid cases in Karnataka in a day, said the state health bulletin on Thursday. "Recoveries shot up to 27,46,544, with 14,302 patients discharged during the day, while 3,203 new cases registered on Wednesday rose the state's Covid tally to 28,47,013, including 65,312 active cases," said the bulletin. As epicentre of the pandemic, Bengaluru reported only 676 fresh cases on Wednesday, taking its Covid tally to 12,14,235, including 33,516 active cases, while 11,65,074 recovered so far, with 10,840 discharged in the last 24 hours.

The Karnataka government on Thursday said that passengers from Kerala with at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine certificates will be exempted from producing negative RT-PCR reports, as the state has taken special surveillance measures for people coming from Kerala. According to the order regarding special surveillance measures for persons arriving from Kerala, vaccination certificate of having received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be exempted form producing RT-PCR certificate.

The state government will build a Covid-19 memorial at Arogya Soudha on Magadi Road to honour healthcare workers who died during the pandemic, health minister K Sudhakar said on Thursday. He participated in the Doctors’ Day celebration at the health and family welfare department’s HQ. According to Sudhakar, more than 700 doctors and other healthcare workers died during Covid duty across the country. “Since doctors and health warriors died during the war against Covid-19, they are also referred to as martyrs,” he said, adding that the government had decided to build a memorial to commemorate their sacrifice.

Karnataka Congress said on Thursday that it would conduct a Covid-19 death audit over the next month with the aim of helping affected families seek government compensation. State party president DK Shivakumar alleged that the state government had undercounted Covid fatalities. The official figure is more than 35,000 (as of July 1). He said Congress had estimated that 3.3 lakh people died in the past year. He did not say how the party arrived at this number. “Many people have been forgotten as they died in their homes and couldn’t make it to the hospital. Families of these victims are not being issued (Covid) death certificates that can help them claim compensation that courts have said the government should provide,” he said.

Higher education minister CN Ashwath Narayan has asked vicechancellors of all universities to ensure all willing students aged above 18 are jabbed by July 7. If required, the deadline can be extended by two to three days. “Students are being vaccinated as a priority group to facilitate the opening of physical classes of higher education institutions. The date of opening depends on the success of this vaccination drive, and the government is ready to extend all cooperation,” he said. More than 2.2 lakh out of 21.7 lakh students have been vaccinated. The highest coverage is in Dakshina Kannada (22,600 students). In BBMP limits, 19,974 students have been jabbed and in Mysuru 15,572. Over 18,950 out of the targeted 1.4 lakh teachers have been administered vaccines, with Dakshina Kannada and Bengaluru again leading the chart. Around 12,600 out of 1.2 lakh non-teaching staffers have also been vaccinated.

Hospitality and tourism are among the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic. Restaurants, airlines, hotels, travel agents, tour operators, and transporters have all seen their revenue drop drastically over the past 15 months, and they have had to recalibrate services twice to keep up with health safety rules and concerns. The industries are eagerly waiting for the new set of Unlock guidelines, which the state government plans to announce next week, hoping that another wave doesn’t interrupt this phase of anticipated recovery. In north Karnataka and coastal regions, businesses rely on religious tourism and weddings. In Mysuru, home to famous monuments and yoga centres, it’s mostly tourism.

More than 31.3 lakh students in Karnataka don’t have digital devices, 37.8 lakh lack internet access and 8.7 lakh have no television or radio in their homes, said a government report on Thursday. The department of public instruction released the report, which details gadget and net availability, as thousands of government and state board schools in Karnataka reopened for the academic year 2021-22 in virtual mode. Over 1 crore children are enrolled in classes 1 to 10 in the state. It seems from the findings that a large number of students of government schools may be deprived of mainstream education. Like 2020, it is unlikely that they will be called for regular oncampus classes anytime soon. Learning will take place through online modes such as WhatsApp and You-Tube, and DD Chandana channels.

An online review exercise, which covered 124 primary health centres in 11 districts, found that at least 75 of them lacked in non-negotiable criteria such as healthcare staff, medicines and building infrastructure. Initiated by a Bengaluru-based organization, the review sought to emulate those done for restaurants, tourist spots and other products and services. PHCs have been central to Covid-19 management in the state and are crucial arms in testing and vaccinating people. The aim of the review was to assess the condition of PHCs in the wake of an anticipated third wave of Covid-19 infections.

The state government on Thursday assured the high court that it will modify guidelines and procedures to ensure all domestic workers receive the Rs 2,000 Covid-19 relief announced by the state. The government said those who provide Aadhaar details, a certificate signed by their employer and particulars of their bank account will get the benefit. G Kalpana, additional chief secretary and principal secretary, labour department, who appeared before a division bench headed by chief justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, also said stringent action will be initiated against all who were spreading “false” allegations that service provided were collecting a service charge/commission (ranging from Rs 150 to 200) from beneficiaries.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s goal to vaccinate 30 lakh people in 30 days may be a distant dream, given the current shortage of doses dogging Bengaluru city. When BBMP officials administered more than 1.7 lakh doses on June 21 – International Yoga Day – the administration believed 30 lakhs in 30 days was an imminently achievable target. However, supply of doses dried up and now boards claiming, ‘no vaccine available’ and ‘no stock’ are a common sight on doors and gates of primary health centres.

The state government’s decision to ramp up critical care infrastructure by tapping Corporate Social Responsibility funds and roping in philanthropists at the peak of the second wave had positive outcomes in Bengaluru. Around 200 new ICU beds were added to government hospitals and another 780 beds are in the pipeline. The infrastructure augmentation and upgradation will not only ease the pressure on the overwhelmed public healthcare system but will also blunt the anticipated third wave. On Thursday, a group of corporate honchos met chief minister BS Yediyurappa and assured assistance for setting up 40 ICU beds and a 500 LPM oxygen plant at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health here along with 50 oxygen concentrators and 50 noninvasive BIPAP ventilators for other hospitals.

Hundreds of people who had turned up at Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) primary health centres, especially on the periphery of the city, on Thursday were told to “get a Covid-19 test done” if they wanted the shot. The rider was imposed by staff at PHCs and does not have the sanction of the government. In a move possibly motivated by official’s desperation to achieve testing targets, BBMP officials were seen forcing people to undergo Covid-19 tests before being injected.

As part of the third level of unlocking from July 5, the state government is looking at relaxing weekend and night curfew, besides reopening malls and extending business hours of shops and establishments. The group of ministers on Covid-19 headed by chief minister BS Yediyurappa will meet on Saturday to discuss the plans for the third level of lockdown relaxations, following which the government is expected to release guidelines. “Some relaxations are on the cards and the issues of lifting the weekend curfew and reducing the hours of night curfew are being discussed. The chief minister will take a final call after the GoM meeting,” said home minister and GoM member Basavaraj Bommai.