1. Karnataka Tracking Centre’s List of 1,500 Tablighi Participants
With the Union health ministry on Wednesday blaming travellers who attended a gathering at a Delhi mosque for the spike in COVID-19 cases in the country, Karnataka launched a massive hunt for about 1,500 delegates from the state.
Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the ministry, said 134 cases were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamic group which organised the gathering in mid-March. “There were 386 new Covid-19 cases since Tuesday – one of the main reasons for it is travel by members of the Tablighi Jamaat,” he said. “As many as 1,800 people related to the group have been sent to hospitals and quarantine centres.”
Karnataka said it has received from the Centre a list 1,500 people from the state who attended the event and is tracing the participants. Jawaid Akhtar, additional chief secretary in the health and family welfare department, said the list came in three installments.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. 'Walk to Grocery Shops, Do Not Go Everyday', Bengaluru Police Commissioner
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao reiterated that two-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles that ply on the city's roads will be seized during the lockdown period imposed following the outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
"I am telling citizens to walk to grocery stores or limit your needs. There is no need for (them) to roam around in vehicles," Bhaskar Rao said on Wednesday after an announcement was made about restrictions on the use of vehicles even to buy grocery.
"This is not the time to do grocery shopping. We have given enough time for you to use vehicles and go to shops and buy. Do not go everyday to your shop for groceries. I have commanded the police under my control to impound two- wheelers and four-wheelers moving around aimlessly and which are proving to be a hindrance in enforcing lockdown," Bhaskar Rao added.
(Source: The News Minute)
3. Karnataka Govt Stops Workers From Leaving City
The government on Tuesday said it will stop workers, especially those in the construction sector, from leaving the city.
Revenue minister R Ashok and Mayor Goutham Kumar told the media that nearly one lakh workers are trying to reach their hometowns. “The workers in granite, tiles, concrete laying and other sectors are going back to their homes. The government is taking strict action to stop them,” they said.
The minister said contractors and builders should care for the workers at their own expense. “We have already held a meeting with contractors and developers (on the issue),” the minister said, warning that the government will blacklist and revoke the licence given for construction if builders fail to care for the workers.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
4. Yediyurappa Donates One Year’s Salary to CM’s Relief Fund
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has announced that he will donate his entire one year’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to fight COVID-19. In a tweet on Wednesday, Yediyurappa appealed to legislators, ministers and MPs, and officials of the state government to donate funds to the CM’s Relief Fund.
He appealed to the citizens to also do their bit and contribute in whatever capacity possible to help the state in fighting the coronavirus outbreak. Already several industrialists and prominent citizens have contributed to the CM Relief Fund to fight COVID-19.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. 60k Migrants in City Not Getting Ration Kits Despite Govt Promise
At least 60,000 migrants in the city have been left to fend for themselves without food, notwithstanding the government’s reiterations that it’s ensuring supply of provisions for everyone and that there’s no need to leave the city and head back home.
Sources in the labour department confirmed the number and admitted they have neither the capability to mobilise supply of provisions for so many people nor the mechanism to track them.
Rakesh K, a carpenter from Bihar and working in Junnasandra in Bengaluru, said he’s been on an empty stomach for most of the past two days. Among 16 migrants holed up at the construction site where they were working, Rakesh said: “We are forced to stand for two hours at a nearby Indira Canteen to grab our meal. Only three of the 16 in our group have ration to last a day. After that where do we go?”
(Source: The Times of India)
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