Bengaluru Jan 28 PTI With 31198 fresh cases Karnatakas COVID-19 caseload reached 3723694 while 50 deaths took the death toll to 38804 the health department said Fresh infections saw a dip by about 7000 cases compared to Thursday when the number was 38083 the department said in its bulletin It added that 71092 people were discharged taking the total number of recoveries to 3396093 The positivity and case fatality rates for the day were at 2091 per cent and 016 per cent respectively Active cases stood at 288767 Bengaluru contributed about 50 per cent of the infections of the day with 15199 cases The city also reported eight deaths Other districts too had fresh cases including 1877 in Mysuru 1500 in Dharwad 1315 in Tumakuru and 1037 in Hassan There were zero fatalities in 11 districts A total of 149174 samples were tested in the state including 106749 RT-PCR tests on Friday taking the cumulative number of specimens examined to 614 crore There were 197361 inoculations done taking the total vaccinations to 947 crore the department said PTI GMS BN BN

Bengaluru Dec 24 PTI Noted Kannada film director K V Raju passed away after prolonged illness at his residence in Bengaluru on Friday people closely associated with him said K V Raju breathed his last at his Rajaji Nagar residence this morning He was 67 Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce D R Jairaj told PTI He was suffering from age related ailments and died of heart attack Jairaj added He leaves behind his son and daughter other sources in the film industry said Jairaj was a director par excellence under whose tutelage many people made a name in the film industry Jairaj said He made his debut in 1982 with the Kannada movie Badada Hoovu as an assistant director to his brother K V Jayaram However he made a mark as a scriptwriter and director with the movie Olave Baduku in 1984The ace director gave many hit movies such as Sangrama Bandha Mukta and Yuddhakanda Jairaj made his entry in the Hindi film industry by directing the movie Indrajeet starring Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Prada in 1991 PTI GMS BN BN

Bengaluru Oct 30 PTI The RSS on Saturday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with Pope Francis in Vatican saying that the meeting was enhancing the prestige of the nation What is wrong if the head of the government meets anyone in the existing civil system in the world We welcome it because we believe in Vasudhava Kutumbakam the world is one family We respect all the religions the RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale told reporters here He was talking to reporters on the last day of the three-day Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal ABKM meeting It is a matter of pleasure that the Prime Minister is meeting the heads of other nations and is increasing the prestige of our nation Hosabale said He also maintained that it was for the head of the government to meet another head of the government and the decision is left to the government whom they want to meet PTI GMS BN BN

Bengaluru Oct 26 PTI Two suspected cases of AY42 variant of the novel coronavirus have been identified and the samples have been sent to a laboratory for the genome sequencing Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said on Tuesday There are two suspected cases of AY42 variant of viruses and I have instructed my department to send the samples for genomic sequencing for confirmation Sudhakar told reporters here Health department officials said the samples have been sent to the National Centre for Biological Sciences NCBS in Bengaluru for testing They also said both the affected persons are from Bengaluru and are asymptomatic They said the AY42 is said to be a Delta variant of the novel coronavirus which is spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom Speaking about Karnatakas preparedness Sudhakar said the state has started genome sequencing and have set up six-seven genome labs in the state The minister said whenever a new variant emerges the state can immediately get the advice of the experts and discuss with the Indian Council for Medical Research ICMR Regarding the new variant creating fresh trouble in the UK he said he will speak to the chairperson of the Technical Advisory Committee on COVID-19 on it He also said that studies are underway to find out what variant it is Sudhakar claimed those who have received two doses of the COVID vaccine need not be afraid of the virus as it will have little effect on them The minister said there was no need to panic as the state government has taken enough steps to check the spread of the disease PTI GMS BN BN

Bengaluru Oct 22 PTI Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Friday questioned the celebration over administration of one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses in the country when only 21 per cent of the people have been fully vaccinated so far In a series of tweets the Congress stalwart hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for not yet vaccinating the entire eligible population 1 billion doses sounds fancy number but the devil is in the details Only 29 Cr people out of 139Cr are fully vaccinated which means only about 21 are fully vaccinated What are BJP4India leaders celebrating for For vaccinating just 21 of the population Siddaramiah asked in a tweet According to the Congress veteran only 29 crore people have received two-doses and 42 crore have got only one leaving 62 crore without any single dose of vaccine With just 29 Cr 21 people fully vaccinated Indias position is still in danger Are BJP4India leaders celebrating Indias vulnerability he asked The leader of opposition in the assembly also claimed that India still needed about 106 crore doses to fully vaccinate the target by December 31 which means 151 crore doses have to be administered everyday He asked Modi whether India is prepared to administer 106 crore doses by December end and ensure all Indians are fully vaccinated by this year Siddaramaiah noted that 56 per cent of the population in the US is fully vaccinated in China it is 70 per cent and in Canada 71 per cent But Indias vaccine coverage is just 21 Mr narendramodi let us raise the bar before celebrating the former Chief Minister took a jibe Pointing out that there may be a need for booster dose too Siddaramaiah said With even first doses and second doses pending for large population can we even think of booster dose Mr PM narendramodi Let us put celebrations on hold concentrate on vaccinating everyone The Co-WIN portal data had said on Thursday that over 71 crore vaccine doses were administered as the first dose and over 29 crore as the second dose More than 75 per cent of Indias adult population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine with nine states and union territories administering the first dose to all eligible people Over 31 per cent of the countrys around 93 crore adults have been administered both the doses according to Health Ministry officials PTI GMS BN BN

Bengaluru Sep 28 PTI The Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to release Rs 2500 crore for land acquisition and compensation for the two stages of Upper Krishna Project UKP The government also decided to start land acquisition for the Stage-3 of the UKP Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting with officials Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the government has decided to use 173 TMC of water under the UKP by taking it to those regions where it has not reached yet We will take the water to the last level We have decided to release Rs 2500 crore for land acquisition and compensation to four villages Bommai said The Chief Minister also said those villages where the land acquisition process has not started yet for the UKP will be speeded up Stating that he has directed officials to set up the office of the Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam office in Alamatti Bommai said he has directed officials to increase the staff for the land acquisition and appoint more surveyors to survey the land for acquisition PTI GMS BN BN

Bengaluru Sep 23 PTI An explosion rocked a locality in Bengaluru on Thursday killing at least two people and leaving five others injured a police official said The bodies of those who died in the blast were badly mutilated The injured have been admitted to hospital police said adding two of them are critically injured The incident happened at 1130 am in a warehouse at Tharagupet It looks like a cracker explosion definitely The major impact is from the cracker only Deputy Commissioner of Police Bengaluru South division Harish Pandey said Though Pandey had earlier said three people were killed he later clarified that only two had died in the explosion The officer said 80 odd boxes were placed in the warehouse At least one or two have exploded Pandey suspected that the deceased was handling the boxes He however clarified that forensic experts will give their opinion on the actual cause of the blast The source and owner of the consignment is also being investigated According to eyewitnesses the blast was so powerful that people up to two km away heard the sound while the locals felt that there was an earthquake PTI GMS BN BN

Bengaluru Sep 17 PTI Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai his cabinet colleagues and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 71st birthday on Friday Gehlot tweeted Hearty congratulations to the honorable Prime Minister of the country narendramodi on the auspicious occasion of his birthday Stating that millions of citizens of the country wish Modi good health and long life Gehlot said We are proud of your Modi efficient leadership who is determined to make India ascend to the throne of Vishwaguru Greeting Modi Bommai in his message said the bold decisive and accomplished leader India had ever got since its independence who united the country and instilled patriotism among the citizens to build a new India Gowda wished the PM a very happy 71st birthday I pray to almighty God to bless him with good healthMay his leadership of our great nation bring peace and prosperity to all its citizens he added Gowdas son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy too wished ModiHe tweeted I extend my warm greetings on the occasion of the birthday of our Prime Minister narendramodiI pray to God to bless him with more energy inspiration and health to continue with service to the nation Sitting BJP MLAs and BJP leaders too wished Modi on his birthday Various events too were organised to mark the occasion PTI GMS BN BN