Devotees throng temples in DK, Udupi after govt relaxes norms

Bengaluru, Jan 24: In a bizarre incident that seemed straight out of a movie, a crowd of people were seen trying to catch money showered upon them near City Market in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

A man on the BGS flyover was seen throwing down currency notes. The police are trying to trace who he is and he threw the money down.

The walkers and vehicle riders were taken by total surprise and couldn’t believe it when they saw currency notes of the denomination of Rs 10 started falling at their feet.

The development created a huge commotion in the usually crowded Kalasipalya locality. The notes currency notes were thrown from both the sides of the flyover.

The people went ahead in a mad rush to pick up the currency notes and created a traffic jam. The traffic policemen present at the spot were clueless.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (West) Lakshman Nimbaragi stated, “We don’t know much about the incident and once the inputs are gathered we will share the information.

Mangaluru, Feb 7: As many as 15 students continued to be under observation in various hospitals in the city on Tuesday, a day after 231 students from three hostels run by the City Group of Institutions in Shakthinagara, here fell sick due to alleged food poisoning. 

Around 150 students had been rushed to hospitals last night. Apart from 15, all others were discharged today. Their condition is stable and they are likely to be discharged shortly, said Deputy Commissioner Ravi Kumar M R.

Based on a complaint by District Surveillance officer Dr Jagadeesh, the Mangaluru East police have registered an FIR against the City Hospital Administration and City Nursing College hostel, for failing to bring the issue to the notice of the district administration.

The police have booked a case under IPC Sections 176, 328 and 337.

Meanwhile, the DC said that he has asked the concerned to give a detailed report on the incident to the district administration. “I'm in Bengaluru to attend a meeting. Once I return, I will receive the report and take strict action against the concerned, so that such incidents do not recur anywhere in the district. It is the duty of the management of all the colleges to supply quality and hygiene food to its students in the hostels,” he added.

Dr Jagadeesh and Principal of District Training Institute Dr Ashok H, in a preliminary report submitted to the DC, said "a team of doctors and officials had visited the hostels on February 6 morning and students were examined for the illness. However, by 9 pm on Monday, more than 100 students developed illness and were admitted to various hospitals in the city."

"Many of the students were scared and some were suffering from mild dehydration. A team of officials visited the hostels and inspected the kitchen. The food and water samples, meat samples stored in refrigerators have been collected and sent for testing. The kitchen has been sealed until further order from the district health department. The management has been asked to supply pure food and water to the students.”

A team from the health department visited the hostels on Tuesday and collected blood samples of the students, to ascertain the cause of infection, said Dr Jagadeesh and Dr Ashok H in the report.

Bengaluru, Feb 4: The BJP on Saturday appointed Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan its in-charge for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly polls, a party statement said.

Tamil Nadu BJP unit president K Annamalai, who had earlier served as a police officer in Karnataka, will be the co-in charge for the high-stakes polls where both the ruling party and the opposition Congress have launched intensive public outreach for the elections likely to be held in April-May.

Pradhan, a seasoned organisation man of the party, has been tasked with handling several elections in the past, including the last year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in which the BJP retained power by a big margin.

A former party general secretary, he has been involved in Assembly polls in Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and also in Karnataka in 2013.

He was also in charge of the Assam and the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls in 2015 and 2018 respectively.

A skillful politician, he will be expected to mobilise the organisation in Karnataka while sorting out internal issues in the local unit to maximise the party's efforts to retain power in the important southern state.

Karnataka is the only southern state where the BJP has ever run a government.

The party had opted for a leadership transition in the state by easing out the then chief minister B S Yediyurappa and bringing in Basavaraj Bommai, a Lingayat like the veteran leader, in his place in July 2018.

Despite his loss of power, Yediyurappa's stature vis-a-vis his successor's low-key style has meant that the former's shadow continues to loom large. He was recently appointed a member of the party's Parliamentary Board, its apex organisation body, with the central leadership working to keep him in good humour.