DC issues guidelines to prevent Zika virus in Dakshina Kannada

News Network

July 15, 2021

Mangaluru, July 15: Alarmed by cases of Zika virus in neighbouring Kerala, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V has issued guidelines to prevent the spread of the disease in the district.

The DC said that there was a need to take precautionary measures in Dakshina Kannada as a large number of people from Kerala visit the district for education and health purposes.

“People should be asked to contact the nearest government hospitals if they have any symptoms of fever. Cleanliness should be maintained in public places, places of worship, tourist spots and all the mosquito breeding areas should be destroyed and measures should be initiated to check the stagnation of water in the surrounding areas of the houses and in public places," he said.

If a pregnant women is suffering from Microcephaly, measures should be taken to test their blood and the same should be informed by the scanning centres and hospitals to the health department, the DC said and added that ward committees should ensure that water do not remain stagnant.

Guppy fish should be released to open wells and lakes. Water stored in drums should be cleaned once in a week and awareness should be created on the same among people, so that mosquitoes do not breed in them, the DC said.

The DC also said that shopkeepers should ensure that water do not remain stagnant in juice bottles kept outside the shop. In required, fogging can be carried out to check mosquito menace.

The larvae survey to destroy breeding sites should be conducted in ports, fish markets, central market and Bunder area, added the DC.

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Campus politics: DKS pushes to restore student elections in Karnataka banned since 1989

News Network

November 26,2025

Bengaluru, Nov 26: Karnataka is taking its first concrete steps towards lifting a three-decade-old ban on student elections in colleges and universities. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced Wednesday that the state government will form a small committee to study the reintroduction of campus polls, a practice halted in 1989 following incidents of violence.

Speaking at a 'Constitution Day' event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Mr. Shivakumar underscored the move's aim: nurturing new political leadership from the grassroots.

"Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections," Shivakumar stated. "I'm announcing today that we'll form a small committee and seek a report on this."

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989, largely due to concerns over violence and the infiltration of political party affiliates into campus life. The ban effectively extinguished vibrant student bodies and the pipeline of young leaders they often produced.

Mr. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress president, said that former student leaders will be consulted to "study the pros and cons" of the re-introduction.

Acknowledging the history of the ban, he added, "There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities."

The Deputy CM reminisced about his own journey, which began on campus. He recalled his political activism at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College leading to his first Assembly ticket in 1985 at the age of 23. "That's how student leadership was at the time. Such leadership has gone today. College elections have stopped," he lamented, adding that for many, college elections were "like a big movement" where leaders were forged.

The move, driven by the Congress high command's push to cultivate young talent, will face scrutiny from academics and university authorities who have, in the past, expressed concern that the return of polls could disrupt the peaceful academic environment and turn campuses into political battlegrounds.

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