9 districts of Karnataka including Udupi have no oxygen bottling units

News Network
May 4, 2021

Bengaluru, May 4: A startling fact that emerged out of the Chamarajanagar tragedy is the absence of an oxygen bottling plant in several districts. As many as nine districts of Karnataka - Gadag, Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga, Bidar, Yadgir, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Mandya and Udupi rely on neighbouring districts for oxygen in the absence of a dedicated plant.

This increased dependency on neighbouring districts has led to uncertainty in supply as logistical issues like distance, time, condition of oxygen tankers and breakdowns have affected the timely delivery of oxygen. 

Chitradurga, for example, relies on oxygen supply on Davangere. Chitradurga DHO Dr Palaksha C L, said, "We have a storage capacity of 6,200 litres at the district hospital. Even then we need oxygen refilling every alternate day from Southern Gases in Davangere. We've got 60 jumbo cylinders and another 90 donated by NGOs."

Surprisingly, Yadgir district hospital gets 2,500 litres of oxygen all the way from Chennai. The oxygen is transported from Praxair company in Chennai to Ballari and then to Yadgir, said district health officer Dr Indumati Kamshetty. "The entire district needs 5,000 litres per day. While private hospitals get it from the Kalaburagi district, we get it twice a week from Chennai via Ballari. We do not have the luxury of waiting till some hours of oxygen is left so we get a refill when there's a buffer stock of two to three days as it takes days to travel and reach here," she said.

Mandya District Health Officer Dr Manche Gowda said they rely on Mysuru for the supply. While Mandya Medical College has a 13 kilolitres capacity, Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences has another 13 kilolitres, Sanjo Hospital has two kilolitres storage. "We get a refill three to four times a day if there's a requirement. While the government hospitals alone require 350 jumbo cylinders, we need 500 per day," Gowda said.

Karnataka's oxygen allocation has been increased from 802 metric tonnes per day to 865 metric tonnes per day. But the state requires 1,471 tonnes of oxygen. A total of 675 metric tonnes of oxygen out of 815 produced in the state go to the consumers in the state, the rest 140 tonnes are sent to other states. Karnataka also procures 130 tonnes from other states.

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News Network
March 28,2024

An Indian expatriate, hailing from Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, who was detained in Jeddah jail in an alleged cyber case, was set free recently. He is allowed to continue his work in the same company. 

The 49-year-old Mangalurean, has been working for a Maintenance company in Jeddah for more than 13 years. He is known for his efficiency and sincerity in the company with good experience in his field of work. 

His company usually assigned him on duty in Jeddah sea port to take the delivery of the goods consigned to his company. As a part of his duty, he normally takes pictures of the goods before the transportation. He did the same in February 2023 too. 

The security personnel informed the police about his act that amounts to be a violation of the port security rule. He was unaware of the rule as he was doing it normally in the port during the release of the goods. Since then, he was detained by the police on the charge of photographing inside the port premises. After more than 6 months detention, he was released and allowed to work in the same company. 

The detainee’s brother based in Jeddah was constantly pursuing the case.

P A Hameed Padubidri, a pro-bono NRI lawyer and social worker based in Riyadh, extended his socio-humanitarian help in this case upon the request of his family and relatives. 

He actively involved trying to set him free from the jail on humanitarian grounds with the coordination and help of the Consulate General of India (CGI) Jeddah. The CGI keenly followed up the case with the concerned Saudi authorities. He was released from the jail recently and shared his happiness with his family and thanked good samaritans. 

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News Network
March 22,2024

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday produced Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal before the Rouse Avenue court and sought a 10-day custody in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. "Kejriwal was the kingpin of the scam," the ED reportedly told the court after the AAP chief was produced before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja around 2 pm amid tight security. 

ASG S V Raju was appearing for the agency, while Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi is representing Kejriwal. 

Raju in his argument said Kejriwal was "directly involved in formulation of the (liquor) policy... he was involved in handling of proceeds of crime as well in the Goa election campaign."

"The expert committee was constituted but it was a sham committee. The policy was made in such a manner that it would enable the taking of bribes and recoupment of people who gave the bribes," the ED counsel said. 

Kejriwal was produced in the trial court shortly after he withdrew from the Supreme Court his plea against arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. Kejriwal's counsel said he would contest the remand proceedings before the trial court and then come back to the apex court with another petition.

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News Network
March 29,2024

syria.jpg

Dozens of people have lost their lives and sustained injuries when Israeli military aircraft carried out a string of aerial assaults on targets near the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo, according to Syrian officials.

Citing an unnamed military source, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that “the Israeli enemy launched an aerial attack at approximately 1:45 a.m. local time on Friday (March 29) from the direction of Athriya, southeast of Aleppo.”

It added that “civilians and military personnel” had been killed and wounded in the strikes.

SANA noted that Israeli drone strikes had targeted civilians in Aleppo and its suburbs. It did not give an exact number for the casualties.

Two security sources said the strikes on Aleppo early on Friday killed 33 civilians and military personnel.

There was no immediate statement from Israeli officials on the strikes.

Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once its commercial center, has come under such attacks in the past that led to the closure of its international airport. Friday's strike did not affect the airport.

On Thursday evening, Syrian media outlets reported Israeli airstrikes near the capital Damascus saying it wounded two civilians.

The Israeli regime often conducts airstrikes on military installations in Syria, particularly those belonging to the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has been instrumental in supporting the Syrian army in its battle against terrorists backed by foreign entities.

The Tel Aviv regime does not acknowledge its military actions within Syrian territories, which is widely interpreted as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s triumph over terrorism.

Since the onset of foreign-backed militancy in Syria in 2011, the Israeli regime has stood as a staunch supporter of terrorist factions that are in opposition to the democratically-elected leadership of President Bashar al-Assad.

The recent strikes also come amid an upsurge in Israel’s acts of aggression against Syria and its ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip which has killed at least 32,552 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

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