'Lack of expertise and staff major cause of covid deaths in rural Karnataka'

News Network
May 5, 2021

Bengaluru, May 5: Doctors from remote rural areas like Aland taluk in Karnataka's Kalaburagi where four Covid patients reportedly died due to shortage of oxygen have had their own harrowing experiences of dealing with the spreading pandemic.

Aland in Kalaburagi, which borders Covid-battered Maharashtra, has off late seen the contagion sweep the taluk indicating that Covid has penetrated even into interior parts of the state.

Doctors there reveal that lack of staff and required expertise are major reasons for increased death toll in rural parts of the state.

They said that most of the patients in rural areas come at last minute in most of the cases when their oxygen saturation level drops to below 80 per cent. "At this juncture, we are forced to administer them oxygen. Therefore, hospitals in interior parts do face 'constraint' in supplying oxygen," Aland taluk health officer Ratnakar Toran told reporters.

Aland is a dry area, with low rainfall and most of the population lives in poverty. It also witnesses large scale migration to cities due to lack of water, poor education facilities and employment opportunities besides power shortages. Aland is also one of taluks that records a high level of farmer suicides.

Aland Hospital surgeon, Abhay Kumar said that four patients who died on Monday were admitted only at 5 p.m. and all four had below 80 per cent oxygen saturation, while one of them had below 70 per cent, who was very critical. "All these four died past midnight. There was no oxygen shortage. But people tend to attribute all deaths to this factor," he said.

The doctors also feel that many people feel ashamed to disclose that their family member have tested Covid positive and continue to mingle with relatives and friends, thus becoming "super spreaders".

"Finally when they reach hospitals, their oxygen saturation level would have fallen drastically over which ill-prepared doctors like us have absolutely no knowledge about handling critical care patients... this either lead to overcrowding of neighbouring district hospital or by the time treatment is given to such patients, it would have been too late," Kumar said, terming himself ill-prepared to handle this contagion at critical stage. "I am a surgeon... all throughout my life I practiced and studied about surgery and related to this subject. Critical care has never been my forte," he said.

He also added that the majority of hospital staff is tested Covid positive, while he being surgeon, and Ratnakar being an ayurvedic doctor, it is very difficult to cope up with the pressure. "Our X-ray machine operator is Covid positive, and still we are managing to run it with the help of Class D employees. There is no one tp monitor in-patients. When we leave it to their relatives, they mishandle the oxygen outflow to patients," the doctor rued.

Aland town shot to limelight for all the wrong reasons on Tuesday when a report of families of four Covid patients alleging about their relatives dying due to lack of Oxygen supply in hospital, while district authorities including newly appointed district in-charge minister, Murugesh Nirani denied there was any oxygen shortage.

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News Network
March 10,2024

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At least five people have been killed in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, according to first responders and local media, amid exchanges of near-daily fire between the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement and Israel since the latter launched its assault on Gaza.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that a family of four, including a father, his pregnant wife and their two sons, and another individual, were killed in the Israeli strike on a house in the al-Ain neighborhood of Khirbet Selm village in southern Lebanon early on Sunday.

Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, were quoted as saying that Israeli fighter jets launched two air-to-surface missiles at the residential building, reducing it to rubble.

Ambulance crew and relief teams recovered the bodies from under the debris and transported them to the Tibnin Governmental Hospital morgue.

The Israeli air raid also resulted in the injury of nine other people and caused serious damage to several surrounding houses.

Israel has been striking Lebanon since the beginning of the regime’s hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip on October 7.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has prompted retaliatory strikes from Hezbollah in support of the Palestinians in the blockaded area. The Lebanese movement has vowed to keep up its retaliatory operations as long as the regime continues its onslaught on Gaza.

Hezbollah fighters have recently targeted Israeli troops near the border with southern Lebanon and rained down rockets on Israeli military sites, including those in Ruwaisat al-Qarn, Zibdin, and Jabal Nader regions.

Also on Saturday, Israeli warplanes bombed a house in the southern Lebanese town of Majdal Zoun, destroying it. An Israeli drone fired a missile at an empty house in the border town of Blida as well.

In mid-February, an Israeli strike knocked down part of a building in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh, killing seven members of the same family, including a child. A boy initially reported missing was found alive under the rubble.

In a separate Israeli attack, a woman and her two children were killed in the village of as-Sawana in southern Lebanon.

The occupying regime has also killed close to 31,000 Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, most of them women and children.

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News Network
March 19,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 19: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that the Congress will split in three months after the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and its impact will be visible on the Siddaramaiah-led state government.

"Due to internal squabbles, the state government will not last long," the BJP leader said.

Talking to reporters on Monday, he said the sitting MP from the Gadag-Haveri constituency, Shivakumar Udasi, has done a lot of development work and implemented the Central government's schemes effectively.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will surely become the PM for the third time. The overall response has been good in the Gadag-Haveri Lok Sabha constituency," the former Karnataka chief minister said.

Asked if he was contesting the election in a half-hearted manner in the Gadag-Haveri seat, Bommai said "such a question does not arise when the party's high command gives instructions".

He said he would respect his opponent and not take anyone lightly. 

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News Network
March 10,2024

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Sayyid Abdul Rahiman Bafaki Thangal Foundation has alleged that the post of Mangalore University vice-chancellor was denied to eminent professor and scholar Muzaffar Assadi despite his name being on top of the list sent by the govt.

Foundation general secretary A S Ebrahim Kareem Kadaba told reporters here on Saturday that they would seek opinion from experts and explore possibilities of challenging the appointment of VC for Mangaluru.

“The state cabinet had sent separate lists with three names each for the appointment of VCs of universities in the state. Scholar Assadi’s name was on top of the list of candidates for MU. However, prof Assadi’s name was ignored while filling the post. We suspect it as a conspiracy to hide the irregularities taking place in the university for the past several years,” Ebrahim said, adding Prof Assadi’s name was not considered for the post of Kuvempu University VC too, though his name was recommended for the post.

MU, which was founded in 1980 with prof Sheikh Ali as the first VC, had obtained Grade A in the NAAC ranking. 

However, the rank has now fallen to Grade B. Meanwhile, the university has also been facing a financial crunch in such a way that it is facing difficulties in paying salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff. Further, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has carried out a raid at the university recently, he said.

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