KARNATAKA

Tinthani villagepanchayat in Karnataka’sYadgir districthas been declared as the first village panchayat in the state to achieve 100% Covid vaccination.

All 4,200 eligible persons have been vaccinated within its limits in an all-out effort.
Yadgir district is considered one of the most backward districts in Karnataka. However, the District Administration was able to achieve what the authorities of most developed regions, including surrounding district of Bengaluru, could not achieve.

Yadgir is highly under-developed and the Literacy rate is also very low. There were misconceptions about side effects, long-term damage regarding the vaccination as resistance to vaccination was very high. It was then that the district commissioner, R. Raagapriya, decided to have one inspirationalgram panchayatto motivate others to come forward for the vaccination programme.
Tinthani village panchayat was selected and all revenue authorities and tehsildars were sent along with the Health department staff. With door-to- door campaigns 95% of the people were vaccinated.

The deaths ofCovid-19 patients in Chamarajanagarand Kalaburagihospitalsin less than 24 hours due to non-availability of medical Oxygen have exposed the lack of a sturdy distribution mechanism as well as official bungling.

Despite several warnings by Health experts, the government failed to assess the shortage of oxygen and take remedial steps. The response brings to mind a Kannada proverb: digging a well for water when people are dying of thirst.

Its been more than two weeks since hospitals and health experts have repeatedly highlighted scarcity of oxygen and asked the government to ramp up facilities, especially in districts, where cases are rising.

In a bid to ensure smooth supply and prevent pilferage and black-Marketing ofRemdesivir, the government has developed a system that not only informs patients via SMS that a vial has been issued against his/her name but also allows him/her to tip off the state if they dont get the dose.

As on date, of the 3,269 recognised hospitals in the state, 1,276 have already migrated to the online process. On Average, between 210 to 300 hospitals have been placing indents. On Monday (May 10) for instance, 214 hospitals placed indents for 7,182 vials, while it was 278 and 10,292 on Tuesday. As of 6.30pm on Wednesday, 286 hospitals had placed indents for 9,960 vials. Officials estimated that this would go beyond 11,000 by the end of the day.

TheNational Institute of Technology Karnataka(NITK) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with theNational Jute Board(NJB), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, to develop technology to make Geo-Cell products from jute and standardize them for variousengineering applications.

The commercially available polymer-based geo-cells are costly and not readily available in rural areas and small towns. This navigates towards inventing an eco- friendly, cost-effective cellular confinement product that satisfies engineering strength requirements. Jute is a natural material that is plentifully available in India.

Almost 85% of the world’s jute cultivation is concentrated in the Ganges Delta. It is high time that India explores its diverse applications and widens its usage in the form of different products. The project by NITK, Surathkal, proposes a very affordable and eco-friendly method of ground improvement using jute in the form of cells.

With all 11 inland national waterways (NWs) identified by Indias Inland Waterways Authority (IWA) not taking off, the government ofKarnatakahas embarked on the development of an ambitious inter-state waterway betweenMangaluruand Panaji in Goa, to promote tourism, and for affordable passenger and freight transportation.

Though techno-economic feasibility studies have been initiated for the 11 NWs in Karnataka, the has initiated the preparation of a detailed feasibility report (DFR) for the development of an inter-state waterway between Mangaluru and Panaji.

Three firms had expressed interest in the request for proposal from the Karnataka government, floated by the Ports & inland water transport department, directorate of ports and inland water transport. Kalinath Advisors Pvt Ltd have been selected as consultants for the project.

There are seven critical river systems in Karnataka, with a lot of tributaries, but not much progress has been seen in the development of inland waterways for transport, tourism or cargo movement.

The chamber has said the inland water connection of Nethravathi River from Thumbe, that connects Maravoor Bridge via OldPort, and the Mangaluru International Airport, will catalyse Economic Development along the riverbank.

The Karnataka legislative assembly passed the long-pending Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority Bill, 2022 that aims to streamline the ill-famed Bengaluru traffic and integrate public transport Services and civic agencies under one roof for effective coordination.

Piloting the bill on CM Basavaraj Bommai’s behalf, law and parliamentary affairs minister JC Madhuswamy said the bill has been drafted to supplement the Centre’s National Urban Transport Policy.

:Karnatakagovernment has become the first state to initiate e-Rupi disbursement for scholarships of eligible students. e-Rupi will be used to ensure leak-proof delivery of Education fees by paying digitally to the college/institute. Karnataka government will get e-vouchers delivered to the mobiles of eligible students. The voucher code can be received on feature phones too. The students will be able to redeem the vouchers at the identified colleges/institutes for the purpose of fees payment.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), https://exam.pscnotes.com/state-bank-of-india”>State Bank Of India (SBI), and the state department of e-Governance have partnered to enable and implement e-Rupi.

Karnataka government has onboarded around 176 schemes of 35 departments on the DBT platform.

Cracking the whip on public universities for increasingfeesarbitrarily, the department of higher Education has proposed to bring in a uniform fee structure for courses across varsities and regulate other fees like exam fees and sport fees. An expert committee has been formed to recommend steps in this regard, reportsSruthy Susan Ullas.

The proposal will be applicable to all affiliating and unitary universities that come under the ambit ofKarnataka State UniversitiesAct 2000. There are 25 public universiti-es in the state. The panel will also look at a uniform timeframe for holding exams, evaluation and announcement of results.

Despite a recommendation to the contrary, the has decided to merge all four state-run road transport corporations to plug operational losses and increase efficiency.

KarnatakaState Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Staff and Workers Federation, for years, has been demanding a merger with Bangalore Metro Transport Corporation (BMTC), North Western Karnataka RTC (NWKRTC) and Kalyana Karnataka RTC (KKRTC).

It was even one of the demands made to the MR Srinivasa Murthy committee which was set up by the government in November 2021 to recommend measures to restructure and revive ailing RTCs. However, the one-man committee reportedly rejected the merger demand.

KSRTC was bifurcated in 1997 into new corporations such as BMTC and NWKRTC. In 2000, one more corporation, KKRTC (formerly NEKRTC), was formed.