“The government has agreed eight out of nine demands and we have already announced their implication. But, it is not possible to meet the ninth demand of implantation of the 6th pay commission. We appeal the employees to call off the strike,” said chief secretary P Ravi Kumar following a meeting of officials convened by chief minister BS Yediyurappa.
Hike in their salary in accordance with the recommendation of the 6th pay commission on par with the government employees has been the main demand of the employees of all four transport corporations.
“The government wants to effect an 8 per cent salary hike immediately, but the election code of conduct prevents it. I have written to the Election Commission of India seeking its permission. The salary hike will be announced immediately if we get the approval, otherwise we need to wait till the elections are over,” said Ravi Kumar.
Health workers from BBMP conduct Covid tests at Majestic bus stand.
BENGALURU: Experts fear that the city might report more than 6,000 Covid-19 cases daily by the third week of April, which could lead to a severe shortage of hospital beds.
Epidemiologist Dr Giridhara Babu warned that at the current rate, Bengaluru would see 6,500 cases every day by April 20. Even if 10 per cent of them require hospitalisation, the city’s health system will be overwhelmed in a few days. “We need action now, not tomorrow,” he said.
From March 28 to April 3, Bengaluru recorded 18,075 cases. Actives cases went up from 15,882 to 26,544 during the period. “The reproductive numbers of the virus in the past few days have increased. Maharashtra is finding it hard to drive out asymptomatic patients from hospitals to tend to the needy. The government must come up with a strategic plan,” he said.
Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar
BENGALURU: Hinting at no relaxation in the new set of guidelines issued by the state government, amid pressure from various sectors, Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar on Saturday said it was inevitable to take certain strict measures so that things don t go out of control.
He said the guidelines have been issued on the advice of the technical advisory committee consisting of experts, after examining the situation, and if things are under control by April 20, activities will be allowed to resume. The government is not happy by restricting activities. I have been requesting through the media for the last one month that a second wave is at our doorstep and if we don t understand and take precautionary measures, the government will have no other options and may have to take serious measures, Sudhakar said.
BS Yediyurappa’s decision to give special grants to MLAs for road works reportedly angered KS Eshwarappa
BENGALURU: The management of a major rural infrastructure scheme, Grameena Sumarga, appears to be the trigger for the rift between BS Yediyurappa and KS Eshwarappa, who has protested the chief minister’s functioning style in a letter to the governor.
The Eshwarappa camp alleges that Yediyurappa has been directly providing special grants to MLAs for road works in their constituencies instead of making these allocations under the scheme and channelling the funds through the rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) department. With MLAs unilaterally undertaking road works in their areas, Eshwarappa, the RDPR minister, has no say in which stretches should be developed first.
According to a BBMP officer, all hospitals must have 10% beds for +ve patients in next one week.
BENGALURU: With Covid-19 cases steadily increasing in Bengaluru, a majority of the hospitals treating the infections said most of their beds are occupied and doctors fear demand for ICU beds could throw up infrastructure and human resources challenges in the coming days.
Covid wards in major hospitals in the city are nearly full, despite 80% of the cases in the second wave are asymptomatic and require only home isolation. In a 1,000-bed hospital, 10% of the beds are for intensive care. In Covid care for severe patients, at least 40-50% beds should be in ICUs, doctors said.