Bengaluru: Tragically, an elderly woman succumbed to Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), commonly known as monkey fever, in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, bringing the state’s death toll from the disease to four. The 60-year-old woman, a resident of Koorlakai village in Siddapur taluk, had been undergoing treatment at Meggan Hospital in Shivamogga for three days before passing away on Sunday night. Diagnosed with monkey fever 20 days prior, she had been battling symptoms of high fever. Siddapur taluk alone has witnessed a surge in monkey fever cases, with the tally reaching 43. Across the state, there are currently 103 active cases of monkey fever, with previous fatalities recorded in Chikkamagaluru, Uttara Kannada, and Shivamogga districts.
Related Posts
Man attacked in robbery bid; two arrested in Gujarat’s Vadodara
Vadodara, Feb 22 (IANS) A man was attacked by two people in the Makarpura GIDC area of Gujarat’s Vadodara, allegedly in a robbery bid.
The victim, Pradeep Munshi, a manager in a private company, was ambushed by an auto-rickshaw driver and his accomplice, who assaulted him with wooden sticks.
The assailants fled the scene, but police responded, arresting both accused and seizing their auto-rickshaw, officials said.
According to reports, Munshi was in the area when two unidentified men arrived in an auto-rickshaw. The incident took place on February 21.
Without provocation, they began attacking him, striking him repeatedly with sticks. The ordeal lasted nearly half an hour, during which Munshi screamed for help, but no bystanders intervened. Eventually, the attackers fled, leaving him injured on the street. Munshi sustained severe injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment.
Following his complaint, Manjalpur police launched an investigation and arrested the accused Rafiq and Arif.
Authorities have also seized their auto-rickshaw and are probing whether the duo has a history of similar crimes.
In Gujarat, theft and burglary cases have been a persistent concern over the past five years. Between 2018 and 2023, the state recorded a total of 97,950 incidents of theft and burglary.
Alarmingly, only 46,636 of these cases were solved, indicating a detection rate of approximately 50 per cent. This translates to an average of 38 thefts and nine burglaries reported daily during this period.
The COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 saw a slight dip in these crimes, with around 10,000 incidents reported each year, likely due to increased home occupancy during lockdowns. However, the numbers surged again post-pandemic, with 16,529 theft cases reported up to September 2023, of which only about half were resolved.
Temples in Gujarat have also been targeted, with 501 reported thefts over the past three years, resulting in losses totalling Rs 4.93 crore. The breakdown includes 151 incidents in 2020-21, 178 in 2021-22, and 172 in 2022-23.
Despite these challenges, certain areas have shown improvement.
Vadodara City, for instance, achieved an 87 per cent detection rate in chain-snatching cases in 2024, the highest in the state. The city’s Detection of Crime Branch registered 296 offences in 2024, marking a 50 per cent increase from the previous year.
–IANS
janvi/svn
Global Investment Summit 2025 will be different from previous ones: MP CM
Bhopal, Feb 17 (IANS) Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday said the state’s upcoming Global Investment Summit (GIS) would be different from the previous ones and it will be successful due to the new investment policy introduced recently.
The Chief Minister said that the state government had been working on framing the attractive investment policy for almost a year, focusing on building the right infrastructure, improving policies, and engaging with stakeholders.
“Groundwork for GIS began with the beginning of the Regional Industry Conclave (RIS) organised in different parts of the state in the past year. Therefore, two-day GIS will be very different from the past once,” said the Chief Minister.
He stated that the state government has crafted new investment policy on specific sectors like textiles, electric vehicles (EVs), food processing, and renewable energy by observing the interests of industrialists during meetings.
Highlighting more about the state’s new investment policy introduced recently, Yadav stated the government has made provision for tax incentives, land subsidies, and subsidies on electricity to attract investors.
“Madhya Pradesh has strong infrastructure along with an ideal business environment for any industry to thrive. We also have skilled labour, and the people here are hardworking. Moreover, we have abundant raw materials,” Yadav said.
He asserted that during the summit, industry leaders from various sectors will share their experiences, insights, and strategies to accelerate industrial development and leverage the opportunities in the state.
Chief Minister also stated that due to investor-friendly policies, the state’s financial sector will also witness massive growth in the next five years.
Two-day GIS will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 24 in Bhopal while Union Home Minister Amit Shah will participate in the closing ceremony of the event on February 25.
–IANS
pd/dan
CM Majhi highlights Odisha’s achievements in key sectors, seeks Centre’s intervention to expand banking services
Bhubaneswar, July 10 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, on Thursday, highlighted the state’s progress in women’s empowerment, healthcare, education, and electrification, while also seeking the Central government’s assistance to expand banking services in remote and rural regions during the Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Jharkhand’s state capital of Ranchi.
During his speech, Chief Minister Majhi outlined the allocation of Rs 15,222.85 crore in the financial year 2025-26 for implementation and administrative strengthening of various schemes launched by the state government for empowerment of women and children.
The key initiatives taken by the Odisha government for the Women and Child Development sector includes ‘Odisha Pusti Mission’ to enhance nutrition among children, pregnant women, and adolescent girls; ‘Mukhyamantri Kanya Bibah Yojana’ for supporting mass marriages for underprivileged families; and the ‘Subhadra Sambedana Yojana’ to strengthening women’s safety infrastructure, including help desks at railway stations and ‘Ame Padhiba Ama Bhasa Re’ to provide education in 17 tribal languages to preserve heritage and improve primary education outcomes.
The Chief Minister also added that Odisha has succeeded in providing financial assistance to more than one crore women under its flagship SUBHADRA scheme.
The state government launched a mobile app (SHAKTI) to ensure women’s safety.
Chief Minister Majhi called Odisha as national leader in Aadhaar-based beneficiary verification and community outreach under POSHAN Abhiyaan.
The Chief Minister highlighted the integration of Central government’s Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and the state government’s Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana and the implementation of Ayushman Vay Vandana schemes now cover more than 3.6 crore people, offering Rs 5 lakh cashless care, plus an extra Rs 5 lakh for women and senior citizens.
He said that Odisha has taken several transformative steps to make education more inclusive, equitable, and aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
“These initiatives are aligned with our vision of ‘Vikasit Odisha’. By improving the children-teacher ratio, introducing digital tools, enriching the curriculum, and engaging local communities, we are building a strong educational foundation for every child in the state,” CM Majhi added.
He also emphasised that Odisha has set up 23 POCSO courts and 21 fast track special courts to ensure speedy investigation of cases of sexual offences against women and children.
In 2024, 3,511 sexual offence cases were registered, with 2,393 charge sheets filed within two months.
He highlighted the progress made by the state government in urban planning, implementation of emergency response support system (ERSS-112), promotion of “Shree Anna”, millets.
Highlighting the achievements in the power sector, CM Majhi said that Odisha has emerged as a power surplus state in the eastern region of India, ready to supply surplus electricity to neighbouring eastern states through mutually agreed arrangements.
In renewable energy, Odisha is the first state in eastern India to formulate an energy transition action plan, he added.
“Odisha has also proposed the establishment of a regional research and testing laboratory of the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) at Bhubaneswar to serve the eastern zone’s technical needs,” CM Majhi said.
The Chief Minister during his speech voiced concerns over the low penetration of banking services in the rural areas of the state.
“In this context, we request the Union government to kindly advise all banks at their apex level to open brick and mortar branches in unbanked gram panchayats in Odisha. Necessary steps may also be taken for redressal of the internet connectivity issues at the gram panchayat level for encouraging banks to open brick and mortar branches. A fixed component of commission along with variable commission to business correspondents may be increased by commercial banks to check their attrition rate,” CM Majhi said.
=–IANS
gyan/khz