Tests rule out bats as source of Nipah virus
Kozhikode, May 25: Tests have ruled out bats being behind the spread of the Nipah virus that took 12 lives in Kerala's Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, officials said on Friday.
A total of 21 samples from bats and pigs were sent to the High Security Animal Diseases laboratory at Bhopal but all turned out negative according to the results, obtained late Friday evening, said officials.
Early this week, a team led by Central Animal Husbandry Commissioner S.P. Suresh, after examination of animals in the affected areas near here, said no incidence of Nipah virus had been identified in animals and it was the humans who had been affected.
The samples sent to Bhopal included those taken from bats found in the house of disease victim Moosa in the worse-affected Perambara village. His two sons and another relative also succumbed.
All the 21 samples were collected from in and nearby Perambara.
Transmission of NiV takes place through direct contact with infected bats, pigs or from other NiV-infected people.
With the results showing that this virus has not come from bats, the authorities have now decided to conduct more tests to locate its source.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
