Karnataka shuts borders with Kerala again over Covid-19
Mangaluru: With the Karnataka government reinstating stricter control of transit passengers from Kerala in view of increasing Covid-19 positive cases, people here bound to Mangaluru and other parts of Dakshina Kannada for various purposes including medical needs and studies are in a fix again.
Long queues of vehicles could be seen in the border areas since morning as Karnataka authorities sealed many roads including national highways and restricted entry only for those with Covid-19 negative certificates.
The Dakshina Kannada authorities sealed all borders from Monday except four to cross over, sources said.
According to Karnataka officials at the borders, those who wish to enter have to produce Covid-19 negative certificate through an RT-PCR test taken 72 hours prior to their cross over time.
Health and police personnel are on duty at the four borders, viz.Talapady in Mangalore taluk, Saradka in Bantwal, Nettanige-Mudnuru in Puttur taluk and Jalsoor in Sullia, to verify and allow people's entry into Karnataka.
The residents in and around Kasaragod, the northernmost district of Kerala, have been thronging Mangaluru in Karnataka for decades for treatment at the speciality hospitals there.
While Mangaluru is just about 10 to 50 kms from anywhere from Kasaragod, the nearest available facility is in Kannur, which is as far as 100 km.
People in and around Kasaragod had struggled a lot during the initial days of the lockdown when the Karnataka authorities restricted movement of people into their territory.
Strict guidelines on producing medical certificates to get an entry for the critically ill-patients had also turned out to be a nightmare for follow-up treatments during those days.
There were instances of death of patients as the authorities disallowed their entry even for critical medical care.
However, the intervention of the apex court had facilitated permission to critically ill patients to cross over to Mangaluru for treatment.
Now, the plight of the poor but critical patients from the district is pathetic as they need to undergo a Rs 1,700 RT-PCR test to enable entry into Mangaluru for follow-up treatment, local people said.
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Sculptor Ram Sutar, designer of Statue of Unity, passes away
New Delhi (PTI): Noted sculptor Ram Sutar, known for designing the world's tallest statue — Statue of Unity — in Gujarat, passed away late on Wednesday night at his Noida residence, his son said.
He was 100 and ailing with age-related illnesses.
"It is with profound grief that we inform you of the passing of my father Shri Ram Vanji Sutar on 17th December midnight at our residence," his son Anil Sutar said in a note shared with the press on Thursday.
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Born in a humble family in Gondur village under the Dhule district of present-day Maharashtra on February 19, 1925, Sutar is known to have been drawn to sculpting from his childhood.
A gold medallist from JJ School of Art and Architecture, Mumbai, Sutar, has to his credit a long list of achievements.
The iconic statues of Mahatma Gandhi seated in a meditating pose and of Chhatrapati Shivaji riding a horse on the Parliament premises rank among his finest creations.
The Statue of Unity honours Sardar Patel, country's first deputy prime minister and home minister.
Sutar was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016.
Recently, Sutar was conferred with the Maharashtra Bhushan Puraskar, the state's highest award.
