Mangaluru Press Club distributes health cards to reporters
Mangaluru: Mangaluru Press Club and Dakshin Kannada Working Journalist Association, on Tuesday distributed health cards among its reporters at the Mangaluru Press Club office, here.
The health cards were distributed by President and Chancellor of NITTE (Deemed to be university) N. Vinay Hegde. The Mangaluru Press Club, came up with the scheme of distributing health cards, in association with the NITTE’s Justice KS Hegde Hospital, Mangaluru.
Under the scheme, the holders of the card will be eligible for a family health insurance scheme that will cover four members of a family, between the age of 3 months to 70 years.
A maximum coverage of Rs. 30,000/- will be offered which will be given in three installments. The in-patients can avail upto Rs. 9000/- per admission, while the consultations at the OPD will be free for the holders of the card.
The services and benefits of the card can be availed at NITTE’s Justice KS Hegde Hospital, at Deralakatte in Mangaluru.
Initially 97 cards will be distributed out of 246 reporters registered with Mangaluru press club. Off the 97 cards, those present during the event, were handed their respective healthcards.
Speaking at the event, Vinay Hegde, assured the officials of Press Club and working journalist association that the hospital will extend maximum support to the card holders from the press club while also adding that “The services covered under the card’s scheme will be made available easily, but in-case there is something we can do, that is not covered in the card, we will also try and arrange exceptions, looking at the seriousness of the case”.
Vinay Hegde further added “The media persons are the backbone of the democracy, and plays an important role in the development of any democracy. I take this as a pleasure, to serve media people. Them being healthy is very important for the health of our country”.
Hemanth Shetty, PRO of NITTE, also spoke at the event and explained the benefits of the card, while also urging the holders of the cards to effectively use it.
He added “We charge the BPL card holders a sum of Rs 150 and APL card holders Rs. 250 for the membership of the cards. When press club and working journalist association approached us with the proposal, we immediately approved their request and also told them that we will give these cards for free. It has cost us over Rs 24,000/- which has been credited from our charitable foundation”.
Officials of Mangaluru Press Club and Dakshin Kannada Working Journalist Association, thanked Vinay Hegde and Hemanth Shetty for their constant support throughout the project. Vinay Hegde was also felicitated by Press club towards the conclusion of the event to acknowledge his contributions in the field of education in Dakshina Kannada.
Mangaluru Press Club President, Anu Mangaluru, Working Journalist Association Dakshina Kannada, President Shrinivas Indaje, General Secretary Ibrahim Adkasthala and Patrika Bhava Trust President Anand Shetty were present on diaz during the event.
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
