Plans to organize Kambala during Dasara Kreedotsava in Mysuru, says Deputy CM
Mangaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has announced that the popular buffalo race of coastal Karnataka, Kambala, will be organized in Mysuru as part of this year's Dasara Kreedakoota.
Speaking at the Gurupura Kambalotsava, the Deputy CM said he would discuss the proposal with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Mysuru District In-charge Minister. As the vice-president of the Dasara organizing committee, Shivakumar said he would advocate for including Kambala among the Dasara events in Mysuru. He noted that the festivities already feature Yakshagana and the tiger dance from Mangaluru Dasara, and expressed his intention to ensure that Kambala is also added to the list.
He mentioned that around three acres of land would be identified in Mysuru to host the kambala and accommodate approximately 25,000 spectators. Dakshina Kannada Kambala Samiti President Deviprasada Shetty was asked to prepare a plan for organizing the event, with the assurance of full government support.
Shivakumar emphasized that Kambala is not confined to any party, caste, or religion. As a representation of the region’s tradition and art, he said it must be preserved. He also suggested exploring the possibility of organizing Kambala at the international level.
Gurupura Kambala President Inayat Ali, former minister Ramanath Rai, and others were present.
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WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak in Congo, Uganda
Abuja (Nigeria) (AP): WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.
In a post on X, the World Health Organisation said the outbreak does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, and advised against the closure of international borders.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.
Health authorities have confirmed the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant of the Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time the Bundibugyo virus has been reported.
Congo accounts for all except two of the cases, both of which were reported in neighbouring Uganda, the WHO said.
Officials first reported the spread of the disease in Congo's eastern province of Ituri, close to Uganda and South Sudan, on Friday. On Saturday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported 336 suspected cases and 87 deaths.
“There are significant uncertainties regarding the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time. In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases,” Tedros said.
Uganda on Saturday confirmed one case it said was imported from Congo, and said the patient died at a hospital in Uganda's capital, Kampala, and the WHO said that a second case has been reported in Kampala. The two cases had no apparent links to each other, and both patients had travelled from Congo, it added.
The Bundibugyo virus was first detected in Uganda's Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that infected 149 people and killed 37 people. The second time was in 2012 in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.
WHO's emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. However, the global response to previous declarations has been mixed.
In 2024, when the WHO declared mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency, experts at the time said it did little to get supplies like diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines to affected countries quickly.
