Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat seeks permission for religious programmes
Mangaluru, Apr 17: Criticising the state governments decision to ban religious programmes due to the rise in COVID-19 cases, Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat on Saturday said the restrictions will hurt the feelings of citizens of the district and neighbouring Dakshina Kannada.
Addressing reporters at Udupi, he said it is disappointing to note that while political meetings are being allowed, restrictions are imposed on religious programmes.
Bhat said the COVID-19 situation in Udupi was not so alarming as to clamp a night curfew and demanded that it be immediately withdrawn.
He said the authorities can take steps to ensure that people are wearing masks and avoid crowding.
Bhat said small traders who are just coming out of their miseries during the first lockdown cannot afford to bear the new restrictions.
Udupi district has so far managed the Covid situation in a commendable manner, he said.
Meanwhile in Dakshina Kannada, leaders of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other organisations met district deputy commissioner K V Rajendra on Saturday, urging him to relax the restrictions on religious functions.
They also approached BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel MP with the request.
The leaders assured that if the programmes are allowed, the COVID-19 protocol will be strictly followed at the functions, VHP sources said.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
