Virasat celebrating silver jubilee: Postal dept to release special postal cover
Mangaluru, Jan 1: With the Silver Jubilee celebration, the Alva's Virasat being conducted by the Moodabidri Alva's Education Foundation, will be held from Jan 4 to 6.
To mark the Silver Jubilee celebration, the Postal department will launch a special postal cover at the Alva's Virasat programme, said Foundation chairman Dr. Mohan Alva.
Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, he said that during the Silver Jubilee celebration, noted playback singer, Ghazal singer, Music composer Hariharan would be honoured with Virasat-2019 award.
The programme would be held at Vanajakshi K Sripathi Bhat stage at Vivekananda Nagar of Puttige. The inaugural programme would be held at 5.45 pm with the cultural procession and stage programme would be held from 5.30 pm to 6.45 pm. Nitte Group of Institutions Chairman Dr. N Vinay Hegde would inaugurate the Alva's Virasat 2019, he said.
Virasat cultural programmes
On Jan 4 from 7 to 9 pm, a musical event would be conducted by Colonial Cousins famed Hariharan and Lesley Levies. From 9.15 pm, Alva's students would perform Alva's cultural programmes like Mohiniyattam, Badaguthittu Yakshagana, Malla Kambala and Dandiya dance. On jan 5 from 6 to 8 pm, Bollywood playback singer Sukhwinder Singh and team would perform musical night and from 8.10 pm to 8.40 pm, Nrityantar Academy of Performing Arts Bengaluru would perform Odyssey dance, while Shyla Sudha Academy of Chennai would perform Kuchipudi dance from 8.45 pm to 9.30 pm and Alva's institution students would perform Banjara dance, Manipur Stick dance, Canadian dance of Sri Lanka and Kathak dance from 9.35 pm, he said.
On January 6 from 6 to 8 pm, Shankar Mahadeshwara, Siddarth Mahadevan and Shivam Mahadevan would perform, from 8.10 to 9 pm, Parampara Kolkata would perform Ranga Bharathi Colours of Bharatanatyam and from 9 pm, Alva's students would perform Bharatanatyam, Dholchalam of Manipur, Bangda dance of Punjab and Thenkuthittu Yakshagana, he added.
PRO Dr. Padmanabha Shetty was present at the press conference.
Artiste Surya Prakash of Hyderabad gets Alva's Varna Virasat award
Dr Mohan Alva said that this time, the Alva's Varna Virasat award would be presented on senior artiste Surya Prakash of Hyderabad. Surya Prakash has given more than 50 solo painting exhibitions in India and abroad and he was famous for his special work 'Jargon of the Junk', he said.
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Karnataka procured 16 lakh expired RT-PCR kits during Covid wave: D’Cunha commission
Bengaluru: Justice John Michael D’Cunha’s committee has uncovered significant irregularities in the procurement of medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic, revealing that more than 16 lakh RT-PCR test kits purchased by Karnataka in 2022 under the BJP-led government were either expired or close to their expiry dates.
After irregularities in PPE kit purchases, ventilators have also come under the scanner, with the report highlighting discrepancies amounting to Rs 173.26 crore in purchases made by the Medical Education Department.
The commission has also found that the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Ltd. (KSMSCL) that cancelled a supply order for one lakh Rapid Antigen (RAT) kits placed with a Singapore-based company in March 2020 — for delay in supplying — has not recovered the Rs 6.99 crore paid to the company towards the order, as reported by The Hindu on Thursday.
According to the 279-page report on procurements made by the KSMSCL that is compiled in part IV of the report, a payment of Rs 148.84 crore was made by KSMSCL to various suppliers and firms towards procurement of RT-PCR kits from 2020 to 2022.
The Commission’s report, as cited by the publication, stated that there were records indicating procurement of RT-PCR kits, RNA extraction kits and Viral transport media (VTM) of a total value of Rs 106.25 crore during the pandemic in Karnataka. However, according to the report, this procurement was made without administrative approval.
“Since the KSMSCL has failed to discharge its obligation and responsibility, the loss caused to the State exchequer to this extent is required to be replenished by the erring officers and/or officials of the KSMSCL as well as the officers and/or officials of the consignee designated laboratories who received the consignment,” the report said, pegging the losses due to expired kits supplied by companies at Rs 3.11 crore.
In response to the report’s findings, state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao criticised the saffron party for profiting from the pandemic. He promised accountability for the irregularities involving PPE kits and ventilators, stating that those responsible would face punishment.
