Ambulance gets preference over VIP convoy in Karnataka
Bengaluru, July 9 : Ambulances across Karnataka need not wait for a VIP convoy to pass for rushing patients to hospitals for emergency treatment, a top city police official said on Monday.
"As per the orders passed from the state police chief Neelamani N. Raju, the traffic police in the city and across the state will make way for the ambulances to pass through to get the patients to hospitals in time, even if there is VIP movement on the route," Bengaluru Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar told IANS here.
The move comes after the state's Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister G. Parameshwara wrote to Raju asking the state's traffic police to give preference to ambulances irrespective of VIP convoy movement.
"I have observed that ambulances are sometimes stopped to make way for my convoy. Nothing is more important than rescuing a person in need of immediate medical help. Going forward, no ambulances will be stopped during movement of VIP convoys," Parameshwara said in a tweet.
According a report in local media, an ambulance was held up for 15 minutes in the city last month for allowing Parameshwara's convoy to pass first.
In June last year, a police officer Nijlingappa was rewarded by the city police department for making way for an ambulance before then President Pranab Mukherjee's convoy passed on the same route.
Instances of vehicular traffic, including ambulance service, being held up for VIP convoys has been receiving flak as precious time would be last during the 'golden hour' (first hour after a traumatic injury) as any delay in rushing a patient to a hospital may endanger a human life
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K'taka bypolls: 11.87 percent voter turnout in Bagalkot, 9.01 percent in Davanagere South till 9 am
Bengaluru (PTI): In the first two hours since voting began for bypolls to two Bagalkot and Davanagere South assembly constituencies, the voter turnout stood at 11.87 percent and 9.01 percent, respectively, on Thursday.
The voting for the bypolls in two constituencies necessitated by the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, began at 7 am, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said.
While the Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to the ruling party, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
Officials said elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of bypolls.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth’s father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP’s Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP’s B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
