Karnataka govt targets zero rabies deaths by 2030
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday said the state has set a target of reducing rabies deaths to zero by 2030 as he launched the State Action Plan for Dog-Mediated Rabies Elimination, aimed at making the staet rabies-free.
The State Action Plan for Dog-Mediated Rabies Elimination (SAPRE) seeks to strengthen rabies prevention efforts across the state, he said.
The State Action Plan was also launched for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (SAPSE).
“The Government of Karnataka has reaffirmed its commitment to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies by 2030 through the implementation of SAPRE. Aligned with the National Rabies Control Programme and the national goal of ‘Zero Human Deaths due to Dog-Mediated Rabies by 2030’, the state has adopted a comprehensive One Health strategy to address rabies in an integrated and sustainable manner,” he said.
Addressing the gathering here, the Health Minister announced that anti-rabies vaccines and rabies immunoglobulin will be made available at all Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres, taluk hospitals and district hospitals across the state, and maintaining adequate stocks has been made mandatory.
Private hospitals have also been directed to ensure continuous availability of these medicines and to provide treatment without insisting on advance payment, he added.
“State and district-level joint committees have been formed for monitoring purposes. The programme will be implemented with the cooperation of various government departments, and NGOs will also extend support,” Rao said.
On snakebite management, the minister said an action plan has been formulated to reduce deaths caused by venomous snakebites.
“The plan has been prepared in accordance with central guidelines," he said, highlighting that in 2024, the state government included all snakebite cases in the list of notifiable diseases.
Officials noted that as Karnataka is the first state to declare all snake bite cases and deaths as'notifiable diseases', it has also become the first state to launch state action plan.
"Guidelines have been developed in collaboration with NGOs, civil society organisations and other departments, Rao added.
According to Rao, the plan focuses on prevention and control measures, ensuring availability of medicines, training and creating public awareness.
Eliminating disabilities caused by snakebites is also a key objective.
“Free treatment will be provided for snakebite cases as well, and private hospitals have been directed to provide immediate life-saving treatment to victims without insisting on advance payment,” Rao said.
Overall, the Health Department has formulated these programmes to address public health concerns effectively and ensure that no death occurs due to lack of timely treatment, he added.
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Odisha woman raped twice in a day, dies after being thrown off four-storey building; 2 held
Paradip (Odisha) (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was raped twice in a day in separate places by her boyfriend and a stranger offering help and then thrown off a four-storey building, leading to her death, in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, police said on Friday.
Police arrested both the accused and booked them under various sections of BNS for kidnapping, rape and murder.
"The incident took place on February 22 after the woman left her house with plans to elope with her boyfriend, who had asked her to come to a temple by promising to marry her. However, he took her to a secluded place, raped her and abandoned her at Rahama bus stand," Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Ankit Kumar Verma told reporters.
As the victim was waiting at the bus stand, another man hailing from Jharkhand, who was heading to nearby Paradip on his motorcycle, saw the hapless woman and offered help.
He, however, took her to the roof of his rented accommodation at a place in Paradip town and raped her again, the SP said.
The accused then threw the woman from the roof of the building, leading to her death, he said, adding her body was found the next morning.
The SP said the victim's brother lodged a complaint at Paradip Model police station on February 25, alleging that his sister was raped and murdered on February 22. An unnatural death case was registered on February 23 following the recovery of the woman's body.
Earlier, in the evening of February 22, the woman's brother had lodged a missing persons case at Tirtol police station when his sister did not return home.
BJD supremo and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, condemned the incident and demanded justice for the woman and other victims of recent rape incidents.
"How many more innocent lives will be lost? From underage girls to differently abled young women, no one is safe. So, is the rule of law still in place in the state? The news of heinous crimes coming from Kanhari in Angul, Kuchinda in Sambalpur, and Paradip is deeply disturbing. Chaos everywhere, insecurity all around, O Mother!" he said in an X post.
"While the government delivers long-winded speeches on women's safety and law and order, the ground reality is extremely alarming. Even in broad daylight, an atmosphere of fear prevails. Despite repeated instances of such deplorable incidents, the government's failure to take any exemplary, stringent action is emboldening the criminals. The government should take proactive steps to spread awareness on women's safety and ensure the rule of law is upheld in the state," the former CM added.
