Karnataka govt to ensure uninterrupted supply of food grains, milk to people: CM
Bengaluru: Coming to the aid of citizens facing hardship due to the lockdown, the Karnataka government on Wednesday took a slew of measures to ensure uninterrupted supply of food grains, vegetables and milk.
These decisions include protecting the interests of farmers and milk producers.
"We have decided to supply milk free of cost to the poor till April 14 and the district administrations have been entrusted to make the arrangements for it," Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said at a press briefing after chairing a meeting of the group of ministers.
He conceded that the farmers have been caught in a dilemma due to lockdown as they were not able to sell, harvest or transport their produces.
The chief minister said earlier the farmers were able to transport the produces to the other states but now it has stopped due to which the prices have crashed.
It has been decided, said Yediyurappa, that the HOPCOMS will sell these agriculture products.
Besides this, the HOPCOMS will also sell eggs, said Yediyurappa adding that there were rumours that eggs, tomatoes and poultry products were not good in these times.
"These are all rumours and no one should lend their ear to them," he said.
The chief minister also said agriculture produces will be transported through trains. He also appealed to the people not to go for panic buying as there is no shortage of essential goods in the state.
"There is no need for hoarding. People should not heed to the rumours about the shortage of food grains and products," the chief minister said.
Yediyurappa directed the officials to make sure that the crops are harvested without any interruption. In this regard it was decided to start the rice mills and dal mills.
Speaking about the milk production, the chief minister said earlier the milk production was 69 lakh litres a day, which has reduced to 42 lakh litres a day.
He further the unsold milk would be procured by the governemnt and distributed to the poor.
"Milk will be distributed in the slums. We will distribute it to the poor peoplel free of cost till April 14.
We have directed the deputy commissioners in the districts to ensure the distnibution of milk in their respective districts free of cost to the poor people," Yediyurappa said.
The chief minister said the government was in touch with the Railways with regard to sending perishable goods to other states.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
