Politicians rising ‘separate’ voice for selfishness: Prof Champa
Bengaluru, Aug 02: Senior writer Prof Chandrashekar Patil, popularly known as Champa, said that instead of writers and scholars, the politicians have been rising hue and cry about separate state to gain personal mileage.
Speaking at a symposium on ‘North Karnataka: Problems and remedies’ organized by the Federation of Karnataka Industries and Commercial Kannada Associations here on Thursday, he said that those who have prepared to divide the state, were unaware of the pain and sacrifice of the people who built it. Sriramulu and Umesh Katti were speaking about dividing the state just to become the chief ministers, he said.
“Dreaming is not wrong. Let them dream of becoming the chief minister of united Karnataka. The people who speak about dividing the state should not play with the feelings of people. They should strengthen the state instead of weakening it. Politicians should understand this concept”, he said.
“Karnataka means united Karnataka and not different Karnataka. Karnataka was not born out of the blessings of a person or someone. A number of activists had sacrificed their life for uniting the state. It has a long history. Unfortunately, the state is facing threat after 62 years of its formation. The state is facing this situation as the politicians have failed to follow their primary duties and responsibilities”, he opined.
It was unfortunate that some people were seeing solution to the north Karnataka problem in dividing the united Karnataka. Those who have strength could survive in the federal system. As the Andhra Pradesh was divided, it has lost its strength. The elected representatives should show their statesmanship to solve the present crisis, he demanded.
Writers G.R Channabasappa and Vasanth Shetty, North Karnataka Citizens Association former president Basavaraj Dandura were present.
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
