Mangaluru, May 20: Congress leaders and party cadre in coastal Karnataka celebrated its government formation in the state after the swearing-in of Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister and D K Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday.

Congress workers set off crackers and distributed sweets in front of the Congress Bhavan at Mallikatte in Mangaluru. Former minister Abhayachandra Jain, party leaders Naveen D'Souza, Sabitha Misquith, Shahul Hameed, Ibrahim Kodijal, and Shubodaya Alva were among those present.

In Udupi also, party workers expressed their joy by bursting crackers and distributing sweets. Udupi block Congress president Ramesh Kanchan, Krishnamurthi Acharya, Bhasker Rao Kidiyoor and others were present.

A group of lawyers in the city, who are admirers of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, also distributed ice cream to colleagues expressing happiness over the formation of the Congress government in Karnataka.

The swearing-in ceremony took place in Bengaluru exactly a week after the Congress scored a thumping victory in the Assembly polls by winning 135 seats in the 224-member House.

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Thrissur (Kerala) (PTI): One more person who had been hospitalised following the Mundathikode fireworks explosion died at Thrissur Medical College on Sunday, police said.

With this, the death toll in the incident has risen to 16.

According to Thrissur Medical College police, the deceased has been identified as Unnikrishnan from Edappal, who was among the 38 persons present at the fireworks manufacturing unit in Mundathikode where the explosions occurred on April 21.

Police said Unnikrishnan had suffered over 80 per cent burns and had remained in critical condition.

The condition of the two other injured persons remains critical, police said.

Of the 38 persons present at the site, 16 have died, while four remain missing.

The fireworks were being manufactured for Thiruvambady Devaswom as part of the Thrissur Pooram festivities.

The licensee of the unit had also suffered burn injuries and had died earlier.