Mangaluru: The K S Hegde charitable hospital of Nitte (deemed to be university) at Deralakatte here has been given the nod by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct Covid-19 RT-PCR testing.

The hospitals laboratory, which is NABL accredited and notified by the ICMR, has started the testing facility.

The laboratory staff members are trained at NIMHANS, Bengaluru.

Microbiology department professor Dr Amith Kelgi has been appointed nodal officer of the testing facilities, a release from the hospital said.

The viral transport medium will be provided to all recognised health centres free of cost to collect the throat swab samples.

Tests will be done at an affordable cost as per government guidelines and test results will be submitted by expert staff on the same day, it said.

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Hyderabad, May 11: In a scathing attack on Congress and its leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said due to the fear of Pakistan having an atom bomb, the grand old party wants to give up India's rights over Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

Shah, who addressed election rallies at Vikarabad and Nagarkurnool in Telangana on the last day of campaigning for Lok Sabha polls in the state, recalled that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had conducted nuclear tests at Pokhran on this day in 1998 and made the country a nuclear power.

The Congress does not have the courage to conduct surgical strike and airstrikes, he alleged.

Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook surgical strikes and air strikes within 10 days after Pakistan terrorists attacked the coutnry and finished them.

Referring to the reported comments of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Pakistan having an atom bomb, the home minister said he would like to ask Rahul Gandhi if Pak-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) would be given to the neighbouring country because of it having atom bomb.

"As long as BJP is there, it cannot happen" and PoK belongs to India and we will take it, he said.

"They don't feel shame. Due to fear of an atom bomb, they want to give up our rights over PoK. But you don't worry, Modi ji is going to be Prime Minister again and Pakistan's bullets will be replied to with cannon," Shah said.

On AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge's alleged comments as to what Telangana people have to do with Kashmir, Shah said the Telangana youth can give their life for Kashmir.

PM Modi has ended terror and naxalism in the country, he said.

Referring to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's comments on surgical strikes, he asked, "Revanth Reddy, where did you keep your mind? You kept it in Italy?".

Reddy on Friday claimed an intelligence failure in preventing the Pulwama incident.

"Modi ji tried to take political benefit from the surgical strike after Pulwama incident. My question to Modi ji is, what are you doing? Why did the Pulwama incident happen? Why did you let it happen? What are you doing about internal security?

"Why did you not use agencies like IB, RAW? It is your failure. Nobody knows if a surgical strike actually took place or not," Reddy had said.