Udupi model of 'Vatsalya' scheme to be replicated in the state: CM Basavaraj Bommai
Udupi, Aug 12: The 'Vatsalya' scheme launched in Udupi district for children will be replicated across Karnataka in view of the apprehensions of some experts that the third wave of COVID-19 may affect kids most, Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai said on Thursday.
"In Udupi, 'Vatsalya' (meaning affection) scheme has been launched. The same has to be implemented in Mangaluru and across the State. In the next one and half months a health checkup of all the children will be carried out. Such camps should be held in every school of the state. If there is any shortcoming in the nutrition then it should be improved," Bommai told reporters here.
He opined that the nutrition intake is low among a section of children from economically weaker sections and rural areas leading to their "under-growth", lack of immunity, and malnourishment.
"In order to identify them, health camps have to be organised. If there is any shortcoming in the nutrition then it should be improved," Bommai added.
He added that some medical experts are of the view that the third wave may hit children the most. Hence, a special drive will be launched under 'Vatsalya'.
Bommai said he would hold a meeting with experts next week as part of efforts to contain COVID-19.
Bommai, who visited Dakshina Kannada district to review COVID-19 situation, said he has been noticing that the positivity rate was going up after the second wave was over.
"I have taken the increasing number of COVID cases very seriously. I don't want to trouble people with lockdowns with the increase in COVID cases. Prevention is better than cure," he said.
The Chief Minister also explained the measures being taken to contain COVID cases such as restrictions on the border, tracking and tracing of the infected people, improving health infrastructure, strengthening the taskforce and activating the triaging at the village level, and increasing vaccination.
Dakshina Kannada, which borders Kerala, has been the major COVID-19 hotspot leaving behind other districts of the state for the past many days.
Meanwhile, in Bengaluru as many as 543 children up to the age to 19 have been infected with COVID-19 since August one, details shared by Bengaluru civic agency show.
However, there were zero fatalities among those children.
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Nitish loses cool inside Bihar assembly over opposition's 'guns and bullets' jibe
Patna (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lost his composure inside the state assembly on Tuesday when opposition members created a ruckus alleging that his government was ruling the state with the help of "guns and bullets".
The 76-year-old leader, who stood up to admonish the unruly members, also had a slip of tongue, as he underscored the brute majority enjoyed by the NDA, saying "our strength is two thousand and two".
The BJP-led coalition, which includes Kumar's JD(U) and a few smaller parties, had swept the Bihar assembly polls last year, bagging 202 seats of the 243-strong House.
Trouble began soon after the House assembled at 11 am, with RJD MLA Kumar Sarvajeet registering a protest against the police's baton charge on village 'chowkidars' (watchmen) here a day ago when they were staging a demonstration to press the demand for a hike in stipends.
"The 'chowkidars' who were demanding a hike in their pay are very much employees of the Home department. Yet, they were treated in a deplorable fashion yesterday," alleged Sarvajeet.
Several other MLAs of the opposition party also raised a slogan: "bandook goli ki sarkar nahin chalegi (will not allow a rule by brute force, with the help of guns and bullets)".
This provoked Kumar, the longest serving CM of the state, who heads the JD(U) and has had a couple of short-lived alliances with the RJD in the past.
He shouted: "Do not talk rubbish. This government will run without any hiccups. Just look at us. We are two thousand and two. And just look at how many of you have been left now."
Kumar was apparently referring to the RJD's drubbing in the last assembly polls when it returned with a tally of 25, one of its worst ever performances.
When RJD leader Bhai Virendra reminded the JD(U) supremo of their two short-lived alliances in the last one decade, Kumar shot back: "Yes, and you people always indulged in mischief, a reason why I pulled out never to return".
The CM also reminded the opposition party, which was unseated from power by the NDA helmed by him in 2005, that "You did nothing worthwhile during the period you were in power... Law and order had been so abysmal that people feared getting out of their homes after 5 pm. So you better not talk nonsense."
Amid the heated exchange, some of the opposition MLAs trooped into the well, briefly plunging the House into turmoil.
The agitated members got pacified after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary rose to interject and said, "We will call representatives of various associations of chowkidars for talks. Their demands will be looked into, and appropriate action will be taken."
