Bengaluru: KPCC president DK Shivakumar has alleged that 1,879 quintals of rice, which was brought to the state from Haryana to distribute to poor and needy, has illegally been stored at a godown of a BJP leader in Sarjapur.
Addressing a press conference in the city on Friday, he said, "Trying to sell the Rice to traders in Tamil Nadu is a shameful act." He released some photographs and videos in this connection.
“The tahsildar has said that no permission was given to store this rice and that he had no idea how or where it came from. This confirms that the rice bags have been stored illegally," DKS noted.
Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa must treat this matter seriously. A thorough inquiry must be conducted in this regard, he urged.
If the CM is truly transparent, whoever is involved - minister, MLA, party worker or officer - should face action,” DK Shivakumar said.
KPCC Secretary Salim Ahmed, MP DK Suresh, media unit president VS Ugrappa, MLAs Dr. Ajay Singh, KC Kondayya and others were present at the press conference.
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2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak
London (PTI): At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
