456 COVID-19 cases, six deaths in Karnataka
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka on Sunday reported 456 fresh COVID-19 cases and six deaths taking the caseload and cumulative fatalities to 29,98,099 and 38,230 respectively, the state health department said.
In its COVID-19 bulletin, the department said 330 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,52,708. Active cases stood at 7,132.
Bengaluru Urban remained the major contributor of COVID-19 cases with 256 fresh infections and two deaths.
Chikkamagaluru district reported 66 cases, which was due to a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases with a cluster coming up in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.
The District Health Officer said all those tested positive are asymptomatic but they have been quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease.
Other districts too reported fresh COVID-19 cases including 20 in Dharwad, 17 in Kodagu, 14 in Uttara Kannada 13 in Dakshina Kannada, 12 in Hassan and 10 in Mysuru.
Apart from Bengaluru Urban, one fatality each occurred in Bengaluru Rural, Mysuru, Tumakuru and Udupi.
There were zero fatalities in 26 districts.
The positivity rate for the day was 0.41 per cent and the case fatality rate was 1.31 per cent.
A total of 1,10,556 samples were tested in the state including 93,481 RT-PCR tests on Sunday, taking the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 5.38 crore.
The number of vaccinations done so far in the state rose to 7.71 crore, with 1,12,234 people being inoculated on Sunday, it said.
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Ensure paid holiday for postal staff on polling day in Kerala: John Brittas writes to Scindia
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas on Sunday wrote to Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, seeking his urgent intervention to ensure that postal employees in Kerala are granted a statutory paid holiday on April 9 for the Assembly elections in the southern state.
In his letter, Brittas expressed serious concern over the Kerala Postal Circle’s instructions to treat all postal employees as “absentee voters in essential services (AVES)”, directing them to opt for a postal ballot within an “extremely limited” timeframe.
The Department of Posts operates under the Ministry of Communications. Along with the Department of Telecommunications, it is one of the two main sections within the ministry headed by Scindia.
In his letter, Brittas pointed out that the circular dated March 19 required the collection of Form 12D by March 20 (Eid al-Fitr), and submission of the compiled details at the respective collectorates by March 22 (Sunday), both holidays in Kerala, making meaningful compliance difficult and raising apprehensions about the “arbitrary” nature of the directions.
The CPI(M) leader also pointed out that the Election Commission, in a communication dated March 16, reiterated the requirement under Section 135B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that every person employed in any establishment and entitled to vote shall be granted a paid holiday on the polling day, without any deduction or abatement of wages.
He said even where certain services are treated as essential, the long-standing administrative practice has been to maintain only minimal required operations on polling day, without denying employees the opportunity to vote in person.
Brittas argued that in some other states going to polls this month, including Assam, most postal employees have been granted a holiday on polling day, in accordance with the statutory provisions.
During the 2021 Kerala polls, postal establishments had observed a holiday on polling day, subject only to limited essential arrangements, he claimed.
The present deviation, Brittas said, raises concerns about inconsistency in the application of law and the avoidable curtailment of the democratic rights of employees.
Stating that the right to vote lies at the core of India's democratic framework, Brittas urged Scindia to examine the matter urgently.
“Given the proximity of the polling date, I earnestly seek your kind indulgence to have the matter examined on priority, and to issue urgent directions to the postal authorities in Kerala to ensure that the statutory entitlement of postal employees in Kerala to a paid holiday on the day of polling is duly ensured,” Brittas said in the letter.
The 140 seats in the Kerala Assembly will go to polls on April 9, and the results will be out on May 4.
