Jan 13: Over 25,000 new COVID cases in Karnataka; 18,374 from Bengaluru Urban alone
Bengaluru, Jan 13: Continuing to report a spike in numbers, Karnataka on Thursday reported 25,005 new cases of COVID-19, and 8 fatalities, taking the tally to 31,24,524 and the death toll to 38,397.
The state, which has been witnessing a steady surge in cases since the last week of December, recorded 21,390 fresh infections on Wednesday.
Of the new cases on Thursday, 18,374 were from Bengaluru Urban that saw 1,132 people being discharged and 3 deaths.
The total number of active cases across the state is now 1,15,733.
There were 2,363 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries to 29,70,365, a health department bulletin said.
While the positivity rate for the day stood at 12.39 per cent, the case fatality rate (CFR) was 0.03 per cent.
Of the 8 deaths, 3 are from Bengaluru Urban and one each from Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Mysuru, Tumakuru and Vijayapura.
Apart from Bengaluru Urban, Mysuru recorded the second highest of 695 new cases, Dakshina Kannada 625, Tumakuru 547, Hassan 490, Mandya 406, followed by others.
Bengaluru Urban district now has a total of 13,53,331 positive cases, followed by Mysuru 1,83,420 and Tumakuru 1,23,392.
According to the bulletin, Bengaluru Urban tops the list among discharges with 12,46,001, followed by Mysuru 1,78,168 and Tumakuru 1,20,259.
Cumulatively, a total of 5,83,71,357 samples have been tested, of which 2,01,704 were on Thursday alone.
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Is it caste census or census of hatred, asks Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru (PTI): Criticising the caste census report tabled before the Karnataka Cabinet, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday questioned whether it was a caste census or a census of hatred.
In a statement, Kumaraswamy, who holds steel and heavy industries portfolio, sought to know the population of Vokkaliga, the dominant agrarian community, which he belongs to.
“What is it really — a caste census or a census of hate? Is this so-called census a conspiracy designed to deliberately provoke unrest in the state? Or is it merely a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from the embarrassment caused by relentless price hikes and a series of corruption scandals?” the Minister questioned.
He further said, “If the entire state ends up engulfed in the flames of caste divisions, is this move by the Congress government in Karnataka a premeditated attempt to politically and socially marginalize certain communities?”
Expressing concerns over the leaked caste census report, Kumaraswamy said the ‘so-called statistics’ from this report are now floating everywhere. Some unknown hand has systematically leaked them into the public domain, he alleged.
The Minister sought to the know the actual population of the Vokkaliga community residing across the Old Mysuru region such as Mandya, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagara, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, and Chitradurga.
He also took a jibe at Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for taking a U-turn on the caste census, despite having previously opposed it.
“Sleepless in his pursuit of the Chief Minister’s chair, he (Shivakumar) once begged the community saying, ‘Just give me a pen and paper once!’ And now, is that same man bowing his head and endorsing the Siddha Conspiracy Report?" Kumaraswamy said.
Siddha is apparently referred to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
“I do not support this report. I am fully prepared to fight against this injustice,” the Minister added.
The Socio-Economic and Educational Survey, caste census in short, was presented before the Karnataka cabinet on April 11.
The report was commissioned by Siddaramaiah during his first term as Chief Minister in 2015. H Kantharaj had initially started the work which was carried forward by former Minister K Jayaprakash. The report was submitted to the Chief Minister in February 2024.
The Chief Minister said there would be a detailed discussion on the report in a special cabinet meeting on April 17.
