Bengaluru, May 18: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan on Tuesday visited Army Service Corps (ASC) Centre and College and held discussions with officials about establishing a Covid Care Centre on the campus.
Lt Gen B K Repswal, the Commandant of the ASC, responded positively to this proposal, the DCM's office said in a statement.
Narayan, who is also the head of the state's COVID task force, assured that the government would provide necessary assistance in this regard, it said.
The DCM's meeting comes a couple of days after the Karnataka government requested the Defence Minister to consider setting up Covid Care Centres in the state with the help of the Ministry of Defence or Defence Research or Development Organisation (DRDO).
In a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh dated May 16, another Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi had said the Department of Defence has a large land bank in Bengaluru and Belagavi, which is suitable for the said cause.
Referring to DRDO's initiative in setting up exclusive COVID hospitals and medical centers in Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi and Ahmedabad, he said due to a surge in coronavirus cases in Karnataka, hospitals here are facing tremendous pressure and overloaded.
Setting up of such covid treatment centres in Bengaluru and Belagavi will not only help patients in the region but will further ease the pressure on existing hospitals and medical professionals, Savadi noted and had requested the Defence Minister to kindly consider it on a priority basis.
Karnataka on Tuesday registered 30,309 new cases of COVID-19 and 525 fatalities, taking the total infection count to 22,72,374 lakh and the toll to 22,838.
The total number of active cases in the state stood at 5,75,028.
Visited Army Service Corps(ASC) centre & college and discussed to establish a #CovidCareCentre inside the campus.
— Dr. Ashwathnarayan C. N. (@drashwathcn) May 18, 2021
Thanking Lt.Gen.B.K. Repswal, VSM, the Commandant of the ASC for the positive response. GoK will also provide necessary assistance in this regard.@Prodef_blr pic.twitter.com/Ln8MeWNfNF
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Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray launched a strong attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), asserting that those who incite communal disharmony cannot be considered Hindus. He emphasised that his party's 'Hindutva' is "clean" and challenged the BJP-led Centre to conduct elections using ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Addressing a public gathering on the birth anniversary of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav criticised the BJP for allegedly fostering divisive politics. "If you have any shame, keep EVMs aside and hold elections using ballot papers. Our Hindutva does not promote enmity," he remarked.
The statement comes against the backdrop of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, where Shiv Sena (UBT) faced a significant setback, winning only 20 seats, while the BJP-led Mahayuti secured a landslide victory with 235 seats.
Opposition parties, including those in the INDIA bloc, have raised concerns over the transparency of EVMs, demanding a return to ballot papers. However, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar recently dismissed this idea, calling it "unwarranted and regressive." Similarly, the Delhi High Court upheld the use of EVMs, rejecting a petition that sought constituency-specific justifications for their use.