Karnataka govt launches "Apthamitra" helpline and App to fight COVID-19
Bengaluru: Aimed at empowering people in its fight against coronavirus, the Karnataka government on Wednesday launched "Apthamitra" helpline with an exclusive toll free number and a mobile app, aimed at providing required medical advice and guidance for those in need.
The help line and app was launched by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in the presence of senior Ministers and officials of the department.
"If anyone has symptoms of coronavirus, they can call the helpline from their home, get medical advice or assistance and get their doubts cleared.
Based on the symptoms, an expert team of doctors will advice on what to do next," he said.
According to the department, the 'Apthamitra' helpline will work from 8 AM to 8 PM, with helpline Centers at six locations in Bengaluru (four centers), Mysore and Mangaluru (Bantwal) with total of 300 seat capacity are being set up.
It's a two tier system where the first tier is manned by AYUSH or nursing or pharma final year volunteer students.
The second tier is manned by MBBS or Integrated Medicine or AYUSH volunteer doctors connecting from their respective locations for risk assessment, counselling, telemedicine and referral for testing and treatment, it added.
The helpline "14410" will cover residents in all parts of the state. While the 'Apthamitra' App is for those with smart phone to seek advice for telemedicine from doctors directly.
The purpose of this initiative is to reach out to people, especially those staying in Corona hotspot areas, identify those having Influenza Like Illness (ILI), Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SERI), coronavirus like symptoms or having high risk of getting infected, the state health department said.
It also intends to identify people with low risk, but having some symptoms similar to those of coronavirus and provide them telemedicine support with OTC medicines, and counsel them for self-quarantine.
It also aims to follow-up all low risk cases till they get fully cured, along with assessing those having medium to high risk of coronavirus and get them to fever clinics or COVID-19 screening centers for testing and treatment, the department said in a release.
The intention of the platform is to analyse incidence of IlI, inform decisions for graded relaxation of the lockdown to resume economic activities in areas with low prevalence of the symptoms while stepping up containment measures in hotspots, clusters and disease break-out areas, it said.
This entire Solution is owned by Health and Family Welfare Department and State Disaster Management Authority. The system works under the aegis of NASSCOM, Bengaluru.
The Digital Mobile app and the back end CRM system have been developed by Infosys BPM (the subsidiary of Infosys Ltd), the release said.
Further Infosys BPM and Hinduja Global Solutions have worked together to design, build and execute the Multi-Channel customer contact Solution with the Contact Center Infra being provided by Infosys, HGS, Concentrix, MPhasis and HCL as partners in the fight against coronavirus,it added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Toll charges across Karnataka to rise by up to 5% from April 1
Bengaluru: Vehicle users across Karnataka will pay higher toll charges from April 1, with rates set to increase by 3–5 per cent as part of the annual inflation-linked revision. The revised fares are expected to be formally notified in the coming days.
A senior official from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was quoted by Decan Herald as saying that the hike is linked to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and will apply to nearly all toll plazas in the state. Around 10 toll plazas, however, will see revised rates later in the year, from September 1.
The official explained that the increase is calculated in line with the WPI and then rounded off. “If the hike works out to ₹2.5 or more, it will be rounded off to ₹5,” he said.
The Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway which was inaugurated in 2023, will see revised rates in toll plazas of Kaniminike and Sheshagirihalli on the Bengaluru-Mysuru stretch, Bagepalli on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad highway, Sadahalli on the Bengaluru Airport Road, Nangli on the Bengaluru-Tirupati route along with Hulikunte and Nalluru Devanahalli on the Satellite Town Ring Road.
K B Jayakumar, Project Director, NHAI, told Deccan Herald that the revision has been carried out in accordance with the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. “Toll charges at all public-funded plazas will be increased in accordance with the 2008 Fee Rules. This happens at the start of every financial year,” he said.
He added that in Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll plazas where operations commenced before 2008, the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 1997 apply, allowing fare revisions at other times during the financial year. A maximum hike of five per cent is expected.
Jayanth Reddy, a resident of Whitefield who frequently travels to Mysuru for work, told Deccan Herald that has witnessed multiple toll revisions since it became operational and the recurring hikes add to the burden on the costliest routes in the state. “A toll charge of ₹180 for one-way travel is already quite high,” he said.
Travel operators also expressed concern. Santosh, who runs a travel agency, said passengers travelling from Bengaluru to Kerala are particularly affected. “We pass on the entire toll charge to customers. At present, the total toll for a road trip ranges between ₹2,000 and ₹3,000,” he said.
