Karnataka High Court schools BBMP over lack of safety measures for sanitation workers
Bengaluru: The BBMP is neglecting the safety needs of sanitation workers (Pourakarmikas) even when the number of COVID-19 infection cases is increasing among them, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday said.
Chief Justice A S Oka, led the divisional bench for the hearing of the PIL.
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The advocate for the petitioner told the bench that the pourakarmikas and the sanitation staff at the COVID-19 hospitals have not been provided PPE kits, sanitizers, or masks. The BBMP has 17,000 pourakarmikas and many of them have already tested positive for Coronavirus, he added.
Also, as many as 93 residents of the Deepanjali Nagar ward have been tested for Coronavirus, and 23 have been confirmed positive. The BBMP has told the pourakarmikas to go for home quarantine if they test positive or show symptoms of infection. The pourakarmikas, however, reside in very small houses in slums and if they opt for home quarantine, the chances of the virus spreading are all the more, he explained.
The bench, hearing the case, expressed dissatisfaction that the BBMP had not provided safety equipment.
The lawyer who argued for the BBMP said that efforts will be made to solve the problems of the pourakarmikas. A meeting will be held, chaired by the joint commissioner of the solid waste management division, immediately, he assured the bench.
Hearing the lawyers, the bench instructed that the safety of pourakarmikas be considered seriously and the workers be provided safety equipment immediately.
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Two held at Bengaluru airport with hydroponic ganja worth Rs 5.79 cr
Bengaluru (PTI): Two people were arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport here for attempting to smuggle hydroponic ganja valued at Rs 5.79 crore, upon their arrival from Bangkok on Wednesday, officials said
They seized 16.54 kg of hydroponic ganja, which was concealed in the checked-in baggage, the Bengaluru Customs said in a post on 'X'.
Both the accused were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, it said.
Meanwhile, the Customs officials at the Bengaluru Airport also disposed of 287.5 kg of Ganja (Hydroponic Weed) and 1.17 kg of Cocaine seized under the NDPS Act, 1985, in accordance with CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs) Disposal Manual on March 17, it said in another post.
