Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar's car meets with accident in Kittur; Minor injuries sustained
Belagavi: Minister for Women and Child Welfare, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, and her brother, Legislative Council member Channaraj Hattiholi, were involved in a car accident early this morning near Ambadgatti village in Kittur taluk.
The accident occurred around 6 a.m. Reports indicate that Minister Hebbalkar sustained minor injuries, while Channaraj Hattiholi suffered a head injury. Both were immediately admitted to a private hospital in Belagavi for treatment.
The incident took place as the minister and her brother were returning to Belagavi by car late last night after attending a legislative party meeting in Bengaluru. The accident reportedly occurred when a dog suddenly came onto the road near Ambadgatti village. In an attempt to avoid hitting the dog, the car went out of control and collided with a tree.
The impact left the front portion of the car severely damaged.
Superintendent of Police Bheemashankar S Guled, inspected the spot and visited the hospital in which the minister is being treated. The minister's mother and other family members visited her and inquired about her.
Police said that home minister G Parameshwar made a phone call to Ms Hebbalkar's son Mrinal Hebbalkar and inquired about her health. Dr Parameshwar has instructed officers to take the utmost care about the minister, a police officer said.
"The minister has suffered minor injuries , and is stable. She does not need longer hospital stay," a doctor who is treating the minister said.
"The minister has suffered some injuries in the neck and back, but she does not need intensive treatment. She will be alright in a few days. Ms Hebbalkar's CT scan and MRI showed that L1 and L4 in her spinal cord had received minor injuries. There is no need to worry as she was responding to treatment. But she needs to rest for four weeks,'' Ravi Patil, orthopaedic surgeon and head of VOTC hospital, told reporters in Belagavi on Tuesday.
"Mr Hattiholi has suffered a minor head injury. He has gone home after being treated as an out patient. He will come back for some additional treatment. He will need to rest for a week to allow healing,'' Dr Patil said.
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Fire at Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre damages properties worth Rs 110 cr: Minister Kharge
Bengaluru, Jan 14: A fire broke out at Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) on Tuesday morning and there were no casualties, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said.
The BBC is a Government of Karnataka undertaking which is located at the Electronic City in Bengaluru.
"The preliminary estimation of loss sustained by startups ranged from Rs 80 crore to Rs 110 crore. The estimated loss to BBC properties was approximately Rs 42 crore. No loss to life," Kharge's office said in a statement.
The minister who holds the Information Technology and Biotechnology portfolio said the fire mishap occurred on the second floor of the facility which was recently revamped to house more number of startups.
The second floor was completely gutted, while extensive damage was also sustained to first and ground floors due to the interconnected HVAC lines, the Minister's office said.
The fire severely damaged common infrastructure of BBC, including the Bangalore Bio Bank, Cleanroom facility, Flowcytometry, HVAC units, AC units, among others.
Various equipment of the Incubated startups were also damaged, according to the minister.
"The list of startups gravely affected includes - Fermbox (3 labs), Phyxx 44 (3 labs), Ajitha prodrug (1 lab), Galore Tx (1 lab), Ikesia (1 lab), Immunitas (2 labs) Yokogawa (1 lab). Several other startups were also affected (Including Atrimed pharma, 4basecare, Anabio, Anava bio, Pandorium, Oxonexe Presude Lifesciences, Zhichu among others," the statement read.
The fire in the startup room on the second floor broke out "due to improper management of flammable solvent in the lab".
"All BBC startups were previously informed not to store and use any large volume of inflammable chemicals in their labs and a separate open storage area was provided for the same," said the statement.
A fire broke out at the Bangalore BioInnovation Center earlier today and the cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained.
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) January 14, 2025
It is heartbreaking to witness years of hard work and dedication by our entrepreneurs reduced to ashes. I want to reassure them that the government stands… pic.twitter.com/qwD61Vxs58
