Six cholera cases in 2024, no outbreak: Karnataka Health Dept
Bengaluru, Apr 5: Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department on Friday said that six confirmed cases of cholera have been reported in the state so far this year of which five were reported in March.
Amid reports that extreme heat compounded with the water crisis has led to a scare of a cholera outbreak, the department however clarified that all these cases are "sporadic" and that there was no outbreak.
"In January, February, March and April -- there were two cases in Bengaluru Urban which was confirmed as cholera after the culture test. In the BBMP limits, there were three cases. One case in Malleshwaram was reported, but the culture report has come as negative. One case in Ramanagara district. So totally six cholera cases have been confirmed," Health & Family Welfare Department Commissioner D Randeep said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, the last outbreak in the state was in December last year, when 15 cases of cholera were reported in Bengaluru Rural district's Hoskote.
Terming reports about a 50 per cent rise in cholera cases and that such cases are being reported in hospitals everyday as "far from truth", the Commissioner said that there is no basis for it, and only "culture tests" can confirm cholera cases.
Drinking contaminated water or without boiling it and consumption of outside food may lead to diarrheal conditions, he said, adding that not all such cases can be considered as cholera.
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BJP leader Kirit Somaiya declines party appointment, says he was not consulted
Mumbai, Sep 10: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Tuesday refused to take up the responsibility as "communication chief with the Election Commission of India for Maharashtra assembly polls", stating that he should have been consulted beforehand.
In a letter to Raosaheb Danve, chairman of the party's state election campaign committee, the former Mumbai MP termed the treatment given to him as 'insulting'.
"It is wrong to appoint me as communication chief with the Election Commission of India for Maharashtra assembly polls without even discussing it with me. I disapprove of it, but you can appoint someone else for that position," read the letter.
"I am not a member of this committee, and I request you and the state president (Chandrashekhar Bawankule) not to treat me such insultingly," Somaiya added.
The letter also touched on a period in the past when the BJP, then in alliance with the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, had to sideline Somaiya as he had targeted the Shiv Sena continually over alleged corruption in the Mumbai civic body. Having won in 2014, he was denied Lok Sabha ticket in 2019, as well as in 2024.
"I have been working as a humble party worker since February 18, 2019, when BJP leaders directed me to leave the joint press conference because of Uddhav Thackeray's insistence. I took the responsibility of exposing various corrupt practices of the then Uddhav Thackeray government and also survived three near-fatal attacks, but I did my duty," he said.
"I am satisfied with the affection I have received from you during these last five and a half years. I will continue to work for the party in the upcoming assembly elections," Somaiya added.
The former Mumbai MP later also posted a message on X, saying, "I thank BJP Maharashtra for appointing me as Member of Campaign Committee and expressed Regrets and inability to do the same. I am still an active and ordinary member of the BJP and will continue to do so, but I will not join the committee."
When asked for comment, state BJP chief Bawankule said, "Somaiya is our senior leader. It is a rule in the BJP that we do not ask anyone, we delegate responsibilities. The party did not discuss with me whether I wanted to become state chief or not. I was made state chief directly."
I thank BJP Maharashtra for appointing Me as Member of Campaign Committee & Expressed REGRET & Inability to do the same
— Kirit Somaiya (@KiritSomaiya) September 10, 2024
I wrote @cbawankule that for last 5 & 1/2 years (since 18/2/2019) I am doing BJP work as ORDINARY Member & Continue the same & will NOT join Campaign Comitee
