Two coronavirus deaths reported in Karnataka, toll rises to 16
Six new positive cases including one from Uppinangady in DK reported on Sunday
Bengaluru: Two new COVID-19 related fatalities have been reported in Karnataka, taking the death toll in the state due to the coronavirus infection to 16, the health department said on Sunday.
A 65-year old woman, who is a resident of Bengaluru, and a 50-year old woman, who is a resident of Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada, with case of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), have died on April 19 at designated hospitals in their respective districts, the department said in its bulletin.
Six new cases of COVID-19 including one from Uppinangady in Dakshina Kannada have been confirmed in the state.
Cumulatively, 390 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in Karnataka so far, it includes 16 deaths and 111 discharges.
Out of the 263 active cases, 260 (including a pregnant woman) are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while three are in Intensive Care Units.
Among six new cases, four are from Mysuru and two from Dakshina Kannada, including the 50 year-old woman who died.
While two men from Mysuru (aged 46 and 20) had a travel history to Delhi, the other two (a 39-year-old man and 23-year old woman) are from Nanjanagudu in Mysuru and contacts of patients already tested positive.
The other person from Dakshina Kannada is a 30-year-old woman, the wife of a patient who already tested positive. Contact tracing has been initiated and was in progress for all the cases, the department said.
Nine out of 390 cases detected and confirmed in Karnataka so far are transit passengers of Kerala. Bengaluru topped the state in most number of infections reported with 89 cases, followed by Mysuru with 84 and Belagavi with 42.
Out of total of 111 patients discharged so far, the maximum of 44 are from Bengaluru, 24 from Mysuru, eleven from Dakshina Kannada, the department said.
Among the deceased, four are from Bengaluru urban, three from Kalaburagi, two each from Chikkaballapura and Vijayapura, and one each from Belagavi, Bagalkote, Gadag, Dakshina Kannada and Tumakuru.
A total of 21,367 samples have been tested so far, out of which 2,181 were tested on Sunday alone. So far 17,662 samples have been reported as negative, of which 2,004 were on Sunday alone.
In 31 fever clinics of BBMP (Bengaluru civic body) till date 4,387 people have been screened, while in 438 fever clinics of the state 60,177 people have been screened till date.
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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.
