Agartala, Jan 30: Out-of-favour India opener and current Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarwal was rushed to a local hospital after falling ill on a New Delhi bound flight which was about to take off, state cricket association sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The soon-to-be-33 Mayank, who has played 21 Tests for India, led Karnataka to a 29-run win against Tripura on Monday.

"Mayank Agarwal was rushed to a local hospital in Agartala. The reason for the sudden illness is yet to be confirmed," a Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) official told PTI without elaborating further.

Agarwal, who scored 51 and 17 in the last game, was supposed to travel with the whole team to Rajkot via Delhi when the incident happened.

"The team was on flight and apparently Agarwal started feeling uneasy and vomited a couple of times sitting on the flight. Since he started feeling sick, he de-boarded. From KSCA MR Shahvir Tarapore called and we quickly sent two of our representatives to the ILS hospital. He is under observation and we are told doctors are running some tests. Now there are multiple theories as to what he might have consumed," a Tripura Cricket Association official said on condition of anonymity.

It is learnt that if he feels better and is in a position to travel, he will fly back to Bengaluru at the earliest.

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Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Members of the Opposition BJP on Tuesday slammed the Karnataka government for not taking measures to prevent the alleged noise pollution caused by 'azaan', the Islamic call to prayer.

BJP MLC D S Arun raised the issue in the Legislative Council during the question hour, accusing the ruling Congress of "appeasement" by failing to take action against mosques that are violating the Supreme Court's directives.

Karnataka Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre, responding to the question, said, as per the directives of the Supreme Court in sensitive zones, the noise level should not exceed 50 decibels during the day and 40 decibels at night, and in residential areas, 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.

In commercial areas, the noise should not exceed 65 decibels during the day, 55 at night, and in industrial areas, 75 during the day and at night 70 decibels, he said.

Pointing out that the Karnataka government had issued an order in 2022, assigning responsibility to a committee headed by a DySPs or ACPs for the effective implementation of the rules, the minister said when a complaint is received about noise pollution, the Pollution Control Board will inspect it and provide information about the decibel level to the police to take further action, including filing of criminal cases.

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"Not only during azaan, but also during bhajans held in temples and marriage events, among others, the violations happen. There is a need to spread awareness. The Supreme Court has ordered against bursting firecrackers, but it is being violated. Efforts will be made to implement the rules effectively," he said.

Several BJP MLAs, including Arun, Bharathi Shetty, among others, were not satisfied with the minister's reply. They took strong exception to it.

Arun noted that in the last three years, only 52 cases have been taken, and said there are clear violations by almost all mosques, but no action has been taken. "The decibels have in fact increased under this government. The government is giving protection to them."

Reacting to this, Khandre, calling it a "sensitive matter", said, "It is not right to politicise the issue. The law of this land is equal for everyone."

Hitting back, Arun asked, "Why is the matter sensitive? What is preventing you (the government) from implementing the Supreme Court directives?"