US provides nearly USD 5.9 million in health assistance to India on COVID-19
Washington: The US has provided nearly USD 5.9 million in health assistance to India to contain the spread of COVID-19, the State Department has said.
The amount is being used to help India hinder the spread of the disease by providing care for the affected, disseminating essential public health messages to communities and strengthen case-finding and surveillance, it said on Thursday.
The assistance is also being used to mobilize innovative financing mechanisms for emergency preparedness and response to this pandemic.
"This builds on a foundation of nearly USD2.8 billion in total assistance, which includes more than USD1.4 billion in health assistance, the United States has provided to India over the last 20 years," it said in a update of the US efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The State Department and the US Agency for International Development have now committed nearly USD 508 million in emergency health, humanitarian, and economic assistance.
This is on top of the funding the US has already provide to multilateral and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are helping communities around the world deal with the pandemic.
Coronavirus cases in India on Thursday crossed 13,000, while 420 people have died of the disease in the country.
In South Asia, America's COVID-19 assistance has gone to Afghanistan (USD18 million), Bangladesh (USD9.6 million), Bhutan (USD500,000), Nepal (USD1.8 million), Pakistan (USD9.4 million) and Sri Lanka (USD1.3 million).
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Lokayukta raids govt officials in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): The Lokayukta on Thursday conducted simultaneous raids at the premises of several government officials across different districts of Karnataka in connection with alleged possession of disproportionate assets, officials said.
The searches were carried out at multiple locations linked to officials working in various government departments in districts including Bengaluru, Mandya, Dharwad, Hassan, Mysuru, Vijayapura and Yadgir, among others, they said.
According to Lokayukta officials, the raids targeted officials holding posts such as Assistant Executive Engineer, Junior Engineer, Deputy Electrical Inspector and Taluk Backward Classes Welfare Officer.
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Among those raided was Assistant Executive Engineer M C Satyanarayana of the Hassan Municipal Corporation.
High drama unfolded during the raid at Satyanarayana’s residence in Hassan, where Lokayukta officials were forced to wait outside the house for more than an hour before gaining access as the door was not opened, sources said.
When Satyanarayana failed to respond to requests to open the gate, officials attempted to enter the house by climbing to the first floor.
In another case, officials conducted searches at the residence of Chief Engineer Vasantappa Nayak of Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited located in Akshaya Colony in Hubballi, sources said.
Currently serving in Bengaluru, Nayak had been transferred from Hubballi to Bengaluru in April last year. Officials are carrying out searches at his residence in Akshaya Colony, they said.
The raids were conducted by multiple teams of Lokayukta officials early in the morning at the residences and offices of the suspects following complaints regarding disproportionate assets.
