Articles by News Desk

https://youtu.be/onqbOrwibpI Credit: Naveeen Thomas Prasad Silk Board. Marathahalli. Outer Ring Road. What comes to your mind? Awful traffic jams, long commute and whatnot. Most of us avoid this route as much as possible, but many office-goers have no option. Recently, Naveen Thomas Prasad, an IT employee, noticed something beautiful on his way back from work -  Tabebuia Rosea trees in full bloom, lined up on the ORR between Marathahalli and Silk Board Junction. He decided to capture it on camera. On capturing the pink bloom!? Naveen says he’s always been spellbound by nature’s scenic beauty and how it can heal the…

Given the global pandemic of the coronavirus/COVID-19, Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) has called upon the central and state governments to implement special measures to prevent and check against the spread of this virus among homeless and inadequately-housed people, who face increased vulnerability, on account of their poor living conditions and already high morbidity. India has at least 4 million people living in homelessness in urban areas and over 70 million people living in ‘informal settlements’ without access to essential services. The homeless population and those who live in settlements without adequate housing are particularly vulnerable to contracting and…

Coronavirus impact: CSK practice suspended, flights cancelled, KG to Class V shut In view of the coronavirus pandemic, Chennai Super Kings suspended their practice matches at the M A Chidambaram Stadium. IPL 2020 has been postponed till April 15. As the government has issued travel advisories, flights are being cancelled and international passenger arrivals have fallen down by 22- 25%. In addition, officials state that arrivals in the domestic terminal have also fallen significantly. Primary schools across the state will be closed from March 16 to 31 to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Additionally, malls and theatres have been ordered…

Five COVID-19 cases reported so far Five COVID-19 cases were reported in Bengaluru as of Thursday. The first case, confirmed on March 9, was that of a 46-year-old IT employee who had travelled from US via Dubai. His wife (47), daughter (13), and a 50-year-old man were added to the list the next day. The fifth case, reported on Thursday, was that of a 26-year-old who returned from Greece. All five patients have all been quarantined in the state-run Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD). They are responding well to treatment and are recovering, said RGICD Director C Nagaraj.…

Gairsain to be the new summer capital for Uttarakhand The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand is all set to make Gairsain in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand its new summer capital. Dehradun presently serves as the state capital. The demand for declaring Gairsain as the capital of the state has been gathering momentum since 1990s. Regional political outfits have carried out wide protests for over a decade to put pressure on ruling regimes to declare Gairsain as the capital. CM Trivendra Singh Rawat has dedicated the decision to activists who have been associated with the movement since early 1990s. Gairsain is approximately…

More H1N1 cases, suspected corona cases Two positive cases of H1N1 or swine flu were detected at the city office of the e-commerce giant Amazon. Sources said that, as a precaution, the company is sanitising its offices, but none of the workspaces have been shutdown. Another swine flu case was reported on Wednesday at Mercedes Benz Research and Development India on their Brigade Tech Gardens Campus, Whitefield. The office was sanitised, evacuated and shut down for two days. Five persons, who travelled from COVID-19 affected countries and showed symptoms, have been admitted to hospitals in Bengaluru, Udupi and Bidar since…

39 test positive for Coronavirus in India, Holi celebrations hit With five of a family testing positive for Coronavirus in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, the number of people affected in India has reached 39. Meanwhile every effort is being made to check the spread of the virus. The Centre has decided not to let any foreign cruise ship dock at Indian ports. Closure of schools, preparation of isolation wards across cities various other measures are being taken by Government of India to check the spread of the virus. The Ministry of Health has already set up a central war room to…

Chennai gets first confirmed COVID-19 case; quarantine facility to come up As the coronavirus scare grips the country, the State Health Department is preparing to convert the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram, into an exclusive quarantine facility to admit persons with symptoms of coronavirus disease in Chennai. As of March 5th, 426 people were home quarantined in Chennai. Meanwhile the first confirmed case of Coronavirus disease in the city surfaced when a man with travel history to Oman tested positive. The patient has been isolated and kept for further treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital. All international passengers…

From six confirmed cases to 31 (as on March 6th), it has taken less than a week, even as suspected cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue to be reported across cities every day. How to contain the spread in a country of a billion plus, with obvious infrastructural and surveillance capacity challenges, is one of the greatest concerns in domestic public health circles today.  The Indian administration has taken a number of steps over the last one week to ensure that the spread of the disease can be arrested. Primary schools in the capital have been asked to…

The Bangalore International Centre is celebrating women, freedom and equality with day-long events that highlight the strengths and vulnerabilities of women and busts myths and stereotypes of gender. Art, music, photography, theatre, books, discussions, films, workshops and food, there is something for everyone. The events start in the morning at 10:30 and run through out the day. Here are some events: Self Reimagined- A photo exhibition by Clare Arni The photographs in the exhibition are from a workshop Clare Arni and Varuni Mohan conducted with the class 9 girls of RBANMS High School, Bengaluru. They discussed themes of women’s empowerment…