Festive rules revised
On Thursday, many Ganesha Utsava Mandals held a protest with vehicle-mounted idols, at the BBMP head office. The BBMP’s order on just one public installation per ward was widely opposed. After outcry from pro-Hindu groups over restrictions in festivities, BBMP withdrew its guidelines and agreed to permit festivities over five days, not three as the police had advised earlier.
Moreover, reversing the earlier ban, idols can now be immersed in some lakes where it’s customary. Only one public installation per ward is permitted, but temples and private religious institutions can install idols following COVID-appropriate behaviour. Organisers are required to get permission from local municipal authorities to place idols in public places, and to also show COVID-negative reports and vaccination certificates.
When government guidelines restricted the height of the idols to four feet at public places, and two feet at residences, opposition leaders decried these, saying idol-makers would be in trouble as they had already made bigger idols. However, despite the guidelines, the demand for idols has gone up.
People thronging markets for festive purchases were seen openly flouting COVID guidelines on masks and social distancing. While the price of essential commodities remained stable, that of fruits and flowers soared due to the festivities.
Source: Indian Express, The Hindu, Deccan Herald, The Times of India
Mega vaccine centre in Yelahanka
BBMP has set up a mega vaccination centre at Dr Ambedkar Bhavan in Yelahanka, which will operate from 6 am to 9 pm, catering to people working in different shifts. Sources said that the centre had been delayed due to shortage and inconsistent supply of vaccines. The centre has a separate drive-in counter where anyone can drive in, get registered, verified and vaccinated in their own vehicle. They can also wait at the parking lot for half an hour. A pink registration counter has been set up for the elderly, women and persons with disabilities.
Two more kendras will be launched at the Epidemic Disease Hospital behind Swami Vivekananda Metro Station in East zone, and the Youngsters Kabaddi Club Ground at Malleswaram in the West zone.
Meanwhile, as the deadline for vaccination of employees in commercial establishments has passed, BBMP said it will follow up to determine coverage. However, it has no specific plans to impose penalties on establishments that failed to comply.
Source: Indian Express, The Hindu, Deccan Herald
Read more: MR vaccine campaign: Does your child need vaccination?
Diabetes predominant co-morbidity in city
Diabetes is present in 50.86% of Bengalureans who have a co-morbidity, according to a door-to-door health survey by the BBMP. Of the 7.11 lakh people surveyed, 57,528 were found to have co-morbidities. After diabetes, other prominent co-morbidities are hypertension (35.82%), hypothyroidism (2.99%) and heart ailments (2.48%).
Among the survey respondents, only 3.13% had been afflicted with COVID, and all of them had recovered. About 62% had taken at least one dose of the vaccine, and 21% had taken both. The health survey ‘Palike Vaidyaru Nimma Mane Bagilige’ had begun three weeks ago.
Bengaluru Urban district has had the highest number of COVID-positive cases in the state, at 12.4 lakh. COVID cases have declined in Bengaluru, but there are many cases of fever, upper respiratory tract infections and seasonal influenza due to fluctuations in weather and intermittent rains.
Source: Deccan Herald, The Hindu
Nearly 4,000 illegal water connections identified
Two months ago, in a drive to ferret out water thefts due to unaccounted-for links, the BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) found 3,774 “bypass” connections. The board has 10.34 lakh connections, and has finished surveying 5.1 lakh of them.
N Jayaram, Chairperson, BWSSB, said they have also identified and regularised nearly 57,000 unauthorised connections. He added that the Board was also seeking to replace defective manual meters with smart meters.
Source: Deccan Herald
Read more: BWSSB to push internal water metering, apartments not ready yet
IISc, NLSIU rank on top
Three Bengaluru institutions featured in the top ranks of the NIRF (National Institute of Ranking Framework) 2021, on Thursday. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was adjudged the best in ‘University’ and ‘Research’ categories, and second best in the ‘Overall’ category.
The best in the ‘Law’ category was the NLSIU (National Law School of India University), while IIMB (Indian Institute of Management Bangalore) ranked second in the ‘Management’ category.
Source: Indian Express
WRI to be technical advisor for Namma Metro
Namma Metro has engaged the research organisation World Resources Institute (WRI India) as technical advisor for its Phase 2A and Phase 2B projects, for Multimodal Integration (MMI) and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) along the two corridors. The goal is to set up sustainable, liveable cities and work towards a low-carbon economy.
Source: Indian Express
[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]