Shocking: No passport for PM's wife, as she has no marriage certificate

A day after a Vokkaliga seer publicly urged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to step down in favour of his deputy D K Shivakumar, a prominent seer from the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat community on Friday called for ministers from his community to be considered if there is a change in the CM post.

Channasiddharam Swamiji of Srishail Peetham stated that if the Congress decides to change the state chief minister or create additional deputy chief minister positions, preference should be given to legislators from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.

Speaking to reporters at Yadur village in Chikkodi taluk, the seer emphasized that people from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community have voted for Congress in large numbers.

"If the Congress wants to change the chief minister or create more deputy chief minister posts, community members like M B Patil, Ishwar Khandre, S S Mallikarjun, and veteran Shamnur Shivashankarappa should be considered. During the government formation, Veerashaiva-Lingayat votes were decisive. Therefore, Veerashaiva-Lingayat ministers should be given priority and their experience utilized. I urge that they be given an opportunity," he said.

Talks in this regard have been held with Kashi, Ujjani, and other seers of Panchapeethas, and there is an understanding about the chief minister's post within the Congress. The grand old party should walk the talk, he added.

On Thursday, Vishwa Vokkaliga Mahasamastana Math seer Kumara Chandrashekaranatha Swamiji had raised the pitch for Shivakumar as CM during the Kempegowda Jayanti event, which commemorates the birth anniversary of Bengaluru's founder, in the presence of both Siddaramaiah and the deputy chief minister on the dais.

Mangaluru: Four members of a family died when the compound wall of a house collapsed on a neighbouring house at Kuthar Madani Nagara in Ullal police station limits on Wednesday morning.

The deceased have been as Yasir (45), his wife Mariamma (40) and their two daughters Raihana (19) and Rifaana (16) passed away in the incident. The compound wall belongs to Aboobakkar.

A large number of people gathered at the spot while bodies are being recovered from the debris.

The wall of the house collapsed in the bedroom where Yasir and his family were sleeping. Following the rain, a compound wall and two areca nut trees have fallen on Yasir's house.

Yasir was a worker in the fisheries harbour at Bunder, while his children - Rihana and Rifan - were students.

Yasir had purchased the house six years ago and had given the house for lease. He had shifted to the house only six months ago. In fact, a compound wall had collapsed on the house two years ago too, but no casualties were reported.

After a three-hour operation, all the four bodies were recovered from the debris with the help of local residents and personnel from fire and emergency services.

Yasir’s eldest daughter Rasheena is married and had returned to her husband’s house in Kerala on Tuesday, after celebrating Bakrid.

Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada has been experiencing bountiful showers since Tuesday night.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert in the district till June 27. According to the forecast, a wet spell is likely to continue over Coastal Karnataka and adjoining parts of Malnad and interior Karnataka districts with widespread light to moderate rains.

Heavy to very heavy rains may also occur at isolated areas until June 27.

Mangaluru: Amid a spike in dengue cases in Karnataka, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao launched an awareness campaign in this district headquarters town of Dakshina Kannada to eliminate breeding sites of Aedes mosquito that causes the vector borne disease.

He conducted a house-to-house inspection in parts of the city along with health workers and checked breeding areas of Aedes mosquitoes.

Rao, who is also district in-charge Minister, inspected places where Aedes mosquito larvae were produced in water stagnated in coconut shells, tubs and tyres and observed the measures being taken by Health Department staff to destroy them.

He advised the local residents to be vigilant.

Speaking to reporters later, the Minister said the Department has launched a campaign to destroy breeding sites of Aedes mosquitoes every Friday for dengue control and urged the public to extend their cooperation.

Health workers are engaged in creating awareness among people. People need to ensure that water does not stagnate in places around their houses. Aedes mosquito breeding sites are being identified and destroyed, he said.

"It has been suggested to identify hot spots where dengue fever is more common and open fever clinics. It is advised to conduct dengue testing on people with fever, who come from those regions where dengue is prevalent and provide treatment. This can prevent deaths," Rao said.

The Minister also said his Department along with the Rural Development Department, district administration, local Corporation officials and teachers have been engaged in efforts to control dengue.

According to the data shared by the Health Department, total positive dengue cases reported in the State since January till July 4 was 6,676 and out of these, total active cases were 695. Dengue has claimed six lives in the state in the current calendar year.