Bangalore set to expand into a “Greater Bangalore”

The 225 square kilometers of Bangalore Metropolitan Area is all set to expand into “Greater Bangalore” spread across 767 square kilometers by bringing under its purview the surrounding seven city municipal councils and one town municipal council.

After presiding over a meeting of Cabinet Sub Committee on Greater Bangalore, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the work on the project is expected to start from January 2007.

To work out the modalities for a Greater Bangalore, the Government has constituted a high-level committee headed by the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Sudhakar Rao, who has been asked to submit a report in the regard in the next three days.

Kumaraswamy said the Government was yet to decide on whether to have a Mumbai or a Chennai model for Greater Bangalore. Once Greater Bangalore is formed, the City expects additional funds from the Federal Government like other metros – New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

The Greater Bangalore will bring under its fold Bangalore City Corporation, City municipal councils of K R Puram, Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli, Byatarayanapura, Yelahanka, Rajarajeshwarinagar and town municipal council of Kengeri

Travel time between Bangalore and Chennai to shrink to one hour – Indian Railways

The Indian Railways has proposed to introduce a bullet train between Bangalore and Chennai that will cover the 340 km-long distance in just one hour.

According to Divisional Railway Manager of South Western Railways Mahesh Mangal, the Bangalore-Chennai corridor is among the three segments proposed by the Railways for introduction of bullet trains running at a minimum speed of 250 kilometres per hour and a maximum speed of 400 kilometres per hour.

The other segments proposed to have bullet trains in the country are Jaipur-Delhi and Pune-Mumbai. The Railway Board had taken up discussion the bullet train projects announced in the recently approved Railway budget, he said.

A bullet train between Bangalore and Chennai will bring down the average travel time between the two cities from seven hours to one hour, he said. But, the ambitious project, which had been conceived to compete with low-cost domestic airlines, requires dedicated railway tracks and specialist trains.

As per the plans, the high-end service of Indian Rialways would cost a whopping Rs 20 to Rs 30 million for every kilometer and is likely to deploy the magnetic levitation technology to achieve high speeds. “This would involve laying of dedicated tracks and acquiring a special type of moving stock”, Mangal said.

Each high-speed train will have six coaches and will carry about 400 to 500 passengers. The number of coaches could be increased to ten.

Also, the Bangalore-Chennai trip on a bullet train would cost almost as much as air travel in view of the competitive fares offered by low-cost airlines. Railway officials said the tariff for a journey by the bullet train between Bangalore and Chennai could be upwards of Rs 3,000.

Similiarly, the tariff on the Mumbai-Pune corridor would be in the range of Rs 1,500 as compared to average air fares of over Rs 2,500 for the distance. The fares between Delhi and Jaipur could be around Rs 2,400 as against anything between Rs 2,500 and Rs 4,000 by a flight.

Woman rescued from 20-feet dry bore well in north Karnataka

The police accompanied by villagers rescued a twenty-year-old married woman, who had accidentally fallen into a 20-feet dry bore well in a farm in Sikkeri village in north Karnataka’s Bagalkot district, bringing back memories of Prince episode.

Police said Kalavva Gadaginavvar had slipped into the open bore well when she was returning home from the fields around 8 pm on Thursday. Kalavva’s cries for help from the depths of the bore well went unheard even as her husband frantically searched for her throughout the night.

A farmer passing by the open bore well heard a faint female voice on Friday and immediately alerted the villagers, who arrived in large numbers. Kalavva’s panic stricken husband reached the spot and led a rescue operation by throwing a rope into the 15 inch wide bore well. But, Kalavva could not grasp the rope due to darkness and narrowness of the well.

The police, which had already been informed, arrived at the scene and launched a rescue operation. Emulating the Prince’s much-publicized rescue act, an earth moving equipment was pressed into service to dig a tunnel parallel to bore well in which Kalavva lay trapped.

The operation lasted four hours and Kalavva was rescued from the bore well 16 hours after she fell into it. She had suffered minor injuries, but was dazed when she was rescued, police said. She was immediately rushed to a private hospital.

The Superintendent of Bagalkot police Ramesh Harihar supervised the rescue operation while MLA Charanthimutt monitored the process along with several villagers. The operation evoked a huge interest among the locals as hundreds of people from nearby villages thronged the spot.

Karnataka Government’s helicopter sold for Rs 105 million

After lying idle for more than 30 months with no pilot coming forward to fly it, the Karnataka Government’s only official helicopter has finally been sold for Rs 105 million.

The sleek Dauphin helicopter, which was once used to ferry the Chief Minister and other VVIPs, had been grounded at Pawan Hans in Mumbai, one of the country’s biggest helicopter operators. Even while lying idle, the chopper had turned out to be white elephant by incurring a huge maintenance cost.

The helicopter has been sold for a price of Rs 105 million to Pawan Hans at whose airbase in Mumbai the chopper had remained grounded.

“At last, we sold it. The chopper had turned out to be a white elephant. We spent millions of rupees for its maintenance without making use of it for the last 30 months”, said an apparently relieved official of Karnataka Government’s protocol wing.

Karnataka Government had bought the helicopter for Rs 270 million during 1998 to ferry Chief Ministers and other VVIPs across the State. The going was smooth until the aviation sector in the country began experiencing a boom three years ago, leading to a sudden spurt in salaries of pilots.

The Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 offered by the Government as salary to the pilots proved to be peanuts to the high-fliers, who, almost overnight, began commanding salaries ranging from Rs 100,000 to 150,000 in private airlines. A recruitment drive launched by the Government drew a blank. With virtually no takers for the post of pilot for the Government helicopter, the Dauphin helicopter remained grounded at Pawan Hans in Mumbai.

The last person to fly the State Government’s Dauphin helicopter was a retired pilot by name Vasan. He quit in 2003, leaving the Dauphin at Pavan Hans in Mumbai.

Even by remaining idle at Pawan Hans, the chopper entailed an expenditure of Rs 250,000 to the Government towards its maintenance. Besides, a huge sum was spent on its repairs when heavy rains in Mumbai submerged the chopper. “The last 30 months of grounding had left a big hole in the exchequer. A total of Rs 7.5 million had spent on its maintenance and repair”, the official said.

The protocol wing of the Karnataka Department has found that it was more economical to use chartered helicopters than owning one and maintaining it. “The Government’s failure to find a pilot to fly the chopper and the huge costs involved in its maintenance had forced us to dispose it off”, the official added.

Conman claiming to be Chief Minister’s right-hand arrested in Bangalore

The Bangalore police have arrested a 42-year-old conman, who had cheated several site-aspirants, particularly NRIs, by masquerading as the Chief Minister’s “right-hand” man.

Police said the accused K Sundara Subramanian, also known as Maniyan, had duped several including NRIs and businessmen of more than Rs 250 million by promising to secure them residential and industrial sites under the Chief Minister’s discretionary quota.

Maniyan, a former employee of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL), ran a real estate agency at the up-market Church Street, spoke fluent English, moved around in high-end cars and led a lavish life-style.

Assistant Commissioner of Police B K Shivaram told reporters that Maniyan would collect money from his victims after making them sign applications for allotment of sites from the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) under the discretionary quota. He even used to provide them with not only fake bank receipts for payments made to the BDA, but also fake allotment letters and possession certificates.

The victims would learn about the fraud only when they approached the BDA or other agencies for licenses to begin construction on their “allotted” sites. Even after the government agencies told the victims that the documents in their possession were fake as the sites had never been allotted, Maniyan would assure his clients that he would speak to the concerned authorities and set things right.

But, Maniyan’s luck ran out when one of his victims lodged a complaint with the police after he was duped of Rs 3.7 million. The cheat had apparently collected money from the victim promising him residential sites in Koramangala and Indiranagar.

The police arrested Maniyan and preliminary investigations had revealed that he had cheated several people of at least Rs 250 million during the last ten years. He had also collected Rs 12 million from one Subhash Sharma, a resident of Bangalore and Rs 6 million from Chandrashekar, a resident of Mumbai.

“What has come out so far is only the tip of an iceberg. The accused had cheated many more people in a similar fashion. The victims can lodge complaints with the police”, Shivaram said.

Meanwhile, the police is on the look-out for Maniyan’s estranged wife Radha, who had allegedly collected huge sums of money from unsuspecting site-aspirants.

BJP prepares the ground for Reddy’s expulsion

The Karnataka unit of the BJP has prepared the ground for the expulsion of its suspended legislator Janardhan Reddy for his failure to provide concrete evidence against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his ministerial colleagues in the bribery scandal.

A team of senior leaders of the BJP, comprising Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and the party’s Karnataka unit President D V Sadananda Gowda, is expected to leave for New Delhi to recommend the party’s national leadership to expel Reddy from the party.

The BJP leadership in Karnataka is of the firm view that Reddy’s act of openly accusing the Chief Minister of accepting Rs 1.5 billion in bribe and his failure to provide corroborative evidence in the matter amounted to a virtual revolt in the party. For, the BJP was a partner in the coalition Government headed by H D Kumaraswamy.

The BJP leaders, who met in Bangalore on Friday, had already dispatched a report to BJP national President Rajnath Singh, which contains the “inconsequential and hollow evidence” provided by Reddy to prove his bribery charges against the Chief Minister.

The BJP leadership is also expected to seek the suspension of former federal Minister Basavaraj Patil Yatnal and BJP’s state unit general secretary Aravind Limbavalli for supporting Janardhan Reddy in the bribery scandal.

Senior BJP leader and Minister for Water Resources K S Eshwarappa told reporters that the party will seek the expulsion of Reddy and the suspension of Yatnal and Aravind Limbavalli.

BJP legislator seeks CBI probe against Karnataka CM

Hours after disappointing an expectant public of Karnataka by releasing CDs with masked faces and jarring audio as proof of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s involvement in the bribery scandal, BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy moved the Karnataka High Court seeking a CBI probe into the corrupt activities of the Chief Minister and his two ministerial colleagues.

The writ petition, which was filed by well-known criminal advocate C V Nagesh on behalf of Reddy, has alleged that Kumaraswamy, Forest Minister C Chennigappa and Home Minister M P Prakash had threatened to close down mining in Bellary district if the mine owners did not cough up the bribe amount.

Reddy, who is himself in the mining business, said he had arranged for recording of the personal meeting of a Minister with the mine owners, where the Minister had made a demand for “illegal gratification” in return for not disturbing mining. Claiming that the gratification sought ran into millions of rupees, Reddy said the money paid by the mine owners had changed several hands before reaching the three Ministers.

Properties worth more than a billion rupees had been purchased in the names of the family members of Kumaraswamy. Most of the acquisitions had been made after Kumaraswamy assumed charge as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, he said in the writ petition.

He has also submitted a series of CDs and other documentary evidence as proof of the charges he had made against the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues.

Meanwhile, Reddy, whose much-hyped disclosure of evidence against the Chief Minister turned out to be a damp squib, released another CD late on Wednesday night with clear video footage. The video showed an exporter, identified as R K Sharma, speaking on the mobile phone to a person by name Ashwin Paul, understood to be the Chief Minister’s agent.

The exporter claims he had paid Rs two million for exporting iron ore, but the voice at the other end, which is supposed to the Chief Minister’s agent, tells the exporter that the money was for the Chief Minister’s fund and exporter has to pay more now.

However, Reddy said he had decided to keep certain “critical” taped evidence under the wraps for the time being. “The evidence in those tapes could lead to the immediate ouster of Chennigappa and M P Prakash, who are small players in the scam. I am looking to nail the Chief Minister himself”, Reddy said.

Reddy has sought to keep the suspense over the Chief Minister’s bribery scandal alive by claiming that he would release four more CDs at a press conference to be held in Bangalore during the next few days.

Reacting bitterly to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy for accusing him of doctoring the tapes, Reddy dared the Chief Minister to subject the tapes to a forensic test to prove their authenticity.

Meanwhile, the BJP’s Karnataka unit has decided to recommend the party’s national leadership to expel Reddy from the party for “gross indiscipline”.

BJP’s Karnataka unit President D V Sadananda Gowda told reporters that Reddy, who has already been suspended from the party, had failed to substantiate his allegations against the Chief Minister. “I will send a report to the party’s national leadership on the entire issue and recommend the expulsion of Reddy”, Sadananda Gowda said and added that the party will also consider suspending former Federal Minister Basavaraj Patil Yatnal for supporting Reddy.

Karnataka Governor plays Good Samaritan

Few people knew how the granddaughter of renowned shehnai exponent Ustad Bismillah Khan, Manish Raza, who is studying in Bangalore, could reach Varanasi in time for the funeral of her grandfather recently.

It was none other Karnataka Governor T N Chaturvedi, who played the role of a Good Samaritan to help Manish Raza reach Varanasi from Bangalore.

Raza approached the Governor soon after she heard about her grandfather’s death on Monday. In a goodwill gesture, Chaturvedi agreet the meet the airfare of her trip out his discretionary grant.

Though she was put on a flight to Lucknow from Bangalore, the departure was delayed, causing much anxiety to Raza. But, the Governor came to her rescue again by arranging for a car from the Raj Bhavan in Lucknow soon after she landed there. The car took her to Varanasi just in time for her to attend the funeral of her grandfather, according to an official press release here.

Reddy releases CD, levels fresh charges against CM’s family

BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy released the anxiously awaited documentary evidence on collection of Rs 1.5 billion as bribe by Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy from mine owners in Bellary, but the transcripts of CD showed only businessmen and exporters complaining about paying huge sums of money to the Chief Minister’s family.

But, Reddy promised more clinching evidence in the next few days to back his allegations against the Chief Minister, which had put the JD (S)-BJP coalition Government in Karnataka under a strain.

The screening of the audio and video CDs by Reddy at his residence in Bellary yesterday turned out to be an anti-climax to the hype generated by the BJP legislator’s serious allegations against the Chief Minister.

For, the video footage merely showed the businessmen, whose images had been blurred for security reasons, complaining about the pressure they were undergoing to pay bribe money to the Chief Minister. Neither the Chief Minister nor Forest Minister C Chennigappa and Home Minister M P Prakash, all of whom have been accused in the bribery scandal, were shown on the video footage, much to the disappointment of media personnel, who had gathered at Bellary from different parts of the State.

But, a video footage clearly showed Forest Minister C Chennigappa’s son claiming that his family had invested Rs 250 million on a building being built for a Trust named after the Chief Minister’s father and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his wife Chennamma.

After the screening, Reddy claimed that he had reserved hard documentary evidence in the form of more CDs for screening at a later date. He claimed that the evidence, which had been shown, would be submitted to the Karnataka High Court to press for a CBI probe into the corruption charges against the Chief Minister and his family.

“I will be filing a writ petition in the High Court seeking a CBI probe into the matter”, he announced.

Apart from releasing the CDs, Reddy levelled fresh charges against the Chief Minister’s family yesterday.

He disclosed documents pertaining to BSK Trading Company, a private export company floated by the Chief Minister’s family, which was engaged in mining business. He said the trading company, which has Kumaraswamy’s brother H D Balakrishna Gowda and his sister in law Kavitha as partners, was purchasing iron-ore from mining company and exporting the same through Mangalore port.

The proprietor of the mining company from whom Kumaraswamy’s family was procuring iron ore had been blackmailed and threatened by the Mines and Geology Department into parting with fifty per cent of the iron ore, he alleged. “The proprietor of the company succumbed to a heart attack a fortnight ago”, Reddy revealed.

Since Kumaraswamy became the Chief Miniter in February 2006, Reddy said a whopping Rs 230 million had been credited into the account of Kavitha. “All this is the money that has come in the form of bribe”, Reddy alleged, providing reporters with documents pertaining to the financial transactions.

Reddy also released documents showing Kumaraswamy and his wife Anita being partners in a yet-to-launched Kasturi Kannada television channel. He said Kumaraswamy’s family was also involved in Amog Media, a cable network company.

CM CALLS EVIDENCE CONCOCTED: Dismissing the allegations of bribery levelled against him by BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy yesterday questioned the authenticity of the audio and video tapes played before the media as documentary evidence of his involvement in the bribery scandal.

Speaking to reporters at Gulbarga in north Karnataka, the Chief Minister suspected that the tapes played by Janardhan Reddy had been doctored to project him in poor light.

He ruled out the possibility of submitting his resignation in the face of corruption charges levelled against him by the BJP legislator.

Kumaraswamy received support from his coalition partner BJP on the bribery issue. BJP’s Karnataka unit President D V Sadananda Gowda told reporters that the evidence provided by their suspended party legislator Janardhan Reddy was not “conclusive”.

BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said there was no threat to the coalition Government. The coalition partners are united and committed to the continuation of the Government, he said

Life imprisonment for acid attacker

In a landmark judgement, the Karnataka High Court has awarded life imprisonment to the accused in the sensational acid attack case on a 20-year-old girl Haseena in Bangalore that took place seven years ago.

The Division of Karnataka High Court convicted Joseph Rodrigues for attempting to murder Haseena by throwing acid on her in Jalahalli in Bangalore on April 20, 1999 when she spurned his overtures.

After the acid attack, Haseena went blind and underwent multiple surgeries. For, the acid had dissolved her lips, nose and one of her earlobes. Also, the welding of one side of her neck to the shoulder had transformed the shape of her face.

Reasoning the harsh punishment for Joseph Rodrigues, the court observed that “She (Haseena) had become a prisoner in her own house. A young beautiful girl, who has now to carry on her life, with a hideous face, who has lost hope forever of leading a normal life, including loss of a chance of marriage and the revered dream of every girl – motherhood – for no fault of hers is only because of the act of the accused”.

Besides, sentencing Rodrigues to life imprisonment, the Bench also slapped a fine of Rs 200,000 on the convict. Apart from the fine imposed on the convict, the High Court also awarded Haseena a compensation of Rs 300,000 by the trail court, which had earlier sentenced Rodrigues to only five years and three months imprisonment. The trial court’s order was also set aside by the High Court.

The High Court observed that it cannot shut its eyes to the obnoxious tendency of young persons resorting to use of corrosive substances like acid for throwing on girls, causing not only severe physical damage, but also mental trauma to the victims.

BJP legislator to go public with evidence against CM today

Political parties in Karnataka were gripped by palpable anxiety yesterday as BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy declared that he would go ahead with his plan to release documentary evidence to prove that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had accepted bribe amounting to Rs 1.5 billion from the mine owners of Bellary.

Reddy, who was in Bangalore on Tuesday, said he will go public with the evidence at a press conference convened in Bellary, about 300 kms from here, on Wednesday. “I will expose the Chief Minister by going public with the documentary evidence in my possession. All the people in the state will know about it”, he told reporters.

Reddy has accused Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Forest Minister C Chennigappa and Home Minister M P Prakash of accepting bribe from illegal mine owners of Bellary. The evidence in Reddy’s possession includes recorded transcripts and CDs showing how the bribe was collected by the accused from the illegal mine owners in Bellary.

According to sources close to Reddy, Forest Minister C Chennigappa’s conversations with mine owners from Bellary had been recorded and the same would be made public.

Meanwhile, Reddy told reporters that he was in Bangalore to file a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court seeking a CBI probe into the bribery charges against the Chief Minister and two of his colleagues. “I am filing a writ petition seeking a CBI probe”, he said.

Though the political atmosphere in Karnataka remained surcharged over the anticipated release of documentary evidence against the Chief Minister’s involvement in a bribery scandal, Kumaraswamy sought to play down the hype surrounding the episode.

“Let him make a film if he has recorded conversations relating to the bribery scandal in a CD”, Kumaraswamy said. But, Reddy claimed that the Chief Minister instead of giving a satisfactory reply to the allegation was finding an easy way out by ridiculing the evidence.

The BJP, which is a partner in the ruling coalition in Karnataka, has said that the party will ascertain the authenticity of the evidence purportedly in possession of their party legislator before taking a decision on the matter.

“Let him go public with the evidence. We will ascertain all the facts before taking any decision”, senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said. However, he sought to clarify that the party had not made any efforts to prevent Reddy, who has already been suspended from the party, from disclosing the evidence in his possession.

The Opposition Congress has predicted the early collapse of the JD (S)-BJP coalition in Karnataka. President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) M Mallikarjun Kharge said the feuds between the coalition partners will bring down the Government. “The instability dogging the Government had little to do with the Congress and more to do with the BJP”, Kharge said referring to the bribery charges levelled against the Chief Minister by the BJP legislator.

Trainer aircraft crash-lands at Bangalore airport

The Bangalore airport was closed for nearly two hours on Monday evening after a trainer aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF) crash-landed on the runway.

However, the pilot of the Kiran Mark I trainer aircraft squadron leader Beri and co-pilot Santhosh, also a flight engineer, escaped with minor injuries.

The trainer aircraft belonging to the Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment (ASTE) of the IAF was on a routine sortie on Monday evening when the mishap took place. “After flying for about 45 minutes, the aircraft landed on its belly. The nose wheels failed to open in time”, said an ASTE official.

The aircraft had suffered extensive damage after it landed on its belly with sparks flying. The rear wheels had caught fire due to the sparks flying in their direction as the aircraft moved after a touchdown sans the front wheel, according to airport officials.

IAF personnel and the fire tenders rushed to the spot to help the two pilots. They were rushed to a hospital for a medical check up to screen them for injuries.

However, the aircraft with a badly damaged front portion sat on the runway for nearly two hours disrupting air traffic at the busy Bangalore airport. A total of 17 in-bound and out-bound flights were disrupted on account of the mishap, airport officials said. A few flights, which had already entered the Bangalore air space, were also made to hover over the City till the wreckage was removed from the runway with a crane. Flights resumed only late on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, the IAF has ordered an inquiry into the crash. “Everything was under control and no technical failure was reported during the course of the flight or during landing. Anyway, the malfunction is under investigation”, a senior IAF official said.

Court summons Karnataka Chief Minister in defamation case

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has been summoned by a court in Bellary district in connection with the defamation suit filed against him by BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy.

The Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Bellary issued orders yesterday for the personal appearance of Kumaraswamy, who has been accused of defaming the BJP legislator by calling him a mad person. The court has asked Kumaraswamy to appear before the court on September 7.

Kumaraswamy is accused of calling Janardhan Reddy a mad person after the latter accused the Chief Minister of accepting a bribe of Rs 1.5 billion from the illegal mining lobby in Bellary.

Meanwhile, Janardhan Reddy, who spoke to reporters outside the court complex on Monday, said he would release the first instalment of the documents relating to the bribery charge on Wednesday. “I will release the documentary evidence on the bribery episode to the media on Wednesday. Due to security concerns, I am yet to finalize the place. It could be either Bellary or Bangalore”, Reddy said.

Reddy, who is also holding marathon discussions with BJP MPs and legislators, besides legal experts on the consequences of making public the eagerly-awaited evidence, said he would be releasing the documents to prove his bribery charge in phases.

The BJP legislator is also holding parleys with like-minded leaders in the BJP, which is incidentally a partner in the Kumaraswamy-led JD (S)-BJP coalition. Former Federal Minister and senior party leader from Karnataka Basavaraj Patil Yatnal, who also met Reddy, has declared his support to Reddy’s fight against corruption.

Yatnal said he would speak to the party’s top brass and secure Reddy’s suspension from the party revoked. “The BJP should not confine itself to the party’s interest during the 40-month tenure of the coalition. The party should look beyond the coalition’s tenure”, he said accusing the BJP Ministers in the coalition of protecting their personal interests by ignoring Reddy’s allegations.

Kumaraswamy likely to drop Zameer Ahmed Khan

The political circles in Karnataka are agog with speculations over dropping of Minister for Minorities and Wakf Zameer Ahmed Khan from the coalition Ministry in the wake of his reported revolt against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

Giving a hint over the likely dismissal of Zameer Ahmed Khan from his Cabinet, Kumaraswamy told reporters that the Minister had joined the long list of people, who had betrayed his father – former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda - and him after securing political favours.

“It has become a routine for my father and me to be left in the lurch by apparently close associates”, Kumaraswamy said adding that Zameer Ahmed Khan is the latest addition to the tribe.

A blue-eyed-boy of Kumaraswamy, the first-time MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan had been accommodated into the coalition Ministry at a time when the JD (S) was under intense pressure for allocating ministerial berths to several senior partymen.

Zameer Ahmed Khan, who was at the wheels of the luxury bus, which carried the flock of JD (S) MLAs to Goa after the party withdrew support to the Dharam Singh-led coalition Government, has raised a banner of revolt against the Chief Minister and abstained from the JD (S) Legislature Party meeting convened last week.

Zameer Ahmed Khan is reported to be in constant touch with JD (S) MLA Anil Lad, who is another friend-turned-foe of the Chief Minister.

Boy’s heart and kidney operated simultaneously in Bangalore

The doctors at a hospital in the City successfully operated upon a seven-year-old boy for the simultaneous removal of malignant tumour from his kidney as well as the heart.

The patient Ravi, belonging to a poor family from Humbalu village in Hoskote taluk near Bangalore had been diagnosed for left-sided Wilm’s tumour. But, further investigations revealed that the cancer had spread to the boy’s heart also.

Paediatric heart surgeons from speciality hospitals in Bangalore got together to carry out the risky surgery at Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology in the City. After a five-hour-long surgery, the doctors were successful in carrying an open-heart surgery to remove the tumour and simultaneously attend to the infected kidney.

Director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology C N Manjunath told reporters that Ravi had recovered completely and was ready to be discharged. “This is the first time, at least in Karnataka, that a simultaneous surgery of heart and kidney had been conducted to remove the spread of cancer”, he said. The surgery had been conducted free of cost, he added.

Taken by surprise, Coke clarifies its products are completely safe

Taken by surprise over the Karnataka Government’s decision to move the court over pesticide findings in its products, Coca Cola has clarified that all its soft drink products are completely safe.

In a press statement, Coca Cola claimed that the company monitors the quality and safety of its products and the samples are tested in reputed and international laboratories. “The samples drawn as recently as on August 3, 2006, from Karnataka have been tested at Vimta Labs, Hyderabad. The laboratory has not detected any pesticide residues in them”, a company press statement said.

Coca Cola has expressed surprise over Karnataka Government’s recent decision to file a case against the company after laboratory tests conducted at a private laboratory, where pesticides were reportedly found to be higher than the permissible levels. “As things stand, Coca Cola has no knowledge of such tests nor has the company received any communication from Karnataka State Health Ministry”, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Pepsico India too has sought to counter the tough measures taken by the Karnataka Government by claiming that its products comply with the most stringent regulations.

Pepsico India’s Chairman Rajeev Bakshi met reporters in Bangalore and said Pepsi’s products comply with the most stringent Indian and international regulations, including the one stipulated by the Federal Ministry for Health in India during June 2004.

Notwithstanding the clarifications issued by the multinational cola manufacturers, the Karnataka Government, which has already prohibited the sale of soft drinks in educational institutions, hospitals and government offices extended to ban to all the 2,000 odd Temples in the State governed by the Religious Endowment Department.

Commissioner for Religious Endowments in Karnataka T Sham Bhat told reporters that the Government had banned sale of the 13 carbonated drinks including Pepsi and Coca Cola in shops and establishments located within a radius of 100 feet from the Temples.

Karnataka Government drags Coca Cola to court

The Karnataka Government has filed a criminal case against multinational beverage manufacturer Coca Cola for selling soft drinks containing a high level of pesticides.

Karnataka’s Minister for Health and Family Welfare R Ashok said the State Government had carried out independent laboratory tests on Coca Cola soft drinks recently and found the level of chemical pesticides in it to be higher than the permissible limits.

“We bought a bottle of Coca Cola from a general shop, took a receipt for it and submitted the bottle to tests at a fully equipped private laboratory in Bangalore. Government technicians conducted the laboratory tests. It was found that Coca Cola contained chemical melathene to an extent of 0.142 parts per million against the permitted 0.1 parts per million”, Ashok said.

The criminal case against Coca Cola has been filed under the Food Adulteration Act at a city court in Bangalore.

Ashok said the Karnataka had become the first state in India to file a case against multinational soft drink manufacturer for the high level of pesticide content in the beverages manufactured and supplied by them.

He said the Karnataka Government had submitted for tests the samples of all the 12 carbonated drinks identified by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment as having a high concentration of pesticide.

“We have received the results for Thumps Up and Mirinda, both of which have a higher amount of pesticide content than permitted. We will be filing cases against the manufacturers of these two drinks also separately”, he said.

With a view to protecting the health of children in the State, the health and family welfare Minister said the Government would shortly submit samples of all the 500 odd local brands of carbonated drinks available in Karnataka for similiar laboratory tests.

Though Karnataka has already banned sale of soft drinks in educational institutions, hospitals and government offices, the Government was also toying with the idea of implementing a total ban like the one in Kerala.

“We are studying the guidelines issued by the Kerala Government. After consulting legal experts, we will try to put a similiar blanket ban in place even in Karnataka”, Ashok said.

Karnataka begins distributing bicycles to poor school-going girls

The Karnataka Government has begun distributing bicycles to high school girls belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families across the state as an incentive to pursue their education.

Under the ambitious programme of the Karnataka Government, an estimated 175,000 girls belonging to BPL families and studying in high schools across the state will become eligible to receive the bicycles, each of which is worth Rs 2,300.

The programme was launched with much fan fare at a function organised at a government junior college in Devanahalli near Bangalore. About 250 high school girls astride their new bicycles rode in front of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to mark the launch of the programme.

Government officials said a total of 116,875 girls studying in Government high schools and 58,683 girls studying in Government aided high schools will receive the bicycles supplied by leading bicycle manufacturers during the coming few weeks. The bicycle scheme is expected to cost the Government Rs 356 million.

During the launch of the programme, Karnataka’s Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj Horatti cautioned the beneficiaries against misusing the bicycles. “The bicycles given to girl students of High Schools should not be used by either their brothers or fathers. Also, the bicycles should be used only for going to school. It should not be used to either bring hay from the fields or to fetch provisions from the market”, he said.

Horatti called upon the general public to bring to the notice of the concerned authorities if they spot the bicycles being misused.

Coalition to begin appointments to Boards and Corporations

Under pressure from discontented party legislators, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy yesterday set in motion the process of finalizing appointments to the various state-run Boards and Corporations.

A day after the legislators gave the Chief Minister a piece of their mind at the JD (S) Legislature Party meeting convened in the wake of simmering discontentment in the party, Kumaraswamy assured to begin the process of making appointments to the posts of President, Vice President and members of various Boards and Corporations.

He said he would hold a meeting with senior BJP leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, later in the day and finalise the list of appointees soon. Under the power-sharing agreement, coalition partners JD (S) and BJP are expected to share the posts in Boards and Corporations.

The posts in Boards and Corporations have been lying vacant for more than two years now for various reasons. The disgruntled party legislators brought pressure on the Chief Minister during Thursday’s marathon meeting of the JD (S) Legislature Party to complete the long-delayed appointments to the Boards and Corporations in the State, besides filling up the two ministerial berths kept vacant by the party.

Though six party legislators kept away from Thursday’s meeting, Kumaraswamy claimed that there is no dissidence in the JD (S). He termed as “mischievous and malicious” the reports of a revolt brewing in the party against his style of functioning.

“I hold the reins of the party and the Government. There is no dissatisfaction in the party”, he told reporters after the meeting, which concluded on Thursday evening. “We are united. There are some elements, who are trying to divide us. But they will not succeed”, Kumaraswamy said.

Though 44 out of the total 50 JD (S) MLAs in Karnataka attended the legislature party meeting on Thursday, the absence of his trusted lieutenants Zameer Ahmed Khan and Santhosh Lad raised several eye-brows and lent credence to the reports that the two had turned hostile to the Chief Minister.

Ironically, it was Santosh Lad, a party MLA and mine-owner from Bellary district, who had financed the entire “coup d’etat”, in January this year, which toppled the Congress-JD (S) coalition, catapulting Kumaraswamy to the chief ministerial gaddi.

Also, Zameer Ahmed Khan, who is the Ministery for Wakf and Minorities, is reckoned to the Chief Minister’s blue-eyed boy. A transport operator Zameer Ahmed Khan had played a key role in mobilizing the legislators during the coup and was even at the wheels of the luxury coach that carried the legislators to Goa. Zameer Ahmed Khan is reported to be upset with the interference of the family members of Kumaraswamy in the administrative matters.

BJP legislator to go public with evidence against Karnataka CM on August 22

Despite the camaraderie between coalition partners JD (S) and BJP in Karnataka, BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy has threatened to make public all the evidence in his possession with respect to the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charge he has levelled against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

Reddy, who has been holding meetings with select BJP legislators and MPs in Bellary during the last few days, said he was in possession of CDs, tapes, videos and documents that would serve as proof for the corruption charges he had levelled against the Chief Minister and two of his Ministerial colleagues. “Every inch of my allegation is supported with documents and each document has a legal opinion attached to it”, he told reporters.

Reddy has accused Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Home Minister M P Prakash and Forest Minister C Chennigappa of accepting bribe worth Rs 1.5 billion from illegal mine owners in Bellary district.

“I will release the documents on August 22. But, I have not yet finalized the place. It could be either in Bellary or Bangalore. It could also be a simultaneous release in Bellary and Bangalore”, Reddy said.

Reddy, who has so far met 13 MPs and 10 legislators belonging to the BJP during the last two days, said he had been assured of support from his party colleagues. Though the BJP legislator said his intention was not to topple the Government, he said people charged with corruption should not be allowed to continue in power.

The BJP legislator said he was determined to pursue the defamation case he has filed against the Chief Minister for calling him a mad person. Reddy revealed that he would be represented by leading lawyer and former Federal Minister for Law Ram Jethmalani and his daughter Rani Jethmalani in his defamation case.

Meanwhile, in a fresh development, which Reddy says is linked to the Rs 1.5 billion bribery episode, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s sister-in-law H Kavitha cancelled registration of about 20 acres of land she had purchased in Srirangapatna, about 120 kms from here, about two months ago.

Kavitha, wife of Kumaraswamy’s brother H D Balakrishna Gowda, had purchased the land by paying Rs 3.7 million in cash on June 8. But, on August 16, a few days after Congress leaders exposed the purchase of an Information Technology (IT) park in Bangalore by the Chief Minister’s family for a whopping Rs 850 million, Kavitha secured the cancellation of the 20 acres of land.

The purchase of land by Kavitha was exposed by Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, a farmers’ organisation. The activists of the farmers’ organization have now sought a probe into the deal.

The issue, however, gave Reddy an opportunity to buttress his charges. He said the Chief Minister’s family had purchased properties worth millions of rupees in the recent past. “My charges will be proved”, he claimed.

Dissidence in Karnataka JD (S), Kumaraswamy convenes meet of legislators

With the simmering discontentment among the ruling JD (S) legislators in Karnataka, threatening to snowball into an open revolt, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy convened a meeting of JD (S) Legislature Party in Bangalore yesterday and made efforts to placate the disgruntled MLAs.

Apart from the dissatisfaction over their failure to secure ministerial berths during the last expansion of the coalition cabinet, the JD (S) MLAs have taken serious exception to the Chief Minister’s style of functioning and excessive interference in the administrative matters by his family members.

With even his stanch followers like Transport Minister N Cheluvaraya Swamy and Zameer Ahmed Khan joining the ranks of rebels in the party and taking its total strength to nearly 20 MLAs, Kumaraswamy invited all the party legislators to a meeting at his home office in Bangalore on Thursday to redress their grievances.

Though he denied any rebellion in the party and expressed confidence of ironing out the minor differences of opinion, the absence of a several party MLAs including his close confidantes Santosh Lad and Zameer Ahmed Khan from the meeting gave room for intense speculation.

A few disgruntled legislators like former Minister Amaregowda Bayyapur attended the meeting, but openly aired their grievances before reporters waiting outside the venue. Amaregowda Bayyapur told television channels that he and several legislators were not satisfied with the developmental activities in their respective constituencies.

Figuring prominently in the list of rebel JD (S) MLAs are former Minister Alangur Srinivas and Mahima Patel, both of whom were ditched during the last Cabinet expansion. Former Ministers B Satyanarayana, Merajuddin Patel and Muniyappa Mudappa have also been identified with the rebels.

With the rebels angling for a change of leadership after waiting in vain for ministerial berths, the political circles were agog with speculation over the likely dropping of four existing Ministers to accommodate the disgruntled legislators. But, Kumaraswamy ruled the possibility of dropping anybody from the Ministry for the time being.

Significantly, the dissidence in the JD (S) has reached a flashpoint at a time when suspended BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy threatened to make public within one week the evidence on the mining scandal and the reported acceptance of a bribe worth Rs 1.5 billion by the Chief Minister.

Reddy held a secret parley with a select group of BJP legislators including party’s state unit general secretary Aravind Limbavalli in Bellary on Wednesday. Though he refused to divulge what transpired during the meeting, Reddy said he would make public the evidence in his possession during a press conference to be convened either in Bangalore or Bellary.

“I would prefer to go public with the evidence in Bellary as I feel more safe in Bellary than in Bangalore. I am not sure whether I will be provided with adequate security in Bangalore”, he told reporters.

80-year-old Arab groom caught celebrating wedding night with 18-year-old bride in Bangalore

An eighty-year-old groom from Saudi Arabia, who was spending his wedding night with an eighteen-year-old girl from Bangalore, got the shock of his life when the Bangalore police, on trail of suspected terrorists, knocked on the door of his hotel room.

After being tipped off about suspicious movements of group of men and burkha-clad foreign women in a lodge in Bangalore on the Independence Day, the police raided the premises late on Tuesday night, only find an octogenarian native Riyadh in Saudi Arabia celebrating his wedding night with a newly wedded bride, aged barely 18 years, from R T Nagar in Bangalore.

The Arab’s son, daughter-in-law and grand children, who had arrived for the wedding from Riyadh, were found in another room of the same lodge, police said.

The police claimed that they raided the lodge on the suspicion that foreign terrorists might have been holed up in the lodge. In view of the general alert on account of Independence Day celebrations, the police did not wish to take chances and carried out the raid immediately after being tipped off.

The police had a tough time interrogating the group of family from Saudi Arabia as they spoke only Arabic. However, inquiries with the lodge owner revealed that the Saudis had a local contact by name Fathima, who turned out to be a marriage broker. The police have detained the Saudi family for interrogation while Fathima has been taken into custody.

Even if the tip off about terrorists holed up in the lodge turned out to be a false alarm, the police claimed they stumbled upon the racket of rich and elderly Arabs allegedly purchasing young Indian girls for marriage. Police said Fathima, a Saudi-returned maid, tempted poor Muslim parents to give their daughters in marriage to rich Arabs so that they can return with a lot of wealth. “This racket, which is rampant in Hyderabad and Kerala, may be raising its ugly head even in Bangalore”, a police official felt.

Former cop spills the beans on Telgi’s links with Congressmen

The Congress party in Karnataka is finding itself in a tight spot after a retired cop’s disclosure on the links between the senior Congressmen and the alleged kingpin of stamp paper racket Abdul Karim Telgi became public.

The confessional statement of retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Sangram Singh that he saw former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna and senior Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge with Telgi at the residence of Krishna’s son-in-law in Bangalore during September 2000, has given the ruling JD-BJP Government an opportunity to hit back at the Opposition Congress.

According to media reports here, Sangram Singh, in his confessional statement before a City court recorded during July 2004, claims that he had carried the ransom money meant to secure the release of Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar from the clutches of forest bandit Veerappan, amounting to Rs 200 million in two instalments during September and October of 2000.

According to confession of Sangram Singh, who has also been named as an accused in the stamp paper scam, a portion of the ransom money arranged for the release of Rajkumar could belong to Telgi. When Sangram Singh set out from the residence of Krishna’s son-in-law Siddhartha in Bangalore with eight to ten suitcases filled with currency, worth Rs 100 million, during September 2000, he admitted that he saw Krishna and Kharge with Telgi.

Sangram Singh, who is now out on bail, has claimed that he had been assigned of the task of taking the second instalment of eight to ten suitcases of currency, worth another Rs 100 million, during October 2000. He taken the currency-laden suitcases to Chennai in a vehicle belonging to the family of the Rajkumar on both the occasions.

Sangram Singh has also brought to light the role played by Tamil film star Rajnikant and liquor baron Audikeshavalu in the transfer of ransom money to Veerappan. The names of former Ministers in the S M Krishna regime R Roshan Baig and D K Shivakumar have also been dragged into murky controversy.

Though cop-turned-Lok Sabha MP Sangliana has already revealed that Telgi’s ill-gotten money had been used to pay the ransom for Rajkumar’s release from the custody of Veerappan, the JD (S)-BJP Government in Karnataka is using Sangram Singh’s revelation on the links between Telgi and Congressmen as a stick to beat the Congress with.

Coming down heavily on the Congress leaders for attacking him on the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charge, Kumaraswamy said the Congress leaders are now finding themselves caught in the stamp paper scam, which amounts to hundreds of billion rupees. “The Telgi case will expose the Congress leaders now”, he said.

Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the coalition Government would like to initiate action against politicians and police officers involved with Telgi.

Helmets for two-wheeler riders in Karnataka from September 1

Cruising through the roads of the cities in Karnataka without a helmet will be a thing of the past from September 1.

For, the Karnataka Government has decided to reintroduce the helmet rule for two wheeler riders in all the major cities of the State from September 1.

The Government decision on reintroduction of helmets comes in the wake of a direction from the High Court following a study conducted by National Institute for Mental Health and Science (NIMHANS) that concluded that a large number of lives lost during accidents could have been saved had the helmet rule been in place.

Though the process for reintroduction of helmet rule began more than a month ago with the Government issuing a notification on the mandatory wearing of helmet not only for two wheeler riders, but also the pillion riders, the authorities put the implementation of the rule on the hold in view of the widespread public discontentment over the rule.

However, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy said the Government was considering a proposal to exempt the pillion riders from mandatorily wearing helmets. A meeting of senior officials from the Transport Department will be convened to finalise the rules, he said. But, Kumaraswamy added that the compulsory helmet rule would come into force from September 1.

It may be mentioned here that the Government has already issued a notification on reintroduction of the helmet rule, which was originally slated to come into effect from August 1. But, widespread opposition from the two-wheeler owners, particularly on the rule that helmet wearing was mandatory even for pillion riders, had forced the Government to put off the implementation.

Fresh flood fury hits north Karnataka

Several parts of northern Karnataka were reeling under fresh flood fury with the discharge of excess water from reservoirs built across river Krishna in Maharashtra as well as Karnataka claiming a total of nine lives and marooning more than 300 villages.

With the river Krishna and its tributaries flowing above the danger mark, large scale inundation was witnessed in the districts of Belgaum, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bijapur, Bagalkote and lately Bellary.

More than a 100,000 people living in villages along the banks of rivers had been shifted to safer places. But, standing crops on thousands of acres of land had been ruined. Farmers are also complaining of losing their livestock, comprising buffaloes, sheep, goat and poultry.

After Maharashtra discharged millions of cusecs of water from its dams since the last few days, irrigation authorities in downstream Karnataka were forced to open the crest gates of its major reservoirs at Almatti, Nagarjunasagar, Narayanapura and Tungabhadra.

The authorities have issued a red alert to people residing downstream of the reservoirs. Boats and rafters had been deployed in the affected areas to evacuate people to safer places.

Though the authorities have opened hundreds of relief centers for the benefit of people displaced in the floods, farmers in many parts of north Karnataka were complaining about inadequate relief measures.

With the flood waters submerging roads, movement of vehicular traffic had also come to a stand-still in many parts of Belgaum, Bellary and Bagalkot districts.

More than 200 brains preserved at Asia’s only brain bank in Karnataka

More than 200 human brains have been preserved at Asia’s only depression brain bank at JSS medical college in Mysore near here.

Set up under an Indo-Croatian joint venture, the brain bank is conducting extensive research on the brains of people, who had died due to various depression disorders.

According to the Principal of JSS medical college K Raghothama Rao, the brain bank has been funded by the Federal Department of Science and Technology, which has earmarked a total of Rs 5 billion for activities connected with brain at various levels.

The brain bank at JSS medical college in Mysore is the third in the world with the other two located at Croatia and Germany. Subject experts from both the countries are exchanging their expertise and breakthroughs, Rao said.

Out of the 200 human brains deposited in the brain bank, 22 brains belonged to people, who had died due to depressive mental disorders. The brain bank also had two brains of foetusus. “All the brains had been preserved in three deep freezers at around minus 80 degrees centigrade”, Rao said.

The researchers at the brain bank are already studying the microscopic structural changes in the brain with the help of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The changes in the structure of DNA are being studied through the Circular Dichrome Spectroscope.

The researchers at the brain bank are looking forward to the arrival of a power lab, equipped with eight channel polygraph to study electrical activities in the brains, from Australia next week.

Rao expressed confidence over the pace of research in the direction of finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which leads to memory loss among elderly people. The researchers are carrying out experiments with aged rabbits to reproduce the disease and evolve proper treatment. “The research is progressing at a good pace”, Rao said.
Breakthroughs achieved in such experiments could be used to treat various ailments among elderly people, which would also contribute to extension of the average life span of Indians, Rao added.

Nehru’s salary was just Rs 2,500 per month – veteran parliamentarian

India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru drew a monthly salary of just Rs 2,500, according to a veteran parliamentarian from Karnataka.

Speaking at a function organised to felicitate him on his 85th birthday, former Federal Minister M S Gurupadaswamy went on a trip down memory lane and recalled the emoluments of the Prime Minister and the other Federal Ministers in his Cabinet during the early fifties.

While Nehru drew a monthly salary of Rs 2,500 as a Prime Minister, his Cabinet colleagues were entitled to monthly wages of Rs 2,200. The other junior Ministers in Nehru’s Cabinet were being paid just Rs 1,800.

Gurupadaswamy, who had successfully contested the elections to the Lok Sabha in 1952, the first after India attained Independence in 1947, said the only vehicle he used for campaigning was his Fiat car.

Gurupadaswamy even had account of the money he spent to win his first election from the Lok Sabha constituency, which those days spread across four districts of Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Kodagu. “I had spent a total of Rs 18,000 those days”, the veteran parliamentarian recalled.

Gurupadaswamy, who has now retired from active politics, had served the erstwhile V P Singh-led Government as the Federal Petroleum Minister during his last days in politics. Though he began his political career with Kisan Mazdoor Praja party, which is now dissolved, Gurupadaswamy later joined the Congress. Eventually, he shifted allegiance to the Janata Dal under V P Singh.

Three persons washed away in floods in North Karnataka

Three persons were washed away in the floodwaters of the swollen rivers in northern Karnataka.

A 28-year-old pilgrim from Kalyan in Maharashtra was washed away at the confluence of river Bhima and river Amarja near the Temple town of Deval Gangapura in Gulbarga district’s Afzalpur taluk.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Gulbarga district Pankaj Kumar Pandey, the victim Dayanand Shankar Munde, who was part of a 50-member team from Maharasthra visiting the Sri Datta Temple at Deval Gangapura, went for dip ignoring the warning of the police and local people.

He was washed away in the swirling waters soon after he entered the river. Fishermen present on the scene tried to rescue him, but in vain. His body is yet to be recovered, officials said.

A sixty-year-old person was washed away in the swollen river Krishna at Shurpali village in Bagalkot district’s Jamkhandi taluk on Friday.

According to information reaching here, Basappa Bhimappa Kumbar, 60, wished to leave the marooned village and began wading through the water on the inundated approach road on Friday evening. He was washed away in the strong currents.

Superintendent of Police in Bagalkot district Ramesh Harihar told reporters that efforts were underway to recover Kumbar’s body.

Another 28-year-old youth had lost his live in river Bhima on Friday. Police said Imamsab Ali Sab, a native of Devulgaon village on the banks of river Bhima in Bijapur district’s Sindagi taluk, went for a swim and lost his life. He went for a swim in the flooded Bhima river near Devulgaon bridge and was washed away.

The death of the three persons in flood waters in northern Karnataka has taken the death toll to five. Two others had drowned in the floodwaters earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the flood situation in northern Karnataka, particularly in villages on the banks of river Krishna and its tributary Bhima, appeared to be worsening with each passing day owing to the discharge of excess water from Ujani and Veerbhatkal reservoirs across the border in neighbouring Maharashtra.

Vehicular movement between the border district of Belgaum and adjoining Bagalkot was completely blocked after the bridge on a canal near Sambra airport in Belgaum was washed away.

Apart from passenger vehicles, hundreds of trucks, many carrying iron-ore, were found lined up near the collapsed bridge since Friday.

Chief Minister among 104 MLAs in Karnataka who fail to file details of assets

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is among the 104 MLAs in Karnataka, who have received notices for their failure to file the annual statement on the details of their assets and liabilities before the Lokayukta – the provincial ombudsman.

When the last date for filing the annual statement on the details of their assets and liabilities expired on July 1 this year, only 121 out of the 225 members of the legislative assembly in Karnataka had complied with the provisions of the Lokayukta Act.

The list of 104 defaulters includes not only the Chief Minister, but also a total of eleven Ministers in his Government, including his brother and Energy Minister H D Revanna.

A letter sent to the Chief Minister by the Lokayukta two days ago on August 8 has urged him to file the details of his assets and liabilities immediately.

Barely a week ago, Kumaraswamy, who has been facing corruption charges, publicly declared that he had sent the details of the properties owned by him and his family to the Lokayukta and that he would request the authorities to make them public on its official website.

Incidentally, former Minister D K Shivakumar, who exposed the purchase of an Information Technology (IT) park by the Chief Minister’s family, is also in the list of MLAs, who had failed to comply with the law.

Though the list of defaulters cuts across all party lines, the JD (S) legislators top the list. Out of the 59 JD (S) MLAs, as many as 43 had failed to comply with the statutory requirement. The MLAs belonging to the Opposition take the second position with 28 out of the 64 MLAs failing to file a statement on their assets and liabilities. A total of 14 BJP MLAs are also on the list of offenders.

The process of exposing the MLAs, who had failed to file their annual returns, began on July 1 this year with the then Lokayukta N Venkatachala sending a list of 104 defaulting MLAs to Governor T N Chaturvedi.

The Governor forwarded the list to the Speaker of the Assembly Krishna on July 14. Soon after receiving the letter, Krishna sent individual letters to the MLAs and asked them to file their statements at the earliest.
According to Government sources, a total of seven MLAs had filed a statement on their assets and liabilities after the deadline lapsed on July 1. “But, still there are 97 MLAs, who are yet to file the statement on their assets”, an official said

Home-stay concept catching up in Karnataka

The Home-Stay concept promoted by the Tourism Department has encouraged many coffee planters in Kodagu, Chikamagalur and Hassan districts of Karnataka to throw open the doors of their estate homes for tourists from India and abroad.

Speaking a tourism promotion function in Bangalore, Karnataka’s Tourism Minister B Sriramulu said the Home-Stay concept had caught the fancy of many coffee planters, who are looking for an alternative source of income. “This has turned out to be a huge business opportunity for the coffee planters residing in these picturesque and hilly regions of the state”, he said.

Also, the tourists, chiefly foreigners, are coming down in hordes to stay in homes of people living amidst these scenic coffee plantation and hill stations under the Home-Stay concept promoted by the Tourism Department, he said. “They were returning with memorable experiences”, Sriramulu added.

The owners of such homes were offering very good hospitality to the tourists and contributing to the success of the Home Stay concept, the Tourism Minister said.

He said the Karnataka Government was planning to bring in a piece of legislation to ensure the smooth success of the Home-Stay concept. The proposed legislation envisages security for the tourists, prevention of tourists’ harassment and over-crowding at Home-Stay destinations.

However, Sriramulu said the proposed legislation will also he friendly to the hosts as the Government will allow them to have a self-regulatory mechanism over tax related issues.

Karnataka bans Pepsi, Coke and 11 other soft drinks

Karnataka became the latest addition to the growing list of states in India to prohibit sale of aerated beverages in educational institutions, hospitals and government offices.

Announcing the ban, Karnataka’s Health Minister R Ashok told reporters that the Government will ban the sale of Pepsi, Coca Cola and eleven other soft drinks in schools and colleges, besides hospitals and government offices from August 14.

The Karnataka Government has written a letter to the Federal Government for a blanket ban on all kinds of soft drinks. “We are yet to get a reply in the regard”. The State Government cannot impose a total ban on the sale of these soft drinks throughout the State as the matter comes under the purview of the Federal Government, he said.

However, the Government has decided ban the sale of Pepsi, Coca Cola, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Blue, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Thumbs Up and 7 Up within 100 metres of all schools, colleges and government hospitals across the State.

The Karnataka Government’s decision to ban the sale of colas comes after a study conducted by New Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment revealed a high content of pesticide in them.

Ashok said the Government was also contemplating a legal action against the multinational companies cola-manufacturing firms for selling soft drinks that contain a high level of pesticides that threaten the health of consumers.

He said a preliminary analysis of the samples of the colas conducted at the state-owned laboratories had shown the presence of pesticides and chemicals in quantities higher than the prescribed limits. The Government had sent the samples for extensive tests to a couple of national accredited laboratories.

“We are awaiting their reports to prepare the ground for legal action. We will file cases against the cola manufacturers under the Food Adulteration Act”, Ashok said. The pesticide residues in the soft drinks could cause cancer and malfunctioning of the kidney and liver. They pose a health hazard to the general public, particularly children, he said.

Meanwhile, junk food like pizzas and burgers had also come under the scanner of the Government. “We are collecting samples of different types of junk food sold in the State. After carrying out a test, we will take an appropriate decision with regard to pizzas, burgers and other junk food items”, he said.

Bangalore Central Jail bursting at its seams

Built for a capacity of 2,100 inmates, the Bangalore Central Jail is virtually bursting at its seams with close to 4,700 prisoners jostling for space not only in the crammed cells, but also for a chance to relieve themselves in the toilets of the jail every morning.

Due to the gross overcrowding of the Bangalore Central Jail at Parappana Agrahara in the City, more than 4,500 male inmates have to wait for an eternity in front of the 230 toilets to avail of their chance to relieve themselves.

Though the close to 200 female inmates of the jail find it relatively easy with 25 women’s toilets, the male inmates face a tough time holding back their bowel movements.

According to officials at Bangalore Central Jail, the prisoners are given one hour to answer their nature’s call every morning. With more than 4,500 male inmates forced to share the 230 toilets, one toilet will be available for every twenty male inmates. “It works out to a mere three minutes in the toilet for every individual. If we extend the time, the other schedules are affected”, a prison official said.

There are a total of 225 toilets in the jail, which have to be shared by all the 4,694 inmates, including convicts and undertrials. With 25 toilets allotted to the 191 women inmates, it is literally a dash to get in the remaining 230 toilets for the 4,503 male inmates, officials said.

The Bangalore Central Jail was built for an ideal capacity of 2,100, but extendable to 2,500. “With the number of inmates reaching 4,694 presently, there is a need for atleast a total of 500 toilets in the jail”, the official said.

Recalling that the toilet ratio for male inmates of the jail was just eight till two years ago, the prison officials pointed out that an average of 60 persons are added to the existing population of the jail every day since the last few months. The overcrowding of the Jail has also led to unhygienic conditions in the toilet, threatening an outbreak of disease.

The barracks of Bangalore Central Jail are no better than its toilets. Each barrack has place for only 210 inmates. But, presently each barrack is crammed with at least 400 inmates. Though each cell is supposed to house four inmates as per the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Bangalore Central Jail has a total of eleven inmates in each cell.

The Government authorities in Karnataka have taken up the construction of new jails in Mysore and Tumkur in the State with a view to resolve the crisis by shifting some of the inmates of Bangalore jail there.

Kumaraswamy seeks blessings from BJP stalwarts

Six months after forming a fragile coalition government with the help of BJP, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumarawamy met senior BJP leaders A B Vajpayee and L K Advani in New Delhi for the first time, sparking off speculation over his motives.

Though Kumaraswamy had flown to New Delhi on twelve occasions ever since he became the Chief Minister of Karnataka with the help of BJP, the JD (S) leader had assiduously avoided any meeting with either Vajpayee or Advani, apparently in deference to his father and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s policy of shunning communal forces.

But, when Kumaraswamy touched Vajpayee’s feet to seek his blessings on Tuesday, the simple gesture marked a departure from Gowda’s “anti-BJP” stance in his long and chequered political career. Later, Kumaraswamy invited Vajpayee to inaugurate the Almatti reservoir in North Karnataka on August 21.

During his visit to New Delhi on Tuesday, Kumaraswamy also met L K Advani at the Parliament House.

Though Kumaraswamy declined to comment on why he felt that this was the “appropriate time” for meeting the two leaders after having avoided them all along, political observers are quick to point out that the Chief Minister was seeking the blessings of the BJP stalwarts at a time when he was in the thick of bribery charges levelled by BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy.

Kumaraswamy has completed six months out of his allocated tenure of twenty months. Under the power-sharing arrangement, BJP leader B S Yediyurappa is expected to take over as the Chief Minister during the latter twenty months tenure of the coalition Government.

Karnataka urges Prime Minister to reject Maharashtra’s claim over its villages

An all-party delegation from Karnataka met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and requested him to reject the claim of neighbouring Maharashtra over a total of 815 villages in the disputed Belgaum district of Karnataka.

According to information reaching here, the delegation from Karnataka led by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy sought to prevail upon the Prime Minister that the recommendations of the Mahajan Commission on the border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra were final and the Federal Government should put an end to the controversy by implementing the report in toto.

The Karnataka delegation’s meeting with the Prime Minister on Tuesday comes within days of a similiar delegation from Maharashtra calling on Manmohan Singh on the vexed border dispute between the two states.

The delegation from Karnataka asked the Prime Minister not to yield to political pressure exerted by Maharashtra and “deprive Karnataka of a part of its territory”. The Karnataka delegation came down heavily on neighbouring Maharashtra for raking up the border dispute long after the Mahajan Commission has settled the matter with a finality.

Kumaraswamy also sought to bring to Manmohan Singh’s notice that former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi had refused to reopen the Mahajan Commission report in 1986. “If we do so (reopen the report), there would be no sanctity for the institutions we set up”, said the memorandum presented to the Prime Minister by the delegation from Karnataka.

According to Government sources in Bangalore, the Prime Minister responded positively to Karnataka’s appeal. Manmohan Singh advised the two states to settle the border dispute amicably with mutual understanding. “Both the states should work with mutual understanding to settle the issue. We have other issues here to tackle”, he is reported to have told the delegation.

Electric buses for Mysore soon

The historic City of Mysore near here will become the first city in India to boast of electric trolley buses when state-run transport corporation presses into service a total of 100 such buses.

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which made a presentation before Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Transport Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy, has chosen Mysore for introducing electric trolley bus service on account of the comparatively lower scale of operation in the City than Bangalore.

Cheluvarayaswamy told reporters that the scale of operation is low in Mysore compared to Bangalore, where the pressure on public transport is high. “Also, these emission-free buses will make ideal fleet of public transport for a heritage city like Mysore”, he said.

The cost of each electric trolley bus is a whopping Rs 15 million and the Karnataka Government will be setting aside a total of Rs 1.5 billion under the National Urban Renewal Mission to import a hundred electric buses, KSRTC’s Director S Bhaskar Rao told reporters after the presentation in Bangalore.

The electric trolley buses, which are powered by electricity drawn from two overhead wires, form part of the urban transport system in cities like San Francisco, California and Philadelphia in the US, besides Moscow, Athens, Belgrade and St Petersburg. These buses draw power using two trolley poses, like electric trains, and run on pneumatic tyres.

Introduction of the electric trolley buses is part of the KSRTC’s plan to modernize its services and explore alternative sources of energy to run buses in view of the increasing cost of fossil fuels, Cheluvarayaswamy said. The Karnataka Government is already on the look out for a global consultant to advise the authorities on the introduction of electric trolley buses.

Though Mysore is better known for its old world charm and historical sites, the City appears to be stealing a march over Bangalore by slowly emerging as a high-tech hub. Mysore has already beaten Bangalore by becoming the first Wi-Fi City in India. A team of networking professionals recently converted the entire City into a Wi-Fi hotspot that provides wireless Internet connectivity Mysore

I Day gesture: Karnataka to set free 309 convicts

In an Independence Day gesture, the Karnataka Government has decided to set free a total of 309 convicts, who are serving jail terms in different prisons across the State.

Karnataka’s Home Minister M P Prakash told reporters that the Government had decided to reduce the sentence of the chosen convicts on the basis of their good behaviour in the jail and their commitment to reform after they walk free on August 15.

The convicts will be allowed to walk free as the Government has decided to reduce the sentence from ten years to eight years in respect of the chosen male convicts and five years to four years for the chosen female convicts.

A number of convicts, who had crossed 65 years of age, and were suffering from communicable diseases will also be set free on August 15, Prakash said.

Karnataka decides to relocate 33 villages in the State

Even as the water level in the rivers of Krishna and Bhima flowing through flood-hit northern Karnataka receded yesterday, the H D Kumaraswamy Government set in motion the process for permanently relocating 33 flood-prone villages in Belgaum and Bagalkot districts of the State.

At the end of two-day aerial survey of the flooded areas of north Karnataka, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said he would convene high-level meeting in Bangalore on August 13 to finalise a plan for permanently shifting these villages, which submerge every time floods are reported in the area.

Out of the 33 villages identified as acutely flood-prone, a total of 28 villages are located in Belgaum and the remaining five in Bagalkot, he said. Though the State Government had submitted a Rs 2.88 billion proposal to the Federal Government for shifting these villages, there is no response so far.

“We will not wait till the Centre (Federal Government) responds. It is our responsibility to come to the rescue of people reeling under floods for the last two years. We will start the work on relocation of villages within the next two months”, Kumaraswamy declared.

Meanwhile, the water level in rivers of Krishna and Bhima, which were flowing in spate after discharge of excess water from reservoirs of Maharashtra, receded on Sunday, bringing some respite in the flood-hit north Karnataka.

During the week-long floods, a total of 159 villages in Belgaum, Bagalkot, Gulbarga, Raichur and Bijapur in Karnataka were flooded with water from the two rivers and its tributaries, displacing 364,000 people. Two persons had been washed away in the floods and standing crops on 71,266 hectares of land has been ruined, Kumaraswamy said.

The Government had opened 47 relief centers had been opened to rehabilitate thousands of evacuees, who given food and shelter.

Kumaraswamy said he was planning to lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi on August 8 to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Federal Ministers concerned to brief them about the flood havoc in Karnataka.

Muslims meet to wipe out suspicion and bring about progress

In a significant development, leaders of the Muslim community belonging to various political parties held a two-day-long brainstorming session with senior bureaucrats and eminent personalities from the Muslim community in Karnataka at a resort on the outskirts of Mysore near here for the last two days.

The conference was organised by a voluntary organization in the wake of widespread concern over the suspicion about the Muslim community in the backdrop of terror attacks in the country. The meeting, which concluded yesterday, saw a galaxy of Muslim personalities thrash out an action plan for the all-round development of the community in various spheres of life.

Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha K Rehman Khan, former Federal Minister C K Jaffer Sharief, Karnataka’s Minister for Wakf and Haj Zameer Ahmed Khan and Minister for Labour Iqbal Ansari, besides a host of former Ministers belonging to the Congress as well as the JD (S), IAS and IPS officers and experts in various fields were in attendance at the meeting.

Many participants expressed their anguish over the targeting of innocent Muslims after terror strikes and the attempts made by the Sangh Parivar to brand madrasas as breeding grounds for terrorists. There was a consensus among the participants about the need to wipe out the suspicion about Muslim community.

But, a spokesperson for Centre for Community Development, Bangalore, which is organized the two-day conference, said the agenda of the meeting was to thrash out an action plan for creating political awareness, educational advancement, communal harmony, socio-economic development and empowerment of women among Muslims in the State.

During the conclave, sub-committees were formed for each of the subject that figured on the agenda and an action plan was finalized. The sub-committees were assigned responsibility for implementing the action plan within a time frame. The state panel will review the progress of the action plan from time to time.

Karnataka CM to disclose assets on website

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, whose public image suffered a dent in the wake of corruption charges, has decided to put up details of the assets owned by him and his family on the website of Lokayukta – the provincial ombudsman.

Kumaraswamy told reporters that he had already furnished the details of the property owned by him and all his family members to the Lokayukta. “I have requested the Lokayukta to put the details on its website. I don’t want give my political opponents the trouble of searching for the details of my assets”, he said.

The Karnataka Chief Minister found himself in a tight spot when Congress leaders recently went public with the purchase of an IT park worth Rs 850 million in Bangalore by Kumaraswamy’s family members. The disclosure on the purchase of the IT park came close on the heels of a bribery charge of Rs 1.5 billion levelled against the Chief Minister by a BJP legislator.

Though Kumaraswamy admitted that his family members had purchased an IT park in Bangalore, he claimed that the property had been purchased for Rs 350 million and not Rs 850 as alleged by the Congress. He also denied the allegation that his family members had purchased the property with the help of the Rs 1.5 billion bribe money.

He claimed that he was into film production before he entered politics and his software engineer wife ran a petrol bunk. He wondered whether his family should discontinue their legal businesses just because they were in politics.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Lokayukta of Karnataka Santosh Hegde, a retired judge of Supreme Court, said he would appeal to all legislators and officials in the State to declare their assets and liabilities on a regular basis to avoid any suspicion of corruption.

Hegde himself has volunteered to declare the details of his own assets and liabilities. “After declaring the details of my assets and liabilities, I will approach the legislators and officials of higher rank in the State to follow suit”, Hegde said.

Hegde claimed that declaration of assets and liabilities on an annual basis would help in clearing of doubts in the minds of the people apart from giving a boost to their credentials.

Karnataka plans to ban colas in schools and colleges

The Karnataka Government is planning to ban cola drinks in educational institutions across the state after a study by New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found unacceptable levels of pesticides in Coca Cola and Pepsi.

Karnataka’s Health Minister R Ashok told reporters that the Government was contemplating a ban on cola drinks in educational institutions as well as hospitals and government canteens across the state.

A ministerial meeting is expected to take a decision on banning cola drinks soon in educational institutions soon. “We have to sit up and take note of the high levels of pesticide content in cola drinks. Paediatricians are of the opinion that consuming cola with higher pesticide levels is unhealthy and could cause intestinal diseases”, Ashok said.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Eduction Basavaraj Horatti said he had asked officials to include a ban on soft drinks on the agenda of his department’s meeting, scheduled for August 7.

Minister for Higher Education D H Shankarmurthy was also in favour of a ban on cola drinks in institutions of higher education. “I will wait for a day or two before arriving at a final decision”, he said.

Meanwhile, a Bangalore-based Government laboratory has found that borewell water samples in the vicinity of Pepsi and Coca Cola factories situated near Bangalore have traces of pesticides higher than the limits permitted by Indian Standards Institution (ISI).

The Government laboratory conducted the test after drawing samples of borewell water from the vicinity of the Pepsi manufacturing plant at Bidadi and Coca Cola manufacturing plant Kumbalgodu near Bangalore. “They found a compound, Dimethoiate, to be consistently higher than specified levels in waters tested from at least seventeen borewells in the vicinity of these factories”, officials said.

The Coca Cola and Pepsi manufacturing plants are using water from the borewells in the vicinity as it saves on transportation cost.

Mass evacuation of people from flood-hit Belgaum

More than 21,000 people and close to 10,000 heads of cattle had been evacuated from the banks of river Krishna in Karnataka’s Belgaum district since the last four days due to widespread inundation of villages in the wake of discharge of excess water from the reservoirs of neighbouring Maharashtra.

According to officials, more than 60 villages in the border district of Belgaum had been either marooned or partially submerged in the flood waters, forcing the authorities to take up mass evacuation of people to safer places.

With the discharge of excess of water from Koyna reservoir in Maharashtra’s Satara district exceeding 150,000 cusecs every day since the last four days, not only have villages situated along the banks of river the swollen river Krishna been inundated, even bridges along the highways have been submerged, disrupting movement of vehicles in the region.

The flood water had also entered many agricultural fields, ruining standing crops on thousands of acres of land. The district administration has declared a holiday for all schools and colleges in Belgaum as normal life remained disrupted to the floods.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is expected to carry out an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas of Belgaum and other parts of north Karnataka.

Apart from Belgaum, four other districts of north Karnataka – Gulbarga, Raichur, Bagalkot and Bijapur are reeling under the floods, caused on account of the release of water from reservoirs in Maharashtra.

So far, two persons have been washed away in the floods in Gulbarga and Bagalkot districts. A youth from Surpur taluk of Gulbarga was washed away in the Krishna river when he was trying to remove the irrigation pump set from his agricultural field. The deceased has been identified as 24-year-old Ravikumar Prasad.

One unidentified person is also feared to have been washed away in the Krishna river near Rabkavi in Bagalkot. The person jumped into the river without heeding to the warning of local people. The authorities tried to trace the missing person, but in vain

Floods claim two lives in north Karnataka

Two persons were washed away in north Karnataka, where the flood situation turned grim due to the rising water level in Bhima and Krishna rivers.

According to reports reaching here, two persons – one each from Gulbarga and Bagalkot districts – were washed away in the floods, forcing the authorities to sound a flood alert across north Karnataka in the wake of unabated discharge of water from the reservoirs in neighbouring Maharashtra.

Officials said Ravikumar Prasad, a 24-year-old youth, was drowned in the swirling waters of Krishna river in Gulbarga’s Surpur taluk when he was trying to remove the irrigation pump set from his agricultural field. Ravikumar Prasad’s father, who was assisting his son to remove the irrigation pump set, reported the matter to the authorities.

In Bagalkot district, an unidentified man jumped into a river near Rabkavi without heeding to the warning of local people. He was not traced and feared drowned, authorities said.

The flood situation in five districts of north Karnataka – Belgaum, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Raichur and Bagalkot – turned grim with rivers Bhima and Krishna flowing in spate and threatening to inundate more villages along their banks.

The swollen rivers of Bhima and Krishna have already marooned hundreds of villages in the five districts, forcing the authorities to take up a mass evacuation of people from marooned the partially submerged villages. Standing crop on thousands of acres of land had been deluged in the flood waters.

The collapse of bridges in a few areas and their submergence under water in other areas had thrown transportation out of gear. Life was disrupted in many areas along the banks of river Bhima and Krishna in all the five districts of north Karnataka. Communication and transport remained cut off to many marooned villages.

The local authorities had deployed boats to evacuate people from flooded areas. More such boats had been sought from Karwar district in coastal Karnataka to shift the inhabitants of villages under the threat of inundation, officials said.

During the last three days, more than 7,000 people have been shifted to safer places and rehabilitated in make-shift relief camps.

Kumaraswamy completes six months in office, but charges continue to mount

Proving skeptics wrong about its longevity, the JD (S)-BJP coalition Government led by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy completed six months in office on Thursday.

But, charges of corruption against the Chief Minister’s family continued to pour in, much to the chagrin of the coalition partners.

As if the Rs 1.5 billion pay off charge against the Chief Minister and the purchase of an IT park worth Rs 850 million by his family members were not enough, the founder of a financial company, which duped thousands of investors of their money, has confessed to paying former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and senior BJP leader Ananthakumar Rs 100,000 and Rs 500,000 respectively from his ill-gotten wealth.

The founder of Vini Vinc Finances Srinivas Shastry, who has been arrested for a series of economic offences, has revealed during a narco-analysis test that he had paid Rs 100,000 to Gowda towards election fund and Rs 500,000 to Ananthkumar towards Brahmana Sabha.

The opposition Congress, which has launched an offensive against the coalition Government, is now using Shastry’s confession as a stick to beat the JD (S) and BJP with.

“The JD (S) and BJP leaders have accepted money from a fraudster, who has duped innocent people to the tune of Rs 30 billion”, Congress leader and former Minister H Vishwanath told reporters.

But, Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has defended the acceptance of money from Shastry. “It is common for political parties to raise funds from organizations and individuals. It is also necessary”, he said.

The Congress party mounted pressure on the JD (S)-BJP Government to quit office in the wake of the fresh allegations. "With a baggage of corruption allegations, the coalition Government has no moral right to remain in office", Vishwanath told a press conference yesterday.

Karnataka Chief Minister’s family accused of buying Rs 850 million worth IT park

Even before the dust kicked up over the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charge against Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy could settle down, the Congress has dropped another bombshell by producing documentary evidence on the purchase of a hi-tech Information Technology park in Bangalore by the Chief Minister’s family recently.

Kumaraswamy’s bete noire and Congress leader D K Shivakumar convened a press conference in Bangalore to release documents and photographs of a multi-storied software technology park spread across almost ten acres of land in Bangalore, which had been purchased in the name of the Chief Minister’s wife, his two sisters and a brother, about 50 days after Kumaraswamy assumed office.

The software technology park, which has a built up area of 200,000 square feet, is situated in the technology hub of Whitefield in Bangalore. “Though the market value of the property is a whopping Rs 850 million, the Chief Minister’s family had bought for a measly Rs 360 million”, Shivakumar said producing copies of the sale deed and registration documents.

The IT park, which has been registered in the name of the Chief Minister’s wife Anitha Kumaraswamy, sisters Anasuya and Shyla, besides brother H D Ramesh, is built on Government-allotted land.

Linking the purchase of the IT park to the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charge against the Chief Minister, the Congress alleged that said Kumaraswamy’s family had purchased the property from illegal mining payoff.

Giving the sequence of events since Kumaraswamy was sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka on February 6 to head the JD (S)-BJP Government, Shivakumar, who is also a former Minister, said the issue of illegal mining in Bellary was raised by Forest Minister Cheniggappa during late February and early March. The family members of the Chief Minister purchased the property on March 23. Two months later, BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy charges Kumaraswamy of accepting a bribe of Rs 1.5 billion, Shivakumar said.

“How did the family of the Chief Minister get so much of money ?. By selling potatoes and chillies in their farmland?”, Shivakumar sought to know from Kumaraswamy, who swears by farming.

The Congress party’s fresh expose on the Chief Minister’s family, which comes less than a week after producing documents to prove the export of iron ore by the family members of Kumaraswamy, may have become a source of embarrassment.

But, the Chief Minister has defended the deal, claiming it was a “perfectly legal transaction”. He claimed that the family members paid only 3 per cent of property value while 83 per cent was raised through loan from a bank. The remainder 13 per cent came by way of advances from the tenants of the IT park”, he said.

However, he admitted that the documents produced by the Congress leaders were genuine. He said the details of the transaction had been declared in the Income Tax returns.

But, the Congress party alleged that the Chief Minister’s family had could have purchased more such properties clandestinely and reiterated its demand for a CBI probe into the Rs 1.5 billion payoff charge. “The IT part fetches a monthly rent of Rs 5 million”, Shivakumar alleged.

Flood havoc in North Karnataka, 5,000 families evacuated

The Karnataka Government has evacuated more than 5,000 families in northern parts of the State to safer places after release of excess water from the reservoirs of Maharashtra deluged hundreds of villages along the steadily rising rivers.

Flood havoc was reported from several parts of Belgaum, Gulbarga, Bijapur and Bagalkot districts in north Karnataka in the wake of discharge of more than 200,000 cusecs of water every day from Koyna, Ujini and Veerabhatkal reservoirs in Maharashtra, which has been experiencing heavy rainfall.

With rivers like Bhima, Krishna and Ghataprabha rising the dangerous levels, the Disaster Management Committee reviewed the flood situation and directed the authorities to begin a mass evacuation of people residing in low-lying areas along the rivers to safer places.

More than 2,000 families spread across the four districts of north Karnataka were evacuated after their villages were marooned. Belgaum district was the worst affected with more 1,000 families evacuated to safer places. Another 3,000 families were evacuated as the water level in the rivers posed an imminent danger of floods in their villages.

At least 25 villages in Belgaum district were reported to have lost contact with headquarters due to submersion of bridges. In Gulbarga, 43 villages spread across six taluks had been flooded, forcing the evacuation of people to safer places. Boats had been pressed into service to ferry residents of marooned villages to safety.

Hundreds of houses had collapsed and thousands of acres of sown land had been inundated causing a huge loss to the farmers.

Meanwhile, the Disaster Management Committee has set up relief camps equipped with drinking water, food, medicines, medical teams, veterinary inspectors and fodder for cattle.

Karnataka’s Minister for Revenue Jagadish Shettar told reporters that the officials were in constant touch with their counterparts in neighbouring Maharashtra on the release of water from their reservoirs. We are also releasing an equal quantity of water from Almatti and other reservoirs in north Karnataka to maintain a balance and reduce the damage”, Shettar said.

AIPJD to merge with Congress in Karnataka

The All India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD), floated by former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah, will merge with the Congress party during September.

Siddaramaiah, who recently quit the JD (S) led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda to join the Congress party, told reporters that the merger of AIPJD with Congress will take place at a huge rally to be attended by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Claiming that he been welcomed into the Congress party “wholeheartedly”, Siddaramaiah said the merger of AIPJD into the Congress will be a “historic” event. Eight JD (S) legislators, who had identified themselves with the AIPJD, will also eventually join the Congress party. “They are waiting for an appropriate time to resign from the Assembly”, he added.

He lashed out at Deve Gowda, who fought the 2004 Assembly elections in Karnataka on a secular platform, for joining hands with the BJP to make his son H D Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

AIPJD will be joining hands with the Congress to strengthen secular forces. “I and my supporters in the JD (S) decided to join the Congress because Gowda has sacrificed the party’s secular principles for the sake of making his son the Chief Minister”, Siddaramaiah said.