Salam Bangalore !

Chandrayaan – 1 likely to be launched on October 22 - ISRO

2008-10-08T13:44:00.001+05:30

India’s maiden mission to moon Chandrayaan – 1 is likely to be launched in the early hours of October 22 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, about 100 kms north of Chennai.

“The tentative date for launch is October 22 though the window will be kept open till October 26. Weather permits, we plan to launch the lunar spacecraft around 6.30 am IST on October 22”, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Director S Satish told reporters in Bangalore.

The 1,380-kg spacecraft, built at ISRO’s Satellite Centre in Bangalore, has already been shipped to Sriharikota, where it is in the process of being integrated with the specially designed 320-tonne Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV – C11). The PSLV rocket will carry the spacecraft into the lunar orbit.

The integration is expected to be completed by this weekend. “All the systems and instruments will be checked and tested for operational purposes”, Satish said. “If weather permits, the formal countdown will begin 50 hours before the launch in the early hours of October 20”, he said.

“The spacecraft will orbit around the moon at an altitude of 100 km to map the topography and mineralogical resources of the lunar soil. Chandrayaan – 1 has 11 payloads including five from India and six from US, Europe and Bulgaria”, Satish added. A 30-kg moon impact probe, which also part of the payload, is expected to hit the lunar surface and unfurl the Indian tricolour.

Though the Rs 3.86 billion lunar mission had been cleared by the Federal Government five years ago, the historic launch of Chandrayaan –1 had faced several delays. The launch of Chandrayaan – 1 is being viewed as India’s entry into the big league of space-faring nations.

Ahead of the launch, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair called upon the scientific community to come out with innovative studies by going to Venus, Mars and other planets and their satellites. “This would take human knowledge beyond what has been achieved so far”, he told reporters in Bangalore.

He said ISRO was also planning Chandrayaan – 2, which is awaiting the Government’s nod for a manned space flight in a few months. Similiarly, ISRO is planning even an unmanned mission to Mars in a year’s time, he said.

Bishops’ conference rubbishes claims of rampant conversions

2008-09-28T11:00:00.000+05:30

Rejecting the charges of large-scale conversion of Hindus into Christians, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) has accused the Sangh Parivar of using the “bogey of conversion” to unleash an attack on the Christian community in the country.

Speaking to reporters after a two-day meeting of Catholic Bishops from across India, which concluded in Bangalore on Friday, the CBCI President Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil wondered how the number of Christians in the country would remain a mere 2.3 per cent of the total population if the churches were involved in rampant conversion.

Though speaking about one’s faith was a right guaranteed under the Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, conversion by allurement or force was against the basic principles of the Catholic Church, Vithayathil said.

The attacks on Christians and Christian institutions in several states across India were being carried out by “trained agents of radical Hindutva organizations” to build up a vote bank for the Lok Sabha elections, due to be held next year, he said.

“The Catholic Bishops Conference of India has resolved to seek a ban on the fundamentalist groups, which train terrorists under the banner of Hindutva or any other name”, Rev. Vithayathil said.

Archbishop Raphael Chinnath from Bhubaneshwar said the National Minorities Commission had clearly stated that there were no instances of forced conversion booked anywhere in India. “The Sangh Parivar was using the ploy of giving a dog a bad name before killing it”, he said.

The Federal as well as the State Governments had failed to take stringent action against the persons and organizations responsible for the attacks on churches. “As a result of reports of violence continued to pour in from states like Orissa”, he said.

The attacks on Christians in Orissa were closely linked to the rise of the Dalit communities in the state’s Khandamal district because of the educational and developmental initiative of the church.

Most of them were earlier “no more than slaves under the upper caste people” and the educational activities of the church had questioned this caste hierarchy.
Secretary General of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) Stanislaus Fernandes said about 30,000 people, who had fled to the forests in Orissa after the attack, were not returning to their villages fearing attacks. “They are still in the forests fearing attacks and no compensation had reached them. They were not safe even in the refugee camps”, he said.

Central forces arrive in violence-hit Karnataka

2008-09-27T16:50:00.000+05:30

Central forces have begun arriving in Karnataka after the team of senior Home Ministry officials toured the communal violence-hit parts of state and returned to the national capital.

Three companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) have arrived in Karnataka and have been stationed at Bangalore and Mangalore.

One company of RAF comprising 150 presonnel including 12 women led by a Deputy Commandant has been stationed at Bajpe in Mangalore, where large-scale communal violence had broken out after suspected pro-Hindu activists had attacked churches in different parts of the state.

The RAF companies will be stationed in Bangalore and put under the command of the Director General of Police.

The arrival of RAF companies was preceded by an announcement to the effect by senior Home Ministry official Special Secretary (Internal Security) M L Kumawat, who toured Karnataka. “The Karnataka Government has asked for three companies of RAF, which was agreed to”, he said.

During its tour of Karnataka, the two-member Central team led by Kumawat went around Mangalore, Udupi and other affected areas of state before reaching Bangalore and holding a discussion with senior officials.

Kumawat said the team held meetings with deputy commissioners, superintendents of police of the violence-hit districts, besides the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police in Bangalore.

“The affected community is upset and unhappy. They complained against the police. More patrolling, more preventive action and peace meetings are required to keep such incidents under a check”, Kumawat said.

Meanwhile, the arrival of three companies of RAF also co-incides with the demand placed before the Federal Government by the National Commission for Minorities to immediately deploy paramilitary forces in the sensitive areas of the state.

A tam of the National Commission for Minorities led by Chairman Mohammed Shafi Qureshi visited the violence-hit areas of the state and sought stringent action against Bajrang Dal activists, who had let loose a reign of terror against Christians and targeted their places of worship.
The Federal Government should rush paramilitary forces to Karnataka to ensure the safety and security of life and property of the Christians, who are being attacked, the Commission said in its report that has been submitted to the Government.

Heroin worth Rs 150 million seized at Bangalore airport

2008-09-27T16:49:00.000+05:30

A Vietnamese woman, who was carrying heroin worth Rs 150 million with her, was arrested minutes before was board a flight to Hanoi at the Bangalore international airport on Thursday.

The accused Nguyen Thi Trang, 24, who claimed to be student from Vietnam, had arrived at the airport from New Delhi a few hours ago. When Customs officials examined her baggage and two pairs of sandals before she was to board a flight to Hanoi via Bangkok, they recovered a large quantity of pure heroin packed in polythene bags.

“She had concealed a total of 4.28 kgs of heroin in specially made cavities in her sandals and false bottom of a suitcase”, Commissioner of Customs A K Koushal told reporters. While a search of the sandals yielded 900 grams of heroin, the rest was found hidden in the suitcase.

The Customs officials had received a tip off on the Vietnamese woman’s arrival in Bangalore airport. “After she flew in here from New Delhi, we took her into custody while she was getting ready to take the flight to Hanoi”, a Customs official said.

During interrogation, the suspect said she was a student and was in India on a short visit. She had apparently met a Nigerian national in New Delhi, who assigned her the job of transport the consignment to Hanoi. She also confessed to have received $ 1,500 and a free flight ticket for the job.

As the heroin appears to have a high-level of purity, the Customs department officials have sent its sample to laboratory for investigations.

Though the Vietnamese national was booked under Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 and sent to custody, the Customs officials have begun an investigation to find out the existence of an international drug route that passes through Bangalore.
For, this is the second time in the last two months that foreigners had been arrested at the Bangalore international airport while trying to sneak out of the country with heroin. “Apart from finding out whether Bangalore has emerged as a transit point, we will also inquire into the origin of the drug and the players involved”, Koushal said.

Karnataka seeks US consulate in Bangalore

2008-09-26T16:13:00.000+05:30

The Karnataka Government has urged the United States to open a consulate in Bangalore to cater to the large number of US visa aspirants from the State, who are forced to travel to Chennai to submit their applications.

“There is a strong need to open a US consulate in Bangalore as the number of visa aspirants from Karnataka is now estimated to be more than 45,000 every year”, Karnataka’s Home Minister V S Acharya told the US Consul General Andrew T Simkin, who was in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Apart from the estimated 45,000 people from Karnataka, who travel to Chennai seeking different types of US visas every year, there are about 7,000 US nationals living in different parts of Karnataka, the Home Minister added.

Besides, Bangalore, being the hub of the Information Technology (IT) industry in the country, could well emerge at the top of the list of cities in the world seeking visa applications to the US.

Acharya promised the Government’s support to help set up the US consulate in Bangalore. “The State Government is ready to provide all necessary facilities for setting up a US consulate in Bangalore”, he said.

Karnataka’s Law Minister Suresh Kumar, who was also present on the occasion, requested Simkin to consider starting an application receiving centre till a full-fledged US consulate of opened in Bangalore.

The US, which already has its consulate in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, will be opening its fourth one in Hyderabad by the end of this year.

Responding to the requests of Karnataka Government, Simkin said its consulate in Chennai, which caters to US visa aspirants from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, stands at the No. 3 position in the global list of consulates handling highest number of visa applications. “We received 289,000 visa applications from Chennai last year”, he said.
“The same kind of response can be expected from Bangalore with more young professionals and students flocking the US for higher education”, Simkin said. “American companies see South India as a pool of best talent. From hi-tech operations to fabulous R and D, it has got it all. So, we get the best manpower from here”, he added.

Central team in Karnataka to review security situation

2008-09-24T15:48:00.001+05:30

A team of senior Home Ministry officials arrived in Mangalore in coastal Karnataka on Tuesday to review the security situation in the BJP-ruled State following the recent attacks on churches by suspected pro-Hindu activists.

The two-member team led by Special Secretary for Internal Security M L Kumawat and comprising Joint Secretary to the Department of Home Ministry A K Yadav held discussions with senior police officials and obtained details about the attacks on the churches.

The later went around Mangalore and other parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, which had borne the brunt of the attack.

Kumawat said they would submit a report to the Federal Home Minister V Shivaraj Patil on their return to the capital in two days time after completing their tour of affected parts of the state.

The Central team’s visit to Karnataka comes close on the heels of the two advisories issued by the Home Ministry to the BJP Government in the State to initiate effective steps immediately to prevent the attacks on churches.

However, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has not taken the dispatch of the Central team to Karnataka by the Federal Government kindly. Just as he resented the issue of advisories, Yeddyurappa was offended with the visit of the Home Ministry officials and said there was no need for the Federal Government to send a team to study the security situation in Karnataka.

“The law and order situation in Karnataka is good. What is happening in Delhi? Terrorists are killing innocent people everyday, but the Centre is keeping quiet. On the other hand, it sends letters to Karnataka”, said Yeddyurappa while speaking to reporters in Hubli on Tuesday.

However, he said he had no objection to the Central team’s visit as long as it submits a “factual and objective” report on the security situation in the State.
He said the Karnataka Government has decided to invoke the provisions of the Anti Goonda Act against persons indulging in attacks on places of Christian worship. Apart from ordering a Corps of Detective (CoD) probe, the State Government has announced an judicial inquiry into the attacks on churches, he said.

Political cum spiritual retreat for Karnataka legislators begins

2008-09-24T15:47:00.001+05:30

More than 65 legislators cutting across party lines descended on Suttur Srikshetra, a religious institution situated on the banks of river Kapila in Mysore district, about 170 kms from here for a rare political-cum spiritual retreat organized to inculcate in them moral values and social responsibilities.

The three day camp for the members of the Legislative Assembly as well as the Legislative Council, which began at Suttur on Tuesday, comes less than two months after a brain-storming session on management practices was held for the first-time Ministers of BJP Government at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B).

Legislators from not only the ruling BJP, but also the Opposition Congress and JD (S) are participating in the camp that features lectures on subjects like “value-based politics” and “social responsibilities” by a battery of learned spiritual leaders and scholars from different backgrounds.

The camp, which essentially seeks to bring about a moral change among the legislators, will also have sessions on meditation and yoga.

A couple of Ministers of the B S Yeddyurappa-led Government in the State are also among the legislators participating in the camp. “Though more than 104 legislators had enrolled themselves for the camp, about 65 to 70 of them attended the first day’s session on Tuesday”, co-ordinator of camp Channabasappa told reporters.

Organized by the Suttur Math, a religious institution of Lingayats, a caste to which Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa belongs, the unique conclave was inaugurated by founder of Isha Foundation, Coimbatore, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev.

“This is the first religious institution to have taken the lead in inculcating among the legislators the nuances of value-based politics”, said Channabasappa.

While Magsaysay award winners Anna Hazare and Prakash Amte will guide the legislators on the importance of nation-building, while D Veerendra Heggade of the Dharmasthala Math will deliver a lecture on Religious Institution and Rural Development.

Lectures on Legislature and Proceedings besides Legislators and Social Commitments will also be part of the three-day programme. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa will be delivering the valedictory address on Thursday, the last day of the conclave.

Channabasappa said the proceedings of the three-day meeting will be recorded and a book will be brought out on the findings and results of the camp. “Based on the results and speeches at the camp, the Math plans to bring out a handbook for legislators which will contain the dos and don’ts for them and their duties and principles”, Channabasappa said.

Two trampled to death during stampede for Ramadan charity

2008-09-23T17:08:00.001+05:30

Two women were trampled to death while twelve others suffered injuries during a stampede outside the residence of a rich mine owner in Bellary in Karnataka, who was distributing food grains and clothes as charity during the holy month of Ramadan.

Police identified the deceased as Shyamala, 25, and Noor Jahaan, 60, both of whom are residents of Bellary. The injured persons have been admitted to Vijaynagar Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment.

Superintendent of Bellary district Police Seemanth Kumar Singh said the stampede occurred on Sunday when hundreds of people from Bellary and nearby villages gathered in front of the residence of Iqbal Ahmed, a mine owner, who regularly doles out food grains, clothes and even cash to the poor people as part of Ramadan.

As soon as the gates of Iqbal Ahmed’s house were opened around noon, the restive crowd estimated to be more than 5,000 people began pushing and shoving each other to gain entry into the house. As people tried to rush inside, many women and older men were thrown down, leading to the stampede.

Though security had been provided for the event, the team of policemen led by a sub inspector of police proved to be inadequate to control the crowd and bring the situation under control.

“We will find out the exact reason for the tragedy. Prima facie it looks like there was a delay on the part of the organizers to open the gates early and the heavy rush of people resulted in the stampede”, Seemanth Kumar Singh said.

Iqbal Ahmed said his family used to distribute charity every year during Ramadan and never before had such an incident taken place. “This year also, we took all security measures properly. What happened is very unfortunate”, he said.
Meanwhile, Cowl Bazaar police station in Bellary has registered a case against Iqbal Ahmed’s family for “negligence”.

Federal Government may ban Bajrang Dal - Moily

2008-09-19T17:41:00.002+05:30

The Federal Government may ban the BJP’s frontal organization Bajrang Dal for creating a fear psychosis among the minorities by attacking Christians and vandalizing their prayers halls, warned All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) media cell chairman M Veerappa Moily.

Speaking to reporters in Bangalore, Moily described the attacks on churches in Mangalore, Udupi, Chickmagalur, Udupi and Kolar districts as “pre-determined” acts of violence that had the “blessings” of the BJP Government in the State.

Though the Bajrang Dal activists had owned up to the attack, the Government had not arrested them, Moily said. The liberal approach of the BJP Government towards Bajrang Dal activists had emboldened them to attack Christians and their prayer halls with impunity, he said.

Moily, who is also a former Chief Minister of Karnataka, said the Federal Government would not hesitate to initiate stern action even against the State Government if continued to turn a blind eye to the violence unleashed by its party’s frontal organizations.

The National Minorities Commission and the National Women’s Commission have been reviewing the situation in the State. Based on the reports of these two organizations, the Federal Government will take a final decision.

“But, it is quite evident from the unending attacks on churches that law and order situation in the had collapsed. The Federal Government can take action citing the collapse of law and order”, he said.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member S M Krishna paid a visit Kolar, where the St Mary’s Church was vandalized by suspected pro Hindutva activists, and urged the Federal Government to proscribe Bajrang Dal, which has unleashed a reign of terror in Karnataka ever since the BJP Government came to power.

Karnataka orders CoD probe attack on churches

2008-09-19T17:41:00.001+05:30

The BJP Government in Karnataka has ordered a Corps of Detective (CoD) probe into the recent attacks on churches in different parts of the state, particularly in the coastal town of Mangalore.

A decision to order a probe by the elite sleuths of the CoD was taken after prolonged discussions over the attacks on churches during a Cabinet meeting held on Thursday.

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said the State Government has decided to order a probe by the CoD as it wanted an “impartial inquiry” into the communal violence gripping the state.

Claiming that he was “shocked and pained”, Yeddyurappa said the Government wishes to hold an impartial inquiry into the incidents of communal violence that have rocked the state.

The CoD would be asked to probe all the instances of attacks on churches reported since September 14 and file a report within the next two months. “The probe would expose the persons, groups and organizations behind the attacks on churches”, he said.

He said the police has been directed to provide round-the-clock patrolling in sensitive towns and cities of the State in view of the communal unrest. All the places of worship, particularly the ones belonging to minorities will be given security, Yeddyurappa said.

The BJP Government’s decision to order a CoD probe comes after Opposition parties came down heavily on the Chief Minister for not initiating action against the Bajrang Dal leaders and activists though they had accepted responsibility for the attacks of Christian places of worship in protest against conversion.

The Opposition Congress and JD (S) leaders have accused Yeddyurappa of shielding Bajrang Dal leaders, which has emboldened the Sangh Parivar activists to unleash terror against minorities.
Meanwhile, the attacks on churches in different parts of Karnataka continued even on Thursday with Hindu activists attacking a church in Kudremukh in Chickmagalur district on Thursday.

Karnataka offers land to Tata Motors for Nano project

2008-09-19T17:40:00.000+05:30

Karnataka Government has offered 1,000 acres of land if Tata Motors relocates its small car Nano project from Singur in West Bengal to its state.

After holding a crucial meeting with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa in Bangalore on Thursday and discussing the feasibility of setting up the Nano car plant in Karnataka, Managing Director of Tata Motors’ Ravikant claimed that Karnataka Government had offered 1,000 acres of land and all the incentives needed to relocate the small car project.

Yeddyurappa expressed confidence that Tata Motors will take decision to shift to Karnataka shortly.

“If they (Tata Motors) wish to relocate, the Government of Karnataka will give them all the support and facilities. They were very receptive to our proposal. We are confident of a positive outcome in view of our excellent relationship”, the Chief Minister said apparently referring to the two plants of Tata Motors, which are already functioning in Dharwad district of Karnataka.

As the main Nano plant and the ancillary units have to be together, the representatives from Tata Motors have made it clear to the Government that they would require a total of 1,000 acres of land as their project was integrated in nature. “If we need to relocate, we need to have 1,000 acres”, Ravikant told reporters.

Though the company was actively looking for an alternative site to relocate its plant from Singur, where the Opposition Trinamool Congress party is protesting against the acquisition of land for Tata Motors, Ravikant said a final decision in the matter is yet to be taken.

Ravikanth said the other possible sites for the small car project include Pantagar in Uttarakhand, where Tata manufactures mini trucks, and Pune in Maharashtra, where the company has already carried out test production for Nano.

Churches attacked in Karnataka

2008-09-15T16:56:00.000+05:30

Pro-Hindutva activists vandalized a total of nine churches in coastal and central parts of Karnataka on Sunday, causing anxiety among the Christian community in the State.

The co-ordinated attacks on Churches in Mangalore and Udupi in coastal Karnataka, besides Chickmagalur in central Karnataka took place between 9 am and 10 am before the prayer congregation held on Sundays.

Police suspect activists of Bajrang Dal were behind the attacks on churches to protest against the alleged conversion of Hindus to Christianity.

The activists had attacked churches in Mudigere, Jayapura, Balehonnur and Singatgere in Chickmagalur, besides vandalizing prayer halls in Sirur, Mudur and Udupi town in Udupi district and Kodikkal, Falnir, Milagres and Alfa Centre in Mangalore.

The attackers smashed the windowpanes and other equipment in the churches. Attempts were also made to assault the pastors and set fire to the prayer halls. A total of eight persons including two pastors have been injured in the attacks.

In Mangalore, suspected Bajrang Dal activists entered the Adoration Monastery Chapel at the Milagres and allegedly desecrated the cross and the statue of Jesus. The miscreants then began breaking everything they could lay their hands on in the church, said Ahinda leader Gracian Rodrigues.

Bajrang Dal, which has accepted the responsibility for the attacks, said they had attacked the churches as the members of the “New Life”, a Christian sect, had distributed pamphlets denigrating “Hindu Gods”.

Bajrang Dal chief Mahendra Kumar said their activists were targeting only prayer hall belonging to “New Life”. “We have not targeted any Catholic church”, he said. Kumar warned that more attacks will continue if the devotees of New Life sect did not stop ”spreading canards of Hindu religion”.
Meanwhile, the Christian community staged protests in Mangalore to condemn the attack on the churches in different parts of the State. Tension prevailed in Mangalore for some time when stone pelting took place in a residential locality. Police has imposed prohibitory orders in Mangalore and strengthened security.

Vajpayee bats for Advani as next PM

2008-09-15T16:55:00.001+05:30

Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has called upon the partymen to go an extra mile to install senior BJP leader L K Advani as the next Prime Minister of India.

Though Vajpayee could not make it to the three day BJP national executive, which began in Bangalore on Friday, due to ill-health, the former Prime Minister sent a message containing an appeal to his partymen to make Advani the next Prime Minister.

“My appeal to you is strive whole-heartedly and ensure that Advaniji becomes the Prime Minister after the next parliamentary elections”, Vajpayee said in the message.

The veteran BJP leader’s message was addressed to party President Rajnath Singh, who read it out during the meeting. The contents of the message were also revealed to the reporters later by BJP spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad.

“I am sure that the national executive meet will dwell on all issues confronting the country and take appropriate decisions”, Vajpayee said before adding that it was a matter of pride that the national executive was meeting in a state, where the BJP’s dream of having its own Government has become a reality.

“The choice of Bangalore as the venue after the party’s victory is significant. The Karnataka victory should repeat more decisively in all the other six states going to polls shortly”, the former Prime Minister added in his message.

Karnataka police chief moots “Anytime Police” concept

2008-09-12T16:35:00.001+05:30

Inspired by the ubiquitous Automatic Teller Machines (ATM), which help people access cash anytime, Karnataka’s Director General of Police R Srikumar has mooted the idea of “Anytime Police”.

“We want to remove the jurisdictional barriers for reporting and investigation of crimes. We can work as one unit across the State by re-organizing the existing system and making good use of the communication system”, Srikumar told reporters.

“I imagine that the whole state of Karnataka can soon function as a single police station, where one call centre receives and arranges for appropriate responses that are centrally monitored”, he said.

The Karnataka police have already launched the toll-free helpline (Ph: 100 or 1-800-4250-100), which has been made operational with a control room in Bangalore for the whole of state. Global Positioning System (GPS)-fitted mobile police patrol parties that are near the callers’ house will be sent to verify the complaints.

The public can file a petition before the police either by making a telephone call, send an SMS, fax, e-mail or even a post card. While people in urban parts of the state are expected to contact the police either by making a telephone call or sending an SMS, Srikumar felt that people in rural area would prefer to walk in to the police station and lodge a complaint.

“It is therefore necessary for make available convenient police posts and kiosks, where people can easily come and report a crime. Just as the Election Commission promises a polling booth within walking distance of two kms anywhere in the country, computerized kiosks should start functioning as soon as possible in rural areas”, Srikumar wrote in his blog available on the new Karnataka police website.

“I have floated this concept to make police more accountable and people-friendly”, Srikumar said.

Bhattacharyas together not only in life and career, but also illness

2008-09-12T16:34:00.000+05:30

B K Bhattacharya and his wife Teresa Bhattacharya, both distinguished IAS officers who rose to the rank of Chief Secretary of Karnataka, appear to be together not only in life and career, but also in illness.

B K Bhattacharya, a native of West Bengal, and Teresa Bhattacharya, who hails from Kerala, who tied the nuptial knot in 1972 shared a common interest for public service. Both of them rose to the rank of Chief Secretary of Karnataka and occupied the hot seat one after the other just at the turn of the century.

Now, in their retirement, both have been diagnosed with triple vessel coronary disease. Bhattacharya and his wife were diagnosed with similar heart ailment and both underwent a beating heart triple by-pass at a private hospital in Bangalore recently.

“After you are married for a long time, you tend to have everything alike, but this is a very big co-incidence. But, there is nothing scientific linking it”, said the chief cardio-thoracic and vascular surgeon of the private hospital Vivek Jawali. He performed the by pass on Teresa, who is 66 years, in the first week of May and Bhattacharya, who is 67 years, in August.

“While my wife had breathlessness, after which she was diagnosed with the condition, my symptoms were almost insignificant”, said Bhattacharya. “As we were heading to the US for the birth of our granddaughter, I underwent a complete medical check up when this triple vessel coronary disease was found”, he added.

Teresa, who underwent a surgery almost four months ago, said she was feeling much better now. But, Bhattacharya will take some more time to be completely fit for the trip to USA, she added.

Yeddyurappa describes new Bangalore airport as shoddy

2008-09-10T14:52:00.000+05:30

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has expressed his disappointment with the new Bangalore international airport and described it as “shoddy” compared to other airports in the country.

“It is shoddy compared to all other airports in the country”, Yeddyurappa said while speaking at a function in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Without elaborating on his critical observations of the Rs 25 billion Greenfield airport constructed by private consortium, Yeddyurappa said “I will not allow such things. Bangalore needs an airport of international standards”.

Yeddyurappa said his Government was planning to have an airport or an airstrip in all the districts of the state in the next two years.

Yeddyurappa bitter comments against the Bangalore international airport come close on the heels of his Cabinet colleague and Minister for Information Technology and Bio Technology Katta Subramanya Naidu called the airport a “poor cousin” of other airports of international standards including New Delhi and Hyderabad”.

After legislators cutting across party lines and Ministers came down heavily on the airport during a discussion in the Legislative Assembly recently, the BJP Government Government has announced the setting up a Joint Legislature Committee. The Committee comprising members from the Legislative Assembly as well as the Council will probe the alleged lack of sufficient facilities for passengers as well as visitors.

Former Minister and Congress leader D K Shivakumar, who had raised the issue in the Assembly said “The new airport is no better than an ordinary bus stand. It is sub-standard. There are no proper seating arrangements for passengers or visitors”.
The private consortium comprising Unique Zurich Airport, Siemens Project Ventures and Larsen and Toubro, which built the airport was also accused of deviating from the architecture, style and design of the airport as approved by the Government.

Five members of a family end life in Mysore hotel

2008-09-09T18:03:00.001+05:30

A Malayalam television serial actress and four of her family members were found dead in an apparent suicide pact at a hotel in Mysore near here.

Police said the dead include Bindu, 31, who acted in television serials in Kerala under the screen name Nayana, her father K B K Panicker, 65, her mother Rathnamma, 57, her elder brother Balakrishna Panicker, 33, and younger sister Indu, 29.

However, Bindu’s daughter Anupama, 7, and her neice Akhila, 5, who were with the family, have survived the tragedy and are undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

Mysore police told reporters yesterday that the tragedy came to light on Sunday when Anupama and Akhila and woke up in the afternoon and alerted the hotel staff that their elders were not waking up.

After making frantic efforts to wake up their elders, the children screaming and crying called the reception over the telecom, a police official said.

When the hotel staff rushed to the room, they realized that the five elders of the family were dead. Immediately informed the jurisdictional police, who rushed to the hotel room and began investigation.

The police have recovered a powdery substance and sleeping tablets from the hotel room. The deceased are believed to have consumed cola laced with the powdery substance, which is believed to be poison. Apparently, the elders had made the children also consume cola mixed with sleeping pills. But, the children have now been declared out of danger.

The police also they also found stains in the bathroom indicating that the deceased had vommitted blood.

Police said Bindu’s husband Irwin Peter works in London while Indu’s husband Vijayan Thambi works in Sharjah. Bindu’s father Panicker was an ex-serviceman and the family hailed from Alapuzzha in Kerala.

The family had checked into the hotel on September 4, a Thursday around 9 pm and went sight-seeing around Mysore on Friday and Saturday in a hired car. After visiting Brindavan Gardens and other tourist spots for the next two days, the family even consulted a gynaecologist in a private hospital.

On Saturday night, the family had ordered for dinner in their hotel room around 10.30 pm.

The family’s relatives from Kerala had arrived in Mysore and the police authorities are expected to hand over the dead bodies after the post-mortem.
Though no suicide note has been left behind, the police suspect financial problems to be among the likely causes for the family members to end their lives in a suicide pact.

Church set fire in Karnataka

2008-09-09T18:02:00.001+05:30

An angry mob of people attacked a Church in Bada village in Karnataka’s Davangere district on Sunday.

Police said the mob comprising of more than 200 people broke the asbestos ceiling of the Church, besides shattering the windowpanes and setting fire to the material inside the premises.

Though no religious outfit has claimed responsibility for the incident, Hindu Jagarana Vedike has threatened to close down these “unauthorized places, which have become centers for conversion”.

Pastor Lukas of the Christian prayer hall, who was at the site of attack, described the attackers as “locals”, but refused to name them.

Police said the locals had accused the Protestant prayer congregation of “converting the locals” by luring them with gifts and by “demeaning Hindu gods and religious customs”. A total of ten people have been arrested in the connection with the attack.

The attack on the Church in Bada village came even as the authorities had imposed prohibitory orders within a radius of 200 metres of three other prayer halls in Davangere, which had been attacked by Hindu outfits over the last two weeks.

Insurance cover for elephants participating in Dasara festival

2008-09-08T11:20:00.002+05:30

The twelve elephants participating in the annual Dasara festival at Mysore near here later this month have been given an insurance cover.

The Dasara Festival Committee decided to bring the elephants and their mahouts under a short-term insurance policy in view of the unpredictable nature of the elephants. Apart from the elephants and the mahouts, the Committee has even insured public and private property against any possible damage by the elephants.

The Dasara elephants, which are the cynosure of all eyes during the Dasara procession that passes through the main thoroughfares of Mysore, are subjected to daily rehearsals on the five-km procession route.

“This is a short term insurance policy that becomes valid from the date the elephants are brought out of their forest camp. It becomes void once they return to the forests after Dasara”, Deputy Conservator of Forests Yathish Kumar told reporters.

“Elephants are brought to the Mysore from the forests on trucks. They are susceptible to injuries during transportation. They may even cause damage to public or private property during their stay in Mysore. Hence, the insurance cover”, he said.

While the elephants have been insured for a sum ranging between Rs 100,000 to Rs 250,000, the mahouts and other helpers have been insured for a sum of Rs 100,000. The lead elephant Balarama, which carries the 750-kg heavy golden palanquin, has been insured for Rs 250,000.

The Dasara Festival Committee has already paid Rs 29,000 to United India Insurance Company as premium for the insurance of the elephants, mahouts, helpers and property, said Special Officer of Mysore City Corporation Ranganath, who co-ordinated with the insurance company on behalf of the Dasara Festival Committee.

The annual ten-day Dasara festival is scheduled to begin on September 30, but six of the twelve elephants that will be participating in the festivities have already arrived in Mysore for rehearsals.

Christians protest against issue of notices to schools

2008-09-08T11:20:00.001+05:30

The Karnataka Christian Welfare Association held a demonstration in Bangalore yesterday demanding the withdrawal of notices issued by the BJP Government to educational institutions run by Christian organizations.

The protest comes after the State Government issued notices to an estimated 2,000 schools and colleges in Karnataka that had remained closed on August 29 to protest against the attacks on Christians in Karnataka.

Incidentally, BJP’s Lok Sabha MP H T Sangliana, who belongs to the Christian community, spearheaded the protest. Arguing that the educational institutions had a right to show their displeasure over the inhuman treatment of people in Orissa by remaining closed, Sangliana urged the State Government, led by his own party, to withdraw the notices.

Congress MLA K J George said everyone enjoyed a constitutional right to protest and criticized the Government’s decision to slap notices on the educational institutions for remaining closed on August 29.

President of Indian Catholic Press Association Sister Genevieve said the Christian schools across Karnataka have decided not to apologize for remaining closed on August 29.

“We are well within our rights. The principals of educational institutions have four discretionary holidays at their disposal, which they can call on days of local importance”, she said.
Meanwhile, the notices issued by the Education Department authorities had reprimanded the managements for closing the down the schools and colleges without obtaining prior permission from the Government. The notices claimed that the Department had learnt about the closure only through the media. The managements have been asked to show cause within a week of receiving the notices.

Bangalore hospital opens heart to Iraqi kids

2008-09-07T16:12:00.001+05:30

The healing touch of hospitals in Bangalore is now beckoning an estimated 2,500 children with cardiac disorders from war-torn Iraq.

The children ranging from newly-borns to 12 years will be flown down to Bangalore in batches from next month for treatment at Narayana Hrudayala Institute of Cardiac Sciences.

Revealing this information to reporters, leading cardiac surgeon and Chairman of Narayana Hrudalaya Devi Shetty the Iraqi Government has selected their hospital for treating the children with cardiac disorder in view of the availability of advanced facilities and the state-of-the-art facilities technology to perform complicated heart surgeries.

“Providing high quality cardiac care at a subsidized cost has been our forte. That is the reason behind Iraqi Government choosing our hospital”, Shetty claimed.

The average of cost of each surgery will range between Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000, which will be borne by a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) from Iraq. Apart from this, the NGO will also sponsor traveling, accommodation and other miscellaneous expenses pertaining to the visit of the children and their parents.

Devi Shetty said their hospital could perform about 15 to 16 surgeries every day on the children. The hospital will be able to attend to all the estimated 2,500 children over a period of eight months.

The hospital with a 1,000-bed facility is gearing up to provide accommodation to the children and their parents. “The hospital has made adequate arrangements for the accommodation of the Iraqi visitors”, he said.
The proposed visit of 2,500 children with cardiac disorders from Iraq is reckoned to be the largest such contingent arriving in Bangalore from abroad for medical treatment. The earlier groups flown into Bangalore from Malaysian and African countries rarely exceeded 12 to 15 children.

Around 500 schools face closure in Karnataka

2008-09-07T16:11:00.001+05:30

Karnataka Government is seriously planning to close down an estimated 500 schools in the State, where the strength of students is less than five.

Disclosing this to reporters in Bangalore, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri said the Education Department has already drawn a list of Government schools across the State, where the student strength is five or less.

Out of the 500 schools identified by the Department, as many as 120 of them are in Tumkur district alone, he said.

“Posting a teacher to a school with five students does not make sense. We are considering relocating these children to nearby schools before transferring the teacher”, Kageri added.

Appointing teachers and running a school with handful students is not worth the effort and cost. The students affected from such closures will be shifted to nearest schools. “If such schools are located far away, the Government will pay a transport allowance to such students”, he said.

Communal tension in Raichur, ban orders imposed

2008-09-06T17:50:00.002+05:30

Communal trouble erupted in Raichur in Karnataka after five makeshift structures erected to place the idols of Ganesha were found burnt on Thursday.

Six persons were injured when groups armed with iron rods and canes began attacking people in parts of Raichur after the Ganesha pandals were found burnt down. Miscreants also went around attacking buses, trucks and other vehicles on the roads, damaging six buses, trucks and cars, besides setting fire to a motorcycle.

Police had to resort to caning the activists of pro-Hindu organizations, who went around pelting stones in the town.

Most business establishments and educational institutions remained closed in Raichur on Thursday and Friday as the pro-Hindu organizations had given a call for 48-hour shut down. Vehicles also did not ply on the roads in view of the tense situation.

Hundreds of pro-Hindu activists took out a procession in Raichur on Thursday evening seeking the immediate arrest of the miscreants, who had torched the Ganesha pandals.

The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders in the town for an indefinite period in view of the tense situation.
The communal trouble in Raichur comes a day after tension gripped Hubli, where stones were allegedly thrown at a Ganesha procession. However, Hubli Dharwad Police Commissioner N Shivakumar, who rushed to the spot with additional police force, brought the situation under control.

Two farmers commit suicide in Karnataka

2008-09-06T17:50:00.001+05:30

Unable to bear the burden of loan, two farmers have committed suicide in Hassan district of Karnataka.

Police said Basave Gowda, 54, of Savanthanahalli in Hassan taluk ended his life by consuming poison on Thursday. Basave Gowda had cultivated the potato crop in his fields, but the rains ruined the plantation. He had recently obtained a loan of Rs 400,000 to purchase a tractor.

Similiarly, Manjappa, 40, a resident of Halebeedu in Hassan’s Belur taluk committed suicide by consuming poison. Manjgappa, who lost his crops to heavy rains, had taken a bank loan of Rs 25,000, besides borrowing money from people in his village.

CBI turns to SMS to tackle corruption

2008-09-05T15:53:00.001+05:30

As part of its nationwide campaign against corruption, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun sending SMS messages to mobile phone users on a mass scale across Karnataka seeking complaints against Government officials demanding bribe.

The CBI, which is the country’s premier investigating agency, has tied up with state-owned Bharath Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and sent SMS messages to all its 1.85 million mobile phone subscribers in one stroke.

“Please inform CBI-Bangalore about officials of Government of India/PSUs (public sector undertakings) demanding bribe or being in possession of huge assets at 080-23332726 or 94480-44355”, read the SMS, which landed in the inbox of BSNL mobile phone subscribers.

In response, the CBI has been flooded with complaints about corrupt officials working in Government departments or public sector undertakings. “The response has been phenomenal. People have been calling us to give leads, clues, information and even incriminating documents”, CBI Superintendent (Anti Corruption Cell), Bangalore, Narasimha Komar told reporters in Bangalore.

“Many times, the common man, who becomes a victim of corruption, does not know whom to contact for relief. Also, many people don’t know how to contact us. We need to open channels of communication with the people”, Komar said claiming that the CBI had now begun involving the people in its fight against corruption.

The general public can send information about corrupt officials through letters, faxes, e-mails, SMS and phone calls. “If someone can’t come to Bangalore to give information, a team of CBI officials will visit them and collect the information. The complaints once received will be followed up and investigated”, Komar said.

Complaints can be registered against employees of federal Government, public sector undertakings, banks and other financial institutions. The identity of the informant will be kept secret, the CBI has assured.

Karnataka is the second state in India after Maharashtra, where CBI has begun involving people in its fight against corruption by sending SMS messages. “It will be extended to the entire country in phases”, Komar said.

Women to figure on Haj and Wakf panels in Karnataka

2008-09-05T15:52:00.000+05:30

For the first time in the history of Karnataka, the State Board of Wakfs and State Haj Committee will women among its office-bearers.

Making an announcement to the effect at an event organized in Bangalore by Centre for Community Development, Karnataka’s Minister for Haj and Wakf Mumtaz Ali Khan said his Government was looking out for eminent women from the Muslim community, who will fit the bill.

“It is time, we gave women representation in the Wakf Board and Haj Committee, which are dominated by men. We are looking out for qualified women with the required profile for the posts. We will be creating history with this move”, Khan said.

While the 16-member Wakf Board in the State had duration of two years, the 11-member Haj Committee had 11 months time. “We will be nominating two members each to the Wakf Board and Haj Committee”, Khan said.

Mumtaz Ali Khan brushed aside the possible opposition to his move to nominate women to these panels. “I agree that some people will be against the idea. But, I don’t think there will be any problem”, he added.

Karnataka Minister favours ban on liquor too

2008-09-04T16:25:00.001+05:30

Spurred by Federal Government’s decision to ban smoking in public places, Karnataka’s Medical Education Minister Ramachandra Gowda made out a case for banning all forms of liquor in the state.

“Along with the ban on smoking, there should be a ban on liquor too”, said Gowda while speaking at function organized at National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Though Karnataka has already banned arrack - a form of country toddy – the ban should be expanded to cover all other forms of liquor including beer, he said.

Gowda claimed that the Government was considering prohibition after NGOs and other groups dared the BJP Government to ban all forms of liquor and not just arrack.

“Some people may think it is impractical to ban all forms of liquor. But, someone has to make a beginning somewhere. We have started by banning arrack. We can take the next step by banning run, whisky, beer and other spirits”, Gowda said.

Gowda claimed that the recent ban on arrack has proved wrong the argument that a ban on any form of liquor will lead to a dip in the state’s revenues. “On the contrary, the revenues have increased. It will prove wrong the contention that state governments cannot exist without the revenues from liquor businesses”, Gowda claimed.

Gowda said he was also against betting on horse races. “I am of the opinion that gambling on horse races should be banned. As it appears difficult, we are shifting the race course out of the City’s limits”, he said.
Gowda welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to ban smoking in public places and sought a ban on cultivation of the tobacco crop. The employees of tobacco processing and cigarette manufacturing companies should be provided with alternative employment, he said.

Ramadoss favours legalizing homosexuality

2008-09-04T16:24:00.000+05:30

Taking a liberal stand on homosexuality, Federal Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss said he favoured lifting of the ban on homosexuality to tackle the spread of HIV and AIDS in the country.

Speaking at a function organized to inaugurate three new blocks at National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore on Tuesday, Ramadoss said legalizing homosexuality has become a priority for his Ministry.

Though his Ministry had managed to bring down the rate of HIV-affliction, 86 per cent of which is spread through sexual contact, Ramadoss said the authorities were finding it difficult to bring homosexuals under the ambit of the programme as homosexuality is regarded as an offence.

The National AIDS Control Programme has succeeded in bringing down the incidence of HIV affliction from 0.91 per cent to 0.34 per cent, which has reduced the number of people affected with HIV/AIDS in the country from 5.2 million to 2.3 million. “But, it is the sex among transgenders that was posing a challenge in our efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS”, he said.

He claimed that the India had about 2.45 million MSM (men who have sex with men), who are at a considerable risk to contract and spread HIV/AIDS. As homosexuality is an offence under law, these people refuse to come forward, seek assistance and obtain treatment, Ramadoss regretted.

Hence, he said Section 377 of Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes MSM and other “unnatural sex acts” should go. “Structural discrimination against those who are vulnerable to HIV such as sex workers and MSMs must be removed if our HIV/AIDS programmes are to reach their logical end”, Ramadoss said.

Ramadoss also emphasized the need for sex education in schools. “It is time to talk out it. Our children should be empowered to know about HIV/AIDS”, he said.

Grammatical error sets off discord in Karnataka-Goa relations

2008-09-03T16:37:00.002+05:30

A grammatical error in an affidavit filed by the Karnataka Government before Supreme Court has sparked off a row between Karnataka and Goa.

With Karnataka Government laying claim over Goa in the affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, angry Goan legislators had raised the matter in the Assembly and sought to draw their Chief Minister Digambar Kamath’s attention to the “grave threat to Goa’s territorial integrity”.

But, before the matter could snowball into a major inter-state dispute, Karnataka Government has sought to clarify that there was a grammatical error in its affidavit filed before the Supreme Court.

“It was a grammatical error and not an intentional claim”, Karnataka’s Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Kumar told reporters. “It must have happened due to oversight. It is a settled fact that Karnataka and Goa are two separate states”, the Minister said.

The Karnataka Government had filed the affidavit in response to a petition filed by a little-known Konkani organization seeking the merger of Konkani speaking areas of Karnataka into Goa. In its affidavit filed before Supreme Court on July 31, 2007, Karnataka had erroneously said that “Goa is a part of Karnataka” instead of stating that “historically Goa was a part of Karnataka”.

“We only wanted to say Goa was a part of Karnataka in the past. We inadvertently said Goa is a part of Karnataka. It is an advertent mistake”, Suresh Kumar said.
Referring to the ruckus kicked up in Goa Assembly by BJP MLAs over Karnataka’s claim in the affidavit, Suresh Kumar said such small issues should not be allowed to affect inter-state harmony. “We believe that in a federal system where all the states should live with mutual respect and harmony”, he said.

Karnataka offers cash and milk food to flood-hit Bihar

2008-09-03T16:37:00.001+05:30

Karnataka will soon be sending a cheque for Rs 100 million besides 10 tonnes of milk powder to the displaced people of flood-hit Bihar.

Karnataka’s Home Minister V S Acharya told reporters that Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and Chief Secretary had sought financial assistance from Karnataka and in response the Government had decided to send the aid in the form of cash and milk food.

“To help them handle this disaster, we will be sending them the money and the milk food immediately. The Deputy Chief Minister has told us that they do not need medicine and food, but are in dire need of tents and blankets apart from manpower”, Acharya said.

The Government has also decided to urge the National Disaster Management Authority’s team to help the State Government in the distribution of milk powder to the needy.

The Karnataka Government’s offer of aid to Bihar comes at a time when the state itself is reeling under the impact of floods in many parts of the State.

Karnataka’s Revenue Minister K Karunakar Reddy told reporters that crops on an estimated 100,000 acres of land had been destroyed in the rains and the accompanying floods. A total of 24 people had died so far in the rains that lashed various parts of Karnataka. Besides, 314 heads of cattle had perished and more than 8,000 houses had collapsed in the rain.
He said Karnataka was preparing a memorandum to seek a compensation of Rs 6 billion from the Federal Government to take up relief measures in the flood-hit areas of the state.

Rains flood houses of senior officials in Bangalore

2008-09-02T14:51:00.000+05:30

The heavy rains that have been lashing Bangalore for the last one week have poured misery on not only the poor people residing in low lying areas, but also top-ranking officials residing in posh and upmarket localities of the City.

Following Sunday evening’s heavy downpour, the houses of Special Commissioner for Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation Ramprasad and Director General of Police (Corps of Detective) Ajai Kumar Singh in Dollar’s colony in Bangalore were flooded with rain- water.

However, civic officials managed to clear the clogged storm water drainage in Dollar’s colony that helped drain the water gathered inside the compounds and houses in the locality.

“The Municipal staff cleared the drain in one hour. The residents of the locality did not have to wait for long”, said Lakshman, an orderly posted at the residence of Singh.

But, residents of many other parts of Bangalore that have been swamped with rain water have not been so lucky. They have been forced to either remove the water entering their houses in buckets or simply wait for the rains to stop and the water to recede.

Meanwhile, the municipal authorities have sounded an alert to about 500 families residing in low-lying areas of north east Bangalore to move out of their houses and take shelter in nearby marriage halls or face the consequences.

Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation Commisisoner Subramanya said the families residing in these low lying areas need to shift in view of the prediction of more rains in the coming days. “I have no control over the rains, but I can assure the residents of the City that the water will recede on its own after the rains end”, he said calling upon the people to take shelter in the marriage halls nearby.

Meanwhile, Bangalore has recorded the highest rainfall during the month of August since the last decade. The City had recorded about 310 mm of rainfall during the month of August this year.
The meterological department has predicted more rainfall in Bangalore for the next two days.

ISRO satellites to map mosquito-breeding areas

2008-09-01T17:07:00.001+05:30

After successfully using space technology to provide healthcare in rural areas, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is now planning to embark upon a unique venture of mapping mosquito-breeding areas in the country with the help of remote sensing satellites.

According to ISRO’s Director of Telemedicine L S Satyamurthy, the country’s space research agency will now be assisting the health authorities to combat the raging mosquito menace in the country by using the geographical information system (GIS) to identify the mosquito-breeding areas.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ninth annual conference of Indian Association of Endocrine Surgeons in Bangalore on Saturday, Satyamurthy said ISRO plans to initiate the concept during a United Nations-ISRO workshop on tele-epidemiology to be held during October this year.

Former Director of ISRO K Kasturirangan said a knowledge of aquatic habitats suitable for mosquito larvae growth was essential to fight the menace of mosquitoes, which spread diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria.

“But, identifying these locations through conventional ground surveys is difficult and time-consuming. It is appropriate to use satellite data for monitoring aquatic habitats, vegetation cover and human settlements and relate them with changing climatic conditions”, said Kasturirangan, who is now the Director of National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore.

On the application of space technology for telemedicine, Kasturirangan said ISRO’s telemedicine network presently comprises about 320 hospitals including 267 district hospitals and health centers. Over 300,000 patients had been provided with tele-consultation and telemedicine so far, he said.

An impact study conducted on 1,000 of these patients showed that there was a cost saving of 81 per cent, Kasturirangan said. “This means that the patient spent only 19 per cent of the cost that they would have incurred on travel, stay and treatment”, he added.

Christian schools face action in Karnataka for closure

2008-08-31T12:52:00.000+05:30

The closure of Christian educational institutions across the country on Friday in protest against the violence against Christians in Orissa has incurred the wrath of the BJP Government in Karnataka with the Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshar Hegde Kageri deciding to initiate action against the schools and colleges.

Taking serious exception to the closure of an estimated 2,000 educational institutions run by Christians in the State, Kageri made no secret of his disappointment in the matter. “I am upset with their decision. The Catholic Council has not taken the Government’s permission before declaring a holiday for the educational institutions”, he told reporters in Bangalore.

Kageri said he had directed the Education Department officials to initiate appropriate action against the educational institutions in Karnataka that remained closed on Friday following which the officials were preparing to issue notices. Based on their reply, further action will be taken against the Christian institutions.

“Educational institutions should not be made tools for such issues. This will impact the sentiments of young minds and affect educational activities”, Kageri opined.

But, Kageri came under flak from Congress and JD (S) leaders for trying to “browbeat” the minority institutions, which were protesting against the violence unleashed against Christians in Orissa by the pro-Hindutva groups.

“The Indian Constitution guarantees them right to protest. They have a right to show their protest to the violence against Christians in Orissa by closing down schools and institutions run by them”, former Minister and senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar said.

JD (S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy lashed out at the BJP Government in the State for initiating action against the Christian schools. “What will the Government do if the Christian run institutions decide to close down? The Government should pay more attention to building bridges between different communities and promote harmony in the society instead of threatening institutions run by the minority groups”, Kumaraswamy said.
Meanwhile, pro-Hindu groups took out rallies in various parts of Karnataka including Mangalore and Chikmagalur on Saturday to protest the closure of Christian run institutions in the State.

Soap contract lands Dhoni on slippery ground

2008-08-31T12:51:00.000+05:30

India’s one-day cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni exploits on the cricket field may have brought him laurels including Khel Ratna, the country’s highest sporting honour. But, the distinguished cricketer is finding himself on slippery ground in Karnataka after allegedly dishonouring a contract he signed for endorsing a soap product.

The Karnataka High Court has asked Dhoni, who recently led India to a series victory in neighbouring Sri Lanka, to appear before it on September 11 in a case filed by state-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL).

KSDL had already served legal notice to Dhoni claiming damages worth Rs 4 million after the star cricketer violated his contractual obligations as ambassador for its brand of Mysore Sandal Soaps.

The High Court has asked Dhoni as well his endorsing company to appear in person or through an advocate or a representative on September 11 for hearing of the case filed by KSDL.

KSDL had roped in Dhoni to endorse the Mysore Sandal Soaps in January 2006 for a sum of Rs 8.5 million. Though the contract was for a period of two years, KSDL terminated the agreement in December 2007 after the cricketer reportedly played truant and sought damages worth Rs 4 million from him.

According to the contract, Dhoni was to give KSDL five days during each contract year, making it a total of ten days. But, Dhoni reportedly gave only three days time in the first year and did not make himself available subsequently.

KSDL officials said the company managed to produce a 60 second commercial advertisement during the three days he was available. The cricketer did not turn up for the remaining days, which had been slotted by the company for personal appearances at clinics, camps, trade shows, retail outlets and autograph sessions related to marketing of Mysore Sandal Soaps.
Out of the Rs 8.5 million deal, the company had already paid Rs 6.5 million at the time of signing the contract. The balance was to have been paid after completion of the dates given by Dhoni. Now, KSDL has moved the High Court seeking damages worth Rs 4 million from the star cricketer.

Karnataka hikes bus fares

2008-08-30T15:19:00.001+05:30

After the recent hike fuel prices, the state-owned Karnataka State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) hiked the passenger fares by 10 per cent for ordinary services and 12 for other services.

In a press statement, KSRTC said the revised bus fares, which came into force from yesterday, would help the transport corporation offset its financial burden and undertake various expansion plans.

Attributing the hike to increased operational costs, the KSRTC said expenditure of the state-run transport corporation had gone up on account of not only the increased fuel price, but also due to wage revision and steep rise in cost of steel, tyres, lubricants and other spare parts.

“The very modest hike”, KSRTC said, would help the Corporation recover at least a part of the expenditure. KSRTC had last revised its fares during June 2006 and there had been no increase in the fares thereafter despite frequent increase in the prices of fuel.
Also, the revenue accrued from the revised fares will help the Corporation introduce 450 peak-hour services across Bangalore, build eight new bus depots, twelve new bus stands and introduce the bus rapid transit system on the Outer Ring Road in Bangalore.

Karnataka man gouges his eye out to please the deity

2008-08-30T15:18:00.001+05:30

In a bizarre case, a 50-year-old man from a village in Karnataka’s Bagalkot taluk gouged his eye out and placed it before the feet of the local deity.

Mudukappa Yallappa, who was an ardent devotee of the local deity Shankarayya Ajja for a long time, went to the Shankarayya Swamy Math in Adgal village on Thursday and began the worship by singing bhajans.

According to locals, Yellappa suddenly whipped out a knife, removed his right eye and placed it at the feet of the Shakarayya Ajja’s idol in the Math even as other devotees were stunned over the incident.

“It all happened in a matter of seconds”, Somappa, a resident of the village, told reporters. “He was raising slogans in praise of the Lord. We thought he was singing bhajans. But, suddenly he pulled out a knife, gouged out his right eye”, said Somappa, who was present in the Math when the incident happened.

Though the other devotees rushed to him after hearing his cries of agony, refused to budge and remained adamantly before the deity for more than five hours singing bhajans even as ants started swarming the gouged out eye placed before the deity.

As news about the incident spread, people from the village and neighbouring areas made a beeline to the Math and paid their respects to Yallappa with folded hands. But, police arrived on the scene and forcibly took him to the hospital for treatment.

Doctors treated the wound created by the gouging of the eye and discharged him. Though Yellappa had lost some blood when he gouged his eye out, there is no danger to his life, the doctors told the police.

Back in the village, Yellappa claimed that Shankarayya Ajja came in his dream and demanded his eye. ‘I only obeyed his order”, Yellappa told reporters. Yellappa’s wife Hanumavva defended her husband’s strange act. “What can you do when the Lord demands it?”, she said.
Yellappa’s weird act has brought to people’s mind a mythological character Bedara Kannappa, who had similiarly gouged out his eyes to enable the Lord to see.

Traffic moves slowest in Bangalore

2008-08-29T15:55:00.000+05:30

With more than 3.5 million vehicles, Bangalore enjoys the unenviable distinction of recording the slowest traffic movement on roads across major cities in India.

According to a recent study, the peak hour traffic in Bangalore virtually crawls at 10 kms per hour compared to Delhi’s 15 kms per hour and Mumbai’s 18 kms per hour.

The nation-wide study on “Traffic and Transportation Policies and Strategies in Urban Areas in India” conducted by Wilbur Smith Associates on behalf of Federal Ministry of Urban Development shows Kolkata’s peak hour traffic movement to be 20 kms per hour and Chennai’s 22 kms per hour.

The survey was conducted across 30 major cities of India and took into consideration the traffic movement speed during peak hours in the morning and evening.

Experts have attributed the sluggish traffic movement in Bangalore to the alarming growth in vehicular population in Bangalore, which is also ranked highest in the country at 14 per cent against the national average of 10 per cent.

The rate of growth in vehicular population even in major cities like Chennai and Delhi is around 8 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

However, Bangalore stood third in the country in terms of road accidents with the City recording 7,575 accidents that claimed 833 deaths in one year.
Mumbai led the table with 21,678 accidents in which 787 people were killed followed by Delhi, which accounted for 9,351 accidents and 2,023 deaths. Hyderabad took th efourth place with 6,149 accidents and 1,196 deaths.

Katti inducted into Karnataka Ministry

2008-08-29T15:54:00.000+05:30

Former Minister Umesh Katti, who recently resigned from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly as JD (S) member, was inducted into the B S Yeddyurappa-led BJP Ministry in the State.

Governor Rameshwar Thakur administered the oath of office and secrecy to Katti at a simple function held at Raj Bhavan in Bangalore yesterday evening. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and senior BJP Ministers were present on the occasion.

Katti’s induction will be fill up the vacancy in the Ministry arising out of the resignation of Horticulture Minister S K Bellubi.

Katti was the fourth defector from opposition parties, who was accommodated in the BJP Ministry. Out of the seven MLAs from Congress and JD (S), who joined the BJP after resigning from their membership of the Legislative Assembly, three have already been rewarded with Ministerial berths.

The Ministers, who had quit their assembly seats, will be contesting in the coming by-polls as BJP candidates.

It may be mentioned here that the BJP, which had 110 seats in the 224 member house, came to power with the support of six independents, five of whom had been made Ministers.

But, with a view to strengthening its position in the Assembly, the BJP has successfully lured seven MLAs from the opposition parties, much to the consternation of the Congress and JD (S) leaders.

Senior Congress leader H K Patil had sent a three-page letter to Governor Rameshwar Thakur urging him not to administer the oath of office to the defectors as it violated the democratic spirit of the Constitution.

Karnataka Minister quits amid high drama

2008-08-26T15:53:00.002+05:30

After days of persuasion, Karnataka’s Horticulture Minister S K Bellubi submitted his resignation to accommodate a new-entrant to the BJP in the B S Yeddyurappa-led Ministry.

But, Bellubi’s resignation on Sunday evening was preceded by high drama as the four-day-old protest staged by his supporters in his native Bijapur district took a turn for the worse as five of them consumed poison in a bid to end their lives. They were admitted to a hospital and later declared out of danger.

In Bangalore, Bellubi himself was rushed to a private hospital after he complained of high blood pressure and dizziness even as senior BJP leaders waited for the Horticulture Minister’s resignation letter at a meeting convened by Yeddyurappa.

Eventually, Bellubi sent in his resignation letter addressed to the Chief Minister around 6.30 pm on Sunday evening, much to the relief of BJP leadership.

After receiving Bellubi’s resignation, Yeddyurappa said former Minister Umesh Katti, who recently quit the Legislative Assembly as a JD (S) member and joined the BJP, would be sworn in as Minister on August 27.

Notwithstanding the confusion and chaos over Bellubi’s resignation, BJP’s Karnataka unit President D V Sadananda Gowda claimed that the Horticulture Minister had displayed a spirit of unity in the party by resigning on his own accord to strengthen the party and the Government.

Denying that Bellubi had been forced to resign, Gowda said BJP MLA from Bijapur would be given a suitable position befitting his stature and seniority for his “sacrifice”.

The BJP’s state unit chief, however, expressed regret over the protest staged by Bellubi’s supporters in Bijapur and the accompanying violence. “It was spontaneous and impulsive”, he added.

Sadananda Gowda, however, scotched speculations that a few more Ministers will be asked to resign from the BJP Government in Karnataka to accommodate the new entrants to the party. “There will be no more resignations from the Ministry”, Gowda said.

It may be mentioned here that the BJP, which has 110 members in the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly, had formed a Government with the support of six independents, five of whom had been rewarded with Cabinet berths.
With a view to consolidating its party position in the Assembly, the BJP admitted seven Opposition MLAs, who have since resigned their seats in the Assembly. Three of the new entrants have already been rewarded with Cabinet berths.

Three die as bus plunges into rivulet in Karnataka

2008-08-26T15:53:00.001+05:30

Three persons were killed while 20 others were injured when a private bus plunged into a rivulet near Sira in Tumkur district, about 100 kms from here, on Sunday.

Police said the bus, which was proceeding to Bangalore from Belgaum with about 25 passengers, hit the railing of a bridge before plunging into the rivulet with knee-deep water.

The deceased identified as Ningappa, 65, his daughter Jyothi, 35, and Ravikumar Golkar, 30. “All of them died on the spot”, a police official said. The injured persons were shifted to hospitals in Sira, Tumkur and Bangalore.
Though buses traversing long routes have two drivers, the ill-fated bus had only one driver, who dozed off during the journey, leading to the tragedy. Superintendent of Tumkur district police P S Harsha visited the spot and supervised the rescue operations

High-speed expressway between Bangalore and Chennai

2008-08-25T15:16:00.001+05:30

The Federal Government has approved a high-speed Greenfield expressway between Bangalore and Chennai, designed for travel at a speed of 120 kms per hour.

Disclosing this to reporters in Bangalore, Federal Minister for Road Transport and Highways K H Muniyappa said the high-speed link between Bangalore and Chennai is among the four such Greenfield expressways cleared by the Federal Government recently.

The other three expressways connect Kolkata with Dhanbad, Delhi with Meerut and Mumbai with Vadodara. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will undertake the construction of the Greenfield expressways under a public private partnership.

The NHAI has appointed a private consultant to find out possible alignment of the expressways using satellite imageries and submit a report before the end of this year.

“We are at present studying the alignment using satellite images. Once the study is completed in four months time, a feasibility study would be conducted in another four months. The actual work could commend by end of next year”, he said.

All the four expressways will to stretch to a total of 1,000 kms and the cost of constructing the same is estimated to be around Rs 150 to 160 million per kilometer of the expressway.

Yeddyurappa to reshuffle Ministry before foreign tour

2008-08-24T13:58:00.001+05:30

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa will reshuffle his fledgeling Ministry to accommodate new entrants to the party before embarking upon a tour of the United States later this month.

Disclosing this to reporters in Bangalore yesterday, BJP’s state unit President Sadananda Gowda said Horticulture Minister S K Bellubi has been asked to “sacrifice” his post to enable former Minister Umesh Katti, who recently quit the Assembly as a JD (S) MLA and joined the BJP, to be inducted into the Ministry.

Gowda justified Yeddyurappa’s decision to ask Bellubi to make way for Umesh Katti to stabilize the BJP Government in the State, which had fallen short of three members to secure a simple majority in the 224-member Legislative Assembly.

Katti is among the seven Opposition MLAs, who had resigned from the Assembly and joined the BJP. Though three Opposition MLAs, who had resigned from the Assembly, had already been inducted into the Ministry, the BJP leadership has appealed to some more Ministers to quit and make way the new entrants to the party.

Yeddyurappa will reshuffle the 34-member Ministry before embarking on a tour of the United States to participate in the conference of Association of Kannada Kootas of America (AKKA) scheduled to begin in Chicago on August 29.

Gowda claimed that the party leadership had already convinced Bellubi to quit the Ministry and added that the Horticulture Minister is expected to tender the resignation letter to the Chief Minister on Sunday. Gowda claimed that the Chief Minister had promised to give a suitable post to Bellubi.

However, Bellubi, who had earlier claimed that he would abide by the party leadership’s decision to drop him from the Ministry, struck a discordant note after protests by his supporters in his native Bijapur.

“I am not ready to quit because the people in my constituency want me to continue”, Bellubi told reporters referring to the violent protests in Bijapur on Thursday in which his angry supporters hurled stones at police and Government-owned buses, besides staging road-blockades. “I will have to go by the sentiments of the people, who have elected me”, Bellubi said.

Bangalore police recover 50 stolen cars from gang

2008-08-24T13:57:00.001+05:30

The Bangalore police have arrested a gang of inter-state car lifters and recovered from them a total of 50 stolen cars valued at over Rs 30 million.

The recovered cars, most of them sports utility vehicles, were kept on display at BRV Parade Grounds in Bangalore on Friday as part of the efforts of the police to track down the rightful owners.

The recovery of the 50 cars is said to be biggest haul of stolen cars by the police in Karnataka so far.

Bangalore City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidri told reporters that the six-member gang of car lifters used to lift cars parked in front of houses and later sell them off to unsuspecting buyers by creating fake documents.

The prime accused Lathief, 38, was nabbed when he was trying to dispose off a stolen vehicle in Cottonpet in Bangalore. Based on information provided by him during interrogation, the police zeroed in on his accomplices and traced the stolen cars.

Bidri said Lathief was involved in several car thefts in Karnataka and neighbouring Kerala. Though he had been caught a couple of years ago in Kerala and convicted for three years, he managed to escape from police custody while he was being brought to Karwar in Karnataka from Konnur jail in Kerala.

Later, Lathief joined hands with Rajan, a notorious car lifter, who has several non-bailable warrants pending against him in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The other members of the gang include Javid Khan, Raju Yadav and Sheikh Arif.

Bidri said the arrest of the car lifters had become important in the wake of the recent terror strikes in Bangalore. “For, stolen vehicles could have been used by the terrorists. We are investigating whether there were any links between the thefts and the terror strikes”, Bidri added.

Ten-minute deadline fixed for protests in Bangalore

2008-08-20T16:51:00.000+05:30

The Bangalore City police has imposed a ten-minute deadline on the time duration for protests in the City.

Commissioner for Bangalore City Police Shankar Bidri said no protest would be allowed to extend beyond ten minutes anywhere in Bangalore on account of the inconvenience it would cause to motorists and traffic movement.

“A protest at peak hours ends in lengthy traffic snarls that prevents commuters from reaching their destination. The protest marches, which pass through the roads, halt traffic and the general public have to bear the brunt”, he said justifying his decision to impose a ten-minute deadline on protests and rallies.

But, Bidri’s announcement has been roundly criticized by various voluntary organizations, whose representatives have argued that the time-limit imposed by the City Police amounts to violation of democratic rights.

“Our Constitution gives us the right to peaceful assembly, then how can somebody place a restriction on that”, questioned R Manohar, Head of programmes, South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM).

Geetha Menon, Secretary of Stree Jagruthi Samithi, a women’s organization, said voluntary groups like theirs hold protests and rallies to highlight certain issues affecting the society. “We do not organize rallies because we have too much time on our hands”, she said.

“A lot of planning goes into organizing a rally and it is simply impossible to conclude a demonstration in ten minutes. It will take more than ten minutes just for people to assembly at the spot”, she said.
However, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) K Srinivas said though people have a right to protest, there is no constitutional right to obstruct traffic to hold protests.

Karnataka to revive three-year course in medicine

2008-08-20T16:50:00.001+05:30

With a view to providing medical care to people living in rural areas of the State, the Government of Karnataka is planning to offer a three-year diploma course in medicine on the lines of the Licensed Medical Practitioner (LMP) course that was scrapped decades ago.

Speaking after inaugurating a healthcare programme for school children in Bangalore on Monday, Karnataka’s Medical Education Minister Ramachandra Gowda said the proposal to introduce the course would be placed before the Cabinet soon.

Students, who have passed their Class 10, can enroll themselves for the three-year medical diploma course, which will be on the lines of the LMP.

Gowda said healthcare in rural areas was suffering due to non-availability of medical professionals in sufficient numbers. With doctors reluctant to work in rural areas, healthcare has become concentrated in urban areas, he said.

“There is a strong pro-urban bias in access to medical care”, he said and pointed out that 76 per cent of medical professionals serve the 20 per cent of the population living in urban areas. The remaining 24 per cent doctors take care of the 80 per cent of people in rural areas, he said.

Out of the estimated 45,000 doctors in Karnataka, as many as 38,000 are practicing in the private sectors and barely 7,000 doctors are working in Government hospitals and primary health centers, he said.

The products of the diploma course in medicine will be deployed in rural areas to attend to the healthcare requirements of the people living there, he said.

One more JD (S) MLA resigns in Karnataka, to join BJP

2008-08-19T15:57:00.000+05:30

The JD (S) in Karnataka suffered another setback yesterday when former Minister and party MLA Umesh Katti tendered his resignation to the Legislative Assembly.
Katti, who is also the senior Vice President of party’s state unit, declared that he would be joining the BJP shortly.
The resignation of Katti comes close on the heels of resignation of three JD (S) and three Congress MLAs, who have since joined the BJP.
After announcing his resignation from the Legislative Assembly, Katti, who represented Hukkeri assembly constituency in Belgaum district, said he would contest the by-polls as a BJP candidate.
Speaking to reporters, Katti lashed out at the JD (S) leadership for ignoring its legislators from North Karnataka and the inconsistency in its political stand on various issues.
He recalled that the party leadership decided to align with the Congress during the recent elections to the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council, but voted against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) during the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha last month.
“Though I am the senior Vice President of the party’s state unit, the party leadership never consulted me on any issues. My supporters felt that the party leadership was neglecting its representatives from north Karnataka”, he said.
In contrast, Katti said, BJP was responding to the aspirations of people of north Karnataka and taking all the sections of the society together. “I will be joining the BJP at a function to be held in the presence of the party’s national leaders shortly”, he said.
Though he claimed that his entry into the BJP was unconditional, former Chief Minister and JD (S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said Katti was joining the saffron party for “selfish and narrow gains”.
Kumaraswamy declared that Katti’s exit from the JD (S) would not pose any threat to the JD (S).
The strength of JD (S) in the Assembly, which was 28 when the results were announced during May this year, has come down to 24 now. Katti is among the four party MLAs to have resigned from the JD (S) during the last one month.Three Congress MLAs too have resigned their seats in the Assembly and joined the BJP.

Rains claim eight lives in Karnataka

2008-08-13T10:14:00.002+05:30

Atleast eight persons were killed as heavy rains continued to lash various parts of Karnataka for the fourth day on Wednesday.

Government officials said three persons were washed away in Malathi river near Theerthahalli in Shimoga district while five others were killed when their houses collapsed in Bidar, Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of the state.

Even as the authorities were busy evacuating people residing in low-lying villages in many parts of north Karnataka fearing their flooding by the rivers, which were flowing in spate, the release of more than 220,000 cusecs of water from Koyna reservoir in Maharashtra caused alarm among the officials in downstream Belgaum.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa directed officials to gear up for flood relief operations and open sufficient gruel centers in the flood-affection regions of the state particularly Belgaum district, which has been put in a state of high alert.

The Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) have been alerted and told to be ready in case of emergencies to evacuate people from marooned villages.

Most of the rivers in the state had swollen on account of the heavy rains lashing various parts of the state during the last four days. River Krishna was flowing above the danger mark in Belgaum, Bagalkot and Bijapur after release of excess water from Koyna reservoir.

The swollen rivers had flooded vast tracts of agricultural fields and villages in many parts of the state. The Shimoga district administration had to evacuate more than 100 families from the villages of Imambada and Seeghatti, which had been inundated due to water from river Tunga.

The dams built across most rivers in the state were nearing their full reservoir level due to copious inflow arising out of heavy rains in the catchment areas. Irrigation Department authorities have alerted people residing in low-lying areas downstream of Linganamakki, Narayanapura, Alamatti and KRS reservoirs in the state to move to safer places with their livestock.

Irrigation department authorities said they will have to open the crest gates of the reservoirs if the water level nears the brim.

Meanwhile, the railway authorities have cancelled the Bangalore-Mangalore train until further notice on account of a landslide taking place along the route.
The train service on the route will resumed after the debris that had fallen on the railway track is cleared.

India’s largest solar telescope to be ready by 2013

2008-08-13T10:14:00.001+05:30

The country’s largest solar telescope being developed by Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore will begin providing high- resolution images of the solar surface to aid research activities by 2013.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics’ Founders’ Day Lecture in Bangalore, Institute Director S Siraj Hasan said the solar telescope, which will be remotely controlled, would be having an aperture of 2 metres in diameter.

A team of 30 to 40 scientists is working on the development of the telescope worth Rs 1.5 billion that is expected to be ready by 2013. The Institute is collaborating with Inter University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune and Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences in Nainital to develop the telescope, he said.

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics is also in the process of identifying a suitable location to station the telescope. “It will be either at Leh or Hanle, both in Ladakh, or in Devasthal near Nainital”, he said.

The telescope will be located in a place, where the air is thin, far away from city lights and pollutants, Professor of Indian Institute of Astrophysics R C Kapoor said. “Ideally, it would have to be in a place that is 13,000 to 14,000 feet above sea level”, he said.

With a two-metre diameter aperture, the solar telescope being developed by India will be the largest in its class in the world. The US is also planning the development of a four-meter solar telescope that is expected to become functional by 2016.

Royal families of India to be invited for Mysore Dasara

2008-08-10T12:31:00.002+05:30

With a view to making the annual Dasara festival in Mysore a grand spectacle of the bygone era, the Karnataka Government is planning to roll out a red carpet welcome for the members of royal families from all over the country.

The presence of members of princely families from different parts of India is expected to lend a royal touch to the Dasara festival, which will be celebrated with pomp and grandeur in Mysore during September this year.

Though the royal families from faraway princely states used to participate in the Dasara celebrations during the time of the erstwhile Maharajas of Mysore, the tradition of inviting them had been discontinued when the State Government began celebrating the festival after the end of monarchy.

“We will revive the practice of inviting scions of royal families from all over the country during this Dasara festival”, said Minister in charge of Mysore district Shobha Karandlaje after chairing a meeting of senior officials to chart out plans for the nine-day Dasara festival this year.

“We have sought a list of royal families from the Federal Government. There are around 350 royal families in India. Even if we are unable to accommodate members of all the royal families, a few select royals will be invited every year”, she said.

The Minister also observed that the “princesses” of the Wadiyar dynasty, the erstwhile royal family of Mysore, had been ignored during successive Dasara celebrations in Mysore.

“We have decided to extend a special invitation to the princesses of the royal family of Mysore to participate in the Dasara celebrations”, she said.
Shobha Karandlaje also said that the State Government was committed to restore the old glory of Dasara celebrations and the aesthetic charm associated with the Dasara events this year. “Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has sanctioned an additional Rs 100 million to celebrate Dasara in grand style this year”, she said.

New Chief Justice withdraws pending charges against judicial officers

2008-08-10T12:31:00.001+05:30

Nearly 250 judicial officers in various courts of Karnataka, who were facing disciplinary proceedings, have reason to heave a sigh of relief.

For, the newly appointed Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Paul Daniel Premkumar has ordered the withdrawal of charges against them.

Justice Premkumar said the withdrawal of charges against the judicial officers was his first decision taken as the new Chief Justice of Karnataka.

Announcing his decision at a function organized to felicitate him by the State Bar Council in Bangalore, Justice Premkumar said the decision had been taken after consulting all the judges. He said the decision will benefit the courts as well as the judicial officials.

“The decision to withdraw the disciplinary proceedings does not mean this is a soft step taken against the wrongdoers. It need not send a wrong signal”, he said.

Several of the judicial officers facing disciplinary proceedings continue to receive 50 per cent of their salaries even if they are not allowed to work in their official positions. The work in many courts across the state remained affected due to the absence of the officials. Besides, no prima facie case evidence had been found against a majority of the officials facing charges.

Coal scarcity threatens to blackout Karnataka

2008-08-09T16:55:00.000+05:30

A severe scarcity of coal that has arisen in Karnataka is threatening to plunge the state into long hours of blackout.

With the coal reserve in the state plummeting to an abysmal 76,000 tonnes, which is barely enough for generating power for the next four days, officials have appealed to the people of the state to brace themselves for long hours of power cut.

The state, which is already hit by poor output from the hydro-electric stations on account of inadequate rainfall, is making desperate efforts to import coal from foreign countries like Indonesia.

“If we don’t receive good rains continuously for the next 30 days, it is virtually doomsday”, Managing Director of Karnataka Power Corporation S M Jaamdar told reporters in Bangalore.

To tide over the crisis, the authorities have reintroduced load-shedding in urban as well as rural areas. To begin with, there will be a power shutdown for two hours every day in Bangalore and for as long as 13 hours in rural areas. “The entire state will be in darkness for long hours if the situation does not improve in the coming days. Power supply will be restricted to just six hours a day due to the dual problem”, he said.

Though Karnataka normally has a coal stock of 300,000 tonnes, the scarcity of coal in the country has hit the state hard. “Our only hope is the expected shipment from Indonesia. We are expecting the coal consignment to reach Raichur Thermal Power Plant by August 22”, he said.

Karnataka had placed an order for 1.2 million tonnes of coal from Indonesia at an “exorbitant” rate of Rs 7,899 per tonne, Jaamdar said.

Federal Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh is visiting the state on account of the grim power situation. “The shortage of coal is not restricted to Karnataka alone. It is a national problem”, he said.

Coal-based thermal power generating stations account for as much as 37 per cent of electricity produced in Karnataka. “A third of Karnataka’s power requirements is met by thermal power generating stations”, he said.

The scarcity of coal has come at a time when the output of power from hydro-electric stations had declined drastically on account of the poor storage levels in its reservoirs.

27-year-old chomps 25 lemons in five minutes

2008-08-09T16:54:00.000+05:30

A 27-year-old man from Gulbarga district in Karnataka chomped 25 lemons in five minutes and fifty seconds in an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

Purushotham, a resident of Kembavi village in Gulbarga district, began gobbling the lemons from a bowl, one after the other, in front of lensmen and reporters at the Press Club of Bangalore on Thursday.

In five minutes and fifty seconds, Purushotham had all of them tucked in his tummy.

“I wanted to create a record and enter the Guinness Book. I have been practicing this act for the last two years”, Purshotham told reporters.

Karnataka techie languishing in US prison since the last nine months

2008-08-06T10:09:00.001+05:30

Little did 28-year-old Naveen Ningappa, a software engineer from Chitradurga in Karnataka posted in the US on a project work, realize that he was walking into a trap in an undercover sting operation by California based County detectives when he began chatting with a girl on Internet nine months ago.

After he reportedly continued to chat with her even though she told him that she was a 12-year-old girl and went to meet her a week later in Norristown during the last week of October 2007, he was arrested by the cops and booked under multiple charges ranging from attempting unlawful communication with a minor to rape and indecent assault.

Notwithstanding Naveen’s claims that he has been framed on charges of raping the girl he had never seen, the hapless software engineer has been locked up in Montgomery County Prison, Pennsylvania, US since then. The bail amount, which was originally around $ 150,000 has risen to $ 500,000 during the course of the trial.

Unable to fork out the huge bail amount, Naveen faces an uncertain future in an alien land.

Naveen’s plight came to light only now after his aghast family members revealed to the media the contents of the letters sent by arrested software engineer’s nightmarish experience.

“Though she insisted on meeting me, I repeatedly deferred it saying I was busy at work. However, she continued to pester me and talk in an intimate way. Later, I decided to meet and help her as she was a 12-year-old girl. But, only after the arrest I came to know that she is a cop. Though I have not seen the girl, they have charged me with rape, sexual assault and many other charges”, Naveen said in the letter.

The Reporter, a California-based newspaper, had written that the arrest of Naveen was part of a sting operation by local detectives, who conduct undercover sting operations to capture people allegedly patrolling the Internet to meet children.

Naveen’s parents, who reside in Chitradurga, and his elder brother Sridhar, who is pursuing his M Tech in Bangalore, are traumatized over Naveen’s experience.

Sridhar, who first learnt about his Naveen’s plight, tried to secure his release by approaching the company in Chennai, where his brother had been employed. He also met the then Federal Minister M V Rajashekaran so that the Government of India could intervene in the matter.

“When all the efforts failed, I revealed the matter to my parents, who were too shocked to learn about the travails of their son in a far off land. They have spent several sleepless nights after that”, Sridhar said.
Naveen’s family members, who have now approached the media with the letter sent by Naveen, are planning to meet Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa so that the Government of India intervenes in the matter and secures the release of their son.

Bus mows down camel in Bangalore

2008-08-06T10:08:00.000+05:30

A bus belonging to the state owned transport corporation mowed down a one-humped Arabian camel when it was crossing the road in Bangalore on Monday.

The camel, which died on the spot, had been brought to the City to give joy rides to people.

Police said the camel and its keepers were trying to cross the Old Madras Road in Bangalore when the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus hit the animal on the head and hump.

A case has been booked against the driver of the BMTC bus and the animal’s carcass was handed over to its keepers after an autopsy.

Meanwhile, animal rights activists in Bangalore have urged the Government to disallow large animals like elephants and camels from walking on the City roads. “Camels and elephants should be banned from entering the City”, said trustee of Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) Suparna Ganguly.

“For camels, it is like being in an alien country. The city climate does not suit these ships of the desert”, he said.

Congress joins hands with JD (S) to clinch Council Chairman’s post

2008-08-05T10:17:00.002+05:30

The Congress and JD (S) have come together again in Karnataka to put it across the ruling BJP in the elections to the post of Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Legislative Council scheduled for Tuesday.

At a meeting convened by JD (S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in Bangalore on Monday, a decision was taken to extend support to Congress party’s nominee Veeranna Mathikatti for the post of Chairman of Legislative Council.

Earlier, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting presided over by Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly M Mallikarjun Kharge decided to field Mathikatti, a member of the Legislative Council, for the coveted post of Chairman of the Upper House of the State Legislature.

The Congress has decided against fielding any candidate for the post of Deputy Chairman and left the same for its ally JD (S). The JD (S) is expected to field retired police officer and MLC Abdul Azeem for the post of Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council.

The BJP has fielded its party MLC Shashil G Namoshi for the post of Chairman of Legislative Council during Tuesday’s election.

The 75-member Karnataka Legislative Council has 29 Congress members, 23 BJP members and 12 JD (S) members. While five seats remain vacant, JD (U) and independents make up the rest.

Though the ruling BJP is in a minority in the Legislative Council, party leaders are pinning their hopes on cross-voting and abstention during the elections.
The BJP leaders are claiming that they had managed to woo a couple of JD (S) and Congress members besides a few independents ahead of the crucial polling on Tuesday

NRI Varsity to come up in Bangalore

2008-08-05T10:17:00.001+05:30

The country’s first University to provide higher and professional education to children of Non Resident Indians (NRI) is expected to come up in Bangalore shortly.

According to information reaching here, Federal Minister for Overseas Indians Vayalar Ravi made an announcement to the effect in New Delhi.

Though the name of the privately-run University is yet to be finalized, Ravi said the University, which will reserve 50 per cent of its seats to NRIs and People of Indian Origin (PIO), would start admissions from the next academic year 2009-10.

He said the Federal Ministry for Overseas Indians received a total of 16 applications in response to Expression of Interest invited in 2007. The Screening Committee, which had representatives from seven Ministries, had short-listed three.

“Though we wanted to allow all the three applicants to start Universities for NRIs and PIOs, we could legally grant permission only to one in view of a court case”, Ravi said.

Now, the Karnataka-based Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) will set up the University for NRIs, which will have deemed status, but would be governed by the guidelines of University Grants Commission (UGC).

MAHE will have complete autonomy to decide the courses, fee structure and administrative set up. “The Ministry will only supervise and ensure that the regulations are followed”, he said.

Wannabe engineers come up with car that gives 180 kms per litre

2008-08-04T11:34:00.002+05:30

A group of wannabe engineers in Bangalore have come up with a fuel-efficient car capable of giving an impressive mileage of 180 kilometres per litre.

Eight students of RV College of Engineering in Bangalore, who had been working on the design of the fuel-efficient car for the last two and a half years, proudly displayed their innovation at a function in Bangalore on Saturday.

The car named “Garuda”, powered by a Honda GK 100 engine, was tested for fuel efficiency on the newly build Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) road on the outskirts of Bangalore.

“During the last three days of tests, the car demonstrated a mileage of 180 kilometres per litre”, said Nishant Sarawgi, leader of the project Garuda. But, the engineering college students do not want to rest on their laurels. “We intend to increase the mileage further. Our target is to achieve a mileage of 500 kilometres per litre”, said Sarawgi.

However, the team is not just focusing on mileage. “We wanted to build a light weight car. Hence, innovations were introduced from time to time. We changed the engine, tyres, chassis and body. We kept making constant improvements to the design of the car to make it more aerodynamic”, he said.

International car designer Dilip Chabbria unveiled the prototype of the car, which is also expected to participate in the super mileage competitions, which are held annually in United States and United Kingdom. “We will make more improvements in the car by the time we participate in international events like SAE Supermileage and Shell Eco-Marathons”, Sarawgi said.

Telgi wants home-made food and phone facility in jail

2008-08-04T11:34:00.001+05:30

The alleged kingpin in the multi-billion rupee fake stamp paper scam Abdul Karim Telgi has filed an application before the Special Court seeking home-made food and phone facility at the Bangalore Central Jail, where he is lodged.

Telgi, who was brought to Bangalore from Yerawada jail in Pune about two months ago, said he was undergoing treatment for HIV, besides diabetes and blood pressure. “The doctors have advised him to take home-made food. Hence, I have filed an application seeking permission for the same under Section 30 of Karnataka Prisoners’ Act”, Telgi’s counsel M T Nanaiah told reporters.

“The jail authorities are not allowing him to take home-cooked food. His health is deteriorating because of this. Though there is a provision for providing home-made food to prisoners, the jail authorities are denying the same to him for security reasons”, Nanaiah said.

Telgi has also asked the Special Court permission for telephone facility in the jail so that he could speak to his counsel and relatives. “The Central jail located at Parappana Agrahara is about 25 kms away from the City. The counsel has to travel this long distance for any information regarding the case. It is very inconvenient. Hence, allow me access to telephone in the jail premises”, Telgi said in the application.

But, the jail authorities are believed to be strongly against providing telephone facility to Telgi in the jail as the service had been misused by several undertrials and convicts to carry out their nefarious activities from the jail premises.

Karnataka’s spendthrift Ministers come under fire in Legislature

2008-08-03T10:29:00.001+05:30

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and several of Ministers came under fire from the Opposition in the State Legislature for reportedly squandering public money by lavishly renovating their official residences and carrying out alterations in the buildings to comply with Vastu prescription.

After Government gave written reply to a question from Congress member Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli in the Legislative Assembly on the cost incurred by the Government for renovation of the recently allotted Ministerial bungalows, JD (S) Floor leader in the Legislative Council M C Nanaiah sought to move a private member’s bill to prevent the alterations of the bungalows on the grounds of Vastu.

Tabling the bill, which seeks to amend the Karnataka Ministers Salaries, Pensions Allowances and Other Law Bill 2008, Nanaiah said it was “ridiculous” to spend such huge sums of public money to meet the requirements of Vastu.

According to information provided by the Government, the Chief Minister himself had spent Rs 1.13 million, while Revenue Minister Karunakar Reddy and Social Welfare Minister D Sudhakar had spent Rs 1.65 million and Rs 1.4 million respectively. Women and Child Development Minister P M Narendraswamy had spent Rs 1.2 lakh for the purpose.

A host of other Ministers including Small Scale Minister P Venkataramanappa, Religious Endowment Minister Krishnaiah Shetty, Transport Minister R Ashok and Public Works Minister C M Udasi too had spent amounts varying from Rs 700,000 to Rs 1 million towards either renovating their ministerial bungalows or altering them to suit Vastu.

Nanaiah sought to know from the Government how it could justify the expenditure of such large sums of money from the public exchequer. “Whose money do you think you are spending ?”, he said. “The public has already lost faith in legislators. If we continue to indulge in such foolish acts, the day is not far off when we will be termed as mad and incompetent fellows”, Nanaiah remarked.
The Bill sought to be moved by Nanaiah also seeks to prevent performing of pooja and other religious rituals in Government offices by Ministers as India is a secular state.

Security agency car driver flees with client’s Rs 5.4 million

2008-08-03T10:28:00.000+05:30

A private security agency in Bangalore, which offers escort services to business establishments for safe transport of huge sums of money, was left high and dry on Friday after its cab driver fled with a cash of Rs 5.4 million in true filmy style.

The security agency’s personnel had collected Rs 5.4 million from a finance company on Airport Road in Bangalore and were proceeding to a bank on M G Road in a car engaged by a travel firm when the incident took place.

Enroute to the bank, the security agency’s cash officers Lakshman Reddy and Sesha Reddy decided to collect another Rs 1.1 million from a business house in Indiranagar. When the car reached the destination in Indiranagar, the cash officers left the Rs 5.4 million already collected in the box, kept inside the car, and asked the armed escort Eerappa to stay back in the vehicle.

When the cash officers went inside the business house to collect the money, the car driver Narayana said he would park the car till they returned and asked escort to get down from the vehicle and help him park the car.

Eerappa got down from the car, leaving his rifle behind, and was directing the driver towards a parking space. But, the driver sensed the opportunity and fled away from the scene.

A shocked Eerappa could do little, but shout for help even as the driver sped away. Eerappa rushed to the cash officers, who were still collecting the money, and informed them about the matter.

The cash officers alerted the police, which immediately flashed a look-out notice for the car. After half an hour of search, the police found the car abandoned in a nearby lane in Indiranagar. But, the cash and the driver were missing. However, the rifle had been left behind.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the absconding car driver Narayana, a resident of K R Puram in the City, already had two theft cases registered against him in Bangalore.

The security agency - A P Securitas Private Limited – is incidentally owned by the relative of a retired Director General of Police. The management of the security agency is regretting that they engaged a car from a travel firm that had hired a driver without verifying his antecedents.

Bangalore Race Course to shifted to City’s outskirts

2008-08-02T15:02:00.001+05:30

The 150-year-old Bangalore Race Course, located in the heart of the City, has been given a seventeen-month deadline to shift to a new location on the outskirts of the City.

Participating in the discussions in the on-going Budget session of the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said the Government’s lease agreement with Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) that runs the Race Course expires on December 31, 2009. “The Government will not renew the agreement. By that time, the Race Course has to shift”, the Chief Minister said in categorical terms.

Yeddyurappa said that it had become inevitable for the Government to shift the Race Course from its present location as it was causing traffic congestion. Situated close to the bus stand, railway station and the Vidhana Soudha, the Bangalore Race Course, which attracts the glitterati from not only Bangalore but from other parts of India and abroad during racing season, occupies almost 70 acres of prime land.

Yeddyurappa was critical of the public works department for allowing races to be held year after year without signing any contract with the Bangalore Turf Club for the last 19 years. “Only after I took a firm stand recently that an agreement was signed. The agreement will come to an end on December 31, 2009. Come what may, the Bangalore Race Course will have to shift by then”, he said.

However, the management of Bangalore Turf Club management is hoping to delay the inevitable.

Bangalore Turf Club Chairman Jayant Shah told reporters that it was important for the Race Course to be situated in the City. “Today, the Bangalore Race Course is an international tourist attraction because of its strategic location. If too far away, it will defeat the purpose of a race course”, he said.

Though the Government had allotted land for the Race Course inYelahanka on the outskirts of the City, Shah said it takes a minimum of five to six years to set up a race course. “The track takes that long to settle”, he said.
“We have no qualms about moving to Yelahanka, but not that fast. The race course cannot stop functioning till the new one is ready”, he said.

Kuselan released in Karnataka after Rajnikant’s apology

2008-08-02T15:01:00.000+05:30

Tamil actor Rajnikant’s latest film Kuselan was released across theatres in Bangalore after the matinee idol apologized to the people of Karnataka for hurting their sentiments.

However, high drama preceded the much-awaited release of the film with pro-Kannada groups staging a demonstration in front of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce on Thursday and refusing to allow the screening of the movie till Rajnikant apologizes for the “anti-Kannadiga” remarks he reportedly made during the Hogenakkal dispute that had arisen between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu a few months ago.

But, the pro-Kannada groups withdrew their protest after Rajnikant’s televised apology was shown on Kannada news channels on Thursday evening. “By expressing his regret, Rajnikant has showed his greatness. We no longer oppose the release”, said Narayana Gowda, President of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, which has been in the vanguard of the protests against the screening of Kuselan in the state.

The pro-Kannada groups had been nursing a strong grudge against Rajnikant for giving a call to “kick” the Kannada activists opposing the Hogenakkal drinking water project. Rajnikant had made these remarks during a day-long demonstration over Hogenakkal issue held in Chennai during the first week of April this year.

After pro-Kannada groups adopted an aggressive stand and refused to allow the release of his film, Rajnikant, in an interview to television channels, admitted that he had committed a mistake. “I will think ten times before speaking at any function. It was a big mistake. I will be careful while speaking in future and see that I don’t hurt anybody”, Rajnikant said.

Soon after the interview was telecast, the Kannada activists, who had gathered in front of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce office in Bangalore burning effigies of Rajnikant and shouting slogans against him, announced the withdrawal of their protest against the release of Kuselan.

The film was released across 14 theatres in Bangalore on Friday to packed houses amidst tight security.

The release of the film as scheduled brought smiles on the large number of Tamils residing in Bangalore and different parts of Karnataka. A day ahead of the film’s scheduled release on Friday, special shows had been organized for Rajnikant’s fans in two different theatres in Bangalore on Thursday.

Additional Commissioner of Police, Bangalore, M R Pujar said the City police had made elaborate security arrangements for the release of the Tamil film in Bangalore.

Heavy rains lash Karnataka, power situation eased

2008-07-30T15:11:00.002+05:30

Heavy rainfall lashing several parts of Karnataka during the last three days have helped ease the grim power situation with the hydel power generating reservoirs reporting a marked increase in inflow.

The electricity-starved residents of the state have heaved a sigh of relief after the authorities withdrew load-shedding imposed to overcome the power shortage.

Principal Secretary to the Department of Energy K Jairaj said the authorities had not resorted to any load-shedding since Sunday due to the improvement in power situation in the state. “The Cabinet Sub Committee on power will review the situation and take a formal decision on withdrawal of load-shedding”, Jairaj said.

The water level in major reservoirs across the state improved steadily after the catchment areas of different rivers good rainfall. Heavy rains were reported in coastal and malnad areas of the state forcing the authorities to declare two days holiday for schools and educational institutions in Kodagu, the catchment area for river Cauvery.

The water level in Linganamakki, Sharavathi and Gerusoppe reservoir, whose hydel power generating stations account for a third of the state’s power supply, have reported a good inflow. The water level at Linganamakki reservoir went up by almost six feet thanks to an inflow almost 60,000 cusecs being recorded during the last two days.

Karnataka State Power Corporation Limited’s Managing Director S M Jamaadar told reporters that the demand for power too has witnessed a sharp fall from around 110-115 million units per day to about 75 million units per day.

“If the rains continue for the next two to three weeks, the power situation in the state will remain normal for the next ten months”, he said.

It may be mentioned here that Karnataka was passing through a grim power situation on account of the failure of monsoon.
However, the heavy rainfall also threatens to damage the standing crop in many districts like Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Hassan, Chikmagalur and Shimoga. With the rains inundating vast tracts of land due to the heavy rains, Additional Director of Crop Development and Planning K V Sarvesh said the farmers may be badly hit. “We will get the details of the crop loss in the next one or two days”, he said.

BJP’s Muslim Minister heckled over leasing Wakf land for serving liquor

2008-07-30T15:11:00.001+05:30

Congress legislators heckled the lone Muslim Minister in Karnataka’s BJP Government Mumtaz Ali Khan over the issue of leasing out Wakf property to a luxury hotel that allowed sale and consumption of liquor in its premises.

During the proceedings of the legislative council on Monday, Khan was responding to uncomfortable question from a Congress legislator on the irregularities pertaining to Wakf property in Bangalore when the issue of leasing out the Wakf building to a five star hotel came up for discussion.

Congress MLC V S Ugrappa sought to know from the Minister the propriety of leasing out Wakf building for a five star hotel that allowed sale and consumption of liquor. “How can the Government allow Wakf land to be leased to a star hotel when the tenets of Islam do not allow serving or consumption of liquor?”, Ugrappa sought to know.

Khan, who found the questions ticklish, urged the Congress members not to put him in a dilemma over the issue of Wakf property. “From Islam’s point of view, it is wrong to lease out Wakf property for sale and consumption of liquor. But, from a legal point of view, the Wakf Board has the right to lease out the property. I cannot go into the details as the issue is delicate”, Khan said.
Earlier, Khan, however, regretted that Wakf property in the heart of Bangalore had been leased to the luxury hotel a couple of years ago for a 99 years lease at a monthly rent of Rs 600,000. Pointing out that Wakf building could easily command a monthly rent of Rs 3.5 million, Khan said he personally favoured exploring legal possibilities for scrapping the agreement.

Tackling terrorism: Karnataka to issue identity cards to citizens

2008-07-29T16:02:00.002+05:30

The BJP Government in Karnataka is planning to issue identity cards to all its citizens in towns and cities across the state in an effort to tackle terrorism.

Responding to criticism from the Opposition over the BJP Government’s alleged failure to prevent the serial blasts that rocked Bangalore on Friday claiming one life and injuring six others, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said the State Government was seriously considering a proposal to issue identity cards to all the citizens residing in towns and cities across the state.

He said the State Government would also set up an Anti-Terrorist Squad, which will be given special anti-terrorist training. “Sufficient funds will be provided to strengthen and modernize the Squad’s capabilities to fight terror. The squad’s personnel will be given advanced weaponry”, he said.

Yeddyurappa said the Government would be installing surveillance cameras in sensitive locations across the state that will help the security agencies remain alert and identify suspicious activities.

The Chief Minister, who said the Government would be making collection data on tenants and new entrants to the cities and towns mandatory, warned that people giving shelter to terrorists will be dealt with sternly.

An awareness campaign will be carried out across the state, Yeddyurappa said before warning people against giving residential premises on rent to unknown people.

Seeking to assure the people of the state that the investigations into the blasts in Bangalore were “on track”, Yeddyurappa appealed to the people, including the ones in the Information Technology (IT) sector, not to panic or harbour any apprehensions over their safety.

Yeddyurappa also sought to refute the Federal Government’s claim that Karnataka Government had been alerted about the blasts. “There was no specific central intelligence the blasts. There were only routine advisories after the bombings in Jaipur during May”, the Chief Minister said.

Yeddyurappa also said that he was planning to shortly leave for New Delhi to bring pressure on the Federal Government to revive the anti-terrorist legislation Prevention of Terrorist Activities (POTA) and appealed to the Opposition leader to join him.
Meanwhile, Home Minister V S Acharya informed the Legislative Assembly that state police and intelligence wing were constantly exchanging information. “All the bomb blasts that took place in Bangalore on Friday were on footpaths and it is clear that the terrorists had brought them in vehicles”, Acharya said.

Explosion at Channapatna town before Bangalore blasts

2008-07-29T16:02:00.001+05:30

The probe into Friday’s serial blasts in Bangalore has taken a curious turn with the police confirming an explosion had taken place at Channapatna, about 60 kms from the City, a day earlier on Thursday.

The blast took place on a pavement in front of a handicraft emporium in Channapatna on Thursday, but the local police had dismissed the matter of little consequence as no damage had been caused from the explosion. However, as a matter of routine, the local police had visited the spot and recovered a trunk containing about 8 kgs of explosive material.

The Channapatna police had neither bothered to inform the senior officials nor conduct an investigation into the blast.

After receiving information about the blast at Channapatna a day after Bangalore blasts, Director General of Karnataka Police R Srikumar visited the site to take stock of the situation.

Along with bomb experts, Srikumar inspected the trunk recovered from the blast site at Channapatna kept at the local police station and said the explosive material included nuts and bolts besides ammonium nitrate and detonators, which had also been used in Bangalore blasts.

“In both the cases, ammonium nitrate based explosives had been used. Even the detonators used in both the incidents are similiar and it appears that both the explosives have some similiarities”, he said.

A team of forensic experts from National Security Guard (NSG) visited Channapatna on Monday to collect the remnants from the blast site.

Srikumar also said that the bomb in Channapatna did not go off fully. “If the entire box had exploded, it would have been dangerous”, he said. The local police assumed the blasts to have been triggered by gelatin sticks normally used in quarry activities in the surrounding areas, he said.

Police inquiries have revealed that the trunk was unloaded by a group of unidentified people in a four-wheeler, who later proceeded towards Bangalore.
The police do not rule out the possibility of the Channapatna blast as a dry run ahead of the serial blasts in Bangalore the next day. “We are investigating all angles as explosive material prima facie appears to be similiar to the one used in Bangalore blasts”, Inspector General of Police Kamal Pant said.

Karnataka Government award for bomb squad member

2008-07-28T16:27:00.001+05:30

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has announced an award for member of the state bomb disposal squad, who successfully defused a live bomb found near a shopping mall in Koramangala on Saturday.

Yeddyurappa said the State Government would give an award of Rs 100,000 to Sukumaran, the member of the state bomb disposal squad, who had risked his own life and skillfully deactivated an unexploded bomb concealed in a bucket-shaped object in Koramangala.

The successful deactivation of the unexploded bomb by Sukumaran led to a sigh of relief among a large number of curious on-lookers including a posse of personnel led by Bangalore City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidri.

However, it was also the presence of mind of a roadside tea stall vendor Rajamani, who had alerted the traffic policemen on duty that there was a bomb-like object near his shop.

Rajamani also claimed he had seen a youth in his mid-twenties, wearing a red T shirt, placing the suspicious looking bucket-like object on the pavement before taking to his heels and melting away in the adjoining by-lanes.

When the traffic policemen came and inspected the object, the sprouting of a few wires confirmed their suspicion. Immediately, they alerted the senior officials and soon khaki-clad police personnel swarmed the area and cleared off the people.

Sukumaran and his colleagues from the bomb disposal squad too had reached the venue. Without losing much time, Sukumaran, who was fully equipped with anti-explosive apparel, crawled towards the bomb that had been camouflaged as an abandoned bucket. Seconds later, he turned around and gestured with a thumbs up signal to indicate that the bomb had been deactivated, much to the relief of the on-lookers.

Shankar Bidri, who watched the entire proceedings, later confirmed to reporters that the bomb comprised a microchip, detonator, chemicals, electrical timer and oil packed and sealed in a bucket-shaped cement pot.

Live bomb found near Bangalore mall, defused by squad

2008-07-27T15:42:00.002+05:30

Less than 24 hours after a series of explosions rattled Bangalore, an unexploded bomb was found planted near a prominent shopping mall in upmarket Koramangala area of the City on Saturday.

Soon after locals alerted the police, the bomb disposal squad rushed to the spot and managed to defuse the live bomb.

Commissioner of Bangalore City Police Shankar Bidri told reporters that locals had seen a youth wearing a red shirt placing the bomb on the pavement near Forum Shopping Mall in Koramangala around 10.30 am. “He kept the bucket-shaped bomb on the pavement, covered it with a tarpaulin and ran away”, Bidri said.

Soon after receiving information about the suspicious-looking bucket-shaped object near the shopping mall, the bomb disposal squad reached the spot even as the police cordoned off the area and blocked the roads leading to the shopping mall.

Minutes later, the bomb disposal squad managed to successfully defuse the bomb. The unexploded bomb contained a micro-chip, detonators and explosives with oil.

The police, which has launched an elaborate search to trace the culprits, will soon come out with the sketch of the youth, who appeared to be aged around 20-22 years, based on the description provided by eyewitnesses.

Bidri said the unexploded bomb recovered and defused yesterday was similar to the series of bombs that went off on Friday. The unexploded bomb was taken away by the security agencies and is expected to part of the investigation carried out by forensic experts into the serial blasts.

Meanwhile, forensic experts from the National Security Guards (NSG) arrived in Bangalore yesterday and visited the sites of Friday’s serial blasts. The team went around collecting evidence from all the sites to examine the nature of explosives used in the blasts.

However, Bidri told reporters that Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) had been used in the serial blasts, but with “low-intensity”. Preliminary investigation by police teams has revealed that ammonium nitrate, bolts and nuts and small cement chips had been packed into the devices.

The BJP Government in Karnataka has already constituted a special investigation team to uncover the plot.
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said he was expecting important leads into the blasts to emerge by Saturday evening. However, he refused to divulge much information on the pretext that the legislature session was underway. “It would be inappropriate on my part to make comments directly to the media before discussing the matter in the legislature session when it is going on”, he said.

Home Minister V S Acharya said the police was investigating into all possible angles to uncover the blasts. “We are investigating all possible angles and who could be involved in the blasts. We do not want to comment so early”, he said.

Low intensity blasts rock Bangalore

2008-07-27T15:40:00.000+05:30

A series of low-intensity blasts rocked Bangalore yesterday afternoon claiming the life of one woman and injuring at least seven others.

Commissioner of Bangalore City Police Shankar Bidri told reporters that a total of seven explosions triggered by crude devices fitted with timers had taken place at seven different locations in Bangalore in a span of 45 minutes starting from 1.20 pm.

Except for the blast that took place at near a bus stop at Madiwala in Bangalore South, where a woman Lakshmi was killed on the spot and three others were injured, the remaining explosions had caused minimum or no damage. Most of the explosive devices were dug up and buried under the ground, police said.

However, the police immediately despatched bomb detection and disposal squads to the sites of explosion. The police also cordoned off the areas, where the blasts had taken place, and diverted traffic, leading to snarls in various parts of the City.

As soon as the news about the blasts spread, panic gripped the residents of the City. Educational institutions, shopping malls and cinema halls were also closed down. Mobile telephone networks were also jammed.

The first blast was reported at the bus stop in Madiwala, where Lakshmi was waiting for a bus with her husband Ravi around 1.20 pm. While Lakshmi was killed on the spot, her husband Ravi and two others Chethan and Muniraju suffered injuries and were rushed to the hospital.

The second explosion took place 15 minutes later at Nayandahalli, where the explosive device was buried in a drainage, next to a petrol pump. The third blast was reported from Audogodi, where two persons Muniraju and Ambu were injured. The fourth blast took place Koramangala while the fifth one was reported in park on Vittal Mallya Road, where two persons were injured.

The last explosion occurred at Shivajinagar in the heart of Bangalore, close to Vidhana Soudha, around 2.35 pm.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa described the blasts as “acts of evil forces aimed at destroying peace in the society”. He appealed to the people to remain vigilant and report to the police suspicious movement of unidentified people in their respective areas.

He convened an emergency meeting of his cabinet later in the evening to take stock of the situation.

Bidri, who visited the sites of explosion located within a radius of 10 to 15 kilometres, said the explosives used were in the quantity of one or two grenades. He said the miscreants had planted the explosives to spread alarm in the society. “We will send the samples from the blast site for forensic examination await a report on the nature of explosives used”, he said.

He also appealed to the general public to remain calm and carry on with their business as usual. “The police are geared up to take care of the situation. We will get to the root of the matter and bring the culprits to book”, Bidri said.

Additional Commissioner of Bangalore City Police Gopal Hosur said no organization had, so far, claimed responsibility for the explosions.

Cloud seeding operations begin in Karnataka

2008-07-21T10:11:00.000+05:30

The much-awaited cloud seeding operations began in Karnataka on Saturday evening to induce rains in drought-hit districts of Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag.

The cloud seeding aircraft, which took off from Hubli airport on Saturday evening, managed to treat rain-bearing clouds hanging over Gadag district for about 30 minutes.

Soon after the cloud seeding aircraft took off from Hubli airport around 5.45 pm, the radar on the Agni Aviation aircraft pointed towards clouds over Gadag district. Minutes after the clouds were treated, the drizzle in parts of Gadag district turned into a downpour, bringing smiles of the faces of the farmers, who had been yearning for rains to save their crops.

The cloud seeding operation taken up by K H Patil Agricultural Science Centre is expected to continue till Monday and cover cloud systems over Dharwad district on Sunday evening and Haveri on Monday.

The cloud seeding operation, which is the first-ever private initiative, is expected to treat rain-bearing clouds hanging over the drought-hit areas of the three districts at a cost of around Rs 8 million and induce rainfall.

Congress leader H K Patil, who runs the K H Patil Agricultural Science Centre, said the Centre had undertaking a thorough study of the cloud system in the past few days and hoped the exercise will benefit the farmers of the region.

However, the cloud seeding operation ran into a major glitch before the start on Saturday after the district administration refused to give permission for the exercise. Though the aircraft from Agni Aviation had arrived on Friday itself, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) refused to allow the aircraft to take off from Hubli airport till the district administration gave the green signal.
H K Patil had to hold talks with Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad district Darpan Jain before the Government granted permission for the exercise with a rider that no damage should be caused to the environment.

Karnataka to set up power plant in Chattisgarh

2008-07-21T10:09:00.000+05:30

After striking a deal to purchase 100 MW of power from Chattisgarh, electricity-starved Karnataka is now moving towards establishing a 2,000 MW power plant in that state.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who held talks with his Chattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh in Bangalore, told reporters yesterday that the two states would be inking a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the regard on July 24.

Raman Singh, who is convalescing at a nature cure hospital on the outskirts of Bangalore, is understood to have responded positively to Karnataka’s initiative to set up a thermal power plant and suggested a 2,000-acre plot at Godhna in Chattisgarh for the purpose, thus marking a novel inter-state understanding in the area of power generation.

After the discussions between the two Chief Ministers, talks have begun at the official level with Karnataka Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao getting in touch with his counterpart in Chattisgarh.

The Electricity Board and Electricity Regulatory Commission of Chattisgarh too have come into the picture for discussions relating to the modalities for construction of the power plant and transfer of electricity generated from the proposed thermal power plant to Karnataka.

Karnataka, which is establishing a power plant outside the state for the first time, is expected to meet its increasing demand for power through this unique project, Yeddyurappa said.

The first phase of the project envisages generation of 1,000 MW of power in 40 months time. During the second phase, another 1,000 MW will be generated. The total cost of the project is expected to be around Rs 100 billion.

Yeddyurappa has thanked Raman Singh for responding positively to Karnataka’s request for assistance in setting up the thermal power station and hoped that the state would overcome the acute power scarcity it was suffering from.

The Karnataka Government’s proposal to set up a thermal plant in Chattisgarh comes close on the heels of Raman Singh’s promise to spare 100 MW of surplus power to Karnataka.
Though Karnataka had submitted a letter seeking 500 MW of power to tide over its immediate crisis, Raman Singh said his Government will be able to supply 100 MW straightaway from the next week. Singh has also promised to consider supply another 100 MW of power after studying the availability of electricity in his state.

Rare elephant pearl recovered from poachers

2008-07-20T14:28:00.001+05:30

The Bangalore police apprehended two poachers and recovered from them a rare elephant pearl along with a pair of tusks.

Acting on a tip-off, the Bangalore police arrested two youths on Seshadri Road in the City when they were trying to sell the elephant pearl popularly known as “Gajamuthu” and a pair of tusks that had been concealed in a bag.

The elephant pearl, which is in the shape and size of a hen’s egg, is expected to fetch a whopping amount in the international market, police officials said.

The ivory tusks seized from the poachers weighs around 10 kgs. “The notional value of the recovered items is estimated to be more than Rs 3 million”, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bangalore West, Shivakumar told reporters.

Investigations had revealed that the poachers Siddaraju, 23, and Shivakumar, 25, had purchased the tusks and the elephant pearl from a native of Hogenakkal situated on Karnataka’s border with Tamil Nadu.

Police officials said the slain forest bandit Veerappan also used to search for the elephant pearls whenever he used to poach elephants. The Gajamuthu was a rare finding and used to command a huge price in the international market.

Experts claimed that the elephant pearl is found within the cavity of tusks and is a rare bony growth.
Prof R Sukumar of Centre for Ecological Studies, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), described the elephant pearl as an “anomalous growth” taking place in the elephant’s tusk due to an injury or a reaction.

Chattisgarh promises power to Karnataka

2008-07-20T14:27:00.001+05:30

Chattisgarh has decided to spare 100 MW of electricity to Karnataka in a bid to help the state tide over the power crisis arising in the wake of failure of monsoon.

With the power situation in the state worsening with each passing day, Karnataka’s Power Minister K S Eshwarappa called on Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, who is undergoing naturopathy treatment at a private hospital on the outskirts of Bangalore on Friday and requested him to supply 500 MW of power.

Singh, who responded positively to Karnataka’s request, immediately called up his officials in Chattisgarh to verify the power situation in his State.

Although Chattisgarh was also facing a power shortage, Singh assured Karnataka that his state had about 100 MW of surplus power during some hours of the day and the same could be supplied to Karnataka.

Singh told reporters that he had instructed officials in Chattisgarh to make arrangements to supply 100 MW of power to Karnataka in the next two to three days.

Eshwarappa said the storage of water in the hydel reservoirs of the state will be barely enough to produce electricity for a maximum of 23 days in view of the scanty rainfall in the state. “Hence, we had to approach Chattisgargh to bail us out of the grim scenario”, he said.

The woefully inadequate availability of power in the State has also forced the Government to resort to scheduled load-shedding from July 21.

Eshwarappa told reporters that the Cabinet Sub Committee set up to monitor availability and supply of power would meet on Monday to decide the schedule for load-shedding across the entire state.

Eshwarappa said a delegation of Ministers from Karnataka would also travel to New Delhi shortly and meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Federal Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde to press for immediate allocation of 3,000 MW of power to the state from the Central Grid and help tide over the grim power scenario.
He took serious exception to the Federal Government’s decision to allocate 100 MW out of the 150 MW of unallocated share of Karnataka to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, knowing fully well that Karnataka was also reeling under acute power scarcity.

M P Shankar passes away

2008-07-19T15:44:00.001+05:30

Popular Kannada actor M P Shankar, who had carved a niche for himself as a villain in films, passed away in Mysore near here on Thursday evening after prolonged illness.

Shankar, who had acted in as many as 108 films since his debut in 1962, leaves behind his wife Manjula, son Tilak and daughter Shobha. During his 45-year-old career in films, Shankar had not only essayed roles of a villain opposite late matinee idol Rajkumar, but also produced around 15 films.

Shankar, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, had been discharged from a hospital only three days ago. As the news of his death spread like wildfire, hundreds of his fans, friends, relatives and well-wishers swarmed his house in Mysore on Thursday evening.

His last rites were performed amid state honours at the burial ground in Vidyaranyapuram in Mysore on Friday. Deputy Commissioner of Mysore Manivannan represented the Government on the occasion.
The mortal remains of Shankar were taken in an open vehicle from his residence to the burial ground with more than 60 cars and a hundred two wheelers participating in the actor’s last journey.

Prime Minister speaks to Gowda, seeks JD (S) support

2008-07-19T15:43:00.000+05:30

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telephoned former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Friday and sought the support of his party’s three members in the Lok Sabha during the trust vote scheduled for July 22.

“The Prime Minister spoke to me this morning. I will be meeting him in New Delhi tomorrow (Saturday)”, Gowda told reporters in Bangalore yesterday.

The Prime Minister’s telephone call to Gowda, who is also the national President of JD (S), comes in the midst of hectic efforts by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to cobble up the numbers required to pass the floor test in the wake of the Left parties decision to withdraw support over the nuclear deal.

Gowda, however, has chosen to play his cards close to the chest. Without revealing whether the JD (S) would vote in favour of against the confidence motion, the former Prime Minister merely said he would call on Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Saturday and hold discussions with him in the regard.

“Any decision on supporting the UPA Government during the trust vote on July 22 will be taken keeping in mind the interests of the JD (S) and to strengthen it”, he said.

Meanwhile, senior leader of the JD (S) met in Bangalore yesterday and decided to authorize Gowda to take an “appropriate” decision on the crucial matter.

In another development, JD (S) MP from Kerala Veerendra Kumar, who had revolted against Gowda after the JD (S) in Karnataka decided to align with the BJP and form a coalition Government two years ago, has decided to return to the party.
Confirming the development, Gowda said Veerendra Kumar, who was heading a breakaway faction of the JD (S), will be returning to the “parent” party. Gowda said Veerendra Kumar had expressed his bitterness after JD (S) joined hands with BJP. “But, it is all over now”, Gowda added.

Karnataka temples to be equipped with electronic donation boxes

2008-07-18T15:58:00.002+05:30

With a view to preventing pilferage of money donated to temples by devotees, the BJP Government in Karnataka has decided to soon install electronic donation boxes.

Disclosing this to reporters, Karnataka’s Religious Endowment Minister Krishnaiah Shetty said the existing donation boxes called as “hundis” in local parlance will be replaced with e-hundis that will recognize the coins and denomination of currency notes dropped in them.

The information on the donations will be stored and cannot be tampered with manually. “The e-hundis, which will function like ATMs, will automatically count the collections and are tamper-proof. This will help check embezzlement of money donated to the temples by devotees”, Shetty said.

Presently, he said, there is no system to check the pilferage of temple funds. To begin with, the State Government will install e-hundis in all the prominent temples falling under the Religious Endowment Department of the State Government..

Shetty said his Department would also constitute vigilance squads to check embezzlement of funds in the temples. “These squads will visit the temples periodically. Also, we will make it mandatory for the temple trusts to open the donation boxes in the presence of jurisdictional tahsildar and religious endowment department officials”, he said.

The Minister said three companies had come forward to help the Government install the electronic donation boxes. “We will shortly float tenders for installing the electronic hundis”, Shetty added.

There are a total of 36,000 temples attached to the Religious Endowment Department of the state. “Out of these, as many as 24,000 temples are in a poor condition and prayers are not held regularly. Only 85 temples have an income of more than Rs 1 million every year. Another 100 temples have an income of less than Rs 1 million. The remaining have a meager income”, he said.

Shetty said the State Government has also chalked out a plan to revive the temples, which are in a poor condition, with the help of private donors. “I am planning to rope in Kannadigas settled in USA, UK, Canada and Australia for the purpose”, the Minister added.

Karnataka to provide free power to farmers

2008-07-18T15:58:00.001+05:30

Fulfilling its pre-election promise, the BJP Government in Karnataka yesterday announced free power to irrigation pump-sets of farmers in the state with effect from August 1 this year.

Presenting the revised Budget for the year 2008-09 in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said free electricity would be supplied to the irrigation pump-sets upto to 10 HP.

Yeddyurappa said he was setting aside a power subsidy of Rs 20.5 billion for the year that would cover the cost of supplying free electricity to the irrigation pump-sets.

Yeddyurappa also announced that loans at an interest rate of 3 per cent per annum to farmers, fishermen and weavers in the state. The new rate of interested proposed by the BJP Government is one per cent lesser than 4 per cent that was offered by the predecessor JD (S)-BJP coalition Government.

The Chief Minister said an estimated 5 million small and marginal farmers, who are totally dependent on dryland farming, would receive a one-time benefit of Rs 1,000 families to buy seeds, fertilizers and other agricultural inputs.

Yeddyurappa also announced that he would set aside Rs 5 billion as agriculture revolving fund that would enable the Government to intervene when the prices of agricultural commodities collapse and cause losses to the farmers.

Yeddyurappa has set proposed to take up infrastructure development works in Bangalore at a cost of Rs 18 billion. Out of this Rs 7 billion has been set aside for the Bangalore Metro project, which is underway.
An estimated Rs 3.5 billion will be spent on constructing ten flyovers and underpasses to ensure hassle-free movement of traffic in Bangalore. Rs 7 billion will be spent on providing drinking water facilities, besides construction of roads and sewerage facilities. A supportive grant of Rs 3 billion will be given to Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation to ensure civic facilities in the City.

Frogs marriage held in Udupi to invoke rain gods

2008-07-17T12:18:00.001+05:30

The residents of Udupi in coastal Karnataka, which is in the grip of a dry spell, were witness to a bizarre spectacle of “marriage of frogs” to invoke the rain gods.

With monsoon playing truant and causing concern among the farmers of the region, a local citizens’ organization decided to organize a marriage of frogs on Tuesday that is believed to cause showers.

The organization’s leader Nithyananda, who is also the Udupi City Municipal Council member, and his followers ensured that the marriage of the amphibians had all the elements of a traditional wedding.

A pair of jumbo frogs, a male and a female, were put on a decorated push cart and taken in a procession through the main thoroughfares of the town. Several curious onlookers watched the spectacle before the procession culminated at the Clock Tower in the town, where the marriage rites were performed in a traditional style.

Nithyananda told reporters that he had organized the marriage of frogs to appease the rain gods as the rains had failed this time. “The entire coastal belt is in the grip of a drought. We are experiencing a dry spell at a time when it should have been raining heavily. The farmers are a worried lot”, he said.

“Our elders used to say that the croaking of frogs heralds rains. Hence, I undertook this marriage of frogs”, he justified.

However, the rationalists have criticized the superstitious practice of arranging the marriage of frogs. Many rationalists have laughed off the age-old belief to invoke rain gods as superstitious idea in an era of cloud-seeding to trigger rainfall.

Question mark over JD (S) support to UPA

2008-07-17T12:17:00.001+05:30

A big question mark has arisen over JD (S) support to Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) during the crucial July 22 vote of confidence with former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda lashing out at the Congress for “humiliating and torturing” his party.

“Both the Congress and BJP have made all out efforts to destroy the JD (S). We have suffered humiliation and torture and faced fabricated and false charges”, Gowda said.

“These are the things that will be dealt with carefully at a meeting of senior party leaders in Bangalore on July 18 before a final decision is taken on his party’s stand during the vote of confidence next week”, Gowda told reporters.

But, JD (S) spokesperson and MLC Y S V Datta was more categorical in the party’s stance against the Indo-US nuclear deal. “The party has consistently opposed the nuclear deal ever since the issue came up. There is no reason for a U-turn at this juncture”, Datta told a press conference in Bangalore.

The JD (S) has three members in the Lok Sabha including Veerendra Kumar from Kerala, whose relationship with Gowda had turned sour after the JD (S) aligned with the BJP in Karnataka to form a coalition Government. Veerendra Kumar has already identified himself with the Left parties, which are opposed to the nuclear deal.

It remains to be seen how Gowda and M Shivanna, the two other JD (S) Lok Sabha MPs, will vote during the trust vote.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Patel, political Secretary to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, called up the JD (S) supremo and requested his party’s support to the UPA during the confidence vote. Gowda’s response to Ahmed Patel’s request was not immediately known.
The support of even smaller parties like the JD (S) has become crucial for the UPA to win the confidence vote in the wake of Left parties decision to withdraw support to the Manmohan Singh Government over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Severe power shortage grips Karnataka

2008-07-16T16:43:00.001+05:30

The severe shortage of power in Karnataka has reached alarming proportions with authorities resorting to long durations of power shut down in various parts of the State including Bangalore.

In view of the failure of monsoon, the authorities had already suspended power generation in a couple of hydro-electric power generating stations in the State. Adding to their woes, the technical snags experienced at two thermal power-generating units at Raichur has sparked off a major crisis in the state.

Several parts of the state including Bangalore remained plunged in darkness for almost two hours on Monday due to an unexpected shortfall. The disruption in power supply continued in various parts of the State even on Tuesday forcing the top brass of Energy Department to go into a huddle and chalk out emergency measures to bail out the state from one of its worst power crisis.

The Energy Department officials apprehended that the crisis could worsen if there is no sufficient rainfall in the next ten days.

Even as the officials attending to the technical snags and hope to set the thermal power generating stations right in the next few days, the storage level in three major hydel resources is a major cause for concern.

Also, the consumption of electricity in the State has increased by almost 15 million units a day compared to the consumption during the same period last year. Against a consumption of 103 million units a day during July last year, the consumption stood at 117 million units this year.

Faced with a bleak power scenario, the Government is expected to take a decision on scheduled as well as unscheduled load shedding during peak hours to offset the severe shortage of power the State is facing.

Gowda calls Karnataka CM a “madman”

2008-07-15T14:21:00.000+05:30

The war of words between Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has escalated with the latter calling the former a “madman”, much to the chagrin of BJP leaders and supporters.

Gowda, who is already nursing a strong grouse against the BJP for poaching its MLAs with the help of money generated by the mining barons turned BJP leaders of the State, had urged the Federal Government to nationalize mines so that the natural resources in the state are protected from indiscriminate exploitation.

But, Yeddyurappa made light of Gowda’s demand and wondered aloud “Why did he (Gowda) not nationalize mines when he was the Prime Minister?”.

Gowda, who was apparently irked by Yeddyurappa’s counter to his demand, sought to dismiss the Chief Minister’s observation when reporters sought his reaction. “I don’t have to react to what a madman says”, Gowda said bluntly.

However, he added that mining was confined to a few pockets when he was the Prime Minister of the country more than ten years ago. “Now, it has spread across the country and has become a national menace”, Gowda said.

Nationalization of mines was his long-pending demand, Gowda claimed. “Only nationalization can save our minerals and resources. There is no ulterior motive in putting forward the demand”, Gowda said.

But, Gowda’s reference to Karnataka Chief Minister as a “madman” has left the BJP leaders in the State fuming. Many BJP supporters were quick to seek an apology from the JD (S) supremo.

However, Yeddyurappa refused to be drawn into a fresh debate with Gowda over the matter. “I will not reply to his statement. He is a tall leader, who has occupied the post of Prime Minister”, Yeddyurappa said with a tinge of sarcasm.

Meanwhile, JD (S) has threatened to “teach a bitter lesson” to its party MLAs, who quit the Assembly recently and joined the BJP to become Ministers in the Yeddyurappa Cabinet.
“A bitter lesson awaits the betrayers during the by-elections”, President of JD (S) Karnataka unit Merajuddin Patel said.

Karnataka’s NRI Cell to offer legal and assistance

2008-07-14T16:40:00.001+05:30

The newly set up NRI Cell in Karnataka will not only seek to bring foreign investment to state, but also help Non Resident Indians handle legal and social issues abroad.

Chairperson of the NRI Cell Ganesh Karnik told reporters that the NRI Cell would comprise of three divisions. While one division will concentrate purely on luring foreign investment, the second and third divisions will seek to address the legal and social matters confronting the NRIs living abroad.

Similiar Cells established by previous Governments including the Karnataka Diaspora Cell had failed to help NRIs living abroad, he said and added that the recently set up NRI Cell will have to start from the scratch. “We don’t even have the data on the total number of NRI Kannadigas living abroad”, Karnik said.

However, he claimed that he had already started receiving mails from NRI Kannadigas and Kannada Associations in the US and Gulf countries with a wide range of suggestions.

NRIs in the Gulf countries have urged him to act as a facilitator between them and the educational institutions in the State. “NRIs have to pay a heavy donation for seats in professional colleges. They pay as high as Rs 800,000 to 900,000. They have requested the Cell to intervene and ensure that colleges reduce the capitation fee and fees as they no longer earn as much as they used to”, Karnik said.

Though they are keen on contributing to the development of the State, Karnik said NRI Kannadigas are not known to be big investors as most of them are either professionals working as engineers and doctors or as drivers.

So, the Cell has to diversify its objectives by adding a social and legal face to its services. The Cell will help NRIs who had landed in trouble abroad facing criminal charges with legal assistance, apart from sorting out the many formalities they go through during their life abroad.

BJP loyalists fume as Yeddyurappa inducts defectors into Cabinet

2008-07-13T11:23:00.000+05:30

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s move to induct into his Cabinet three defectors from rival parties has left the loyalist BJP MLAs fuming.

The swearing in ceremony of three defectors - two from the JD (S) and one from the Congress, who had resigned from the Assembly seats earlier this week to join the BJP - held at Raj Bhavan on Thursday evening was not attended by a large number of party MLAs, particularly the ones aspiring for ministerial berths.

BJP’s state unit President D V Sadananda Gowda, former Federal Minister Ananthakumar and Energy Minister K S Eshwarappa were also conspicuous by their absence.

Several BJP MLAs including four-time MLA H S Shankarlinge Gowda, besides Narayanaswamy and C T Ravi are believed to be nursing a strong heartburn over Yeddyurappa’s decision to induct into the Cabinet Balachandra Jharkiholi, Shivananda Naik and Anand Asnotikar, who had been elected as MLAs of JD (S) and Congress during the May 2008 elections.

The expansion of the Yeddyurappa-led cabinet on Thursday takes its strength to the constitutional ceiling of 34 allowed for Karnataka.

Shankarlinge Gowda has openly expressed his disappointment over his exclusion from the Cabinet and blamed “unseen” hands behind the denial of a ministerial berth to him. “Various sections of the people have reposed their faith in me and elected me as an MLA for the fourth consecutive term and hoped that I would become a minister. Some unseen hands had come together to hatch a conspiracy against me”, Gowda said.

However, Yeddyurappa denied that there was resentment in the party over his decision to give ministerial berth to newcomers. “I hope they understand the compulsions of forming a stable Government, especially because we have come to power for the first time”, he said.

The BJP had secured 110 seats in a 224 member-house and was dependent on the support of six independents for its survival. After successfully luring a total of five Opposition MLAs including three from Congress and two from JD (S), the BJP provided ministerial berths to three of them and promised chairmanship of a Board or Corporation to the remaining two.
Meanwhile, the three newly inducted Ministers, who have already resigned from the Assembly, will have to be re-elected within the next months if they are to continue as Ministers.

Communal tension in Bangalore

2008-07-13T11:22:00.000+05:30

Communal tension grips parts of Bangalore after two places of worship were found desecrated on Friday.

The tension began building up early on Friday after the desecration was noticed in places of worship at J C Nagar and Hebbal. However, police deployed a large force in the communally sensitive localities of the City to prevent the situation from going out of hand.

The desecration of the places of worship coincided with the assumption of office by Shankar Bidri as the new Commissioner of Bangalore City Police.

Bidri not only visited the troubled localities and appealed for calm, but also held a peace meeting. Earlier in the day, agitated groups of youth blocked various roads in J C Nagar to protest the desecration of the places of worship.

During the peace meeting held after the Friday prayers, a decision was taken by the police to allow the locals to arrange their own security for the places of worship to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

Speaking to reporters later, Bidri said the police will spare no efforts to identify the miscreants responsible for desecration of the place of worship. He said sufficient security personnel had been deployed in the sensitive areas and the situation was under control.
Only on Thursday, the BJP Government in Karnataka effected a major reshuffle of the senior police officers in the state and appointed Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) as the Bangalore City Police Commissioner in place of N Achut Rao, who was transferred as Additional Director General of Police (Internal Security), a newly created posted. The officers took charge of the new posts on Friday.

Honest cab driver returns baggage containing gold jewellery

2008-07-11T16:24:00.000+05:30

In an exemplary display of honesty, a cab driver in Bangalore handed over to the police a bag containing gold jewellery and a laptop worth more than Rs 400,000 that had been forgotten by his passengers, who were in a hurry to catch a flight from the international airport.

Pungavan’s cab was engaged by three persons, including two women, from Hebbal flyover to Bangalore International Airport on Tuesday. After dropping his passengers at the airport, Pungavan returned to his home in K R Puram late in the night and checked the boot of his car. He was surprised to find a bag inside.

He brought the matter to the notice of his landlord, who suggested that he hand over the bag to the police.

Pungavan reached the office of Bangalore City Police Commissioner on Wednesday morning and handed over the bag that contained not only gold jewellery, but also a laptop.

Commending the honesty of the cab driver, Bangalore City Police Commissioner N Achuta Rao issued a certificate of appreciation to Pungavan.

Speaking to reporters, Pungavan said he does not aspire for valuables that do not belong to him.

Meanwhile, the police is trying to trace the identity of the owners through the laptop. The police has also appealed to the owners to claim their valuables from the office of Commissioner of Bangalore City Police on Infantry Road in Bangalore after providing proof of purchase of the same.

Bangalore police arrest Ghana national in e-mail scam

2008-07-11T16:23:00.000+05:30

In a swift operation, the police arrested a 32-year-old person from Ghana in West Africa at the Bangalore International Airport for cheating a resident of Bangalore in an e-mail scam.

A team of policemen from Bangalore nabbed John K Brown soon after he arrived at the airport in a flight from New Delhi late on Tuesday night on the basis of a complaint from Muralikrishna, a resident of Maruthi Nagar in the City, who had been cheated to the tune of Rs 650,000.

The victim Muralikrishna told the police that he had received an e-mail in July last year from a woman Joyce, who had sought his assistance to claim $ 7.5 million that her father had deposited in a bank in Scotland before he was killed in a civil war in Ivory Coast.

When Muralikrishna responded to the e-mail, Joyce said her barrister Bedie Kalto will get in touch with him. Accordingly, one Kalto claiming to be a barrister offered Muralikrishna the Power of Attorney and asked him to deposit Rs 100,000 in bank in Mumbai for the same.

After Muralikrishna deposited the amount, obtained the power of attorney and sent it to the bank, Kalto asked Muralikrishna to deposit another Rs 550,000 for the clearance certificate. “I paid that amount also. But, when Kalto asked to pay up another Rs 850,000 for clearance of the amount, I smelt a rat. It soon dawned on me that I had been taken for a ride”, Muralikrishna said.

He lodged a complaint with the Bangalore City police in the regard. Acting on the instruction of the police, Muralikrishna told Kalto to collect the money in person as the demand drafts and cheques were causing needless delay. Kalto agreed to send a messenger for the same, but asked Muralikrishna to bear the travelling and other expenses.

As told by Kalto, his messenger Brown arrived at Bangalore International airport by a private flight late on Tuesday night and met Muralikrishna. Even as Brown was asking Muralikrishna to hand over the money quickly as he had to return to Delhi by the next available flight, a team of policemen arrested him.

“Kalto called me around 20 times on Wednesday and requested me to free to Brown. But, I said that I will withdraw the case only after getting my money back”, Muralikrishna said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Bangalore, Harisekharan told reporters that Brown was not carrying either his passport or a visa. “It is still not clear how and when he landed in India. He says he lost his passport and visa and a complaint has been lodged with Bhopal police”, Harisekharan said.

Drought hits Karnataka

2008-07-10T09:40:00.001+05:30

After fertilizer scarcity, it is the turn of drought to hit Karnataka soon after the Yeddyurappa-led BJP Government assumed office in the State.

With the state recording a deficit rainfall during the month of June and first week of July, the Drought Monitoring Cell of the State has declared Karnataka drought-hit and urged the State Government to chalk out a plan of action to come to the aid of farmers, who are already grappling with fertilizer shortage.

The failure of monsoon, which was scheduled to set in during early June, has been attributed to the deficit rainfall recorded in the State.

A drought situation has returned to the state after a gap of four years when Karnataka received bountiful rains leading to filling up of reservoirs.

Director of the Drought Monitoring Cell in the State V S Prakash said the state has received only 195 mm of rainfall from June 1 to July 7 against the normal 250 mm. “The state has recorded a deficit rainfall of 23 per cent during the period, leading to widespread crop failure in state”, he said.

South interior and north interior Karnataka have been the worst hit while coastal Karnataka and Malnad have managed to receive scanty rainfall, he said.

As many as 110 out of the 175 taluks in Karnataka are reported to be reeling under drought with failure of crops reported from Gulbarga, Bellary, Bagalkot, Raichur, Dharwad, Belgaum, Tumkur and Haveri districts.

Meanwhile, a detailed meeting to study the drought scenario in the state was convened in Bangalore by Development Commissioner Shanthakumari. The meeting took stock of the situation and directed officials to prepare an estimate of the number of farmers, who will be affected by the drought in the state.
Prakash said the State Government will soon submit a memorandum to the Federal Government seeking financial assistance under the calamity relief fund to take up relief measures. The Government will have to focus on providing employment to the farmers, who have lost their crop, besides tackling the water and food grain shortage.

Karnataka to move Apex Court on language policy

2008-07-10T09:39:00.000+05:30

The Karnataka Government has decided to move the Supreme Court against the High Court’s recent ruling to spare private primary schools from compulsorily imparting education in Kannada.

After holding a meeting with litterateurs in Bangalore on Tuesday, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told reporters that the State Government would file an appeal against the High Court verdict in the next two to three days.

“The Government is firm on its stand that primary education should be in Kannada. There is no question of compromise on this issue”, Yeddyurappa declared after he and his senior ministerial colleagues gave a patient hearing to a galaxy of literary personalities from across the state comprising U R Ananthamurthy, G S Shivarudrappa, D Javare Gowda and others.

Most of the speakers at the conclave disapproved with the ruling delivered by the High Court that struck down the 1994 Government order directing all schools in Karnataka to impart primary education in mother tongue or Kannada.

The participants observed that the ruling was not only against the interest of the children and the development of Kannada language, but also went against the spirit of the Supreme Court directive to ensure primary education in mother tongue of the pupils.

A few litterateurs had even suggested the Government to issue an ordinance on mandatory continuation of Kannada as medium of instruction for all primary schools to prevent the managements of private schools from taking advantage of the High Court order.

But, Yeddyurappa had rejected the idea of issuing an ordinance, which could lead to a fresh legal confrontation. “Filing an appeal against the High Court order in the Supreme Court is an appropriate step as advised by the State Advocate General and other legal experts”, the Chief Minister said.

JD (S) likely to support to UPA

2008-07-09T10:17:00.002+05:30

JD (S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has indicated his party’s readiness to extend support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA)

Though the 39-member Samajwadi Party has assured to prop up the UPA over the nuclear deal after the Left parties withdrew its support, the two members of JD (S) could play a significant role in helping the Manmohan Singh Government cross the halfway mark in the Lok Sabha.

Speaking to reporters in Bangalore, Gowda spewed venom on the BJP, which had begun poaching on JD (S) MLAs. He emphasized the need for secular parties to come together and said he would be willing to go with the Congress to defeat the communal parties.

Though the provocation for Gowda to move closer to the Congress may be the BJP’s “immoral politics” to lure legislators from other parties, the UPA will be more than eager to accept Gowda’s support if a trust vote is necessary for the continuance of Manmohan Singh Government.

Congress, JD (S) cry foul over “poaching” of its MLAs by BJP

2008-07-09T10:17:00.001+05:30

The opposition Congress and JD (S) in Karnataka are crying foul over the “poaching” of its MLAs by the ruling BJP to strengthen its numerical strength in the Assembly.

Alarmed by the sudden resignation of three Congress and three JD (S) MLAs from the Assembly to join the BJP, the leaders of the two parties have come down heavily on the B S Yeddyurappa-led Government for triggering defections through use of “money power”.

While Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge termed the recent developments as “undemocratic” and a “mockery of democracy”, JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda threatened that he would leave no stone unturned to teach BJP a lesson.

He called upon secular parties to come together of a single platform to meet the challenges posed by the BJP to the survival of secularism. With the BJP planning to field the defected MLAs as BJP candidates in the by-elections, Gowda even suggested that his party was ready to field a common candidate against the “turncoats” and defeat the BJP’s designs.

“We are ready to field a common candidate in association with other parties to defeat BJP in the by-election for constituencies being vacated by those who joined the BJP”, Gowda said.

Though Congress leaders have responded positively to Gowda’s suggestion, Kharge said the party High Command would take a final decision in the regard.

Meanwhile, the Congress leadership has begun a damage control exercise to prevent more MLAs from joining the BJP by rushing Federal Minister for Coal Santosh Bagrodia to Bangalore to hold talks with disgruntled Congress leaders including former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
After holding talks with Bagrodia, Siddaramaiah is reported to be leaving for a four-day holiday in Mauritius along his close aide and former Federal Minister C M Ibrahim.

Yeddyurappa plans cabinet expansion after netting four Opposition MLAs

2008-07-08T14:45:00.000+05:30

After successfully luring four Opposition MLAs – two each from the Congress and JD (S) – the BJP Government in Karnataka is planning a cabinet expansion in the next one week.

Bolstered by the entry of four Opposition MLAs into the BJP, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa announced that he would expand his 31-member Ministry before the Budget session of the State Assembly begins on July 17.

Yeddyurappa’s announcement on the cabinet expansion came after four MLAs belonging to the Opposition tendered their resignation to the Assembly and joined the BJP during the last 48 hours.

Congress MLAs Anand Asnotikar and J Narasimhaswamy and JD (S) legislators Balachandra Jharkiholi and Shivananda Naik submitted their resignation from the Assembly to Speaker and joined the BJP in the presence of party’s senior leaders.

The four MLAs, who have also resigned from the primary membership of their respective parent parties, will now be contesting the by-elections from their own constituencies as BJP candidates.

Meanwhile, the Assembly Speaker Jagadish Shettar said he had accepted the resignation letters of the four MLAs and would forward the same to the Election Commission, which will fix the date of the by-election to fill the vacancies caused on account the resignations.

Though it is speculated that a couple of MLAs, who have switched their allegiance to the BJP, will be accommodated in the BJP Cabinet, which is scheduled to be expanded in one week’s time, Yeddyurappa refused to divulge the names of the persons to be inducted into the cabinet.

“Given the pressure on me with regard to Ministerial berths, it would be better to avoid mentioning the names. Also, I will have to seek the concurrence of the party High Command in the matter”, Yeddyurappa said when asked to name the prospective Ministerial candidates.

The Yeddyurappa-led Ministry already has a total of 31 members against the optimum strength of 34.

Meanwhile, resignation of four Opposition MLAs has strengthened the BJP’s position in Assembly. The BJP, which had secured 110 seats in the 224-member Assembly, was surviving on the support extended to it by six independent MLAs, who have been given ministerial berths.

The luring of four Opposition MLAs is understood to be part of the BJP’s strategy to improve its tally in the Assembly, which had fallen three short of simple majority. Even if the resignations of four MLAs do not immediately add to the BJP’s tally, the strength of the combined Opposition has come down from 108 to 104. The Congress party’s strength has come down from 80 to 78 while the JD (S) tally has been reduced to 26 from 28.

BJP lures three Opposition MLAs to improve position in Assembly

2008-07-07T10:24:00.000+05:30

With a view to strengthening its position in the Assembly, the ruling BJP managed to lure three Opposition MLAs – two from the JD (S) and one from the Congress – into the party fold.

The three MLAs, who have tendered their resignation to the Assembly, have decided to contest the by-polls from their respective assembly constituencies as BJP candidates.

The entry of the three MLAs – Balachandra Jharkiholi and Shivananda Naik of JD (S) and Anand Asnotikar of Congress – is understood to be part of the B S Yeddyurappa-led Government’s strategy to improve the BJP’s tally in the Karnataka Assembly, which is still three short of majority.

The three MLAs joined the BJP at the party office in Bangalore on Saturday evening in the presence of BJP’s Karnataka unit President D V Sadananda Gowda and Minister for Health and Family Welfare B Sriramulu.

The three MLAs told reporters that they had decided to quit their parent parties, as they would like to be in the ruling party and serve the people of their constituencies in a better manner.

Welcoming them into the BJP fold, Sadananda Gowda said the three MLAs were impressed with the Yeddyurappa-led Government’s programmes and policies. They were also disillusioned with the parties on whose symbol they had won the recent assembly elections, Gowda said. “They are joining the BJP without setting any pre-conditions”, the BJP leader added

Earlier, the trio, accompanied by Sriramulu, called on Speaker of Karnataka Assembly Jagadish Shettar and submitted their resignation from the Assembly. The Speaker told reporters later that the resignation of the three MLAs had been accepted them as they were found to be in order.

Shettar said he would now resignation letters to the Election Commission, which is expected to hold by-polls within the next six months.

The resignation of the three MLAs is expected to give a major boost to the BJP’s prospects for improving its tally in the Assembly. With strength of 110 in the 224-member Assembly, the BJP requires three more seats to cross the half-way mark.
Presently, the BJP Government is dependent on the support of six independent MLAs, five of whom have been made Ministers in the Yeddyurappa-led Cabinet. But, the swift and strategic move by the BJP to improve its own tally in the Assembly has sent a strong message to the independents, whose next move is awaited with a lot curiosity in political circles.

BJP reviving Rs 1.5 billion bribe charge against former CM

2008-07-07T10:23:00.000+05:30

The Rs 1.5 billion bribe charge pending against former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy appears set to be revived with the BJP Government in Karnataka threatening to initiate a probe into the matter.

Soon after Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said the Government may even order an inquiry to ascertain the facts relating to the charge that the former Chief Minister had accepted bribes from the mine owners in Bellary, BJP’s Tourism Minister Janardhan Reddy sharpened his offensive against Kumaraswamy.

Reddy, who had kicked off of political storm during the erstwhile JD (S)-BJP coalition rule in the Karnataka by leveling the bribery allegations, said “Kumaraswamy and his family would go behind the bars” once the probe into the matter is over.

Claiming that his allegations against Kumaraswamy were “true”, Reddy said the petition filed against the former Chief Minister was pending in the Supreme Court and is likely to come up for hearing soon.

Kumaraswamy’s statement welcoming the Government’s move to order a probe against the bribery charges was mocked by Reddy. “When I levelled the charges against Kumaraswamy, he was the Chief Minister. He did not order a CBI probe though I demanded it. Now, he welcomes a probe”, Reddy said poking fun at Kumaraswamy.

It may be mentioned here that Kumaraswamy had ordered the setting up of an inquiry commission into the bribery charges. But, the Commission headed by U L Bhat was wound up a couple of months later after the Judge said the Government had failed to provide supporting staff and other facilities.

Outgoing Chief Justice disposes of 56 cases on a single day

2008-07-06T11:19:00.000+05:30

A record of sorts was created in Karnataka High Court when its outgoing Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph disposed off 56 cases in 70 minutes on the last day of his office.

Justice Cyriac Joseph, who was recently elevated as the Supreme Court judge, sat with nine different benches between 12.30 pm and 1.40 pm on July 2 to pronounce 56 judgements.

With the open court lasting 70 minutes, the judge appears to have taken just 1.25 minutes or 85 seconds to pronounce each judgement, assuming that no time had been lost between any two judgements.

A division bench headed by the Chief Justice had completed hearing in most of the cases disposed off by him on the last day of his office. Only the judgement was awaited. As July 2 was his last day in office, Justice Cyriac Joseph was forced to deliver judgement in all the cases the bench headed by him had heard.

Judicial officers also noted that the Chief Justice had to leave his seat eight times during the disposal of these cases to facilitate fellow judges to occupy their seats.

By clearing his lot, judicial officers observed that the outgoing Chief Justice has ensured that the courts and litigants did not have to go through the 56 cases all over once again.

Cop crushed to death between two trucks

2008-07-06T11:18:00.000+05:30

In a bizarre incident, a cop was crushed to death between two trucks in Bangalore on Friday.

Police said Head Constable Kempaiah was on his way to the City Armed Reserve (CAR) headquarters on Mysore Road in the City when he stopped his jeep after seeing a crowd gathered adjacent to a railway tracks en-route.

He found man’s body on the railway track and informed his concerned police officials over the wireless about the matter. He cleared the crowd that had gathered at the spot for traffic to pass and walked back to his parked jeep.

But, while walking back to jeep, he tried to pass in between two trucks parked next to each other by the roadside. One of the drivers, unknowingly reversed his vehicle and Kempaiah was crushed between the two trucks. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital, but he succumbed to the injuries.

Meanwhile, the driver of the truck fled from the scene after the mishap. Police said Kempaiah had been serving the police department since 1984 and had been recently promoted as head constable.

Heroin worth Rs 100 million seized at Bangalore airport

2008-07-05T10:39:00.002+05:30

In a major haul, the first of its kind at the newly opened Bangalore International Airport, officials arrested two foreign nationals and recovered from them heroin worth Rs 100 million in the international market.

Acting on an intelligence alert, sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intercepted two foreign nationals, who were trying to smuggle the contraband out of the country, minutes before they could take Malaysian Airlines flight to Kuala Lumper early on Thursday.

The contraband carriers included a 23-year-old Thai woman identified as Khaektet Thitaree and a 36-year-old Mwinshehe Shabani Selemani, a Tanzanian.

Thitaree, a student, who had come to India on a short visit, had landed at Bangalore International Airport by a flight from Delhi earlier and was about to board the connecting flight to Kuala Lumper when the DRI sleuths caught her.

On interrogation, she admitted that she was carrying two packets of heroin in the false bottom of two suitcases she had already checked in. On examination, the sleuths recovered two packets containing 2.08 kg of heroin worth more than Rs 70 million in the international market.

DRI officials said Thitaree claimed that she had carried the baggage containing the banned substance in return for a remuneration of US $ 2,000 and a free flight ticket offered to her by certain unidentified persons in Delhi.

Meanwhile, Selemani, who had boarded the same Malaysian Airlines flight was de-planed by the DRI officials. He was using a novel modus operandi to smuggle the contraband. “He had swallowed 65 capsules of heroin, worth around around Rs 26 million”, a DRI official said.

Selemani was made to eject all the capsules under medical supervision. Each capsule contained approximately 13 grams of heroin. Selemani had swallowed the heroin capsules given to him by a group of people in Delhi to be delivered in Macau.
DRI officials said Thitaree and Selemani had arrived in Bangalore by the same flight from Delhi, but did not know each other. Both of them have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody.

Karnataka Ministry to receive management tips from IIM-B experts

2008-07-05T10:39:00.001+05:30

The B S Yeddyurappa-led Cabinet in Karnataka comprising a large number of first-time Ministers will have to sit through a brain-storming session on administrative and management practices at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B).

After assuming the reins of power for the first time in Karnataka, the BJP Government thought it fit to organize a half-day special session for its Ministers to expose them to best practices in administration and management.

With most of the Ministers tasting power for the first time in their political careers, experts from IIM-B will guide them on various aspects of administration. “To get guidance from administrative experts on file clearance, and on how to interact with officials, among others, you have been advised to attend the workshop”, said a letter sent out to all the Ministers from the office of the Chief Minister.

Though the administrative training workshop was earlier scheduled to be held on July 3, certain political developments had forced the Government to reschedule the training programme to July 17.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s decision to hold the administrative training workshop at IIM-B is understood to have stemmed from a suggestion made by RSS leadership in Bangalore.

“Strategies and best practices to be adopted in administration, importance of development, Karnataka in the global context were among the themes around which the discussions and presentations will be made to the Ministers”, said an official at IIM-B.

High Court rules Kannada policy in schools as “unconstitutional”

2008-07-04T15:22:00.002+05:30

Terming the Government order to enforce Kannada as medium of instruction in primary schools across Karnataka as “unconstitutional”, the High Court has allowed private schools to impart primary education in English or any language of their choice.

In a significant judgement, the full bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph has ruled that the private and unaided schools in Karnataka could not be compelled by the State Government to impart primary education in Kannada or mother tongue.

“The government policy compelling children studying in government recognized private schools to have primary education only in the mother tongue or the regional language Kannada is violative of the Constitution”, the High Court observed in its 318 page judgement delivered on Wednesday.

However, the High Court allowed the Government to make Kannada a compulsory medium of education in Government and Government-aided schools in the State.

“If the parents want their children to have primary education in English, they are not committing any crime. It is not illegal or opposed to public policy. The choice of medium of instruction is left to the parents and children. The decision of parents to impart education to their children in well-known international language like English cannot be bypassed, forgetting the hard realities of life”, the High Court observed.

The High Court order was received with much glee by Associated Managements of Government Recognized Unaided English Medium Primary and Secondary Schools Association, which had challenged the Government order on medium of instruction in primary schools. The petitioners included several linguistic and religious minorities.

“The verdict means the Government can no longer interfere with our work”, said G S Sharma, President of Karnataka Unaided School Managements Association, which is part of the Associated Managements that approached the High Court against the Government’s language policy.

The High Court order is also expected to render as invalid the Government order to de-recognize private schools for violating its language policy.
Ever since the Government’s language policy was announced in 1994, several petitions had been filed in the High Court challenging the Government order. It was only last year that the Full Bench of the High Court took up the issue and held marathon sessions spread over several weeks before coming out with a significant judgement on Wednesday.

Mixed response for shutdown over Amarnath shrine issue in Karnataka

2008-07-04T15:22:00.001+05:30

The nation-wide shutdown called by pro-Hindu groups over the Amarnath Shrine Board land transfer issue elicited a mixed response in BJP-ruled Karnataka yesterday.

Though the bandh evoked little response in Bangalore, where Government offices functioned normally and public transport buses plied as usual, normalcy was affected in different parts of the state like Mysore, Chitradurga, Hubli-Dharwad, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu.

Shops and business establishments, besides schools and colleges remained closed on Thursday in many parts of the State, where Sangh Parivar volunteers went around downing shutter of business establishments. Public transport buses were stoned at various places in the State including Bangalore.

Though the BJP Government in Karnataka kept away from the nation-wide shutdown called by VHP and Bajrang Dal, BJP’s state unit extended support to the bundh with MLA and party’s state unit Secretary C T Ravi calling upon the people to voluntarily extend their support and participate in the shutdown in a peaceful manner.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Visveshwar Hegde Kageri clarified that no holiday had been declared for schools. But, the Government had instructed deputy directors of public instruction in various districts of the state to take an appropriate decision based on the situation in their jurisdiction. But, schools and colleges in many parts of the State declared a holiday yesterday.

Home Minister V S Acharya said all Government offices would function as usual and state transport corporation buses will also ply normally. However, measures will be taken to ensure that no untoward incidents take place, he said.

Karnataka’s Director General of Police R Srikumar said adequate security measures were in place to ensure that peace is not disturbed.
Senior police officials said democratic protests will be allowed, but necessary protection will also be given to people, who seek the same. Additional security measures had been taken in sensitive areas of Bangalore and other parts of the State.

Bangalore heading for petrol shortage

2008-07-03T12:31:00.000+05:30

The erratic supply of petrol in Bangalore has raised the spectre of a fuel shortage in the City, which is home to more than three million vehicles.

With petroleum dealers reporting a decline of about 30 per cent in their regular supplies of petrol and diesel during the last few days, many motorists are forced to make do with premium fuels that are priced higher than the regular fuel.

Since the last two days, a couple of petrol bunks have begun putting “No Stock” boards, leading to an anxiety over fuel shortage among motorists in the City.

Confirming the shortage of petrol, President of Bangalore Petroleum Dealers’ Association Bhushan Narang said the oil companies are unable to source sufficient quantity of fuel to Bangalore during the last few days. “This has led to a 30 per cent decline in supply”, Narang said.

The decline in supplies has unofficially sent a signal to the petrol bunk owners in the City to focus on selling premium quality petrol. The premium brand of petrol costs Rs 61.25 per litre against the regular petrol, which is priced at Rs 57.15, a difference of a good Rs 4 for every litre.

“Several four wheeler owners, who normally fill around 5 litres to 10 litres, go around scouting for regular petrol even if premium petrol is available to avoid coughing up Rs 20 to Rs 40 more”, a petrol bunk owner said.

With the demand for petrol increasing day by day in Bangalore, petroleum dealers fear that the shortage will only turn worse in the coming days.

Petroleum dealers in Bangalore have blamed the prevailing shortage of petrol in Bangalore to the rise in international crude oil prices. “The reason appears to be purely economical. The oil companies wish to sell less fuel so that the losses are less”, petroleum dealers said criticizing the rationing measures adopted by the oil companies.
The shortage of fuel in Bangalore has also begun having a cascading effect on secondary cities of the state with Bellary also reporting a severe shortage of fuel.