Bangalore News Highlights: Karnataka to see widespread rainfall over next 2 days; orange alert in Bengaluru

Karnataka BJP Thursday started its four-day ‘Jan Swaraj Yatra’ with four teams led by senior party leaders B S Yediyurappa, K S Eshwarappa, Jagadish Shettar and Nalin Kumar Kateel across the state to mobilise workers at the grassroot level.

Speaking at the event in Koppal, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, “Opposition Congress has been indulging in a slander campaign against us as my 100 days of successful pro-people administration has dashed Congress’ hopes of coming to power.”

“Those who try to throw muck at others should realise that it dirties their own hands,” Bommai said in retaliation to the allegations being hurled at him by Congress leaders.

The Chief Minister in an indirect reference to the alleged Bitcoin scam-hit out at Congress. “The alleged scam happened during the tenure of their own government. The national spokesperson of their party has stated this citing the case in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Who was in power then? who released the accused?” Bommai asked. Read More

Hindu outfits in Karnataka’s Kolar district observed a bandh on Thursday demanding the arrest of those involved in the alleged stone-pelting on a bus carrying pilgrims to the Sree Guru Dattatreya Peeta Devasthana in Chikkamagaluru on Saturday (November 13).

The police have arrested ten people in connection with the incident, so far.

Meanwhile, the district administration has restrained Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik from entering Kolar from today (November 18) to next Wednesday (November 24). Earlier, after the incident, Muthalik said that ‘Muslim miscreants’ were behind the attack and called it “Talibanism, which we will not allow”. Read More

Indicating a rise of 8.3 per cent from the previous year, enrolment of children in government schools of rural Karnataka is at 77.7 per cent in 2021, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER-Rural) 2021 noted. While 78.6 per cent of these new enrolments were boys, 76.8 were girls.

The ASER survey was conducted at 890 villages across 30 districts in the state this year. The enrolment at government schools last year (in 2020) was 68.6 per cent while the same in 2018 was 69.4 per cent.

Niranjanaradhya V P, a development educationist based in Bengaluru, attributed the same to the “deep economic crisis” faced by parents due to the Covid-19 situation in the state. “A huge number of parents could not afford to send their wards even to budget English-medium schools and instead enrolled them to their government counterparts to ensure continued learning,” he observed. Read More

Former Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Corporator M B Shivappa (58) died by suicide at his residence in Attiguppe in Bengaluru on Thursday. DCP (West) Sanjeev Patil said, 'A case has been booked and investigation is going on. Reason mentioned by his family is diabetes and anxiety.'

Schools in several districts in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, are likely to remain closed for the next two days in the wake of heavy rains. 

According to an order issued by the Department of Public Instruction, district administrations have been instructed to announce holidays to schools  “as per their discretion”. Earlier, holidays were declared for schools in Chikkaballapura for Friday and Saturday due to the same. 

ENVIS Centre & Energy and Wetlands Research Group of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) prepared a proposal for the declaration of Aghanashini estuary as a Ramsar wetland site of international importance. According to sources, the state government may pitch the estuary to the Centre to get the prestigious tag. The other contender in the list is Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Mandya district of Karnataka.

Aghanashini River in central Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka originates in the Western Ghats and flows westward towards Arabian Sea and a major part of its course flows through the forested gorges and valleys.

Aghanashini estuarine landforms not only accommodate diverse ecosystem functions and human activities but also mediate flood and erosion risks that are expected to increase with climate change. Read More

A week after the death of a mentally challenged beggar in Karnataka, almost the whole town of Hoovina Hadagali in Vijayanagara district came forward to perform the last rites.

According to locals, thousands gathered to bid farewell to Basava, also known as Huchcha Basya, who died in a road accident Saturday. The mortal remains were taken for the funeral in a procession and photos and videos had gone viral on social media.

Basya would take only Re 1 as alms from every person and return the rest of the money. According to reports, on November 12, Basya was hit by a bus after which he was admitted to a government hospital. He died three days after he was admitted to the hospital. A local resident said after his death, several organisations, shopkeepers and residents came forward, pooled in money and arranged a procession for the funeral which was attended by close to a thousand people. Read More

In a bid to encourage women to take up entrepreneurship, the government of Karnataka will soon set up industrial parks dedicated exclusively to women in Mysuru, Dharwad, Harohalli and Kalaburagi, Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani said.

The minister made the announcement in Bengaluru on Thursday after inaugurating an event titled ‘Together We Grow’, organised by UBUNTU Consortium of Women Entrepreneurs Associations to mark International Women Entrepreneurship Day. UBUNTU is a consortium of over 30 women entrepreneurs associations and 1,500 members.

Explaining various government initiatives, Nirani urged budding women entrepreneurs to make use of the schemes. “Karnataka is the first state in India to set up exclusive industrial parks dedicated to women in Mysuru, Dharwad, Kalaburagi and Harohalli. Their purpose will be served if women entrepreneurs take advantage of this initiative. Women should join hands with the government in driving industrial growth by taking up entrepreneurship and providing jobs,” Nirani said. Read More

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the most exciting and fondly discussed topic around the world, according to N T Arunkumar, MD and Country Head and Head of Innovation, Telstra India.

Participating in a panel discussion on ‘AI for Growth, Evolution & Technology’ at the ‘Bengaluru Tech Summit 2021, Thursday, he said, “AI is more than technology, it is a way of life,” hence the country needs to shift from being a service provider to becoming a global leader in the industry, a goal worth working towards.

He pointed out the increasing pivot towards expertise in building this futuristic technology and its applications in everyday life, ranging from agriculture to healthcare, defence to manufacturing and public services. Democratising its usage and closing the digital gap would transform society, he opined. Read More

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, along with collaborators, have identified potential blood-based biomarkers to predict disease progression and survival times in those with late-stage brain tumours.

According to a release from the premier science institution, the team behind the innovation comprised researchers from the Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE) at IISc, Mazumdar Shaw Centre for Translational Research and Mazumdar Shaw Medical Foundation.

They analysed tumour and blood samples from individuals with gliomas – tumours that occur in the brain – to identify surface proteins on immune cells in the blood whose levels were closely linked to tumour progression. This study was published in OncoImmunology. Read More

After residents and lake conservationists found sewage water was entering the wetland area of the Doddakallasandra Lake due to a blockade with sandbags in the diversion channel, they informed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to take action.

Later, Thursday, the authorities removed the blockade. Doddakallasandra Lake is linked with two storm water drains (SWD) through inlets. One inlet is linked to the SWD through a sewage diversion channel and the other is directly linked to the lake.

Lake conservationist Raghavendra B Pachhapur said, “When we inspected the end channel, we saw very little water was getting discharged out of the sewage diversion channel. We then checked the manhole and found sandbags have been placed to stop the sewage water so that it can be diverted to the wetland of the lake.” Read More

The Karnataka government on Tuesday promulgated an ordinance to amend the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020 to grant more power to the civic body’s chief commissioner.

The recent appointment of Shanth Avverahalli Thimmaiah as the chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) by the state government has run into controversy just like the previous appointments for the position in the last few years.

Bengaluru is likely to see light to moderate rainfalls for the next two days, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre. 

Latest satellite and meteorological observations indicate that a depression has formed over southwest Bay of Bengal.  It is very likely to move west–northwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts around Chennai by the early morning of November 19.

The IMD has predicted that on November 18 heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over south coastal Andhra Pradesh & south interior Karnataka. The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said that light to moderate rainfall will be recorded in Bengaluru till November 20.

The compound wall of a factory in Bengaluru collapsed on Wednesday night following heavy rains. The wall of an ice factory godown at Padarayanapura fell as the city saw another day of downpour. DCP (West) Sanjeev Patil said no casualties have been reported so far.

The compound wall of a factory in Bengaluru collapsed on Wednesday night following heavy rains. The wall of an ice factory godown at Padarayanapura fell as the city saw another day of downpour. DCP (West) Sanjeev Patil said no casualties have been reported so far.

A permanent healthcare vision document with a long term perspective would be formulated for Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said Wednesday in Bengaluru.

#Karnataka CM @BSBommai said a permanent healthcare vision document “with a long-term perspective” would be formulated for the state. He also inaugurated the new 350-bedded cardiac care hospital block built by @Infosys Foundation at Jayadeva Hospital in #Bengaluru. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/DU7pbTC9UV

— Ralph Alex Arakal (@ralpharakal) November 17, 2021

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said a permanent Healthcare Vision Document (HVD) with a long-term perspective would be formulated for the state.

"Karnataka will have a permanent Healthcare Vision Document with a long term perspective and health infrastructure in the state would be ramped up. The State is set to upgrade 250 Primary Health Centres this year and 250 more next year with assistance from the union government. Action would be taken to build speciality hospitals, and cardiac and cancer hospitals at divisional level in the coming days," he said after inaugurating the new 350 bed cardiac care hospital built by Infosys Foundation in the premises of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Centre. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said a permanent Healthcare Vision Document (HVD) with a long-term perspective would be formulated for the state. "Karnataka will have a permanent Healthcare Vision Document with a long term perspective and health infrastructure in the state would be ramped up. The State is set to upgrade 250 Primary Health Centres this year and 250 more next year with assistance from the union government. Action would be taken to build speciality hospitals, and cardiac and cancer hospitals at divisional level in the coming days," he said after inaugurating the new 350 bed cardiac care hospital built by Infosys Foundation in the premises of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Centre. (PTI)

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said a permanent Healthcare Vision Document (HVD) with a long-term perspective would be formulated for the state.

"Karnataka will have a permanent Healthcare Vision Document with a long term perspective and health infrastructure in the state would be ramped up. The State is set to upgrade 250 Primary Health Centres this year and 250 more next year with assistance from the union government. Action would be taken to build speciality hospitals, and cardiac and cancer hospitals at divisional level in the coming days," he said after inaugurating the new 350 bed cardiac care hospital built by Infosys Foundation in the premises of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Centre. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said a permanent Healthcare Vision Document (HVD) with a long-term perspective would be formulated for the state. "Karnataka will have a permanent Healthcare Vision Document with a long term perspective and health infrastructure in the state would be ramped up. The State is set to upgrade 250 Primary Health Centres this year and 250 more next year with assistance from the union government. Action would be taken to build speciality hospitals, and cardiac and cancer hospitals at divisional level in the coming days," he said after inaugurating the new 350 bed cardiac care hospital built by Infosys Foundation in the premises of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Centre. (PTI)

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said a permanent Healthcare Vision Document (HVD) with a long-term perspective would be formulated for the state.

"Karnataka will have a permanent Healthcare Vision Document with a long term perspective and health infrastructure in the state would be ramped up. The State is set to upgrade 250 Primary Health Centres this year and 250 more next year with assistance from the union government. Action would be taken to build speciality hospitals, and cardiac and cancer hospitals at divisional level in the coming days," he said after inaugurating the new 350 bed cardiac care hospital built by Infosys Foundation in the premises of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Centre. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said a permanent Healthcare Vision Document (HVD) with a long-term perspective would be formulated for the state. "Karnataka will have a permanent Healthcare Vision Document with a long term perspective and health infrastructure in the state would be ramped up. The State is set to upgrade 250 Primary Health Centres this year and 250 more next year with assistance from the union government. Action would be taken to build speciality hospitals, and cardiac and cancer hospitals at divisional level in the coming days," he said after inaugurating the new 350 bed cardiac care hospital built by Infosys Foundation in the premises of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research Centre. (PTI)

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a rise in the number of annual medical tests and the emergence of telemedicine as a viable market, Anand Sivaraman, CEO of Remidio, said at the Bengaluru Tech Summit on Wednesday.

Participating in a panel discussion on ‘Investing in Nextgen Medtech and Diagnostics’, he said patients now are more attracted towards more low-touch marketing of services in the field of diagnostics. “With business-to-consumer marketing practices becoming more accessible, new delivery mechanisms and innovations are emerging now. Most diagnostics are being forced to get into delivery innovations which have spurred investors to go bullish on the sector,” he said.

Lalith Kishore, COO of InDx, said Indian medtech companies and diagnostics have made a mark in achieving a higher level of indigenisation of products and services. “There is a whole rush of manufacturers in the product development cycle who are ready to push their products in the post-Covid environment. The quality, speed and efficiency of product suppliers have scaled up and there is a large supply of molecular diagnostic tests in the new ecosystem,” he said. Read More

National Investigation Agency (NIA) Wednesday arrested a 32-year-old computer application specialist who is an alleged ISIS operative. The allegation against him is that he is helping the outfit raise funds and radicalise Muslim youths.

The arrested man was identified as Zuhab Hameed Shakeel Manna, a resident of Tilak Nagar, who is a specialist in computer applications. NIA had registered a case in September 2020 against Muhammad Tauqir Mahmood, Irfan Nasir, a rice merchant in Bengaluru, Shihab and Zuhab Hameed.

The agency said investigation revealed that Zuhaib and Tauqir were the key conspirators who in association with other co-accused raised funds, radicalised gullible Muslim youths through a Quran circle group and recruited them and illegally sent them to Syria via Turkey to Join ISIS. Read More

The recent appointment of Shanth Avverahalli Thimmaiah as the chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) by the state government has run into controversy just like the previous appointments for the position in the last few years.

Thimmaiah replaced Brijesh Kumar, principal secretary (ecology and environment), who was also handling the KSPCB, on November 15.

Several environmentalists have raised the issue of conflict of interest as the new appointee, till recently, was the managing director of Metamorphosis Project Consultants Private Limited, the company preparing detailed project reports for government projects and issuing environmental clearances, consent for establishment and operation of sewage treatment plants (STPs). The said company has also taken on mining projects. Read More

“Pushing children like me, with special needs, to online learning during the pandemic turned out to be a big challenge,” Anupriya, a seventh-standard student who has developed cerebral palsy (CP), remarked. The 14-year-old was speaking at a discussion held in Bengaluru to ascertain difficulties faced by children with disabilities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Dhruva, a fourth-standard student with cerebral palsy threw light on the hardships faced by families with more than one child during the same period. “My sister and I had to share screen time as we had only one mobile phone available to attend online classes,” he said. However, the nine-year-old opined that online education helped him get schooling to an extent.

“Our teachers had designed online classes to include all my classmates with multiple needs to engage us in continued education, by visiting our families to give books and also providing mobile phones to those who had no access to such devices,” he recalled. Read More

A survey to assess crop losses is being done and action will be taken to disburse the compensation soon, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday.

Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the Bengaluru Technology Summit, the CM acknowledged the huge loss suffered by farmers. "Survey to assess crop losses is being conducted and measures would be initiated to pay compensation to the farmers soon," he said.

Agriculture and Horticulture departments had been instructed to submit comprehensive reports on the losses suffered. Reacting to the letter written by the leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah on crop loss compensation, the chief minister said action had been initiated to address the issue even before Siddaramaiah wrote to him.

Karnataka would soon come out with a Research and Development policy that would make R&D an integral part of schools, colleges, universities and even private institutions, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday.

"Shortly we will come out with a R&D policy, wherein we want R&D in schools, colleges, universities and private sector institutions as well as we want to encourage garage oriented R&D centres. We want R&D to percolate to that level," he said.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said it will be a spectrum of different fields, as innovation is limitless.

Further, assuring full cooperation for those keen on setting up their R&D units and innovate in Karnataka, Bommai said, "we have created necessary infrastructure and a very good ecosystem for them. Those already into innovation and those who want to come into innovation will be accommodated. We want those already into innovation to scale up and the new ones will be encouraged with necessary hand holding." (PTI)

Police have registered a case against Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) officials including the deputy commissioner for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 1.70 crore.

The case was registered on Tuesday at RT Nagar police station based on a complaint by one Hema S Raju, a resident of Jayanagar. The police have booked BDA Deputy Commissioner Shivaraj, BDA officer Mahesh Kumar and broker Mohan Kumar under Sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 406 (breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

Hema alleged that 2.34 acres were acquired by the BDA in 2002 for the formation of Arkavathy Layout and the compensation was yet to be released. In total, 1.14 acres in Hennur and 1.20 acres in Srirampura village were acquired. Read More

Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), operator of Kempegowda International Airport, has partnered with Microsoft India for ‘BIAL Genie Hackathon’ to develop an app to foster technology-led innovation and seamless passenger experiences.

“The hackathon invites professional developers, data scientists, data engineers and hackathon enthusiasts to participate in this challenge and design innovative solutions that will improve the end-to-end passenger experience at Bengaluru airport,” said BIAL in a statement.

The hackathon, which began on October 27 and ends on January 21, will allow developers to leverage a wide array of Microsoft Azure services to improve a passenger’s experience across different stages of their journey, starting from planning the journey and boarding the flight to arriving at their destination airport. Read More

Emphasizing Karnataka government’s active role in pushing women entrepreneurship, Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh R Nirani on Wednesday promised to extend all the possible assistance to encourage and promote women entrepreneurs in the state including concession for women from weaker sections. 

Addressing the women entrepreneurs during 38th anniversary and award ceremony of Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE), Minister Nirani said women-owned enterprises are growing significantly leading to their economic empowerment. “Today India has 13.5 – 15.7 million women-owned enterprises, representing 20% of all enterprises. Accelerating the quantity and quality of entrepreneurship towards such benchmarks can create over 30 million women-owned enterprises, of which 40% can be more than self-employment. Women entrepreneurs inspire other women to start businesses leading to more job creation for women,” Nirani said.

Mentioning about various government initiatives such as Mudra Yojana, Annapurna Scheme, Dena Shakti, TREAD (Trade-Related Entrepreneurship Assistance & Development), Udyogini, Women Skill Training Programme, Samrudhi and Dhanasree schemes, minister Nirani urged budding women entrepreneurs to make use of those schemes. 

With all 513 students who appeared for placements at the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) being placed over two interview days, the premier business school in the Karnataka capital have termed it a “record summer placement session”.

Prof U Dinesh Kumar, the chairperson of Career Development Services at IIM-B, told indianexpress.com that there was an increase of nearly 30 per cent in the placements for students of the Post Graduate Programme (PGP) and Post Graduate Programme-Business Analytics (PGP-BA) this year compared to last year.

“On an average, we have had nearly 20 to 30 per cent more offers from prominent recruiters in comparison to last year. This is undoubtedly the best summer placement we have seen since 2018,” he said. Read More

Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday said when Indians and Israelis come together amazing things happen, and expressed hope about traveling to the country pretty soon to explore what the future holds for the two nations.

'Couple of weeks ago I met my dear friend Prime Minister Modi (Narendra Modi) and we discussed many ways that we can take Israel-India relations to the next level. Especially future technological collaboration between our countries, which can turn our great partnership into a powerhouse of innovation,' Bennett said.

In his video message to the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS)-2021, he said, technology doesn't just have power to help lives, but also has the power to save lives, and if both countries join forces and put their minds to the mission, the opportunities are endless.

'I always say amazing people can do amazing things. India is one of the biggest countries in the world, with one of the biggest economies in the world and vast digital expertise, and Israel is one of the leading innovation nations of the world, the startup nations. When Indians and Israelis come together amazing things happen,' he added. Read More

Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison on Wednesday said his country is seeking to establish a new Consulate General in Bengaluru, which would expand his country's diplomatic posts in India to five. He also said Australia will deepen its ties with India's innovators, technologists and entrepreneurs, as well as the governments at all levels, and asserted the ties that bind both nations are "indeed strong and abiding".

According to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the country is strengthening its technology partnership with India through the establishment of the consular office here and a Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy, also to be based in India.

"I'm pleased to let you know that Australia is also seeking to establish a new Consulate General in Bengaluru. Bengaluru is the world's fastest growing technology hub – of course we want to be part of it. It is home to a third of India's unicorn companies," Morrison said.

In his video message to the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS)-2021, he noted that Australia's new mission in Bengaluru would expand its diplomatic presence in India to five posts. (PTI)

Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, attended the 24th edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit on Wednesday virtually and said that India is one of the biggest economies in the world with vast expertise. "When we come together, amazing things happen.The combination of innovation and entrepreneurship has the potential to do great things," he said. 

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu  inaugurated the 24th edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit on Wednesday.

Speaking at the event, Naidu said, "This summit is the confluence of the best minds, it is sure to bring the innovation needed. The basic philosophy of India is to share and care. We have to share our experiences and emerge with new ideas. Happiness should be the ultimate goal of any innovation."

Coffee growers in three Karnataka districts are gripped by the fear of black rot disease affecting their crops after heavy unseasonal rains lashed the region over the past few days. Planters in Kodagu (Coorg), Chikmagalur and Sakleshpur in Hassan – a major coffee-growing region – have not been able to harvest coffee due to the rains and are struggling to dry the harvested coffee beans along with paddy and areca nut crops.

A Muslim student travelling with his Christian friend became victims of moral policing as they were allegedly assaulted and abused by a group of men in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district on Monday night. Six men have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate the 24th edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit that begins on Wednesday.

The three day hybrid event will have in attendance Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister of Israel (virtual) and Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia (virtual), Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the two sessions virtually on November 18, according toIT/BT, Skills Development Minister, Dr C.N.Ashwatha Narayana.

Karnataka recorded 255 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday, as per the bulletin issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare. As many as seven deaths were also reported. Read More

A US federal court has directed an American space launch services firm, Spaceflight Inc, to provide documents for its transactions with the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) new commercial arm, NewSpace India Limited, irrespective of confidentiality agreements.

After public demand, Bengaluru Metro announced to extend its service hours from November 18. With that, the Metro services will now be available in the city from 6 am to 11.30 pm Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, services will start at 7 am.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said, “The first train departure from all the terminal stations viz Nagasandra, Silk Institute, Kengeri and Baiyappanahalli stations will be at 6 am on weekdays (Monday to Saturday) and at 7 am on Sundays. The last train departure from terminal stations viz Nagasandra, Silk Institute, Kengeri and Baiyappanahalli stations will be at 11 pm on all days.”

“However, the Last Metro Train service at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Station, Majestic towards all four directions will be at 11:30 pm on all days,” the statement added.

A Muslim student travelling with his Christian friend became victims of moral policing as they were reportedly assaulted and abused by a group of men in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district. Six men have been arrested in connection with the incident.

A few days after resident doctors of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI) sat on an indefinite strike to protest a deduction of Covid-19 risk allowance and untimely release of salaries, the Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors (KARD) decided to temporarily call off the strike.

Sarige Suraksha, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on wheels initiative by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation was recognised for the SKOCH-Order-of-Merit award during the 76th SKOCH State of Governance Summit held virtually. Recieving the award, KSRTC Managaing Director Shivayogi C Kalasad said that the Sarige Suraksha bus is serving in 38 villages of Puttur division of Dakshina Kannada district.

"About 4900 people have used the service during the last 81 days. KSRTC had taken up many people and health-friendly practice to help the society during Covid times," he said. The MD further dedicated the recognition to all health workers, drivers, conductors, and the staff of KSRTC.

Organisers appreciated the corporate social responsibility of KSRTC and mentioned that 'the noteworthy initiative' will be replicated in other states too.

The Karnataka government has decided to honour actor late Puneeth Rajkumar with Karnataka Ratna award posthumously.

Chikkaballapur Range forest officers have arrested 3 deer poachers who were illegally cutting deer meat in reserve forest area near Arur village. Operation led by Range officer Srilakshmi and team successfully captured poachers.

The Bengaluru police on Tuesday arrested a man for allegedly carrying 401 star tortoises.  

21 of the star tortoises were dead while another 20 are in serious condition and being treated. The police said that a team from Banngerghatta National Park are treating the tortoises.

The star tortoise, set apart by the intricate pattern on its shell and favoured as a pet in some countries, is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

Several parts of Bengaluru remained waterlogged for hours leading to traffic snarls following continuous downpour on Monday. The control room of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) received complaints of waterlogging mainly from the East Zone which received 47 mm of rainfall. A staffer at the control room said trees were uprooted in Hebbal, Anand Nagar and Vinobha Colony in Avalahalli.

Azim Premji University has begun admissions to its full-time, residential undergraduate program. The applications are available on the website and the last date for the Early Admission process is December 7, 2021, an official statement mentioned. Classes for the new batch are expected to come commence from July 2022.

The undergraduate programmes offered in the university are:

• 3-year B.Sc. degree in Physics, Biology or Mathematics and B.A. degree in Economics, English, Philosophy or History
• 4-year B.Sc.B.Ed. Dual degree in Science and Education with specialization in streams Physics, Biology or Mathematics & Education

Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to provide security to the key accused in the alleged bitcoin scam, Sri Krishna alias SriKi.

Siddaramaiah, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said: “Security to Sri Krishna is necessary since the case attracted global attention and it is suspected that many powerful people are involved in it.”

Siddaramaiah tweeted on Monday, “The dramatic arrest on a small charge and similarly dramatic release on bail of Sri Krishna after the bitcoin scam came to light, and subsequent behaviour of the police raises suspicion.”  (Read more)

Ranganath Kumar R, a police constable working in central range control room, was found dead in a room in lodge near Majestic on Monday. 

Police said that he died by suicide in a room in Sanman lodge. Police officials said that Ranganath was working  Gowribidanur town police station in Chikkaballapura district and was deputed to IGP central range control room.

Help is a call away. Helpline numbers: Asra (9820466726); Snehi (9582208181); Fortis MentalHealth (8376804102); Connecting NGO (9922004305); Vandrevala Foundation (19602662345)

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will virtually address the inaugural session of 24th edition of Karnataka’s flagship annual technology event, Bengaluru Tech Summit 2021.

"His speech would focus on the importance of collaborations in technology and innovation between Israel and India and the great outcomes of the fusion of two such ancient civilizations." said the Consulate General of Israel to South India in a statement. 

The Karnataka government’s decision to make Kannada a compulsory language for students pursuing undergraduate (UG) courses across disciplines has been redirected to the Centre, with the high court asking the latter to clarify its stand on the order.

The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has notified that document verification for candidates seeking admission to postgraduate dental courses in the state will be held on Thursday (November 18). 

According to KEA officials, candidates who attained eligibility due to lowering of qualifying percentile / minimum qualifying criteria and those who have registered online with KEA will have to appear for document verification from 10.30 am to 2.30 pm on November 18, with all original documents required to complete the process. 

"Candidates who were eligible earlier but who could not complete document verification can also complete the verification process with all the necessary original documents," a statement read. 

The eligibility criteria and list of original documents to be produced for verification have been posted in the PGET 2021 Information Bulletin hosted on the KEA portal (kea.kar.nic.in). Only those who complete the verification process will be eligible for admission to PG dental courses.

Bengaluru has reported around 5 cm of rainfall on November 15. The latest satellite imagery provided by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) suggests the possibility of light to moderate rainfall spell with isolated thunderstorm/ lightning over south peninsular India- Tamilnadu, Kerala, coastal and south interior Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and south Goa. 

The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Chikkaballapura, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Kolar, Mandya, Ramanagara, and Tumkur districts. The yellow alert is issued if isolated heavy rains of more than 64.5 mm is expected.  

An orange alert has been issued at Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kodagu, and Shimoga districts. The orange alert is defined as isolated very heavy rains (115.6-204.4 mm).

Karnataka has reported 171 new cases of Covid-19 and 1 death, taking the total number of infections to 29,92,021 and fatalities to 38,146, the health department said on Monday.

With 255 discharges on Monday, total number of recoveries climbed to 29,45,934. Out of 171 new cases reported on Monday, 118 were from Bengaluru Urban, as the city saw 144 discharges, and recorded no deaths. Total number of active cases in the state is at 7,912. (PTI)

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday sought co-operation from the Centre regarding a transparent mechanism to share leads about investors, and stressed the need for a clear policy on forest and environmental clearance.

He said this while presenting the State's view on the investment growth in the country during the video conference held by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with the Chief Ministers of various States, his office said in a statement.

Bommai noted that despite Covid-19 pandemic, Karnataka has managed to maintain the lead in economic development, and is the prominent contributor to the country's economy. (PTI)

Bengaluru police opened fire at a murder case accused on Tuesday morning. 

Raghu (30), accused in a murder case reported in Hennur police station, was injured. DCP (East) Sharanappa SD said that Raghu tried to attack police sub- inspector Ningaraj when he was taken to recover the weapon. 

Police inspector Vasanth opened fire at the leg of Raghu in self defence, according to the DCP.

Dr Shanta Avvarehalli Thimmaiah has been appointed as chief of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.

In the order dated 15th November, Muralidhar Tallikeri, Under Secretary, Ecology and Environment said that the the appointment until further orders, Dr Shanta will continue to the the chairman of KSPCB till 14th Nov 2024. The order further states that this nomination of Dr Shanta to KSPCB is as per the writ applications filed with the HC of Karnataka.

Dr Shanta Avvarehalli Thimmaiah has been appointed as Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.

In the order dated 15th November, Muralidhar Tallikeri, Under Secretary, Ecology and Environment said that the the appointment until further orders, Dr Shanta will continue to the the chairman of KSPCB till 14th Nov 2024. The order further states that this nomination of Dr Shanta to KSPCB is as per the writ applications filed with the HC of Karnataka.