S R Srinivas, who represented Karnataka’s Gubbi constituency four times, and his supporters from Tumkur district joined the Congress. (Express Photo by Jithendra M)Bengaluru News Highlights: S R Srinivas, who represented Karnataka’s Gubbi constituency four times, and his supporters from Tumkur district joined the Congress on Thursday in the presence of party state chief D K Shivakumar and Opposition leader Siddaramiah. Also known as Gubbi Srinivas, he was expelled from the JD(S) after allegations that he cross-voted during the 2021 Rajya Sabha elections.
BJP Parliamentary Board member BS Yediyurappa said today that there are discussions on fielding BJP vice president BY Vijayendra against Congress leader Siddaramaiah at Varuna constituency. Karnataka Assembly elections are to be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will be held on May 13.
Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar is under fire, with police registering a non-cognisable offence against him for distributing cash during a poll campaign. This comes after a video emerged of Shivakumar allegedly throwing money during a rally at Bevinahalli village in Mandya Taluk on Tuesday.
Karaga bearer Gnanendra offering the prakruthi pooja ahead of Bengaluru Karaga at Cubbon Park, in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Express Photo by Jithendra M
IMD evening forecast predicts thunderstorm in Karnataka over the districts of Chamarajanagar, Kolar, Mysore, Ramanagara, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban.
Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sleuths Sunday arrested an accused in the police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam case, ending his nine-month run.
The accused, Naveen Prasad V, was attached to the Byadarahalli police station as a sub-inspector. After his name cropped up in the PSI recruitment scam, he was suspended from service. Read more
With the Karnataka Assembly elections only a few weeks away, political parties did not miss the opportunity to catch the attention of voters during the Sri Rama Navami festival on Thursday.
In keeping with Karnataka's age-old tradition of celebrating Sri Rama Navami by distributing ‘Paanaka' or ‘Sharbat' and 'Kosambari' at public places, various socio-religious groups set up their ‘Prasad' (offerings to God) distribution pandals in many parts of the city.
‘Paanaka' are generally made of cantaloupe, Bael or lemonade since they -- as also Kosambari (a salad generally made of drenched green gram, grated coconut, and chilli, seasoned with mustard seeds and coriander) -- have a cooling effect on the body to beat the heat during summer.
What was interesting this time was the 'Prasad' counters put up by political parties.
The parties chose not to put up their party flags as the Model Code Conduct was in place but dropped subtle hints for the people with flags and festoons. In Bengaluru, many such ‘Prasad' distribution counters popped up in close proximity (PTI)
JD(S) MLA from Tumakuru Rural constituency in Karnataka D C Gowrishankar Swamy was disqualified by the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday in a case relating to alleged electoral malpractice.
The Court, however, kept the disqualification in suspension for one month, allowing Swamy to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
A single-judge bench of the high court was delivering its verdict on a petition filed by defeated BJP candidate B Suresh Gowda, which alleged electoral malpractice by Swamy for distributing fake insurance bonds to voters during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly election.
The disqualification, under Section 101 of the The Representation of the People Act, comes five years after the original complaint by Gowda. (PTI)
Amid speculation over whom the BJP would field against Karnataka Congress strongman Siddaramaiah in Varuna constitutency in the May 10 Assembly polls, party stalwart B S Yediyurappa on Thursday did not rule out the possibility of his son B Y Vijayendra entering the fray.
Varuna in Mysuru district is among the key seats to watch out for as Siddaramaiah, the Congress legislature party leader and former Chief Minister, has thrown his hat in the ring in this segment, currently represented his son Yathindra.
When asked by reporters whether Vijayendra would be fielded from Varuna, Yediyurappa said, “Discussions are going on. Siddaramaiah knows that his ground is slipping away. I don't think it is so easy for him. We will field a good candidate. We will give a tough fight. Let's see what happens.” The BJP veteran and four-time Chief Minister said the decision on whether to give the Varuna ticket to Vijayendra, who is the state BJP vice-president, would be left to the party's central leadership. (PTI)
Hitting back at the Chief Minister for accusing him of making phone calls to BJP MLAs and offering them tickets for the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka, state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Thursday said Basavaraj Bommai had no morality to speak, as he was running a "coalition government" with the support of defected Congress-JD(S) MLAs.
Charging the ruling BJP with rampant corruption, he said, even "ganjala and sagani'' (cow urine and dung considered auspicious and used for purification in religious ceremonies) could not wipe away its government's misdeeds.
"The Chief Minister is saying that I'm contacting BJP MLAs. Didn't you (CM/BJP) knock on the doors of 13 of our (Congress MLAs), three from JD(S) and two independents, and take them along with you and form the government? What morality do you have?" Shivakumar questioned Bommai. (PTI)
Former JD(S) MLA S R Srinivas (Gubbi Srinivas alias Vasu) on Thursday became the third legislator to resign from the post, and join Congress, this month, ahead of May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka.
According to the Congress, 37 leaders associated with JD(S) in the 2018 Assembly polls, have joined the party so far, in the run up to the upcoming elections.
Srinivas, a former Minister had resigned as MLA on March 27, while two MLCs from BJP Puttanna and Baburao Chinchansur had resigned from their Legislative Council membership earlier this month to join the Congress.
Puttanna has been fielded from Rajajinagar Assembly segment by the Congress in its first list, and there are indications that the party might field Chinchansur and Srinivas too from Gurmitkal and Gubbi segments respectively. (PTI)
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Karnataka Police on Thursday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Congress MLA Shamanur Shivshankarappa and former Congress MLA Shamanur Mallikarjun after people in their area alleged that they have distributed "gifts" to voters for the upcoming assembly election in the state.
According to the FIR report dated 28.03.2023, the information related to the accused in the said offence was received at KTJ Nagar Police Station in Davanagere district around 8:45 PM on Tuesday.
In this case, FIR also mentions the name of the accused, Hanumanthappa who is also a driver.
The local women in the Davangere Dakshina Assembly Constituency expressed their anger against Shamanur Shivshankarappa for distributing freebies.
"There is no proper drainage, no road. We are living the way animals live. They are not paying attention. But now they are giving away sarees and gifts," a woman told ANI. (ANI)
The ongoing Bengaluru International Film Festival on Tuesday screened Vijeesh Mani’s Aadhivaasi – The Black Death, inspired from the 2018 killing of Madhu, a mentally-challenged tribal man from Kerala’s Attapadi area who was allegedly killed by a group of men who suspected him to be a thief.
Tears welled up in the eyes of Madhu’s relatives, including his mother and sister, who were also present to watch the movie for the first time. Uniquely, most of the film is shot in the Muduga language. Read more
Among the new faces in the Congress party’s first list of candidates for the Karnataka Assembly polls are two leaders from the Lingayat community who are considered close associates of the BJP veteran and ex-chief minister B S Yediyurappa.
The Congress list of 124 candidates, which the party released on March 25, features the names of U B Banakar, a former BJP MLA of the Hirekerur constituency (1994 and 2013), who joined the Congress in December 2022, and Kiran Kumar, an ex-BJP MLA from the erstwhile Kallambella constituency (2004) in Tumkur, who joined the Congress in February and is being fielded from Chikkanayakanahalli in the same district.
Both Banakar and Kiran Kumar are considered to be close associates of Yediyurappa. Banakar was even a winner in the 2013 polls as a candidate of the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) — floated by Yediyurappa in 2012 when he had broken away from the BJP for two years. (Read more)
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today said that BJP will not cross even 60 seats in the state. He was reacting to Yeddiyurappa's comment that BJP will cross absolute majority in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Karnataka government has issued an order reclassifying backward classes of the state as per the recent Cabinet decision, which scrapped Category 2B reservation offered for Muslims.
A biopic titled 'Leader Ramaiah', on former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, is being produced and released in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Congress supporters released the poster of the film on the occasion of Ramanavmi. The announcement comes in the run up to Assembly elections scheduled on May 10.
Twenty-three-year-old D Triveni of the Congress scripted history on Wednesday by becoming the youngest Mayor in Karnataka.
Triveni, who is the daughter of former Ballari mayor Savitha Bhaye, secured 28 votes of the total 44 votes to step into the shoes of the Ballari Municipal corporation Mayor. Her opponent Nagaratnamma of the BJP got 16 votes.
Meanwhile, B Janaki was elected unopposed as the deputy mayor of Ballari as the Opposition did not field any candidate. (Read more)
A Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) order directing the Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Limited to use the word ‘Dahi’ followed by the common regional name in brackets on the label of curd packets has angered pro-Kannada groups and invited stiff opposition from the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) board of directors.
Anand Kumar, a director on the KMF board, said that dairy farmers will not allow KMF to sell curd packets using the word ‘Dahi’ in Karnataka. He alleged that the move was yet another attempt by the central government to “cunningly” impose Hindi on southern states. (Read more)
Former Karnataka CM Yeddiyurappa said today that he is confident of BJP winning an absolute majority in the upcoming Assembly elections.
BJP Parliamentary Board member BS Yediyurappa said today that there are discussions on fielding BJP vice president BY Vijayendra against Congress leader Siddaramaiah at Varuna constituency.
The Karnataka High Court has issued an order restraining the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) from allowing construction, commercial or recreational activities in the 71-acre lakebed area of the Mallathahalli lake.
A division bench of Justices B Veerappa and Venkatesh Naik issued the order after social activist Geeta Misra filed an interlocutory application during a hearing on lake encroachment.
For their part, the BBMP has said the lakebed was not used at any point, and previously permissions were granted only outside the lakebed area and it had not been granted for the installation of statues in the fenced-off lake area. (Read more)
Here's what the Bengaluru Meteorological Department predicts.
For 24 hours: Generally cloudy sky. Light rain is likely towards evening or night. Maximum and minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 34 and 23 degrees Celsius respectively.
For 48 hours: Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 34 and 23 degrees Celsius respectively.
A non-cognisable offence has been registered by the police against the Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar following a complaint, which alleged that he distributed cash during a poll campaign.
The complainant alleged that the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President had “thrown money” at Bevinahalli village in Mandya Taluk on Tuesday, a day before the Election Commission announced the Karnataka Assembly election schedule. (Read more)
On the basis of specific information, the officers of NCB Bengaluru Zone affected a seizure of 541 Kgs. of Ganja at Rajahmundry from a truck on 29.03.2023 and one Skoda car which was piloting the truck was also seized. Four persons were apprehended.
The modus of the interstate gang is to procure Ganja in huge amount and load them in trucks and stack it with various vegetables and transport Ganja in the guise of transporting vegetables. The drug was sourced from Andhra-Orissa-border and was destined to different states including Karnataka. Further investigation is in progress.
By seizing the drug & apprehension the persons, the interstate drug syndicate which was operating in the region has been neutralised.
Several parts of Bengaluru Urban district received light to moderate showers. According to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell parts of North Bengaluru received above 50 mm rainfall.
Rains also recorded in districts such as Mysuru and Belagavi
Soon after the Election Commission announced Assembly poll dates for Karnataka on Wednesday morning, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) listed out initiatives to increase voter participation in the May 10 elections. The commission had taken note of the very low turnout in Bengaluru district.
The BBMP along with district election officers, chief commissioners of Bengaluru city and other election officers will be implementing voter awareness programmes as part of the systematic voters education and electoral participation (SVEEP) activities to reach out to the young and first-time voters as well as migrant labourers and transgender people and other marginalised sections. From using the Swiggy application to setting up electoral literacy clubs and performing street plays, the BBMP has planned special outreach programmes to increase voter participation. Click Here
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Wednesday said it has provisionally attached movable assets to the tune of Rs 106 crore in the Chinese Loan App Case.
The ED said certain firms were incorporated by appointing dummy directors on behalf of Chinese nationals, who obtained KYC documents of company staff and appointed them as directors, and even opened bank accounts in their name without their knowledge or prior consent. These firms provided instant short-term loans to the public through loan apps and other means and charged high processing fees. Exorbitant rates of interest were subsequently charged from the borrowers by threatening them.
ED officials said these Chinese national-controlled entities indulged in money laundering activities through merchant IDs maintained with various payment gateways like Razorpay, Cashfree, Paytm, PayU, and Easebuzz, and several bank accounts.
The ED initiated an investigation into the case based on the basis of FIRs registered by Cyber Crime Police Station, Bengaluru under various sections of the Karnataka Money-Lenders Act, 1961; Information Technology Act, 2000; Karnataka Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act, 2004; and the Indian Penal Code.
Just as the second pre-university (PU) examination concluded today, the students of Karnataka will be appearing for Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination starting tomorrow. The examination which will go on till April 15 will see students from 15,498 schools in the state registered for the examination. Students from 5833 government schools, 3605 aided schools and 6060 private schools have registered for the SSLC examination.
According to the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board, a total of 8,42,811 students have registered for the examination out of which 7,94,611 students are freshers. Out of the 8 lakh students, 3.6 lakh students belong to government schools, 2.2 lakh students belong to aided schools and over 2.6 lakh students are private school students.
According to KSEAB, the examination will be conducted in 3,305 examination centers. Bengaluru South district tops the list with the highest number of students (54,335) registered for the examination. Out of the 8 lakh students, 4.3 lakh students are boys and 4.1 lakh students are girls. SSLC examination will kick off with the first language exam i.e., Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, English, Tamil, Urdu, Marathi, and Sanskrit will be conducted.
In addition, KSEAB is also conducting public examination for class 5 and 8 state board students which will conclude on March 30 and April 1 respectively.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Tuesday announced that five prominent Bengalureans have been chosen as ‘Namma Bengaluru Icons’. Civic officials said the five ‘icons’ will encourage citizens to vote in the upcoming Assembly elections.
The five ‘icons’ are international badminton player Anup Sridhar, international para swimmer Sharat M Gaikwad, singer Mohan Kumar N, Kannada film/television artist Anand H (Master Anand), and international kabaddi player Tejaswini Bai.
BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath, who launched the ‘Namma Bengaluru Icons’ program at the Townhall in the city, said: “These five important people will work hand in hand with us to create awareness among the citizens in order to inspire the people of the city to vote…” Read More
Model Code of Conduct:
-The guidelines prohibit parties and candidates from engaging in activities that may incite hatred or create tension between different groups based on caste, religion, or language.
-Criticism of other parties should be limited to policies, programmes, past records and work, and should not extend to their private lives.
-Political parties and candidates are also expected to avoid corrupt practices and offences under election law, such as bribing voters, intimidation, impersonation, canvassing within 100 meters of polling stations, and holding public meetings during the 48-hour period before polling.
-Individuals' right to a peaceful home life must be respected, and parties and candidates should not permit their followers to use someone else's property without permission for campaigning purposes.
-Furthermore, political parties and candidates should ensure that their supporters do not disrupt meetings and processions organized by other parties, and should refrain from removing posters issued by other parties.
A day after former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa’s residence in Shivamogga district was vandalised, the police arrested three people, including a Congress leader, and booked 22 people.
Shikaripura Congress General Secretary Raghavendra Naik, Puneeth Naik and Premkumar Naik were arrested based on a complaint filed by Rajappa, an assistant reserve sub-inspector, the police said.
On Monday, a massive protest led by the members of the Banjara, Bhovi, Koracha and Korama communities against the state government’s decision on internal reservation in the 17 per cent Scheduled Castes quota turned violent with protesters pelting stones at Yediyurappa’s residence. Click Here
The World Bank's Executive Board of Directors has approved a $363 million loan to Karnataka to provide clean drinking water supply to two million rural households in the state through a piped water connection in their homes.
Almost 77 per cent of Karnataka is arid or semi-arid and is vulnerable to climate-change-related variable rainfall causing droughts and floods, and leading to groundwater depletion, and deteriorating water quality, a World Bank statement said on Wednesday.
"The Karnataka Sustainable Rural Water Supply Program will support the Government of Karnataka's ambition to provide functioning tap water connections to every rural household in the state," it said. "This will include the construction of the drinking water distribution network and the installation of water meters in rural households and will benefit around 10 million people across all 31 districts in the state". (PTI)
A massive protest led by the members of Banjara, Bhovi, Koracha and Korama communities turned violent when they began pelting stones at former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s home in Shivamogga district, Karnataka, on Monday (March 27).
The demonstration has come just days after the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government announced internal reservation in the 17 per cent Scheduled Castes quota for around 101 castes following a cabinet meeting on March 24. (Read more)
On not announcing the dates for the Wayanad by-poll, the CEC said that there is six months time after the occurrence of the vacancy and that the trial court has given 30 days time for remedy. There is no hurry, said the CEC.
Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi was recently disqualified from the Parliament following his sentencing in the 2019 defamation case.
The Supreme Court today quashed Karnataka High Court's remarks against Karnataka ADGP Seemanth Kumar Singh, adding that court remarks have far-reaching ramifications due to live broadcast.
It is essential for the courts to be extremely cautious while passing adverse remarks against the parties involved, said the apex court.
Byelections will also be held in Jalandhar (Punjab), Jharsuguda (Odisha), Chhanbey and Suar (Uttar Pradesh), and Sohiong (Meghalaya) on the same dates.
With Karnataka polls just around the corner, a video showing state Congress president DK Shivakumar showering currency notes on crowds during a roadshow has stirred a row.
In the video, Shivakumar, during the ‘Praja Dhwani Yatra’ organised by the Congress in Bevinahalli in the Mandya district Tuesday, was seen flinging Rs 500 notes from the rooftop of a bus. (Read more)
Karnataka Assembly elections will be held on May 10 and the counting of votes will be held on May 13, announced the Election Commission.
Central Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar says in the press conference:
The term of the Karnataka Assembly is till May 24. Have to complete elections before that. There are 224 assembly constituencies and 5.21 crore electors, almost equally male and female electors. There are 12.15 lakh 80 years+ electors, they will get a postal ballot facility for the first time in the state. (Damini Nath reports from Delhi)
The Election Commission said that the urban apathy to voting, which is reducing even more from previous levels, is a cause for grave concern.
Measures to engage professionals in the IT corridor and the knowledge industry have been planned, via an event similar to the Hackathon.
Over 41,000 youngsters who turn 18 years between Jan 2 and April 1, 2023 in Karnataka will be eligible to vote in this election, said the Election Commission.
The state has more than 9 lakh first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 19 years.
Election Commission's press meet to announce the Karnataka election dates have begun. Stay tuned for more updates.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will return to the Kolar region of Karnataka for the first time since being convicted for two years in a defamation case by a Surat court over an election speech in Kolar in 2019 where he was accused of equating Prime Minister Narendra Modi with economic offenders.
Former Congress MP from Kolar K H Muniyappa in a press conference on Tuesday said Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge have decided to hold a rally in Kolar on April 5 as a part of the Congress campaign for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections. (Read more)
The Supreme Court Tuesday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for 30 years for raping and killing an IT employee while driving her home in Bengaluru in 2005.
On December 13 2005, the victim, who worked with a multinational company, was raped and murdered when she was heading home in the office cab driver by Shivakumar after finishing her night shift. Shivakumar raped her at a deserted place and slit her throat.
The incident sent shock waves across the country, making the government formulate policies towards the safety of working women. In 2010, a fast-track court in Bengaluru awarded life imprisonment till death to Shivakumar. In 2016, Karnataka High Court upheld life imprisonment, rejecting the state government’s plea to impose the death penalty. Read full story here.
Here's what the Bengaluru Meteorological Department predicts.
For 24 hours: Mainly clear sky. Maximum and minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 35 and 23 Degree Celsius respectively.
For 48 hours: Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 35 and 23 Degree Celsius respectively.
The caste cauldron in Karnataka is heating up with the Basavaraj Bommai government rejigging quotas ahead of assembly elections. In October, it increased the quota for SCs from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and STs from 5 per cent to 7 per cent. Last Friday, it did away with the 4 per cent quota for Muslims and announced that it would be shared between the powerful Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities, which until now enjoyed four per cent and five per cent sub quotas within the OBC segment.
Last week, the government also decided to recommend internal reservation within the SC quota. These moves have upset the equilibrium and may potentially bring to the fore resentments and aspirations that were lying dormant so far. The protests by the Banjara community on Monday against the proposal for subcategories within the SC segment is a sign of the undoing of calculations of political parties. (Read more)
Karnataka election dates are likely to be announced today. The Election Commission has called a press meeting at 11.30 am to announce the schedule of the state Legislative Assembly election 2023 in New Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will return to the Kolar region of Karnataka for the first time since being convicted for two years in a defamation case by a Surat court over an election speech in Kolar in 2019 where he was accused of equating Prime Minister Narendra Modi with economic offenders.
Former Congress MP from Kolar K H Muniyappa in a press conference on Tuesday said Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge have decided to hold a rally in Kolar on April 5 as a part of the Congress campaign for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections. Know More
In what appears to be another attempt to woo the Vokkaliga community, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday announced that the state-run Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) will be renamed after former chief minister and one of the key contributors to the construction of Vidhan Soudha, Kengal Hanumanthiah.
Bommai made the announcement while laying the foundation for the university campus in Archakarahalli in Ramanagara district. Lakkappanahalli, the birthplace of Hanumanthiah, is 10km away from the new proposed location for RGUHS in Ramanagara. Read More
Right-wing groups Tuesday staged a protest opposing the tradition of reciting excerpts of Quran to mark the start of the annual chariot festival (rathotsava) at the historic Chennakeshava temple in Karnataka’s Belur on April 3.
Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists Tuesday urged the state government to stop the practice, which is part of the temple manual dating back to 1932. Mahipal of VHP said that there has been enough research to say that it was not an ancient practice but has been done only since 1932. “Muslim community has nothing to do with temple activities but it became a manual. We are demanding the government to remove it,” he added. Click Here
Bengaluru will have mainly clear skies for the next 24 hours with temperatures ranging from 22°C to 35°C. The following 48 hours will be partly cloudy with a maximum and minimum temperature of 34°C and 23°C. The weather will be warm and pleasant.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has attached properties worth Rs 114.19 crore pertaining to the various defaulter borrowers of Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank Niyamitha (SGRSBN) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in connection with the misappropriation of public deposits to the tune of more than Rs 800 crore.
The attached assets are in the form of 21 immovable properties consisting of vacant lands, residential houses, commercial and industrial buildings and movable properties in the form of bank balance of Rs 3.15 crore. Click Here
A police officer has told a trial court that he found 18 basic mobile phones at the house of Sujit Kumar alias Praveen Kumar, one of the key accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, during a search operation in the Udupi region of Karnataka in May 2018.
The police officer, in his deposition, reported the finding of an Aadhaar card in the name of Sujit Kumar, a voter ID card, maps of the state of Maharashtra and Karnataka, a xerox copy of an article written in the Sanatan Prabhat (a publication of the right-wing outfit the Sanatan Sanstha) by Anjali Gadgil, 18 mobile phones of Lava and Samsung companies on one of the shelves in the kitchen and 15 pouches with SIM cards of operators like Vodafone, Tata Docomo, and Airtel in another shelf. There were also four receipts for the purchase of phones in the name of Kumar. Read More Here
As Bengaluru grows outwards and upwards, the green spaces of the city remain a timeless reminder of the city as it once was, especially to those residents who were here before the hustle and bustle of today’s IT hub. The prominent among these green spaces is the botanical garden of Lal Bagh. But far from only being a garden, Lal Bagh is a historical site, spanning the eras of Kempe Gowda, Tipu Sultan, and colonial British rule.
The oldest section of the park is fittingly located on a formation of ancient peninsular gneiss rock, about 3 billion years old, which by itself is a National Geological Monument. It is capped by one of the four towers that were erected by 16th-century ruler Kempe Gowda II to mark the boundaries of Bengaluru and observe the surrounding terrain. Older relics, such as a Vijayanagara-era hero stone, also hint at an even older past. It is not entirely certain where the name ‘Lal Bagh’ itself comes from – with tales ranging from the red soil prevalent in the area to Tipu coming across red flowers in the gardens as a child. Arnav Chandrasekhar reported
The Puttenahalli lake near Yelahanka is spread over 37 acres in north Bengaluru. Known for housing 120 species of birds, the lake was declared a bird conservation reserve in 2015 and stands as a shining example where locals, researchers and the forest department came forward to restore a lake.
In 2012, an active residents’ group called the Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake and Bird Conservation Trust was formed to deal with the problems the lake was facing. One of its objectives was to involve local communities and residents in restoring and maintaining the lake. The water body was restored in 2019.
The forest department is the custodian of the lake. Tap Here to know more
IMD has predicted isolated to widespread very light to moderate rains with isolated heavy rains over South Interior Karnataka (SIK) districts. Dry weather is likely to prevail over remaining districts of the State, as per the weather agency.
Check out region-wise rainfall forecast:
SIK: Scattered to widespread very light to moderate rains with isolated heavy rains likely over Ramanagara & Bengaluru Urban districts and isolated to scattered very light to moderate rains likely over Bengaluru Rural, Mandya, Mysuru districts and dry weather likely to prevail over remaining districts of the region.
NIK: Dry weather likely to prevail over the region
Malnad: Dry weather likely to prevail over the region
Coastal: Dry weather likely to prevail over the region.
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By repeatedly changing the goalposts over the timing of cabinet expansion in Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the ruling BJP managed to deftly sidestep potential disgruntlement within a section of the party, that would have in a way put the leadership in a firefighting mode in the run-up to Assembly elections, instead of strategising for poll victory.
The Bommai-led government is going to the elections, due by May, with six vacant berths, with the Election Commission expected to announce the poll schedule in the next few days. (PTI)
In the wake of a spike in influenza cases and rise in Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks in the country and the state, the Karnataka health department in a circular said that the exercise of whole genome sequencing (WGS) for tracking of newer variants should be expedited to evoke timely response.
The circular issued by state health commissioner Randeep D stated that wearing masks on hospital premises by patients, health professionals and health workers should be ensured by the hospital authorities. Read more
A single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed the bail plea of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, 72, in a bribery case filed earlier this month by the Karnataka Lokayukta police. The BJP MLA was arrested by the Lokayukta police a few hours after the bail plea was dismissed.
The case was filed by the Lokayukta police after the MLA’s son Prashant Madal was caught red-handed on March 2 while allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 40 lakh from a businessman for awarding a tender for the supply of raw materials to the state-run Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KSDL), which was then headed by Virupakshappa. Read more