Karnataka Bengaluru August 12 Highlights: Bengaluru district admin bans entry of devotees to temples on weekends, public holidays

Petrol and diesel prices continued to remain unchanged across the country for the 26th straight day on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Petrol was last revised when it had touched a fresh record highs on July 17, when it rose by 30 paise per litre in the national capital while diesel prices were kept unchanged.

In Bengaluru, petrol is priced at Rs. 105.25 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 95.26 per litre.

Six police personnel from Karnataka are among 152 police officers in the country who have been conferred with the 'Union Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Investigation' for 2021 for their high professional standards of investigation of crime.

The Union Home Ministry, in a statement, said the awardees include 28 women police officials from across the country. 

This medal was constituted in 2018 with the objective to promote high professional standards of investigation of crime and to recognise such excellence in investigation by investigating officers. (PTI)

Miscreants, at around 1.30 am on Thursday, set two cars parked at the house of Bommanahalli BJP MLA Satish Reddy on fire.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East), Srinath Mahadev Joshi, confirmed that a special team was formed to nab the culprits.

Meanwhile, the police added that preliminary investigation indicated that a group of men broke into the premises. “CCTV footage shows a group of men pouring fuel they had carried in cans on the vehicles (a Mahindra Thar and a Toyota Fortuner), lighting them, and then fleeing from the spot,” the officer added.

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Anand Singh, 54, a four-time MLA from the iron ore-rich Ballari region of Karnataka with business interests in mining and transportation, has been appointed as the minister for tourism, ecology and environment in the BJP government in Karnataka under new Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Singh is, however, unhappy with his portfolios and has threatened to quit the cabinet within just a week of being sworn in. He is reportedly seeking high-profile portfolios, like the forest or the energy ministry.

Anand Singh was the minister for forest, environment and ecology for nearly a year in the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka from February 2020 to January 2021.

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Karnataka reported 1,826 new Covid-19 cases and 33 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 29,22,875 and death toll to 36,881, the health department said on Wednesday. The day also saw 1,618 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 28,63,117.

Dakshina Kannada district is still recording the highest number of daily cases in the state. On Wednesday, the border district report 422 new infections. A day earlier, it had recorded 378 new cases, while Bengaluru Urban reported 315 cases.

The number of active cases has now reached 22,851. While the positivity rate for the day was at 1.09 per cent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 1.80 per cent.

Out of 33 deaths reported on Wednesday, five are from Bengaluru Urban and Dakshina Kannada, three each from Belagavi, Hassan, Kolar and Mysuru, two each from Chitradurga, Kodagu, Mandya and Uttara Kannada, followed by the other districts. Hassan logged 175 fresh cases, Udupi 130 and Mysuru 118.

Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 12,31,474 infections, followed by Mysuru (1,74,199) and Tumakuru (1,18,431).

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A total of Rs 12.58 crore was collected as penalty from those violating Covid-19 guidelines to date, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the local body governing the Karnataka capital has said. 

As per BBMP data, the fines were collected between May 2020 and August 7, 2021. While Rs 11.86 crore was collected from over 4.93 lakh people for not wearing masks, another Rs 71.35 lakh was levied from those failed to maintain physical distancing.

Karnataka has tested the third highest number of Covid-19 samples in the country, and has crossed the four-crore mark for tests, minister K Sudhakar said on Wednesday.

“Karnataka crossed 4 Crore Covid-19 tests marking yet another milestone in the battle against pandemic,” he tweeted.

He further added, “More than 80 per cent of the tests conducted in the state are RT-PCR tests and Karnataka has tested the third highest number of samples in the entire country.”

According to the data shared by the minister, there are 3,338 swab collection centres in the state and 252 Covid testing labs.

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The Karnataka government is all set to become the first state in the country to begin the implementation of the National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 with Ashwathnarayan, the Higher Education Minister in the state, announcing the admission module to be followed from the current academic year (2021-22) will be launched soon.

The minister, after issuing an order earlier this week to implement NEP from this academic year, had announced admissions to private, aided, and government colleges in the state will be based on a module launched on August 23. “The admissions will be facilitated through the Unified University and College Management System (UUCMS),” he said.

However, several experts from the field of higher education felt the decision to do so was “hasty”. Niranjanaradhya V P, a development educationist based in Bengaluru told The Indian Express that NEP in itself was “vague”, accusing it of accelerating the process of privatisation and autonomy instead of addressing the core issue of strengthening public universities.

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80.65 percent of Bengalureans are now more connected with their neighbourhood as the Covid-19 pandemic brings communities closer compared to pre-Covid times, according to a recent study by MyGate ‘Trust Circle’.

Almost every respondent, 98.79 per cent of those queried in Bengaluru, acknowledged that their relationship and dependence on neighbours, local vendors and support staff (watchmen, delivery boys and maids) improved during this period. 

The study witnessed participation from over 2,867 Indians of all ages across Tier-1 and Tier -2 cities, namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune.

Even as the Karnataka High Court Wednesday upheld its 2019 interim order against the creation of an artificial island in Bengaluru’s Begur lake and the installation of a Shiva statue on it, some right-wing groups went ahead and unveiled the statue.

The idol had originally been installed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, but the creation of the island itself in the lake was held illegal by the court. Last week, it was unveiled by right wing groups.

On Wednesday, a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice M Nagaprasanna in its order called the unveiling “shocking”, citing interim orders dated August 30 2019, September 17, 2019 and February 22, 2021, which prohibited such actions.

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The South India Floriculture Association (SIFA) has demanded the government to revoke the order of banning the garlands, bouquets, and fruits at official programmes. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday issued an order which bans flowers, shawls at government events; only Kannada books to be given. 

SIFA said it would stage a protest on Thursday. The Protesters are planning to bring with them banned items such as flower garlands, bouquets, and fruit baskets. Farmers’ organisations and flower growers’ associations are likely to participate in the protest, a release said.

More than 300 children below the age of 19 years have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past six days in Bengaluru, amid reports on the possibility of a third wave which is predicted to affect children.

According to data by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), 127 children aged less than 10 years have tested positive for Covid-19 between August 5 and 10. Apart from these, 174 children aged between 10 and 19 years also tested Covid positive in the last six days.

The rise in Covid-19 cases in children in the city comes at a time when the country is yet to approve a vaccine which can be administered to children.

With the statutory inspections held by the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) on the extended Purple Line of Namma Metro in Bengaluru continuing in the city, officials are scheduled to check Kengeri and Kengeri bus terminal stations, on Thursday. 

According to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials, the CMRS inspection will also cover the interface between signalling and coaches apart from speed trials that will be conducted along the new strerch. 

This is an important phase before a green flag is given to BMRCL allowing it to begin commercial operations on the extended 7.53-kilometre long stretch between Mysore Road and Kengeri stations.

To facilitate the inspection, services between Vijayanagar and Mysore Road stations will remain suspended on Thursday.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has planned to plant saplings within Bangalore Urban District in a special drive that was launched by Minister of Youth Empowerment and Sports K C Narayana Gowda on Wednesday. 

The drive, according to BMRCL officials, will be held in association with Youth Empowerment and State Sports department, and National Service Scheme as part of "Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav" celebrations. 

Earlier last month, the Karnataka High Court had permitted BMRCL to cut and translocate around 348 trees after it was informed that 4,000 trees would be planted at the Old Military Dairy Farm at Hebbal.

The court had then directed the Tree Officer and Deputy Conservator of Forests (Bengaluru Urban) also to specify the number of trees to be planted in each category out of 33 varieties of plants, saying it is their duty to propose each category of saplings to be planted.

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Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will hold a water adalat today from 9.30 am and 11 am to address grievances related to water billing, delay in supply and sanitary connections, and other issues. 

According to BWSSB officials, it will be held at the following sub divisions: East-2-3, East-1-2, South-2, South East-4, West-2, South West-2, South East-2, North West-3, Central -2, North -2, North East-1 and North Village-1.

Consumers can contact helpline number 1916 or WhatsApp on 8762228888, BWSSB said in a media release.

The Karnataka state government Wednesday rejected the Karnataka Film Chambers and Commerce’s (KFCC) plea demanding full occupancy at cinema halls, and theatres. However, according to sources in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), CM Basavraj Bommai rejected their demand citing the Covid-19 situation. 

"However, the CM has clarified that their request will be looked into after a few days. Consultation with experts in the health sector will be held before informing them of a revised decision," an officer from the CMO said. 

At present, the government has allowed cinemas to operate at 50 per cent seating capacity with alternate seats left vacant.

The number of containment zones in Bengaluru have risen from 47 to 160.

In one month - July 10 to August 10 - the number of containment zones in the city reached 160, according to BBMP. 

Mahadevapura is seeing the highest concentration with 42. East Zone has 35, Bommanahalli 24, South and Yelahanka zones 20 each, RR Nagar 10, and West and Dasarahalli have 6 and 3 zones, respectively.

Alliance Air, state-owned Air India's regional arm, on Wednesday announced the commencement of its early-morning flight services from Hyderabad to Chennai, from August 29. Alliance Air will also operate similar flights from Hyderabad to Bengaluru from August 30, the airline said in a statement.

It added that it will deploy its 70-seater ATR aircraft to connect these cities. 
Effective August 30, the Hyderabad-Bengaluru flight will give the travellers from Hyderabad and Bengaluru multiple options for further connectivity in the early hours of the morning. Currently, Alliance Air is operating daily direct flights between the two cities in the evening, it said.

The same-day return connectivity between these cities will allow better time management for flyers and give a boost to trade and commerce, the airline stated. According to Alliance Air, the light 9I-501 will depart from Hyderabad at 6.30 am and arrive in Bengaluru at 8.20 am.

On its return leg, the Flight 9I-502 will depart from Bengaluru at 8.50 am and arrive in Hyderabad at 10.20 am, said the statement. Currently, Alliance Air connects 47 destinations across the country with 76 departures per day and 313 flights per week.

The district administration of Bengaluru Urban has banned the entry of the general public and devotees to temples on weekends and public holidays in a bid to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 infection. 

According to Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner J Manjunath, the ban will be enforced on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays during the month of ‘Shravan’. An order citing provisions of COVID-19 Regulations Rules 2020 and Disaster Management Act 2005 has also been issued.

However, devotees will be allowed to enter temples on other days following all related guidelines stipulated by the government.

After Athletics Federation of India (AFI) chief Adille Sumariwalla said he had never heard of Kashinath Naik, who has been awarded Rs 10 lakh by the Karnataka government for coaching Neeraj Chpra, Naik Wednesday hit back, reiterating that the Tokyo javelin gold medallist was his student.

Sumariwalla, speaking to a Kannada newspaper recently, had said, “Neeraj was trained by foreign coaches for the last six years and one should not take away credit. I have never heard the name of Kashinath Naik.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Naik, an army personnel and a former coach in AFI, said, “I am surprised at Sumariwalla’s statement. I have coached Neeraj Chopra between 2015 and 2017. I had gone to Poland as an assistant coach to Neeraj Chopra. Gary Calvert was the head coach.”

A Special Weapon and Tactics Team (SWAT) has been formed in Bengaluru to check any “untoward incident”, Karnataka police has announced.

According to Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil, the SWAT team has been carved out of the City Armed Reserve (CAR) unit. It comprises eight Reserve Sub Inspector (RSI) and 60 staff members,

"The SWAT team will respond to emergency situations, special duties, terrorist and Naxal activities, anti-social activities, protection of state and natural resources, and ensure security. "They will also be deputed for security at international programmes," Patil added.

As many as two cars parked in the premises of Bommanahalli BJP MLA Satish Reddy were set on fire by unknown miscreants late night on Wednesday. 

According to Bengaluru city police, the incident is said to have taken place at around 1 am. "Both cars that were set on fire were parked within the walls of the MLA's house. An investigation is on and we will check CCTV footages and other evidences collected from the area to nab the culprits soon," a senior police official who visited the spot said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has come up against his first crisis since taking over the top job, with a controversial minister in his new cabinet threatening to quit over the portfolio allocated to him.

Anand Singh, who was made the Minister for Environment, Ecology and Tourism, is a wealthy mining businessman-turned-politician who has been accused of illegal mining and forest crimes.

And it is the Forest portfolio — which was given to him for a brief period during the tenure of former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa — that the Vijayanagara MLA is said to have his eyes on.

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The Karnataka State Election Commission on Wednesday said polls for the city corporations of Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Kalaburagi, along with bypolls to a few other urban local bodies, will be held on September 3. Counting of votes will take place on September 6 and the model code of conduct will come into effect from August 16, it said.

Elections will be held for a total of 252 wards across seven urban local bodies. They include city corporations of Belagavi (58 wards), Hubballi-Dharwad (82), Kalaburagi (55), along with the Doddaballapur City Municipal Council (31), Tarikere Town Municipal Council (23), Bidar City Municipal Council (2) and Bhadravathi City Municipal Council (1).

While the last date for candidates to file their nominations is August 23, the last date to withdraw papers is August 26. 

According to the commission, there are a total of 14.01 lakh eligible voters, with the highest being in Hubballi-Dharwad - 8.11 lakh. Elections are being held as the term of some of these local bodies has ended and due to orders of the High Court, the Commission has said. (PTI)

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Welcome to the live blog from Bengaluru where we bring to you the latest updates on Basavaraj Bommai, Karnataka politics, Covid-19, BBMP and more across Bengaluru and Karnataka. Follow the blog and @IEBengaluru to stay up to date with the state in real time.