Karnataka Congress leaders Thursday held a protest outside the state assembly in Bengaluru after reports claimed that a number of Congress and JD(S) leaders were potential targets of surveillance by the Pegasus spyware in the run-up to the collapse of the alliance government in 2019.
READ | Pegasus row: Karnataka Congress protests ‘snooping’ on leaders before alliance government’s collapse
With the second academic year in a row with no offline classes already underway, the Karnataka government is likely to begin offline classes in a phased manner from August, sources in the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) indicated.
READ | Karnataka: Offline classes in schools likely to begin in phased manner from Aug
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Noted Kannada author Babu Krishnamurthy’s award-winning “Ajeya”, biographical novel on the life of revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad, will be released in English in the first week of August, announced publishing house Garuda Prakashan Friday on the freedom fighter’s 115th birth anniversary.
The book, “Azad: The Invincible”, is translated into English by Manjula Tekal. It builds a comprehensive portrait of the revolutionary through anecdotes, letters, his contemporaries’ biographical references, and news sources from pre-Independence India. “‘Azad: The Invincible’ is the exciting, thrilling and ever inspiring saga of Chandrashekhar Azad, the embodiment of courage, conviction and heroism of Indian freedom movement which is ‘stranger than fiction’. It keeps the reader on tenterhooks from first page to last page,” said Krishnamurthy.
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Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado has written to the Karnataka government seeking clarity on the guidelines issued by the state to allow devotees in religious places in the wake of several restrictions being eased recently.
"We are disappointed to note that there is no mention of the Christian Community being allowed to worship in the Churches. The faithful have been unhappy over these developments and have been endlessly reaching out to know as to when the
Churches will be open," he said.
He explained that while temples were allowed initially, the Muslim community was specified permission later by the Department of Minority Welfare, Haj & Waqf allowing them to offer prayers with 50% capacity of devotees.
Machado further alleged that efforts to reach out to the concerned authorities have not yielded any result yet, to get clarity on the same. He added that he has written to the Chief Secretary and the Chairman of the State Executive Committee to clear the confusion.
Karnataka Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramiah Friday urged the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to consider a Dalit leader as a possible successor for B S Yediyurappa, as strong speculations continue over the latter's exit in the coming days.
Also the leader of opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah said, "If at all the BJP Karnataka president (Nalin Kumar Kateel) has a concern about Dalits, his party should pick a Dalit leader as the next CM of Karnataka after Yediyurappa's resignation."
He added, "As a person who speaks a lot about social justice, he (Kateel) should immediately take steps to appoint a Dalit leader as the next CM," while speaking to reporters in Mangaluru.
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The Central Crime Branch police on Friday conducted raids and searches at the residences of various known criminals and their associates in Bengaluru.
“CCB raids on active and notorious rowdies — Wilson Garden Naga, Cycle Ravi, Silent Sunil, J B Narayan — and their associates are now underway. The residences, 45 in total, of these four rowdy sheeters and their associates, are being searched,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Sandeep Patil, said.
He added that these criminals were involved in several cases of murder, extortion, land-grabbing, and illegal settlement of property disputes among others.
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Following relentless rain Thursday, landslides have been reported on the National Highway 75 near Donigal in Sakaleshpur taluk, Karnataka. The vehicular movement on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru highway has been hit, according to the district administration.
Hassan Deputy Commissioner R Girish inspected the incident spot. While light vehicles heading towards Mangaluru-Bengaluru will ply via the Bisle Ghat, heavy vehicles have been diverted to Charmadi Ghat or Madikeri-Puttur route, the Hassan district administration said.
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The Common Entrance Exam (CEE) for Army Recruitment scheduled to be held on July 25 has been postponed. According to a statement from the Bengaluru Defence Public Relations Office, the decision was taken in the wake of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and the monsoon situation.
"Fresh date for CEE will be intimated later," the PRO informed.
Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar Friday discussed the construction of a proposed memorial for 'Corona Warriors' who lost their lives to the pandemic in the state. "The Memorial will be a tribute to the selfless service of our 'Corona Warriors' and will become a source of inspiration for all young doctors and healthcare professionals," he said after a meeting with top officials of the department.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is conducting an inspection of road work taken under Bengaluru Smart City Limited, on Friday.
Along with officials, the Chief Minister inspected planetarium road, commercial street, infantry road, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road and several other hospitals. BBMP officials said that 12 smart tender roads in the central business district have been completed and 10 roads will be completed by the end of July.
A total of 59.03km of road works have been taken up under the smart cities mission in the central business district which includes 36 roads at the cost of Rs 481.65 crore. In phase A, 20 roads were taken up and in package B, 16 roads have been taken up.
The Maharashtra government has urged the Karnataka government to increase the water discharge from Almatti dam beyond 2 lakh cusecs for flood management in the western part of the state.
Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil on Friday said, “Maharashtra is communicating with Karnataka government. At present, the water discharge from Almatti dam is up to two lakh cusecs. We are requesting the Karnataka government to increase the water discharge in Almatti dam.”
The rising water levels in the Krishna basin due to incessant rainfall has led to floods in several cities and villages.
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Mangaluru-Mumbai train derailed between Dudhsagar and Sonalim in Goa on Friday morning.
According to railways, no injuries have been reported so far and restoration work is in progress. “Passengers affected have been shifted to other coaches,” South Western railways said in a bulletin.
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Doctors treating Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister Oscar Fernandes at a private hospital in Mangalore said on Friday that his health has slightly improved, but he remains in the Intensive Care Unit. Fernandes suffered internal injuries after falling at his residence while doing exercises.
“Fernandes (80) continues to be in the Intensive Care Unit and our top team of experts is keeping a close watch on all parameters,” a doctor from the hospital told IndianExpress.com.
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All teaching and non-teaching staff of all government, aided and unaided schools will be vaccinated on priority as a safety measure, said Health and Medical Education Minister Dr. K Sudhakar.
Schools will have to reopen sooner or later and students cannot rely on online classes forever, he said. Online classes may impact the psychological health of children and therefore the government will engage in a wide consultation process before arriving at any decision, he added.
The minister underlined that the state will soon cross three crore doses. While permission has been given to reopen medical colleges, other educational institutions will be reopened in a phased manner and measures taken to ensure the safety of students.
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Karnataka reported 1,653 new Covid-19 cases and 31 deaths Thursday, taking the total number of infections past 28.89 lakh and the toll to 36,293.
The day also saw 2,572 recoveries — once again higher than new infections — bringing the active caseload down to 24,695. Out of the 1,653 new cases, 418 cases were from Bengaluru Urban.
The test positivity rate stood at 1.17 percent and the case fatality rate at 1.87 percent.
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The Karnataka cabinet has approved a scheme offering cashless medical treatment to all government employees and their dependent family members.
According to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the formulation of the Karnataka Arogya Sanjeevini Scheme was approved by the cabinet on Thursday. "The government will set aside Rs 250 crore per year for the scheme, as announced in the budget earlier," he said.
Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar has said that the results of the SSLC exams (Class 10) that concluded on Thursday are likely to be announced by August 10.
Addressing reporters after visiting several exam centres during the day, when exams were held from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm, he said that 99.6 per cent of students who had registered for the exam attended it on the second and final day.
As per Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) data, 99.62 per cent out of 8,19,694 students appeared for the first language as opposed to the 98.41 per cent attendance last year. Meanwhile, 99.60 per cent and 99.62 per cent of the total candidates answered questions for the second and third language subjects on Thursday.
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Following relentless rain, landslides have been reported on National Highway 75 near Donigal in Sakaleshpur taluk, Karnataka on Thursday.
The vehicular movement on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru highway has been hit by the landslide, according to district administration.
Light vehicles heading towards Mangaluru-Bengaluru to ply via Bisle Ghat while heavy vehicles have been diverted to Charmadi Ghat or Madikeri-Puttur route.
Meanwhile, heavy rain continued to shower in Kodagu district and parts of Malnad region on Thursday. The Cauvery river has submerged the low-lying Balamuri bridge. Triveni Sangama is full to the brim due to heavy rain in Bhagamandala.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to conduct inspection of roads taken under Bengaluru Smart City Limited, on Friday.
The Chief minister will inspect planetarium road, commercial street, infantry road, Raja Ram Mohan Roy road and several other hospitals. BBMP officials said that 12 smart tender roads in the central business district have been completed and 10 roads will be completed by the end of July.
A total of 59.03km of road works have been taken up under the smart cities mission in the central business district which includes 36 roads at the cost of Rs 481.65 crore. In phase A, 20 roads were taken up and in package B, 16 roads have been taken up.
Janata Dal (Secular) Legislative Party leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has alleged corruption highlighting that the Yediyurappa-led government had approved Rs 12,000 crore for various works in the Water Resources Department in quick succession.
"The government has approved works worth Rs 12,000 crore, in a hurry, towards four irrigation corporations at a meeting chaired by the CM. This is amid speculation that the CM will resign in a couple of days," Kumaraswamy said.
Further, Kumaraswamy alleged, "What is the reason for the decision? This is a money-making exercise." He also questioned the government on its plans of irrigation works in north Karnataka stressting if it was "serious at all" in implementing such schemes there.
The Bengaluru police detained over 10 rowdy-sheeters from Adugodi in connection with the murder of a history-sheeter who was hacked to death inside a bank in Koramangala on Monday.
On Wednesday, police fired on two accused who allegedly attacked the police who tried to arrest them. Both are recovering at a private hospital, police said.
A rowdy-sheeter Babli Joseph (30) was hacked to death by a gang of eight men inside a bank in front of his wife and daughter at the busy Koramangala area in Bengaluru on Monday afternoon.
The murder took place inside the Union bank in Koramangala 8th block around 1.30 pm.
The Karnataka government has approved an expenditure of Rs 8,000 crore for various housing schemes in different parts of the state over the next two years.
Confirming the decision taken during the Cabinet meeting chaired by B S Yediyurappa on Thursday, Home, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, "A major decision taken today was to construct four lakh houses in rural areas and one lakh houses in urban areas under various housing schemes. The houses will be completed in two years at an expenditure of Rs 8,000 crore."
He added that Rs 500 crore was approved to ensure creation of basic infrastructure, water and electricity connections and for drainage and related works in one lakh houses being built within BBMP (Bengaluru's civic body) limits.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more rain for Karnataka till July 26.
As the South-West monsoon is vigorous, the IMD has issued an orange alert for most parts of coastal Karnataka on July 23 and yellow alert from July 24- 26 in coastal Karnataka.
Orange and yellow alerts have also also issued for parts of North- and South-interior Karnataka till July 24.
Bengaluru on Thursday recorded 1.7mm of rainfall, the international airport 1 mm rainfall and HAL airport 0.7 mm of rainfall up to 5.30 pm.
The Deputy Conservator of Forest of Bengaluru Urban has issued a public notice to remove 256 trees in the city to faciliate work related to Namma Metro. As per the notice, the trees have been identified between K R Puram and Baiyappanahalli depot and is expected to help in shifting of utilities, widening the road and construction of metro stations.
Earlier last month, another notice seeking the removal of 833 trees located on the median of the road was sought, in bid to enable construction of the elevated corridor between Silk Board and Kodibeesanahalli stations.
Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah Thursday visited Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, who is admitted to a private hospital in Mangaluru.
"The doctors here have informed that he (Fernandes) will be kept under observation for three more days and a decision on whether to do a surgery will be take then," Siddaramaiah said.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar said doctors and family members are confident that he will recover. "His condition is not as serious as projected. He will recover soon and we are praying for it," he said.
Fernandes (80) was admitted to the ICU of the hospital on Monday after he was diagnosed with internal injuries he suffered after a fall a day before in his residence while doing exercises.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa dropped further hints on Thursday of his impending resignation once the BJP government in the state completes its second year in office on July 26. Yediyurappa also refused to name his likely successor, saying the decision has been left to the leadership in Delhi.
“Two months ago, I had suggested that I should resign as CM in order to give an opportunity to someone else. Whether I am in power or not, I must bring the BJP to power for the next few years by strengthening the party. I have decided to travel to all corners of the state to strengthen the party,” said the Karnataka Chief Minister ahead of a Cabinet meeting that’s considered to be his final as CM.
“I will not provide any suggestions on who should be made (the new chief minister). It is left to Central leaders. I will not suggest any names and it is not necessary. Even if any names are sought, I will not recommend anyone. Please wait for July 25 and we will see what has to be done,” Yediyurappa said, adding that he is awaiting a signal from the BJP to decide his next move.
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The Central Crime Branch police on Friday began raids and searches at residences of various active rowdy sheeters and their associates in Bengaluru.
"CCB raids on active and notorious rowdies Wilson Garden Naga, Cycle Ravi, Silent Sunil and J B Narayan and their associates are now underway. The residences, 45 in total, of these four rowdy sheeters and their associates are being searched," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said.
Meanwhile, CCB sleuths found Rs 2 lakh as cash and daggers in one of the residences. "We will furnish further information after the raids are completed," the police said.
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