Bengaluru Live News: A worker seen outside Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, April 1, 2022. (PTI)Karnataka, Bengaluru Highlights: Petrol and diesel prices were Tuesday hiked by 80 paise a litre each, taking the total increase in rates in the last two weeks to Rs 9.20 per litre. With this, the petrol price in Bengaluru is now Rs. 110. 25 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 94.01 per litre.
In other news, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission approved an increase in energy charges by five paise per unit and raised fixed charges ranging between Rs 10 and 30 per kilo watt. The overall average increase accounts for 35 paise per unit for the financial year 2022-23, which is up by 4.33 per cent.
Amid opposition by some right-wing groups to the use of loudspeakers at mosques, senior Karnataka Minister K S Eshwarappa on Monday said, any solution to the issue can be found by taking the Muslim community into confidence, keeping the interests of students and patients in mind. Stating that it is not a competition to play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers to counter its use at mosques, and that it may lead to conflict between communities, Eshwarappa advised Muslim leaders to see to it that speakers are limited to their places of worship and don’t disturb people living in surrounding areas.
With several states lifting the rule requiring mandatory wearing of masks in public places, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Monday said he will consult the state Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and the chief minister on the issue.
“Though there is no official order on this, 90 per cent of the people are not wearing masks. The government is not imposing fines for not wearing masks as well. It is an undeclared order. Since the fourth wave has hit some countries, I will consult the TAC and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai before making any announcement,” he said.
Reacting to the development, epidemiologist Dr Giridhara R Babu tweeted, “Instead of consensus, (it is) ironic that the use of face masks has become a contentious issue.” Read More
A decentralized system for waste disposal in the city is needed. In this regard, the bulk waste generators and the bulk waste collection service providers within the BBMP area should take responsibility to get rid of the problem of bulk waste, said the Chief Commissioner, Gaurav Gupta.
Addressing a meeting held at the IPP center in Malleshwaram, today, to discuss the segregation and management of waste at source by bulk waste generators within the BBMP limits, he said that, almost 6,000 Metric tonnes of waste is generated per day within the BBMP limits, and among which, 1,500 tonnes of waste is being generated by bulk generators. The problem of waste should be eradicated through a decentralized system for waste disposal even by these bulk waste generators.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said he hopes to get instructions from the party leadership on the expansion or rejig of his cabinet, during the New Delhi trip.
The Chief Minister, who will be in the national capital today and tomorrow, is expected to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J P Nadda.
"I have no such instructions so far, when I go there and when I meet Amit Shah and Nadda ji, I hope to get...." Bommai said in response to a question on cabinet expansion or rejig.
Speaking to reporters here ahead of his travel, he said he has sought appointment from Nadda and Shah. "...it is not yet fixed, if it is fixed, I will meet them." When told that some Ministerial aspirants are in Delhi, he merely said, "...naturally." There is pressure mounting on the Chief Minister to expand or rejig his cabinet soon, after the recent Assembly elections in five states. PTI
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday dismissed Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao's attempts to compare Bengaluru with Hyderabad as "utter joke".
He was responding to Rao's recent tweet asking an entrepreneur in Bengaluru to shift to Hyderabad, claiming better physical and social infrastructure there.
''It is an utter joke....not just India, people from across the world are coming to Bengaluru. Highest startups are in Bengaluru. Highest unicorns are in Bengaluru, million and billion dollars worth," Bommai said in response to a question on Rao's tweet. PTI
Starting from Friday, April 8, the South Western Railways (SWR) will run Memu trains on the Bengaluru-Tumakuru line to facilitate office-goers, officials informed Tuesday.
The SWR has decided to run Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (Memu) trains between the two cities for the first time. On October 29, 2021, as a part of the Chikkabanavara-Hubballi electrification project, the SWR completed the electrification of the 64-km stretch.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Chief Public Relations Officer, South Western Railway, Aneesh Hegde said, “The train will leave from Tumakuru at 11:15 am and arrive at the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) railway station at 1:25 pm and depart from KSR at 1:50 pm and arrive at Tumakuru at 3:40 pm.” Read More
A day after retired IPS officer Bhaskar Rao joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), retired Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer K Mathai on Tuesday announced that he is joining the party next week. His announcement comes a year before assembly elections in the state.
Mathai who spoke to Indian Express confirmed that he is joining AAP. “I have been in touch with Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders of AAP from many days and time has come to join AAP. Karnataka is struggling in corruption and bad governance and in the present situation only AAP can bring change,” he added.
Mathai said, “we have been witnessing Congress, BJP and JD(S) in Karnataka and how people have lost trust because of their bad governance. Karnataka needs a change.” Read More
A special court in Bengaluru Tuesday convicted a head cashier to seven years of imprisonment for fraudulently exchanging demonetised currency with legal notes worth Rs 2.18 crore.
The convicted officer was identified as B Dinesh, who worked as the head cashier in the State Bank of Mysore’s (presently merged with State Bank of India) Periyapatna branch in Mysore district of Karnataka. Read More
A special court in Bengaluru has convicted a head cashier for seven years of imprisonment for fraudulently exchanging demonetized currency with legal notes for the tune of Rs 2.18 crore.
The convicted officer is B Dinesh who worked as head cashier in State Bank of Mysore (presently merged with State Bank of India) of Periyapatna branch in Mysore district in Karnataka.
The subsidy being paid for the SC-ST communities, under the Land Ownership Scheme, would be raised to Rs 20 lakh from the present Rs 15 lakh. A decision to this effect has been taken, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
The Chief Minister in his address at a function to present the Babu Jagjivan Ram award said, the subsidy being paid for the construction of homes for the SC, ST communities would be raised to Rs2 lakh from the present Rs1.75 lakh.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday approved a 2.75 per cent increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees with retrospective effect from January 1 this year, the state finance department said.
The decision would result in an additional annual expenditure of Rs 1,447 crore and the state government has issued the orders in this regard, a release from the Chief Minister's Office said. With this, the DA of government employees has been revised to 27.25 percent from 24.50 percent of their basic pay. According to the finance department, the hike would benefit around six lakh employees and 4.5 lakh pensioners in the state.
The Bengaluru city police have taken custody of a 26-year-old man from Gujarat who allegedly flew down to the city to commit chain-snatching last year.
The arrested has been identified as Umesh Khatik, a native of Ahmedabad. According to police sources, he came to Bengaluru on December 26, 2021, and snatched two gold chains from a woman on 100 Feet Ring Road. The police said that he had flown down from Gujarat to Bengaluru and stolen a bike in the city before snatching the chains.
The Ahmedabad police were alerted about the thief who then arrested him and recovered the chains he had stolen. He was lodged in the Sabarmati central prisons and brought to Bengaluru on a body warrant. On interrogation, it was found that he was involved in three chain snatching cases, in CK Achukattu, Mico Layout and Malleshwaram police limits, said the police. Read More
Retired Karnataka Administrative Service officer K Mathai is set to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Speaking to Indian Express, K Mathai, who was transferred 28 times during his 10-year tenure, said that he has already spoken to Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. He said he will be joining the AAP in a week's time.
A 12-year-old boy in Bengaluru allegedly made a hoax bomb threat call to the railway police helpline to stop his classmate from boarding a train at the Yelahanka railway station as he would then lose his partner in the online multiplayer game PUBG and have to stop playing it.
According to the railway police officials, the call to the helpline came around 2 pm on March 30 and the Railway protection Forces (RPF) employed an anti-sabotage squad and dog squad at the railway station. Later, it was established that the call was a hoax, said officials. (Read more)
The Karnataka government has revised the Dearness Allowance rates payable to the State government employees in the 2018 Revised Pay Scales from the existing 24.50% to 27.25% of basic pay with effect from January 1, 2022.
A 45-year-old truck driver from Bengaluru has been arrested and his vehicle seized for allegedly running over a stray dog in Andheri (west) in the early hours of Monday, said the police.
The incident took place around 1.45 am near the Bharat Petroleum pump in the Kapaswadi area of Andheri (west), said the police. The truck filled with coconuts allegedly ran over the dog leading to its death and Simon Rodriques, a marketing professional, who lives in the same locality, witnessed it, added the police. (Read more)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will embark on a visit to New Delhi on Tuesday afternoon to hold consultations with central leaders of the BJP regarding changes in the Cabinet as the BJP government in the state enters its final lap before the upcoming Assembly polls in April 2023.
Several aspirants for vacancies and ministers fearing ouster from the state Cabinet have also moved to Delhi to push their cases before party leaders, according to BJP sources. The party currently has four vacancies in a full quota of 34 ministerial berths in the government. There is speculation that the party may drop at least four ministers to induct new faces.
“I have sought time to meet Nadda-ji and Amit Shah-ji but an appointment is yet to be scheduled. I will meet them if time is allotted,” Bommai said Tuesday morning. (Read more)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai took to Twitter to greet the maritime community on the occasion of National Maritime Day.
Express' Bengaluru-based correspondent Kiran Parashar joins host Shashank Bhargava to discuss how right-wing groups, such as the VHP, are trying to restrict Muslim vendors from putting up stalls during temple fairs in Karnataka.
Bengaluru city is likely to see a maximum temperature of 34.6 degree Celsius and a minimum temperature of 21.7 degree Celsius, according to an 8.30 am update from the Meteorological Centre in Bengaluru. The humidity is set to be 79%. No rainfall has been predicted.
Here's the local forecast:
For 24 hours: Partly cloudy sky. Mist is very likely during early morning hours in some areas. Maximum and minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 34 and 22 degrees Celsius respectively.
For 48 hours: Partly cloudy sky. Mist is very likely during early morning hours in some areas. Maximum and minimum temperatures are very likely to be around 34 and 22 degrees Celsius respectively.
Petrol and diesel prices were Tuesday hiked by 80 paise a litre each, taking the total increase in rates in the last two weeks to Rs 9.20 per litre.
The new fuel prices in Bengaluru are as follows:
Petrol: Rs. 110. 25 per litre
Diesel: Rs. 94.01 per litre
Karnataka has reported 38 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Monday, as per the State health department's daily bulletin. This brings the total number of cases in the State so far to 39,45,698 and the death toll to 40,055.
Here are the latest key figures:
? New cases: 38 (?? from 50 on April 3)
? New Covid deaths: 1 (?? from zero)
? Positivity rate: 0.74% (?? 0.46%)
? Active cases: 1,500 (??from 1,515)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, diplomat Walter J. Lindner and Karnataka state leaders were among the many that congratulated music composer Ricky Kej, based out of Bengaluru, for winning the prestigious Grammy awards Monday.
Kej won his second Grammy in the best new album category for 'Divine Tides'. In 2015, Kej took home a Grammy in the best new age album category for 'Winds of Samsara'.
According to its official website, 'Divine Tides' is a nine-song album that aims to deliver the message that 'each individual life plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance that serves all equally'. (Read more)
A sessions court in the Belagavi district of Karnataka on Monday sentenced gangster Bannanje Raja alias Rajendra Kumar, 53, and his eight associates to life imprisonment for murder and organised crime activities.
The punishment was awarded in connection with the December 2013 murder of a businessman, R N Nayak, in the Ankola town of the Karwar coastal region.
The trial court has also ordered the payment of a compensation of Rs 30 lakh by the accused (including Rs 10 lakh by Raja) to the widow of the murdered businessman under the provisions of the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act, 2000. (Read more)
With prices of edible oils, cooking gas, fuel and other materials surging, Bruhat Bengaluru Hotel Association on Monday has decided to increase prices of food items by 10 per cent.
“The price of food items at restaurants and eateries will increase by around 10 per cent in the next week, ” PC Rao, president of the association, told The Indian Express.
Though the Association has suggested a 10 percent price hike across the board, it has left it to individual hotel owners to take a decision on the hike. Rao said the government is prepping to hike prices of milk and electricity soon. So, the price hike of food items was inevitable. (Read more)
Union minister Parshottam Rupala Monday urged oilseeds bodies to follow the footsteps of diary cooperatives like Amul to reduce the country's dependence on imports for the requirement of edible oil.
While launching the Dhara sunflower oil brand packaged by Bengaluru-based oilseeds cooperative KOF, the minister said cooperatives in the edible oil sector "need to adopt the Amul model" to grab larger market.
The cooperatives need to adopt the dairy cooperative Amul model and make a mark in the edible oils sector. It is possible if "healthy cooperatives" work with a motto to benefit both farmers and consumers, he said. (PTI)
Amid rising fuel prices, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission has announced an increase of 35 paise per unit—a 4.33 per cent rise—in power tariffs across the state.
According to a release issued by the commission, the electricity supply companies had sought a hike of 185 paise per unit. The commission raised tariffs by five paise per unit and the fixed charges by Rs 10- 35 per unit. So the overall increase works out to 35 paise per unit. The new tariffs came into effect on April 1.
To promote green energy, the commission has announced a rebate of 50 paise per unit for high-tension industries and high-tension commercial consumers. Read More
Karnataka has canes growing in over 15,000 hectares but a study carried out by retired Indian Forest Service officer AC Lakshmana, IFS Prakash Netalkar and researcher MN Ashwath has found that these patches are neither protected nor maintained well.
The study based on field investigations in Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada was published in the forest department’s Quarterly Journal of Forestry and Allied Sciences.
“During the field investigation, some of the plantations were not well maintained and protection (from animals and humankind) was worse in its condition. If this trend of carelessness, lethargy in protecting, cattle browsing, illicit felling continues, it is not easy to come back. It is time for the department to manage them appropriately and get returns from well-established plantations. These valuable plant resources should be managed and conserved for future utility,” reads the paper. Read More
Over the last decade, a whole lot of lakes in Bengaluru South have fallen victim to rampant encroachment and Jaraganahalli Lake is no different. Once a conspicuous part of the locality on Kanakapura Road near the present-day JP Nagar Metro station, the lake first gave way to a government school followed by various private encroachments in the years that followed. Today, the area has metamorphosed into a huge garbage dumping spot, with a slum settlement, a nursery and a garage squeezed in.
Now, Changemakers of Kanakapura Road Association, a citizens’ volunteer group, has started an online petition addressed to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Change.org demanding restoration of the lost lake.
The revenue map of 2015-16 indicates that the lake was originally spread across more than six acres in the area. As per the petition, in 1998, a part of the lake was converted into a playground for students of the Jaraganahalli Government Primary School, leaving behind just four acres for the water body; after 2008, this area too got concretised. Read More
Bangalore police would be prohibited from checking the mobile phones of any citizen under any circumstance, Commissioner of Police Kamal Pant tweeted on Monday.
Former IPS officer Bhaskar Rao on Monday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in New Delhi in the presence of the party’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Rao’s entry into politics comes ahead of the Assembly election in Karnataka which is likely to be held next year.
Senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti confirmed his plan to join the BJP. He is likely to be the party candidate for the upcoming MLC polls from West Teachers’ constituency.
Horatti, 72, elected as MLC seven successive times starting 1980, was seen as an important Lingayat face of the JD(S).
Horatti said, “I will join BJP before the elections to the MLC seat. The time has come to join BJP and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy too said he has no objections to my decision.” Read More
The ruling BJP is turning Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka which was once a domain of intellectuals into a communal laboratory for political gains, former State Minister and Congress leader B Ramanath Rai alleged on Monday.
Addressing reporters here, he further alleged that communal hatred has gone to extreme levels with the ruling party's attempt to polarise society. BJP has resorted to politics of vengeance in order to hide the total failure in administration.
He said programmes in temples were being used as tools for propagating communal ideology. Non-Hindus were not being allowed to do business at temple fairs.
Rai cautioned that BJP's campaign to instigate communal hatred would ultimately lead to racial hatred. The ruling party should stop votebank politics on the basis of religion to avoid further disaster, he said. PTI
Former IPS officer Bhaskar Rao on Monday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in New Delhi in the presence of the party’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Rao’s entry into politics comes ahead of the Assembly election in Karnataka which is likely to be held next year.
After applying for voluntary retirement from the service a few months ago, Rao – who was serving as ADGP (railways) – demitted office on Friday. He is likely to contest from Basavanagudi Assembly constituency, a strong base of the BJP, party sources said, adding that some JD(S) leaders and retired bureaucrats are likely to join the AAP in the near future.
Having formally joined the AAP, the former Bengaluru city police commissioner said both Karnataka and Bengaluru were progressive lands, but suffered due to corruption in politics. “In my 32 years of service as IPS officer, I have seen how political parties operate in Karnataka. I know their inside and outside operations. I was impressed by the AAP administration and wanted to join. This is a continuation of my first innings to serve people, but at a wider spectrum,” he said. Read More
The illegal hutments, garbage debris and sand lorries camouflage the existence of Jaraganahalli lake which existed for more than a hundred years, till it was overrun by encroachers. (Express Photo by Jithendra M)
HAL has and will continue to play a significant role in India’s current and future space program including the Gaganyaan manned mission to space, given the skills and knowledge base within the company said S. Somanath, Chairman ISRO. He identified indigenisation and cost reduction as major challenges in space missions and said, apart from HAL private players will have a role in achieving these goals. He was speaking at the handing over function of the First set of Gaganyaan Hardware by HAL to ISRO and at the inauguration of HAL’s PS2/GS2 stage integration facility here today. HAL also handed over 150th Make Satellite Bust Shelter on this occasion.
Mr R Madhavan, CMD, HAL recalled HAL’s long association with ISRO for over 40 years and said HAL is well poised to play a bigger role in the integration activities related to the launch vehicles. “We will continue to be a reliable partner of ISRO with dedication, devotion and zeal”, he added.
The PS2 stage is the second stage of PSLV launch vehicle in which earth storable propellants are used for propulsion.
After a Telangana minister invited startups to move to Hyderabad from Bengaluru following concerns raised by IT professionals over the state of road infrastructure in the Karnataka capital, IT Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said that Karnataka is “competing globally and not with the neighbouring states”.
“Bengaluru has built many unicorns and let Telangana focus on that. We are Indians first and not intolerant of the progress of our neighbouring states,” Narayan said on Sunday.
“I am not saying that the system is completely foolproof but the Centre and the state are making all efforts to clear all the loopholes. The system is more accountable than ever,” he added. Read More
Forum of Former Vice Chancellor of Karnataka State Universities (FVCK) alleged that violations of KSU Act 2000 and anomalies in the composition of Search Committees constituted for empanelling suitable candidates for appointment of Vice Chancellors. The letter comes after the recent appointment of vice chancellor of Bangalore University by the governor has been made null and void as the consent of the state govt was not obtained prior to the appointment.
Amid opposition by some right-wing groups to the use of loudspeakers at mosques, senior Karnataka Minister K S Eshwarappa on Monday said, any solution to the issue can be found by taking the Muslim community into confidence, keeping the interests of students and patients in mind.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray last week demanded that loudspeakers of mosques be shut down.
“If this is not stopped, there will be speakers outside mosques playing Hanuman Chalisa at higher volume,” he had said in Mumbai. Read More
A call by right-wing groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, and Sree Rama Sene to restrict Muslim vendors from putting up stalls during temple fairs held in villages across Karnataka has resulted in restrictions being imposed in some temples in a few communally-sensitive regions like Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Shivamogga over the past fortnight. The move has resulted in widespread controversy on account of its potential to impact the social fabric of life and business at the village level in the state through communal exclusion.
The BJP government in Karnataka has justified the restrictions on Muslim traders at temple fairs by stating that non-Hindus are barred from having stores in temple premises as per a rule issued in 2002 under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997. The temple fairs that are at the centre of the controversy incidentally represent the culture and traditions of specific areas where the festivals are held and are usually celebrated by people cutting across castes and religions.
Read Kiran Parashar's explainer here
Senior IPS officer B Bhaskar Rao, who recently resigned from service, will be joining Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in New Delhi on Monday. The Karnataka government has accepted the resignation of Rao, who until recently served as Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Railways. He will join AAP in the presence of Deputy CM of Delhi Manish Sisodia, party sources said.
Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti on Sunday said he would join the BJP and likely be its candidate for the upcoming MLC polls from West Teachers' constituency.
Horatti, elected as MLC seven successive times from 1980, has ended his association with the JD(S).
"...the time has come to join (BJP), not sure when...all (BJP) leaders have told me, I have also accepted it...they have not announced a candidate from this constituency for my sake," Horatti said. (PTI)
The issue of whether people should consume halal meat or any other form of meat is a non-issue but is being made out to be a major issue by right-wing groups to sow the seeds of division in society, Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said in a joint press conference with state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Sunday.
“Unnecessarily they are raising issues that affect relationships and ties between people and communities. These are not issues that are relevant to people or the lives of people. They are raising these issues and disturbing the peace in society,” Siddaramaiah said, during the course of criticising the economic policies of the BJP governments in the state and Centre. Read full report here
Karnataka on Sunday reported 50 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero deaths. While 51 patients recovered from the infection, today's positivity rate stood at 0.46 per cent.
Senior IPS officer Bhaskar Rao who resigned from service will join AAP in Delhi on Monday. He had applied for voluntary retirement in September last year. The 1990 batch IPS officer was posted as Bengaluru city police commissioner during 2019-20. According to sources, he is likely to contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka from a constituency in the Bengaluru South region.
A call by right-wing groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, and Sree Rama Sene to restrict Muslim vendors from putting up stalls during temple fairs held in villages across Karnataka has resulted in restrictions being imposed in some temples in a few communally-sensitive regions like Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Shivamogga over the past fortnight. The move has resulted in widespread controversy on account of its potential to impact the social fabric of life and business at the village level in the state through communal exclusion.
The BJP government in Karnataka has justified the restrictions on Muslim traders at temple fairs by stating that non-Hindus are barred from having stores in temple premises as per a rule issued in 2002 under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997. The temple fairs that are at the centre of the controversy incidentally represent the culture and traditions of specific areas where the festivals are held and are usually celebrated by people cutting across castes and religions. Kiran Parashar explains
Union Minister of State for Railways and Textiles, Darshana Jardosh, met Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai in Bengaluru today. According to the Union minister, they discussed ways to boost growth and create employment opportunities in the Textiles and Railways sector for the all round development of Karnataka.
As Hindu right-wing organisations continue to press their campaign against halal meat, traders fear that a routine government circular reiterating that an animal be stunned before slaughter could be used to harass them.
The order was issued by the Assistant Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services on Friday, noting that complaints had been received of licences being issued for slaughterhouses without ensuring that rules were being followed, and that officials must ensure that such facilities provide for stunning (usually done through administration of an electric shock). A violation would entail a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
With most slaughterhouses operating from small facilities, few meet the stunning requirement. Plus, whether the meat of an animal killed after stunning could qualify as halal is a grey area.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the BJP government in Karnataka as the country’s most corrupt government and exhorted his party workers to win at least 150 seats in the state Assembly elections scheduled next year.
“The BJP is working on a financial transfer mechanism; take money from the poor and give it to a handful of rich businessmen in the country,” Gandhi said while addressing a party meeting in Bengaluru. “The Prime Minister used to speak about corruption, but if he speaks about it in Karnataka, the people will laugh as the BJP government in the state is the most corrupt with a 40 per cent commission government,” he added.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Thursday issued a circular mandating the bulk waste generators to process biodegradable waste through composting method or bio-methanation or any other methods approved by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) or the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board or the Central Pollution Control Board within their respective premises.
“Sanitary waste to be handed over to the respective biomedical waste management services authorised by CPCB/KSPCB at the rates prescribed by them. It also mandates the segregation of waste as wet, dry and sanitary waste. The segregated dry waste has to be sent to BBMP’s nearby dry waste collection centres or to the authorised bulk waste service provider near the zone at their own expense,” the circular read.
Five Bajrang Dal workers were arrested in Bhadravathi in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district on Thursday in connection with two incidents of assault over the sale of halal meat, the police said on Friday.
Shivamogga Superintendent of Police B M Laxmi Prasad said a group of 10-15 men, including the accused, went to a butcher’s shop around 12.30 pm on Wednesday and asked for non-halal meat. When owner Syed Ansar’s relative Tousif asked them to go away, the accused allegedly assaulted the two.
About an hour later, the accused went to a nearby hotel in the Old Bhadravathi area and confronted hotelier Osama Hunain over the sale of halal meat, said the police. The accused allegedly attacked both Hunain and his friend Aditya, who had tried to intervene.