Plan panel almost had a date with terrorist

The deputy chairman of the Planning Commission in Karnataka,D H Shankarmurthy,is red-faced following the arrest...

The deputy chairman of the Planning Commission in Karnataka,D H Shankarmurthy,is red-faced following the arrest of alleged terrorist Saleem Abassi,son of Abassi Madani the leader of the Algerias Islamic Salvation Front FIS in Chennai on June 19. Abassi traveling on a Qatar passport was arrested on arrival from Malaysia on the basis of an Interpol look-out notice issued in connection with the 1992 bombing of the Algiers airport allegedly by the FIS. Abassi was scheduled to meet the Karnataka Planning Commission chairman in Bangalore on July 20 to discuss investments for his renewable energy firm in Karnataka. The blame for fixing the meeting is now being laid on state officials who looked up the Qatar passport holders credentials on the internet and told the Planning Commission office that he could be a prospective investor in the cash-strapped renewable energy sector. After contacts were established,Shankarmurthy himself held meetings with Abassis India representative to finalise the date and time of a formal meeting in Bangalore.

Computerisation of police offices delayed

NEARLY 15 years ago,Karnataka set out to computerise its police department beginning with the IT capital of Bangalore. The promise of filing complaints online,networking of police stations,online sharing of information between police units all still remain unfulfilled even as police modernisation makes a comeback into day-to-day parlance. Karnataka could still be the first to computerise the police force in the true sense. Software applications built at Wipro are almost complete. The administration module is being tested. The network and hardware is almost in place,say senior officers. There has been a lot of teething problems. It has taken a while for us to build the application that will be at the heart of the police computer system. It is no use having a network and hardware but no application like in the case of many states, says an officer. Currently,much of the police computerisation is limited to putting new records on to standalone computers. Police stations still send constables to deliver hard copies of daily reports to senior officers.

Mercedes Benz buses in KSRTC fleet

Continuing its efforts to provide high-end luxury segment buses to inter-city travelers,the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation is now adding Mercedes Benz buses to its existing fleet of Volvo buses. Transport Minister R Ashok,who attempted to popularise Volvo bus usage in Bangalore city with a Re 1 travel offer for a day last year,unveiled two Mercedes Benz buses this week ahead of what Mercedes officials indicated could be a major order for inter-city and intra-city buses. The Mercedes buses cost approximately Rs 80 lakh each and have facilities like height control systems that help the buses adjust to different road conditions. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation that has also invested sizably in Volvo buses is expected to pick up Mercedes buses as the corporation prepares for competition ahead of the completion of the Bangalore Metro Rail project.