Bangalore Metro services on Green Line to be disrupted on Thursday night

Civic

The disruption will be between National College and Yeshwantpur metro stations due to track maintenance work.

TNM Staff

Namma Metro services on the Green Line will be disrupted on Thursday night due to maintenance works. The disruption will be between National College and Yeshwantpur metro stations due to track maintenance work at Mahakavi Kuvempu Road station. The Green Line of the metro extends from Yelachenahalli in the south to Nagasandra in the north and crosses Majestic station along the way.  Bangalore Metro Rail Transport Corporation (BMRCL) officials confirmed that the last end-to-end train from Yelachenahalli station to Nagasandra station will leave at 9:28pm and from Nagasandra to Yelachenahalli, the last train will depart at 9:30pm, as per a Times of India report. Following that, the metro services will be running only between Yelachenahalli and National College stations and between Nagasandra and Yeshwantpur stations. This means that the last train to Nagasandra and Yelachenahalli will leave from Majestic station at 9:50pm, reported Deccan Herald.  There are currently seven six-car trains running in the city's metro service but only one of them plies on the Green Line due to higher demand on the Purple Line of the metro.  Earlier this month, an additional six-coach train was introduced by Bengaluru Metro officials on the Purple Line running from east-to-west in the city taking the total of such trains to seven. BMRCL plans to introduce three more six-coach trains from April. This comes after the first six-car metro running on the Green Line of the Namma Metro between Nagasandra in the north and Yelachenahalli in the south was flagged off in January. On the same day, two six-car trains were added to the Purple Line connecting Mysuru Road and Baiyappanahalli. Until June 2018, all the Namma Metro trains running in the city consisted of three coaches.

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K'taka Cong complains to EC against Anantkumar Hegde over comments on Rahul Gandhi

Politics

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), in its complaint to EC, stated that the comments offended the dignity and privacy of an individual.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) against Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde for his remarks against Congress President Rahul Gandhi. KPCC, in its complaint to EC, stated that the comments offended the dignity and privacy of an individual.  “It (the statement) is clearly calculated to prejudice the minds of the gullible voters of our country on the basis of religion and caste in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. It amounts to an offence under Section 153A and Section 295A of IPC and Section 125 of the Representation of People Act,” the complaint reads.  The union minister, who is a five-time MP from Uttara Kannada, made defamatory remarks against the Congress chief during a party workers meeting in Karwar. A video of Anantkumar Hegde questioning Rahul Gandhi's religion and asking for proof of DNA of the caste he belongs to, has been shared widely.  "Look at the pitiful situation they (Congress) have brought us to. The whole world is praising our soldiers for their courage and bravery and this man (referring to Rahul Gandhi) wants proof of the damage caused in the attack (the Balakot airstrike). How did the son of a Muslim become a Brahmin named Gandhi? This 'pardesi' (referring to Rahul Gandhi) was born to a Muslim and a Christian. How does he become a Brahmin? Can he provide DNA proof?," he had said. The comment by the minister is the latest in a series of crass remarks made by him. Earlier in January, he had called Rahul Gandhi a "hybrid specimen" who was "born to a Muslim and a Christian". In 2016, his speech  against the Muslim community had created controversy. He had also faced criticism for suggesting that the Constitution should be changed, in 2017. He later apologised in parliament for the statement.  Read: Anantkumar Hegde makes another Islamophobic comment against Rahul Gandhi

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K'taka HC asks govt to halt controversial elevated corridor project in Bengaluru

The HC was hearing a petition pertaining to the functioning of the Metropolitan Planning Committee. The next date of hearing is on March 19.

TNM Staff

The controversial elevated corridor project in Bengaluru for which the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited had hurriedly floated tenders, has been halted in its tracks by the Karnataka High Court. A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Narayana Swamy and Justice Dinesh Kumar on Wednesday asked the state government not to proceed further in the matter until a case on the functioning of the Bangalore Metropolitan Committee is disposed of. The next date of hearing has been fixed on March 19. The case pertains to the functioning of the Metropolitan Planning Committee — the constitutionally mandated body for the city’s planning purpose, filed by Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Citizen’s Action Forum. According to the 74th Constitutional Amendment, all town planning activities have to be done by the Metropolitan Planning Committee, of which two-thirds of the members have to be elected corporators. “The High Court today has passed an order which has effectively meant a stay. The HC has said any other large-scale projects including the elevated corridor project and those being undertaken cannot be proceeded further with until this case is disposed of,” Mukunda NS of Citizen Action Forum— one of the petitioners in the case, told TNM.  “Our petition was that the government is not serious in implementing the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) as per the 74th Amendment. The MPC actually should be the body which should be entrusted with development with Bengaluru and since it is not doing it, it needs a direction from the court to establish that all projects can be routed through that body only. The court had given the government time to file their counter day before yesterday but the government advocate did not turn up. That is when the court got angry and gave a direction to the government advocate to file his objection within two weeks,” he added. In the same case, then Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Krishna S Dixit in June 2018 had set aside the possibility of formation of a parallel expert group like that of the Bengaluru Blueprint Action Group (BBAG) for the city’s future planning. "Let the statutory bodies work. Creating parallel body is undesirable, unwarranted and absolutely uncalled for, as such bodies will only add to the confusion," the division bench had said.

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Online petitions go viral as B'luru residents plan to oppose elevated corridor

A Change.org petition opposing the elevated corridor project has received more than 1 lakh signatures and counting.

Prajwal Bhat

Online petitions against the contentious elevated corridor project initiated by the Kumaraswamy-led Karnataka government have garnered massive opposition for the project.   A petition which was filed on Change.org has already been signed by more than 1 lakh people while another online petition posted on Jhatkaa has also registered over 13,000 signatures so far.  The petitions were filed after it emerged that 120 trees in the Cubbon Park area will be cut down to make way for the elevated corridor on Queen's Road. The study conducted by consultants Aecom, Deloitte and Infra Support, accessed by TNM, says that 858 trees in “sensitive wooded stretches” including Cubbon Park and Coles Park, will be cut down for the project. In all, more than 3700 trees are set to be cut down and translocated to build the network of elevated corridors in the city.  Read: Over 3000 trees to be axed, lakes will be impacted by Bengaluru elevated corridor: EIA   However, a section of Resident Welfare Association members met Deputy CM G Parameshwara expressing their support for the project. The residents included people residing in Koramangla, Whitefield, Bellandur, Sarjapur, Cox Town among other areas who pledged their support in favour of an expansion of the road network in the city.  Development and our environment are two sides of the same coin. As our population grows, finding a balance between both is a vital question that our city needs to address today. I urge citizens to not pay heed to rumours. — Dr. G Parameshwara (@DrParameshwara) March 13, 2019 On the other hand, the project has also faced stiff resistance from activists and residents in the city. A massive protest has been planned along the lines of the 2016 steel bridge protest by a group of like-minded civic organisations from across the city at the Gandhi Statue in Maurya Circle on Saturday at 10 am. "The protest against the elevated corridor project is being supported by nearly 35 organisations from across Bengaluru. We stand opposed to the project cutting down more than 3700 trees," says Srinivas Alavilli from Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB). In October 2016, an 8,000-strong human chain protest was held urging the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to shelve the steel flyover project. The protest was successful and the project later dropped.  A group of organisations in the city are aiming to repeat the feat this time around by protesting against the proposed elevated corridor project. The organisations involved includes Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV), CIVIC, Cifos, Bengaluru Environment Trust (BET), Environment Support Group (ESG), ESAF, Praja-Raag, Whitefield Rising, Bellandur Jothege, RR Nagar I Care, Malleswaram Swabhimana Initiative, Cubbon Park Walkers Association, Living Lavelle, Vittal Mallya RWA, Kasturba RWA, D'Souza Layout RWA, The Students' Outpost, Citizens Agenda for Bengaluru, Srishti School of Design, Aikyam Community for Sustainable Living, Malleswaram Social, Bengaluru Suburban Rail Users, Coalition for Water Security, Human Rights Empowerment Council of India (HRECI) among others.   

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NIH, scientists from 7 other countries call for ban on heritable gene edits

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Congress- JD(S) seat sharing finalised: Cong to contest from 20 seats

Lok Sabha 2019

Surprisingly, the Mysuru-Kodagu seat that has a sitting Congress MP has been given to the JD(S).

TNM Staff

After days of speculation, the Congress and the JD(S) on Wednesday made their seat sharing arrangement formal. Congress is set to contest from 20 out of the 28 total seats in the state. The JD(S) will now contest in Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, Karwar, Vijayapura and Shivamogga in addition to the Vokkaliga strong holds of Hassan, Mandya and Bengaluru North.   Interestingly, the Mysuru-Kodagu seat where the JD(S) has a strong grassroot presence has been retained by the Congress while Tumakuru which has a sitting Congress MP has been given to the JD(S).   This also puts to rest the speculation that former Congress MLA and rebel star Ambareesh’s wife actor Sumalatha will contest from Mandya for the Congress party instead of Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the son of CM HD Kumaraswamy.   The seat sharing pact was formalised in a meeting between JD(S) national convenor Danish Ali and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Kochi. The pre-poll alliance for Lok Sabha elections between the two parties was sealed soon after HD Kumaraswamy was sworn-in as the minister.   Last week, HD Deve Gowda in a meeting with Rahul Gandhi in the latter’s residence in New Delhi had asked for 10 seats for the JD(S). Initially, when the talks had begun, JD(S) had bargained for 12 seats.   The meeting held on March 6 between the top two leaders of the respective parties had ended in a stalemate with the  bone of contention being the Tumkuru and Chikkaballapura seats, both held by the Congress.

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'Sirsi Supari' areca nut from Uttara Kannada district gets GI tag

Horticulture

'Sirsi Supari' areca nuts grown in Sirsi, Yellapur and Siddapura taluks of the district have received the tag.

TNM Staff

Areca nuts grown in Uttara Kannada district have been given a geographical indication (GI) tag. The Registrar of Geographical Indications has decided to grant the GI tag to 'Sirsi Supari' areca nuts grown in Sirsi, Yellapur and Siddapura taluks of the district. An agriculture cooperative, Totagars’ Cooperative Sale Society (TSS) Ltd, based in Sirsi is the registered proprietor of the 'Sirsi Supari'. Speaking to TNM, Ravish Hegde, the cooperative's general manager, says that the GI tag will help customers identify authentic Sirsi-grown areca nuts. "Areca nut is grown in several places and the 'Sirsi Supari' is only around 5% of the areca nuts grown in Karnataka but a GI tag will help protect the identity of the Sirsi areca nut. The Sirsi areca nut has a unique taste and is produced in chali (white) variety and red variety," explains Ravish. Around 4 lakh areca nuts are grown annually over a 40,000 acre area in the three taluks. The areca nuts are sold in Karnataka and transported to places like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and New Delhi. The process of obtaining the tag began in 2013. Scientific research was submitted to prove that the 'Sirsi Supari' is unique. One variety of the areca nut is medium sized, flat rounded and ash coloured. The fruit turns from yellow to scarlet while ripening and consists of a thick fibrous pericarp (husk) which encloses this seed. Ravish further adds that the GI tag will also help find a better price for farmers growing the crop. "We can inform the customer that this is an authentic Sirsi-grown areca nut since several distributors mix areca nuts grown in different areas and sell at different prices. If we get good premium price, this will also help all the farmers growing the crop in these three taluks," he adds. The areca nut is produced in various ways. The 'chali' or white variety is made by peeling nuts after they ripen and then sun drying them. The red areca nut is produced by harvesting the tender nuts, boiling and coloring them before sun drying them.

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