Trouble for K'taka Minister HD Revanna? EC to probe election malpractice allegations

Lok Sabha 2019

Karnataka Minister HD Revanna has been accused of allegedly letting in a group of people inside the booth, after polling had concluded, who then cast proxy votes.

TNM Staff

The Election Commission is conducting a probe into allegations of election malpractice against Karnataka PWD Minister HD Revanna. The probe has been ordered after BJP polling agents Mayanna and Raju filed a complaint with Hassan Deputy Commissioner alleging that Minister Revanna allowed proxy voting in Holesnarasipura. Regional Commissioner TK Anil Kumar is heading the probe panel. This comes three weeks after DC Priyanka Mary Francis suspended three polling officials. According to the complaint filed on April 18, after voting at the polling station in Paduvalahippe in Holenarasipura, Minister Revanna allegedly let in a group of people inside the booth who then cast proxy votes. The complainant has alleged that one of the proxy voters was his friend had voted in booth number 244 before coming to the one in Paduvalahippe at Minister Revanna’s request. A day after the complaint was filed, DC Priyanka had suspended polling officers V Yogeesh, a faculty member at LV Polytechnic College in Hassan, who worked as the presiding officer, PC Ramachandra and Ganesh, teachers, who worked as poll officials at the booth. Paduvalahippe was identified as one of the sensitive and high-profile booths in Hassan as Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda and his family members vote there. The BJP polling agents alleged that Revanna had stayed in the booth for a while even after casting his vote to ensure that the proxy voting could be carried out. Meanwhile, a sector officer has filed a complaint against a BJP leader for allegedly filing a false complaint. Mayanna has been accused of misleading election officials due to his rivalry with Minister Revanna. Apart from the complaint filed regarding proxy voting in Paduvalahippe, Mayanna had filed another complaint with the EC that similar proxy voting took place in two polling booths 277 and 200. The sector officer, who conducted the probe, found that no such incident had taken place in booths 277 and 200. He then filed a complaint against Mayanna under section IPC Sections 177 (Furnishing false information) and 171(g) (False statement in connection with an election).    

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Rs 900 crore farm loans in Karnataka to be waived after May 23

Farm Loan

The Karnataka government had stopped disbursing farm loans as the Election Commission had issued a direction that it violates the model code of conduct.

Harshitha AB

The Karnataka government on Monday announced that Rs 900 crore will be released as a part of the farm loan waiver scheme after May 23. Around 1.5 lakh farmers are expected to benefit from the scheme. The scheme was introduced by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in August 2018 and so far, the government claims to have waived farm loans worth Rs 7,417 crore for 15.5 lakh farmers. The government had, however, stopped waiving farm loans after the Election Commission issued direction to halt the scheme due to the model code of conduct. The EC had stated that the scheme involved monetary benefits and that voters would be motivated to favour the ruling government in the Lok Sabha Elections. According to data provided by the Chief Minister’s office, loans in commercial banks worth Rs 3,939 crore has been waived for 7.49 lakh farmers till April 2019. In the cooperative bank sector, Rs 3,488 crore worth loans have been waived for 8.1 lakh farmers. The data suggests that Kalaburgi has the highest number of beneficiaries (72,654), whose loans have been waived, followed by Haveri (62,915) and Raichur (49,280). In commercial banks, Belagavi district has recorded the highest number of farmers whose loans have been waived (87,276) followed by Tumkur (82798) and Mandya (78,167). According to officials with the Co-operation Department, a variety of factors have resulted in the delay of farms loans being waived. Speaking to TNM, an official said that many a times there are delays in the process due of mismatch of information in the loan waiver applications and Aadhaar card details.  “Sometimes there are slight variations such as different spellings appearing in these two documents such as Basavaraju and Basavarajappa. Even though both documents belong to the same person, spelling errors call for verification and the application is transferred to the Taluk Committee. Similar errors like different initials or surnames also go through the same verification process,” the official said. Another major cause for delay, he says, is the transfer of the loan to the legal heirs of farmers who have died. “There are also instances of death of the applicants in which case the proceedings need to verified. The land records state that the plot belongs to one person but the application may have been filed by the legal heir of the farmer as he may have died. Such complications are sent to the Taluk committee to be resolved and therefore, these applications by farmers are not rejected but put on hold until their information is verified,” he added.

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16-wheeler truck hits divider on Bengaluru flyover, causes traffic jam near Silk Board

Accident

The accident also caused a traffic jam at Iblur, Outer Ring Road, Kadubeesanahalli and Bellandur on Tuesday morning.

TNM Staff

A traffic jam occurred at the Agara flyover in Bengaluru after a 16-wheeler truck hit a divider on Tuesday morning.  The incident occurred after the driver of the truck lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the divider on the flyover at around 6 am. The accident led to a traffic jam at Silk Board junction, a spot in the city infamous for its traffic bottlenecks. It also led to traffic jams at Iblur, Outer Ring Road, Kaadubeesanahalli and Bellandur.  Emergency services were rushed to the spot following the incident "The driver was sleepy in the morning and mistakenly hit the divider on the flyover. It was a huge truck, the kind that transports cars for long distances. The driver has suffered minor injuries but since it was a massive vehicle, there was no major damage done to the vehicle." said a traffic police official speaking to TNM. Police and traffic officials reached the spot after they were informed about the incident. After close to 3 hours, the officials managed to clear the traffic on the flyover and move the vehicle aside. Officials are working to ensure that the traffic gridlock in other surrounding areas are also eased up. A traffic pile-up was also reported at the Columbia Asia Hospital Junction.  The incident comes just two weeks after a truck driver and his associate were killed after their truck fell from the Yeshwanthpur flyover while negotiating a sharp turn.  Read: 2 trucks fall off Bengaluru flyover in 2 years, IISc prof suggests solutions  

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Food delivery agent assaulted by 5 men in Bengaluru for ‘late delivery’

The food delivery driver was found unconscious on the side of a road and was later taken to a hospital by passers-by.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

Bengaluru police have arrested five persons who beat up an online food delivery agent accusing him of delivering food half an hour late on Saturday.  The incident occurred in Domlur Layout in the city. Tilak Kumar, 28, who works as a food delivery driver was found unconscious on the side of a road. He was later taken to a hospital by passers-by. After he recovered, he filed a complaint at the Halasuru police station, as per Deccan Herald. He accused Krishna, Appu and three others living in Domlur Layout of assaulting him for delivering food late. In his complaint to the police, Tilak stated that the accused had ordered food at around 6:45 pm. When he reached the address near Agarwal Hospital, Krishna and others with him abused him for delay in delivering the order and started assaulting him when he tried to explain. “They started kicking and punching, and even broke my fingers before snatching the food packets,” Tilak Kumar said in his complaint, as per The Hindu. Police officials said that Krishna and his associates were employed at a private firm. The group did not want to pay for the food and decided to assault the delivery driver by claiming that he had delivered the food late.  Food delivery drivers are paid by a system of incentives based on the orders they delivered. Both Swiggy and Zomato provide medical insurance for its driver partners and also encourage their drivers to log off from the platform whenever they intend to take a break. However, the drivers work on a gruelling, competitive schedule in order to meet the demands for incentives and to increase their earnings. Read: More orders, more money: The gruelling, competitive life of food delivery agents  

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2 trucks fall off Bengaluru flyover in 2 years, IISc prof suggests solutions

Transport

Ashish Verma, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science, explains that a combination of both horizontal and vertical curve at the same time is a reason for the drivers to lose control of their vehicles.

Soumya Chatterjee

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Three weeks after two people died when their truck fell off Yeshvanthpur Flyover in Bengaluru while negotiating a sharp bend, city-based Transport Engineering experts have recommended corrective measures to avoid such tragedies in the future. The accident which took place in the wee hours of April 13 killed the driver, 38-year-old Kenche Gowda, and 23-year-old Srinivas Rao. The duo was coming to Bengaluru from Pune when the lorry they were travelling in fell off the flyover after the driver lost control of the vehicle. While Srinivas died on the spot, Kenche Gowda succumbed to injuries later that evening at a nearby hospital. That was not the first instance of a truck falling off in Bengaluru; in November 2017 a similar incident occurred when a truck full of poultry fell off a flyover. Fortunately, there were no human casualties in that incident. Ashish Verma, Associate Professor, Transportation Systems Engineer at the Indian Institute of Science, carried out a voluntary academic road safety audit exercise of Yeshvanthpur flyover following the recent accident. Verma explains that a combination of both horizontal and vertical curve at the same time— a poor design element— is a reason for the drivers to lose control of their vehicles.   “The flyover was built keeping in the account of a maximum speed of 30 kmph but vehicles tend to exceed the design speed in the non-busy hours, especially due to the downward slope of approaching roads on both ends of the flyover and then eventually lose control over the wheels while taking a turn. Additionally, vehicles approaching the flyover from both ends are unable to see the clear alignment of the road and this poor visibility is one of the major factors causing fatal accidents, especially at night,” Verma told TNM. He added, “While in one direction (towards IISc), the vehicles have a risk of falling out of the flyover, the other direction they have a chance of crossing the median if the speed is exceeded. As explained in the study, either the mass or the speed increases, there is a problem.” The recommendations *Installation of a Height Restriction Barrier on the starting of the flyover in both the directions so as to restrict the entry of heavily loaded commercial vehicles. *Installation of Rumble Strips to restrict the speed of vehicles * Road sign and markings— Appropriate sharp bend (right hairpin) signage and speed limit signs,  Appropriate road markings of speed limit can be painted at the beginning of the flyover at both ends, to remind the drivers of adhering to speed limit *Crash or Rolling Barrier – Crash barrier can be put on the sharp turn so as to restrict a speed vehicle and prevent them from tilting or passing through the flyover in case of travelling at high speed and unable to control the vehicle. *Speed enforcement cameras can be put on the road to keep a check on vehicle speed and fine can be charged in case a vehicle goes beyond the stipulated speed. The study has been submitted to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad and Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Harishekharan. Besides Verma, Mahim Khan, Shubhayan Ukil and Hamnthini Allirani also worked on the study as research staff.

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NEET re-exam on May 20 for K'taka students who missed due to train delay

Exam

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy appealed to the centre to conduct a fresh exam for students who missed it due to a seven-hour train delay.

IANS

A total of 365 students of Karnataka will get a chance to appear for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) on May 20 as they missed it on Sunday due to the train in which they were travelling from the state's northern districts reached Bengaluru 7 hours late, said Union HRD Minister Prakash Javdekar on Monday. "Happy to announce that #Karnataka students who missed #NEET exam due to railway delay will get another chance," tweeted Javdekar. Javdekar responded a day after state Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy urged him to hold the test for the students who missed it for no fault of theirs. "Thank you @PrakashJavdekar and @HRDMinistry for considering the request and helping our students," re-tweeted Kumaraswamy. The National Testing Agency (NTA) of the HRD ministry conducts the test every year in May for students to secure admission to state-run and private medical and dental colleges across the country for studying graduate and post-graduate courses The students, who travelled in Hampi Express from Hubli to Mysuru via Koppal, Hospet and Bellary, reached Bengaluru over 7 hours late at 2.36 p.m. instead of 7.00 a.m, while the test began at 2.00 p.m. "The students could not reach the test centres across the city in time and missed it," a South Western Railway (SWR) official admitted on Sunday. The students staged a protest demo outside the railway station for missing the test for no fault of them. The railways, however, attributed the delay due to the diversion of the train route from the normal route due to doubling of line work and operational reasons since May 3. The Chief Minister also wrote to the ministry to allow another 150 students who also missed the test as their exam centre was shifted to Bengaluru from Chikkaballapur at the last minute without prior intimation or information to them. "As the distance from the exam centre at Chikkaballapur to the centre in Bengaluru is about 40km, about 150 students who reached the centre in time to appear for the test there, could not commute to the city by 2:00 p.m and missed it for no fault of them," an official said. Kumaraswamy directed state Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar to request the HRD Ministry for holding the test again for the 150 students who missed it due to change in exam centre at the last minute from an adjacent district to the state capital. "The ministry has assured the state that a decision would be taken soon," tweeted the Chief Minister's Office.

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Karnataka students who missed NEET due to train delay to get another chance

NEET

This was announced by Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Twitter.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational image

In a huge relief to students from north Karnataka who missed the chance to write the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) because of a train that was delayed for seven hours on Sunday, Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that they can re-take the exam. Happy to announce that #Karnataka Students who missed #NEET exam , due to railway delay will get another chance.@MoHFW_INDIA @HRDMinistry @PIB_India @MIB_India @DG_NTA @cbseindia29 @ciet_ncert @DDNewsLive @airnewsalerts @DVSBJP@CMofKarnataka — Chowkidar Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) May 6, 2019 This comes after Karnataka Chief Secretary Vijaya Bhaskar reached out to officials of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). This was preceded by a meeting held by CM HD Kumaraswamy with the Medical Education Department and the Chief Secretary on Monday. The Hampi Express from Hubbali to Bengaluru which was supposed at reach at 7 am only reached at 2.30 pm, while the exam began at 2 pm. All those who reached late were denied a chance to write the exam. The MHRD is likely to announce another date for the students who missed the exam because they were on the Hampi Express. Union Minister Sadananda Gowda also wrote a letter to Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday, seeking a solution. I have spoken to @PrakashJavdekar Ji and also written a letter For Early solution with Regards to #NEET Exam in Karnataka which is attached pic.twitter.com/magm8VROwR — Chowkidar Sadananda Gowda (@DVSBJP) May 6, 2019 On Sunday, in the wake of reports of several students missing out on the exam due to the delayed train, the Chief Minister had asked the Centre to intervene. “Hundreds of students from North Karnataka districts have missed the #NEET Exam being held today at Bengaluru due to a 7-hour delay of the Hampi Express. A last-minute change in the exam centres and lack of proper communication of the same has created confusion among students,” he tweeted. He added, “I request PM @narendramodi, Rail Minister @PiyushGoyal, @HRDMinistry ,@PrakashJavdekar to intervene and ensure that students who have missed the opportunity today get another chance to write the #NEET2019 Exam,” he added. I request PM @narendramodi, Rail Minister @PiyushGoyal, @HRDMinistry , @PrakashJavdekar to intervene and ensure that students who have missed the opportunity today get another chance to write the #NEET2019 Exam — CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) May 5, 2019

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