Lightning hits purple line services on Bangalore Metro as electrical equipment damaged

Metro

The lightning damaged electrical equipment at Baiyappanahalli metro station resulting in disruption of services for 47 minutes on the purple line.

TNM Staff

Rainfall accompanied by strong winds, thunder and lightning on Sunday night disrupted metro services on the Purple Line for 47 minutes, as the lightning damaged electrical equipment at Baiyappanahalli metro station.  The power outage at the station lasted from 7:23 pm to 8:01 pm prompting metro officials to start operations on the Purple Line from Indiranagar to Mysore Road metro stations. Full operations resumed on the line at 8:10 pm, reported The New Indian Express.   Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials stated that the heavy rains and winds had caused a power outage at the Baiyappanahalli metro station, which is one of the starting points of the Purple Line of the metro. “Traction power supply on the Purple Line was not available from 7.23 p.m to 8.01 p.m. During this period, short-loop train operations were done between Indiranagar and Mysuru Road station. Full services on Purple Line, between Mysuru Road and Baiyappanahalli, were restored at 8.10 pm,” a release from BMRCL stated as per The Hindu.  The rains lasted from 7 pm to 8:30 pm and affected traffic on Hosur Road, Bannerghatta Road, Outer Ring Road, Mysuru Road, Double Road, Ballari Road, Tin Factory and Tannery Road. Loud thunderclaps were heard in Kaggadaspura, Indiranagar, Baiyappanahalli and CV Raman Nagar. The rains were a result of cyclonic circulation in south interior Karnataka, as per Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). Maximum rain of 144mm was recorded in Kasgattapura while other areas received 50-100mm rainfall. Five incidents of trees falling were reported from across the city. The rains come ahead of the monsoon, which is expected to hit the state next week.  Meanwhile, two persons died due to the rains and intense thunder, lightning in Tumakuru district. The victims were identified as Gangamma and Basavaraj. 

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Bengaluru bar claims to have lost Rs 3 lakh after fight over plastic cup

Customers allegedly took advantage of the commotion and slipped out without paying.

TNM Staff

A fight between waiters and customers over a plastic cup at a popular Bengaluru bar has allegedly cost the place Rs 3 lakh after other customers used the commotion to leave the premises without paying their bill. Jagadeesh, 31, the manager at Indiranagar's Bob's Bar claimed that the restaurant had lost money due to the incident on Thursday night. A 27-year-old software engineer and her male friend allegedly picked a fight with the staff at the bar after they refused to give them a plastic cup to take leftover alcohol since the use of plastic cups is banned in Bengaluru. The argument devolved into a fight and during the commotion, other patrons at the bar left without paying their bills, reported Deccan Herald. Indiranagar police have received complaints from both parties — the couple and the manager of Bob's Bar — and are currently investigating the incident. The couple had stayed till closing hour on Thursday night at the restaurant and had a bill of Rs. 5,000. “We asked the staff to pack the leftovers, including the eatables and drinks, and also asked for a disposable plastic cup, which the staff did not have,” said the woman in her complaint as per The Hindu. However, police officials investigating the case stated that when the bar employee refused to give them the disposable plastic cup, the couple began to abuse the waiter. The heated argument quickly turned into a full-scale fight between the restaurant staff, the couple and her colleagues. In the ruckus, several customers drinking at the pub managed to slip away without paying their bills. The couple has filed a complaint accusing the staff at the pub of outraging the modesty of a woman, assault and unlawful assembly. Bob's Bar manager Jagadeesh filed a counter-complaint against the couple for causing a ruckus and assaulting the staff at the restaurant. Police are looking at CCTV footage of the incident.

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MM Kalburgi murder: SIT takes into custody man who drove shooter to professor's home

Crime

Praveen Prakash Chatur alias Krishnamurthy is allegedly a member of a radical right-wing group.

Theja Ram

Almost four years after Professor MM Kalburgi was shot dead at his home in Karnataka’s Dharwad district, the Special Investigation Team probing the case has made a major breakthrough. The SIT took Praveen Prakash Chatur alias Krishnamurthy into custody, who is suspected to have driven alleged shooter Ganesh Miskin to Professor Kalburgi’s home in Dharwad. The story was first reported by The Quint. According to the investigators, Praveen is allegedly a member of a radical right-wing group which was formed in 2011 to target ‘durjans’, or those the gang members named as ‘anti-Hindu’. The SIT probing the murder of Gauri Lankesh took over the probe of Professor Kalburgi’s murder in 2018. The case was initially being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which had not made any forays in identifying the suspects. SIT investigators learned of Praveen’s involvement in Professor Kalburgi’s murder after they interrogated Amol Kale, the alleged mastermind and prime accused in Gauri Lankesh’s murder. The SIT will now set up a lineup of the accused for eye-witness identification. Professor Kalburgi was shot dead on August 30, 2015, by two bike-borne assailants who posed as college students and entered his house. Journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her house in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017. Investigators had initially narrowed down the suspects in Kalburgi’s murder as Ganesh Miskin and Amit Baddi. Amit Baddi has been accused of training Gauri Lankesh’s alleged shooter – Parashuram Waghmore — in the use of firearms. However, eyewitness accounts ruled out Baddi as the man who drove Ganesh Miskin to the professor’s home. SIT sources say that Ganesh Miskin claimed to have conducted a recce of Kalburgi’s home before he was murdered. Meanwhile, in a parallel probe being conducted by the CBI into the murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar, investigators have learned that another accused in Gauri’s murder – Sharad Kalaskar — allegedly destroyed the firearms used in the murders of Narendra Dabholkar, CPI activist Govind Pansare, Professor MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh. Narendra Dabholkar was killed on August 20, 2013, at Omkareshwar Bridge in Pune while he was out for a morning walk. CPI activist Govind Pansare was shot dead on February 20, 2015, in Kolhapur. The SIT probe had connected the dots and found that the four murders were allegedly perpetrated by the same gang. The CBI probe revealed that Sanathan Sanstha counsel Sanjiv Punalekar allegedly told Sharad Kalaskar to destroy the firearms, including the weapons used in the Gauri Lankesh case. Sources say that Sharad Kalaskar allegedly dismantled and disposed three weapons in the Thane creek on July 23, 2018. The probe also states that Sanjiv Punalekar's associate, Bhave, helped the shooters in Narendra Dabholkar’s murder – Sharad Kalaskar and Sachin Andhure —  in conducting a reconnaissance of Dabholkar’s home before the murder.

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Kannada activists oppose Hindi imposition in Centre's draft education policy

Culture

The draft proposes that as part of the three-language formula, non-native speakers must learn Hindi in school, apart from the regional language and English.

Soumya Chatterjee

File image of protests against Hindi imposition

Activists in Karnataka are up in arms against the Centre’s draft National Education Policy 2019 which gives primacy to Hindi as part of a three language formula. The draft proposes that as part of the three-language formula, non-native speakers must learn Hindi in school, apart from the regional language and English. Similar protests against imposition of Hindi have been noticed from non-Hindi speaking states including Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Ganesh Chetan, a member of Kannada Grahakara Koota, argued that the Constitution had to be amended. As it presently stands, Hindi has been given special privileges under part XVII and articles 343- 351, he pointed out. These make Hindi an official language in India; however, it doesn’t mean that Hindi is the national language, as many believe. “Hindi has been given special privilege under the Official Languages Act. I do not know why the government has proposed something like this,” Ganesh said. “We have been running a campaign across the nation against Hindi imposition. Last year, we had a convention in Bengaluru with representatives of 30 languages. We need language equality or the campaign will continue.” Read: Not Hindi, tweet to me in Kannada or English, Siddaramaiah taunts BJP leader Srivatsa, National Campaign-in-charge for the Indian Youth Congress, called for all MPs from Karnataka to oppose the Centre’s move. He tweeted, “MPs of Karnataka must vociferously oppose this new draft education policy. Hindi Imposition will be resisted by all non-Hindi speaking states & not just the south @narendramodi must in fact declare all 8th schedule languages as official languages of India. #StopHindiImposition.”   MPs of Karnataka must vociferously oppose this new draft education policy. Hindi Imposition will be resisted by all non-Hindi speaking states & not just the south@narendramodi must in fact declare all 8th schedule languages as official languages of India#StopHindiImposition — Srivatsa (@srivatsayb) June 1, 2019   Former NASA scientist and polymath Ashwin Mahesh also weighed in the issue and tweeted, ”The 3-language mis-recommendation is an example of a deep error in our approach to policy - a Centre-appointed committee makes recommendations on what states should do, in a matter that is in almost entirely within the states' purview!!” In his subsequent tweets, he focused on the importance of the mother tongue. “We need 3 formulas for language, not a 3-language formula. (a) Learning in the mother tongue is easier. (b) Familiarity with local language has social, economic and cultural value. (c) Access to languages of the marketplace increases opportunities,” he said. He added, “Parental choice is also important. Policy-makers tend to decide what is good for the people without asking them, or they claim to already know what they (should) want. Respect for their choices is key, and I'm confident it will broadly align with the '3 formulas' approach.” Read: ‘Why only English, Hindi?’ KDA demands Kannada in passports issued in state   The 3-language mis-recommendation is an example of a deep error in our approach to policy - a Centre-appointed committee makes recommendations on what states should do, in a matter that is in almost entirely within the states' purview !! — Ashwin Mahesh (@ashwinmahesh) June 1, 2019     We need 3 formulas for language, not a 3-language formula. (a) Learning in the mother tongue is easier. (b) Familiarity with local language has social, economic and cultural value. (c) Access to languages of the marketplace increases opportunities. — Ashwin Mahesh (@ashwinmahesh) June 1, 2019     Parental choice is also important. Policy-makers tend to decide what is good for the people without asking them, or they claim to already know what they (should) want. Respect for their choices is key, and I'm confident it will broadly align with the '3 formulas' approach. — Ashwin Mahesh (@ashwinmahesh) June 1, 2019   The draft was released on Friday by former ISRO chief Dr K Kasturirangan and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). “In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6, so long as the study of three languages by students in the Hindi-speaking states would continue to include Hindi and English and one of the modern Indian languages from other parts of India, while the study of languages by students in the non-Hindi-speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English,” the draft states. However, in the face of vigorous opposition, the Centre issued a clarification saying that the text was a draft only. When asked about this by reporters in Bengaluru on Saturday, Union Minister of Fertilisers and Bengaluru North MP DV Sadananda Gowda said, “The Prime Minister in his first meeting with the MPs, categorically said that regional languages and regional issues should be taken on priority. So I don’t think there is any confusion [that Hindi won’t be imposed].”

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Rebuilding Paradise: Finding health care after wildfire destruction

California town leveled by fire has chance to rethink, not just rebuild.

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Bengaluru agency to finally start laying power cables underground

Civic Issues

By Bescom’s own admission, 15 people have already died this year after being electrocuted by suspended high tension wires.

TNM Staff

After several cases of electrocution, the Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) is finally looking into the danger of power cables hanging precariously low in the city, posing grave threat to residents. By Bescom’s own admission, 15 people have already died this year after being electrocuted by suspended high tension wires. BESCOM on Saturday approved the underground cabling work in the city which is set to begin in July. The multi-phased project is expected to be completed in three years and is estimated to cost Rs 5,300 crore. The underground cabling work will be taken up in three phases. The first phase, which will begin in July will take 18 months to complete, Bescom officials say. It is expected to cost Rs 1,870 crore. “In phase 1, work will be carried out in 22 areas. We have surveyed all the areas in Bengaluru and these 22 areas are the ones severely affected,” an official said. In phase 1, Bescom is going to carry out work in Mahalakshmi Layout, Malleshwaram, Peenya, Koramangala, Rajajinagar, Hebbal, Indiranagar, HSR Layout, Sadashivnagar, JP Nagar, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Jayanagar, Basaweshwara Nagar, BTM Layout, Jayamahal, Yelahanka, Lingarajpuram, Girinagar, Chamarajpet, Shivajinagar, Ramamurthy Nagar and Sahakaranagar. When the rain struck the city for two consecutive days – May 25 and 26 – over 600 trees fell due to the intensity, causing over 300 electric poles to also fall. According to Bangalore Mirror, power disruptions had occurred in Rajanakunte, Shivajinagar, Malleshwaram, JP Nagar, Rajajinagar, Hebbal, RR Nagar and in Indiranagar. “When the rains occurred, 27 areas in Bengaluru experienced power cuts even after the rains stopped. On Saturday, several areas did not have power as KPTCL (Karnataka Power Transport Corporation Limited) was fixing high-tension cables that were cut. Bescom had to carry out maintenance work as several transformers needed repairs,” a senior official said. Bescom officials say that by ensuring that all electricity cables run underground, the agency can cut down on maintenance costs every year, which increase especially during the monsoon. “We have shortage of maintenance personnel and the costs are high. It was a logical choice as it would also prevent accidents and deaths,” he added. The agency is planning to use High Definition Digging Mechanism to lay the cables underground. Rather that digging up the entire road, holes will be dug out for every few metres, officials say. “We are trying to avoid cutting down any trees for the project,” the senior official said.     

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Congress social media chief Divya Spandana goes missing from Twitter

Politics

There have been no official statements from her or the party.

TNM Staff

Former Mandya MP and Congress social media chief Divya Spandana has deactivated her Twitter account without giving any prior explanation. Similarly, her Instagram page also seems to have been deactivated. However, at the time of writing, her official Facebook page continues to exist. According to media reports, Divya Spandana, also known as Ramya, had last tweeted a congratulatory message to Nirmala Sitharaman for being the first woman full-time Finance Minister, sparking controversy. TNM could not reach the actor-turned-politician for a comment. However, speaking to news agency ANI, she has denied reports claiming that she was no longer a part of the party’s social media team. Ramya was given the role of chief of the All India Congress Committee's social media wing in May 2017. Since then, she has been credited for turning around the party’s online presence compared to the BJP, which had a robust IT cell already. She is also known for her tongue-in-cheek responses to the BJP and directly criticising the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo. In a similar situation in October 2018, there were reports of Ramya getting the axe for making controversial statements against the Prime Minister after her bio on her Twitter profile went missing. A sedition case was also registered against her by Uttar Pradesh police for a photoshopped image of PM Modi painting “chor” on his wax statue. Responding to those reports, she had then said that she was on a temporary leave and the missing bio was due to a “bug”. This recent development comes days after party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjwala had announced that the party leaders or its spokespersons won’t be appearing in the media for the next month. This in the light of Rahul Gandhi being keen on resigning from the position of the party president despite opposition from many senior leaders and some party workers. Rahul’s decision comes after the party’s poor performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with little improvement from its 2014 tally. /////         ReplyReply allForward                      

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