Deficit pre-monsoon and delayed rainfall leads to water shortage in Karnataka

Water

156 out of 175 taluks in the state have been declared drought hit.

IANS

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For the first time in many years, Karnataka is facing water shortage due to deficit pre-monsoon, delay in the onset of southwest monsoon and uneven spread of rainfall across the state, a senior official said on Tuesday. "Around 37 per cent overall deficit in pre-monsoon showers from March to May, 10-day delay in the arrival of the southwest monsoon and Vayu cyclone disrupting rains have dried up water sources in lakes, tanks, ponds and wells across the state for drinking, irrigation and livestock," senior metrological scientist C.N. Prabhu told IANS. Unlike last year, when the southern state had an overall 6 per cent deficit monsoon from June to September, Prabhu said the prospects of making up for the 23 per cent rain deficit in June depended on cloud formations, moisture content and wind movement over the next three months. "Failure of pre-monsoon showers, delay in the arrival of monsoon and extended summer over the last four weeks have affected the water bodies, reducing water levels in rivers, reservoirs and their catchment areas. Water supply in towns and cities has also been affected," lamented Prabhu. As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) data, the state received 167mm of rainfall against 216 mm normal, resulting in a 23 per cent deficit. The coastal area, where the monsoon enters the state from Kerala and the Arabia Sea, recorded 32 per cent deficit with 645 mm rain against 946 mm normal. In contrast, the north interior region had 3 per cent more (118mm) rain than 114 mm normal. In south interior region, including Malnad, the deficit was 28 per cent (113 mm) from 157 mm normal. "Pre-monsoon failure resulted in a record 75 per cent deficit (45 mm) against 179 mm normal in the coastal region, 50 per cent deficit (44 mm) from 85 mm normal in north interior area and 21 per cent deficit (115mm) from 145 mm normal in south interior and Malnad areas," said Prabhu, a weather scientist in the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA). As a monsoon dependent state, Karnataka heavily relies on southwest and northeast monsoons for rains to fill its rivers, reservoirs in the catchment areas and dams built across the Cauvery, Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers in its southern, central and northern regions for drinking, hydel power generation, irrigation and livestock across cities, towns and villages. "A deficit rainfall spells trouble for the 11-million people in Bengaluru, which is mainly dependent on rainfed Cauvery, about 120km southwest from the city," said Prabhu. With hundreds of lakes and tanks drying up across the city, there is no piped water supply by the state-run water board to one-third of the city, especially in the south east and north east, forcing people to depend on tankers and borewells for water supply.  

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CM Kumaraswamy visits US, woos businesses to invest in Karnataka

Business

Kumaraswamy invited US businesses to participate in the 'Global Investors' Meet' the state would host in January 2020 on opportunities, incentives it offers to potential investors.

IANS

Showcasing Karnataka as a favourite investment destination in India, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday invited US businesses to invest in the southern state. "I seek your investments in our state, which offers huge opportunities in manufacturing and services sectors for US businesses," Kumaraswamy told investors at a seminar in Maryland's Silver Spring near Washington. Though on a week-long private visit to the US since June 29, the Chief Minister addressed US investors and NRIs at the seminar on "New business opportunities in Karnataka", organised by the US-India Small and Medium Enterprise Council. According to a copy of his speech shared with media by the Chief Minister's Office in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy invited US businesses to participate in the 'Global Investors' Meet' the state would host in January 2020 on opportunities, incentives and facilities it offers to potential investors. "I seek your participation to make the Global Investors' Meet a success as it is meant to attract investments from domestic and overseas firms with global linkages for job creation," he said. Holding his state was ready for business as never before, the Chief Minister said his coalition government made doing business easier and smarter by ensuring 98.6 per cent compliance to the Business Reforms Action Plan norms. "Our government is drafting a new industrial policy for 2019-24 to offer a robust ecosystem to spur economic growth, create jobs and make the state a global manufacturing and services hub," he told the gathering. Claiming that Karnataka was ranked first in the country to attract investments and Bengaluru rated as the world's most dynamic city, Kumaraswamy said the state's growth was due to its pro-active, business-friendly policies, good infrastructure, skilled manpower and ecosystem for nurturing innovation. "Karnataka contributes 50 per cent to the country's machine tool production, 39 per cent to IT exports, 67 per cent to making aircraft and helicopters for defence services and 33 per cent to biotech exports," he said. The state is also at the forefront of next-gen technology such as block chain, additive manufacturing, 3D printing, robotics, nano-technology, medical technology and genetic engineering, he said. "We are undertaking comprehensive reforms to ensure seamless and time-bound processes for project approval, grant of statutory permissions and licenses. Our transparent policy initiatives are aimed at providing support to new industries and entrepreneurs. "We are determined to ensure our state leads in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and use the power of big data, high computing capacity, artificial intelligence and analytics to digitise manufacturing in the state," he added.

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'3 idiots' behind Ramesh Jarkiholi’s resignation, says brother Lakhan Jarkiholi

Politics

Lakhan added that he is ready to take over the reins of the Congress party in Gokak.

TNM Staff

Congress leader Lakhan Jarkiholi on Tuesday said that he will lead the party in Gokak constituency in Belagavi in the absence of his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi. He also took a swipe at Ramesh’s brothers-in-law, accusing them of ‘leading him down the wrong path.’ This comes after Ramesh confirmed on Monday that he has resigned as the MLA of Gokak constituency. "The three idiots are taking Ramesh on the wrong path. It has been one year now since this has happened and I have not been in contact with him. Appirao Patil, Ambirao Patil and Shankar Patil are misguiding Ramesh," said Lakhan. Ambirao, Appirao and Shankar are all brothers-in-law of Ramesh.  Ambirao Patil was in the news recently as he had laid the foundation stone and inaugurated several projects, including a girls hostel at the Mallapur Pattan Panchayat and the Valmiki Bhavan in Gokak, in the absence of disgruntled Ramesh.  Lakhan added that he is ready to take over the reins of the Congress party in Gokak.  "I am ready to contest from Gokak if there is an election," he added. Satish had earlier named Lakhan as the Congress party in-charge in Gokak. Lakhan had also held a meeting with members of the Gokak municipality.  Ramesh had previously stated that he would switch to the BJP and contest against his other brother, Satish Jarkiholi, from Yemkanmardi. Satish won from the constituency in the Assembly Elections in 2018. Ramesh was also seen campaigning for the BJP candidate in Chikkodi during the Lok Sabha Elections. The strength of the coalition government went down to 117 following Ramesh's resignation. Congress has 77 MLAs, the JD(S) has 37 MLAs and there is 1 BSP MLA in the Assembly. Two independent MLAs – R Shankar from Ranebennur and H Nagesh from Mulbagal constituencies – are also supporting the coalition. Meanwhile, the BJP has 105 MLAs in the Karnataka Assembly. The majority mark in the Assembly is 113.

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Smart City project: With no takers once again for Rs 50-cr KR market revamp in Bengaluru

Civic Issues

The BBMP is planning to meet prospective bidders to understand their reluctance in accepting the project.

TNM Staff

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s ambitious plan to renovate the garbage-strewn city market once again has no takers. For the second time, the BBMP floated tenders for the reconstruction of city market under the Smart City plan and not a single bidder has come forward to take up the project. On March 9, the BBMP, floated tenders for the renovation of the city’s Krishna Rajendra Market. Two months after the tenders were floated, there was not a single bid, and the BBMP had to close the offer to accept bids. Again, on June 3, the BBMP floated tenders. The last date for submitting bids was June 27 and sources in the BBMP say that this time too, there was not a single bidder for the project. Speaking to TNM, Chief Engineer of Bengaluru Smart City Limited (BenSCL) Suresh, says that the civic body and BenSCL have time and again faced reluctance of construction companies taking up the renovation of the market. “In February this year, we had called for a pre bid meeting. BenSCL had identified contractors, who had prior experience in handling such projects. No one came for the pre bid meeting either. Since the pre bid meeting was inconclusive, we decided to go ahead and float the tender directly,” Suresh says. With no takers for the project the second time around, the civic body is now planning to hold a consultation meeting with prospective contractors to understand their reluctance in accepting the project. “Our original plan was to move the vendors in the ground floor of the market to the first and third floors while the construction was to take place. Convincing them is a challenge. Besides, building contractors are not willing to take up the risk of vendors running operations in the building while renovation work is happening at the same time,” a source in BenSCL said. Another hinderance for builders is the lack of open space to store equipment. Construction companies, who had initially expressed interest in bidding, too withdrew their offers, CE Suresh says. “They have many logistical issues, which could lead to delaying construction work, if the project is taken up. This is one of the biggest issues. Another problem is difficulty in accommodating heavy equipment in narrow roads. Besides, since it is a heritage structure, the cost will also be more as the walls must be protected from damage,” he added. Established in 1928, KR Market was India’s first area to get public street lights in 1972. Years of mismanagement and lack of efficient maintenance turned one of the city’s oldest markets into a garbage-strewn dump. The proposed revamp of the market, estimated to cost Rs 50 crore, includes building new structures for vegetable vendors and restructuring the meat market by constructing stalls with facilities to dispose carcasses of animals and the waste generated efficiently. The project will also have a new stormwater drain system, electrical supply lines, water supply lines, and also meet fire safety norms. Chief Engineer Suresh says that the existing market does not adhere to fire safety norms and is a threat to vendors and customers and the new plan intends to rectify the issue.

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Mangaluru woman stabbed by stalker responding to treatment: Doctors

Crime

Her attacker has been admitted to psychiatry ward of KS Hegde hospital and has been diagnosed with depression, say doctors.

Harsha Raj Gatty

The 20-year-old victim, Shraddha (name changed) on Monday reportedly nodded and gestured to her parents and doctors visiting her at KS Hegde Hospital in Mangaluru. Brutally attacked and injured by 27-year old Sushanth with a sharp-edged weapon on Friday, she is being treated for 12 major stab wounds.  According to the doctors, Shraddha will continue to remain under observation and at present her treatment is undergoing at the Urology department. “Though she is responding to the treatment, our concern remains over the infection caused by the injuries. The scan reports showed that due to the injury there were some clots in the kidney. Otherwise, things are fine,” a source at KS Hegde said. An MBA student at a private college at Karkala in Udupi district, she was attacked by Sushanth for rejecting his advances. In the video of the assault that is now being widely shared on social media, Sushanth after stabbing the girl tried to end his life with the same knife by slitting his neck several times. Meanwhile, Sushanth has recovered from the self-inflicted wounds on his throat and has been shifted to the psychiatry ward of the same hospital. "He is under severe depression and is admitted in the psychiatry ward of KS Hedge hospital," a doctor said.  His mother, two policemen and two private security guards are manning the ward round the clock. "Given his past antecedents of violent behaviour, we have to take several things into factor. After two days he will most likely be presented before the court. In about two days, depending on the court’s order, he will be subjected to further treatment or remanded to judicial custody for further investigation," a police official said. According to police sources, a case was registered against Sushanth in Bunder police station for his involvement in local gangs. Sushanth was friends with a rowdy sheeter Rajesh who is also called ‘Japan Manga’. A fight had broken out between Rajesh and Subash Padil, a person who is accused in Mangaluru’s infamous homestay attack in district court premises. Sushanth after the fight had taken Rajesh on his bike. It is allegedly because of the case, Shraddha who was friends with Sushanth started maintaining distance with him. According to a friend known to both the victim and the accused on June 28, Sushanth had updated his Whatsapp status with pictures of him and the victim from the older days, when they were on good terms. He had also posted a message “Love you (name omitted) ...Miss You Baba...Love you lot..." around 12 pm. At around 4.30 pm, he attacked the girl," the person said. In the complaint filed at the Ullal police station, the woman’s father alleged that Sushanth, a dancer by profession used to repeatedly harass his daughter. She had filed a complaint in Karkala police station and Sushanth was briefly detained by the cops. After this incident, the woman’s father was more guarded and as Sushanth could not approach her, he started posting things regarding the victim on social networking sites. A complaint regarding the same was also filed in the police station. After this incident, Sushanth came to know that Shraddha refused to accept his proposal and hence decided to kill her on June 28, the father stated in his complaint. "On June 28 at around 4.30, Sushanth waylaid my daughter, touched her inappropriately and later stabbed her until she was unconscious and later tried killing himself," he said.

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Grabhouse co-founder launches school in Bengaluru offering coding-centric programs

Education

Career-focused startup Masai School provides a free, five-month full-stack web development programme along with personality development and soft skills coaching.

IANS

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Aiming to train over 500 students in coding in a year, seed-funded career-focused startup Masai School on Monday began its operations in Bengaluru. Founded by Prateek Shukla, co-founder of home rental startup Grabhouse, the school offers coding-centric learning programmes designed to train and mould learners into skilled professionals. The school provides a free, five-month full-stack web development programme along with personality development and soft skills coaching. "Our courses are based on a coding-only curriculum and are designed according to current industry requirements," Shukla said in a statement. "At Masai, our students are given the experience of working in a corporate set up along with mastering their coding skills for 10-12 hours a day." Open to anybody seeking training in coding, learners are enrolled for free and are allowed to pay the course fee at a later date, post bagging a suitable job. As part of the admission, students are required to sign an income-share agreement with the school. After securing a job with a salary package of 6 lakh per annum or more, students would have to pay 15 per cent of their income to Masai School for the first three years of employment that amounts to a total of Rs 3 lakh. If a student gets appointed at a package of less than Rs 6 Lakh, they would not have to pay anything right away, said the school. Shukla said that since organisations today give more priority to skill-set rather than educational background, the Masai School is intended to fill the wide skill gap that exists in the country when it comes to coding.

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IMA scam: BDA official arrested for allegedly accepting bribe from Mansoor Khan

Crime

PD Kumar Nayak has been booked under the Karnataka Protection of Interests of Depositors in Financial Establishments (KPID) Act, 2004.

TNM Staff

The Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) Ponzi Scam on Monday arrested an executive engineer of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) in connection with the case. The BDA executive engineer was held for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4 crore from IMA founder-owner Mohammed Mansoor Khan in exchange for getting Mansoor Khan a loan of Rs 200 crore. According to The Hindu, the SIT sleuths picked up 52-year-old PD Kumar Nayak from his home in Jayanagar IV Block on Monday afternoon. After questioning Nayak, the police arrested him and booked him under the Karnataka Protection of Interests of Depositors in Financial Establishments (KPID) Act, 2004. The SIT chief Ravikanthe Gowda, in a press statement, said that Kumar Nayak’s name appeared in an audio clip recorded by Mansoor Khan before he fled the country. “In the audio clip, Khan had said: ‘PD Kumar has taken Rs 5 crore from me’. We have seized many documents that establish that Kumar took Rs 4 crore from Khan,” SIT chief investigating officer Ravikanthe Gowda said. The SIT also conducted a thorough search of Nayak’s residence and seized valuable documents in connection with the case. “Mansoor Khan was looking for a Rs 600 crore bailout. He was harnessing his contacts for a loan. To overcome a financial crisis, he was desperately looking for a loan of a few hundred crores of rupees,” Ravikanthe Gowda said. SIT sources say that Nayak allegedly confessed to accepting the bribe, during the interrogation. Mansoor Khan had allegedly approached Nayak due to his contacts with bureaucrats in the Revenue Department. “Mansoor Khan wanted Nayak’s connections and hence he paid him a bribe of Rs 4 crore as Nayak promised to get him the loan of Rs 200 crore,” an SIT official said. According to the Times of India, the SIT team that picked up Nayak on Monday was led by S Girish, who took charge in March 2017 as SP in the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The team raided Nayak for allegedly amassing assets beyond his known sources of income. The SIT has also registered a case of disproportionate assets against Nayak after they found that he owned two houses in Bengaluru and Davanagere apart from commercial complexes in JP Nagar in Bengaluru and Harapanahalli in Davanagere. On Sunday, the SIT sleuths arrested Syed Mujahid, a BBMP corporator from Frazer Town, in connection with the ponzi scam and seized several documents from his residence. The SIT found that Mujahid had stashed away Rs 1.2 crore through a shell company and had 101 unknown bank accounts. The SIT was on the lookout for Syed Mujahid since June 10, when the scam broke out. SIT sleuths say that Mujahid was a close associate of Mansoor Khan. “Mansoor Khan was in touch with Mujahid even after fleeing the country. Mujahid knew Mansoor Khan was leaving the country. In fact, they met at the airport. Mujahid boarded a flight to Sri Lanka and Mansoor Khan was leaving to bring back the investors’ money. Mujahid claims that Mansoor Khan doled out Rs 400 crore to various politicians and bureaucrats over the years. We are investigating it,” the SIT official told TNM.    

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