All rebel MLAs in Karnataka disqualified by Speaker Ramesh Kumar

Politics

According to the Speaker, the disqualification is till 2023, which means the action will shift to the courts now.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar on Sunday disqualified 14 more rebel MLAs from Congress and JD(S), days after he disqualified three other MLAs. The Speaker said that the 11 Congress and three JD(S) MLAs are also disqualified until 2023.  The disqualified MLAs are ST Somashekhar (Yeshwanthpura), BC Patil (Hirekerur), Shivaram Hebbar (Yellapur), Prathapgouda Patil (Maski), K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout), AH Vishwanath (Hunasuru), Narayana Gowda (Krishanarajapete), Munirathna Naidu (RR Nagar), Roshan Baig (Shivajinagar), MTB Nagaraj (Hoskote), K Sudhakar (Chikkaballapura), Shrimant Patil (Kagwad) and Anand Singh (Vijayanagara). The MLAs who were disqualified on Thursday were Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak), Mahesh Kumathall (Athani) and R Shankar (Ranebennur).  All these disqualifications were made under Section 2 (1) (a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution read with Article 19 1 (2). These means in total 17 MLAs of the Karnataka Assembly have been disqualified bringing the strength of the House to 207 and the magic number reduced to 104. The BJP has 105 MLAs of their own and independent MLA H Nagesh is likely to support them for BS Yeddyurappa’s floor test on Monday. While the Speaker has observed that they cannot re-contest elections until the expiry of the current Assembly term due to the disqualification, the rebel MLAs are set to contest the Speaker’s order in the High Court or the Supreme Court. If the Speaker’s verdict is upheld by the court, the rebels’ prospects of becoming ministers in the BS Yeddyurappa government is out of contention. In the recent case of 18 AIADMK MLAs, who were disqualified in September 2017, they were allowed by the apex court and the Election Commission to contest the bye-elections held six months later. The MLAs’ rebellion in Karnataka led to the downfall of the HD Kumaraswamy government last week. 

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Tiger found dead in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, suspected to have been hit by vehicle

Accident

This is the fifth tiger death in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve reserve since January.

TNM Staff

A tiger was found dead on the wee hours of Saturday on the edge of national highway leading to the Bandipur Tiger Reserve near Raghuvanahalli in Chamarajanagar district. According to forest officials, the tiger is suspected to have died after getting hit by a car when it was crossing the road outside the boundary. This is the fifth tiger death in Bandipur since January. There were scraping marks of the tiger’s claws at the spot, and also some tiger fur a little away from the spot where the carcass was found. Although there is a traffic ban between 9 pm and 6 am inside the tiger reserve for the 25 km stretch on National Highway 212, cars travel all night on the rest of the highway all the time, cutting across Bandipur forests. “We have filed a complaint, registered an FIR and are making efforts to track down the vehicle,” Conservator of Forests T Balachandra, who is also the Director of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve told The Hindu. This incident comes after former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday ruffled some feathers as he urged the Centre to lift the existing night traffic ban in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. He also asked if the Centre will consider the proposal for constructing an elevated corridor, which has been opposed vehemently by environmentalists and officials of the forest department. To his question, Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that status quo will be maintained.  At present, only four government-run buses and emergency vehicles operate in the restricted period between 9:00 pm to 6:00 am in the 25-km stretch of the National Highway 212. In January, the Centre clarified that it will drop the project to construct elevated corridors in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve as proposed under the Bharatmala project.   

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Family of four from Bengaluru family die after car crashes into KSRTC bus

Accident

While the couple died on the spot, their two children succumbed to their injuries on their way to the hospital.

TNM Staff

  In a tragic accident, a family of four from Bengaluru was killed on Sunday in a vehicular collision that took place on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway at Gejjalagere in Maddur. The deceased have been identified as Ravi (31), Manjula (25) and their children Sukanya (10) and Sagar (5). They were staying in Kumaraswamy Layout In Bengaluru. While the couple died on the spot, the children succumbed to their injuries on their way to the hospital. Police said the family was heading towards Ravi's native village, Hebakavadi, in Maddur taluk of Mandya district.  Police said that a car hit Ravi’s car from behind, which forced his car to cross the divider and crash head-on with a KSRTC bus. Police said as the result of the impact, the car was mangled in the front, and they had to struggle to recover the bodies. The Maddur police have registered a case. While nobody on the bus was hurt, the Times of India reported that some students fainted after seeing the major accident. One such student said, "I've never seen such an accident. Within seconds, the entire family lost their lives and their bodies were mutilated in front of us.” This incident comes after in May-end another four persons— two couples from Kerala had died after their car crashed into a parked lorry in Maddur on the same Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway. Two months before that in March, 41 tourists from Kolkata were injured after a private bus they were travelling in toppled over on the same highway in Maddur.   According to the latest statistics published by the Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, a total of 464,910 road accidents were reported in 2017, resulting in the death of 147,913 people and injuring 470,975 people. This means that every day, on an average, 405 people die in road accidents. According to that report, Karnataka was the third-worst state in the country, with 11% of the total accidents in India.

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K'taka govt floor test: Prohibitory orders around Vidhana Soudha on Monday

Floor test

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is set to prove majority on July 29 and Section 144 will be in place 2 km around the Vidhana Soudha from 6 pm to 12 am.

TNM Staff

Prohibitory orders will be in place around Vidhana Soudha on the day newly sworn-in Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is to prove majority on the floor of the House. Section 144 will be in place 2 km around the Vidhana Soudha from 6 pm on July 29 to 12 am on July 30. Section 144 of the CrPC prohibits the gathering of more than four people in a public space.  BS Yediyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka in Bengaluru on Friday evening for the fourth time. He had met with Governor Vala earlier on Friday staking claim to form the next government in Karnataka. The Governor gave Yediyurappa a one-week deadline to prove majority on the floor of the Assembly. On Friday, Yediyurappa had said that he would hold a floor test to prove his majority in the state Assembly on Monday (July 29). "At the cabinet meeting held soon after I took oath as Chief Minister, I decided to go for floor test in the Assembly on Monday at 10 am, to prove majority," the 75-year-old Yediyurappa said at a press conference in the state secretariat. The BJP has 105 members in the 225-member Assembly. The current Assembly strength is 222 after Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar on Thursday disqualified three Congress rebels. The disqualification came after the rebels defied the whip issued for their presence in the House on July 23 when then Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy put the confidence motion he moved on July 18 to vote but lost. One Independent is also supporting the BJP. With all the remaining 13 rebels deciding to abstain from the Assembly till the trust vote is conducted, the Speaker's decision on their resignations by Monday will make no difference for the trial of strength by Yediyurappa.  With the absence of the 13, the house strength will be 209, with 105 as the halfway mark for a simple majority. The effective strength of the Congress in the House will be 63 out of original 79, while the JD(S) has 34 legislators.

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Another pedestrian accident on Bengaluru's ORR: When will promised skywalks get built?

Civic Issues

The Outer Ring Road is one of the most accident prone zones in the city, and yet the BBMP continues to delay the construction of skywalks.

Theja Ram

Representation photo

Bengaluru’s Outer Ring Road, known as the death trap for pedestrians, now has another reason to add to its infamy. Devoid of skywalks, this busy stretch is one of the most accident-prone zones in the city. On Friday afternoon, 20-year-old Divya, an employee with HDFC Bank was crossing the road near Prestige Tech Park, when a tempo traveller rammed into her. The impact resulted in Divya incurring grievous injuries. According to HSR Layout Traffic Police Inspector Sanjay Rayappa, the driver of the vehicle, 31-year-old Venkatesh allegedly rushed her to Sakra Hospital soon after the accident. “Due to the seriousness of the injuries, she was shifted to NIMHANS, where she is under observation,” Inspector Sanjay said. Just like Divya, numerous pedestrians crossing the Outer Ring Road have to risk their lives as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has not completed the construction of the seven skywalks along the Outer Ring Road, since the project was conceptualised in 2017. According to Priya Venkat, a resident of Bellandur and a member of the citizens’ group Bellandur Jothege, the residents have lost count of the number of accidents along the stretch. The ORR was intended to be a signal-free corridor, connecting opposite ends of the city. Conceptualised in 1996, the ORR stretch was hardly inhabited then, but now it is home to multiple tech parks and large apartment complexes. Currently, from Iblur to Marathahalli alone, there are four major tech parks —  Ecospace, Embassy Tech Village, Prestige Tech Park and Cessna Business Park. Although there is no specific data on the number of deaths on Outer Ring Road, the state Home Department earlier this year, in a written reply to MLC TA Saravana, admitted that it is one of the worst stretches for pedestrians. “There have been seven serious accidents that have hurt pedestrians since the beginning of this year but more importantly, the smaller, minor ones are numerous and keep happening every day. Pedestrians being bumped against by two-wheelers, autorickshaws and cars causing minor injuries go unreported as people do not end up filing police complaints. It is a reality nonetheless,” Priya says. Currently, the BBMP has taken up the construction of seven skywalks near Innovative Multiplex, Iblur Junction, Central Mall, JP Morgan, Kalamandir, Sarjapur Road near Springfield and New Horizon School. The BBMP, which began the excavation work for constructing the skywalk near Kalamandir, abandoned the work in May. The body maintains that the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corpoation Limited, which is constructing the metro in the area, did not grant permission to construct the skywalk. When TNM contacted BMRCL, the officials said that the approval was granted in June 2018 and that the BBMP was yet to take up the work. The BBMP began constructing the skywalk near Central Mall in May this year. However, the work was abandoned in June and the construction has not yet resumed. The construction of the skywalk proposed near New Horizon School has not yet taken off. Similarly, work has stopped at Sarjapur Road near Springfield. “The contract for the skywalk near Springfield was given to a company connected to I Monetary Advisory. Since IMA and its holdings are under investigation by SIT, the work has stopped now,” a BBMP official told TNM. In December 2017, Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan had promised residents of Bellandur that the long-demanded skywalk on ORR near Akme Harmony Apartments and Cloudnine Hospitals would be ready in three months. What prompted the announcement was a massive human chain protest by citizens in the wake of the tragic death of 19-year-old Sanjay Giri, who used to work as a security guard at the apartment complex. Sanjay was run over by a speeding cab and was declared dead when brought to the hospital. While the incident involving Sanjay might have brought the people out to the streets, the demand for a skywalk has been a long-standing one. The skywalk near Akme was only completed a month ago.    

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Cancerous bone irradiated over 80km away and reimplanted to save Bengaluru man’s leg

Health

The man was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, a bone cancer which develops from the cartilage cells of the bone.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

When 26-year-old Naresh* was first diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, he devastated thinking that the bone cancer would cost him his leg. However, doctors from this Bengaluru hospital have managed to save his leg by taking him up for a procedure where the affected bone is removed, radiated and then re-implanted, as per a report by Sunitha Rao R in the Times of India. This procedure is called extracorporeal irradiation (ECI) and has allowed for Naresh to retain his leg. “[ECI] is not a procedure that we opt to do for all patients, it’s quite rare and is a very specific treatment for particular forms of bone cancer. We have done it a few times on patients who were eligible, such as this man who was young enough and his cancer not quite aggressive, that we were able to take him up for this procedure,” says Dr Anil Kumar, Lead Consultant in the Radiation Oncology department at Fortis Hospital in Bengaluru. Dr Anil and team Naresh was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma — a bone cancer which develops from the cartilage cells of the bone. Cartilage is a bone tissue which helps in the growth and development process. Chondrosarcoma makes up for 20 per cent of all bone tumours, though bone tumours as a whole make up for less than 1 per cent of all adult cancers. Generally, in cases of any bone tumours, doctors often turn to radiation therapy. In some cases, studies have shown that ECI has high success rates. “Essentially what we do is that instead of exposing the patient to the radiation all over, we remove the part of the bone which is affected, and irradiate only that specific part and then replace the bone back into the patient,” adds the doctor. Naresh was admitted to Prakriya Hospital on Tumakuru Road in Bengaluru. A group of doctors led by Dr Srinivas CH, an orthopaedic oncologist (bone cancer specialist), proceeded to remove the affected portion of Naresh’s pelvic bone and transported it via green corridor all the way to Bannerghatta Road’s Fortis Hospital (84 kilometres away). The bone was irradiated at Fortis, then taken back to Prakriya via the green corridor again, all while Naresh remained on the operating table. “When I first reached out to the doctor with excruciating pain, they diagnosed it as bone cancer after a series of tests. I was devastated, but they did reassure me patiently about the new advances available and about this procedure in particular. I trusted them and said ok for the surgery. They have saved my life and leg,” says Naresh. Doctors expect that he will make a full recovery and will be able to walk and use his leg normally. *Name changed

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Bengaluru techie accused of dowry harassment absconds, police on the hunt

Dowry

In the complaint, Siddharth's wife Mayuree has alleged that he was having multiple affairs and beating her up over dowry.

TNM Staff

A Bengaluru techie has been accused of physically and verbally harassing his wife for dowry for over seven months. Unable to face the alleged harassment, the 32-year-old woman filed a complaint with the RT Nagar Police on Friday evening. Mayuree Khound Banerjee, who formerly worked as a techie in Bengaluru, got acquainted with Siddharth Banerjee on a matrimonial website over a year ago. Mayuree and Siddharth met each other and she finally agreed to marry him. Both the families had met last year and had set a date for the wedding in January this year. All was well until the day before the wedding, when Siddharth’s mother Rina Banerjee allegedly demanded dowry from Mayuree's father. “My father was opposed to the idea of handing in the dowry and we were thinking about calling off the wedding. My husband convinced my mother-in-law to not ask for dowry and everything was settled. We were married on January 17,” Mayuree's complaint reads. However, two days after the wedding, Siddharth and Rina allegedly began demanding that Mayuree bring in dowry. “The victim says that her husband and in-laws initially started taunting her every day saying she was useless and that she could not even bring in dowry. This continued and the couple would fight a lot,” the RT Nagar Police said. Within months, Siddharth allegedly began beating up Mayuree during their arguments about dowry. In her complaint, Mayuree alleges that she suffered verbal abuse at the hands of her husband and in-laws every day. On July 17, Mayuree found emails that Siddharth had allegedly written to multiple women with whom he was having affairs. “The woman’s husband and mother-in-law made her quit her job after the wedding. Her mother-in-law would also taunt her for not getting pregnant. The victim was suspicious of her husband’s activities and checked his email. She found out that he was having multiple affairs. When she confronted him, he beat her up and she was admitted to Baptist Hospital,” the police added. After recuperating, Mayuree returned to her home in RT Nagar, allegedly only to face more verbal abuse from her husband. “In her complaint, she said she was unable to bear it and that’s why she filed the complaint. She says that her husband would threaten to beat her if she spoke about marital problems with her parents,” the police said. An FIR was registered under section 498A (demand for dowry) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC and also the Dowry Prohibition Act. By the time the police reached Mayuree's apartment in Sultanpalya, Siddharth and Rina had absconded. “We believe they are in Kolkata and we will take the necessary measures to being them back,” the police said.    

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