Café Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha missing: Firefighters, divers, boats deployed

Police officials are questioning all the people that Siddhartha spoke to on Monday. They are also looking into call record details of his driver.

TNM Staff

Hours after VG Siddhartha, the owner-founder of the Café Coffee Day chain and the son-in-law of BJP leader SM Krishna went missing in Mangaluru, an intensive search operation has been launched to trace him. According to officials, 100 firefighters, 100 policemen, 50 divers and 50 fishermen and 30 boats have been deployed for the operations. Reports also state that Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has sought the Centre’s help to deploy navy divers to locate Siddhartha.     Former Minister and Mangaluru MLA UT Khader arrived at the spot and is overseeing the search operations. “He is missing from yesterday evening. What we pray is, he should return safely. All type of search is taking place. Police and Revenue department is working hard with the help of locals,” said UT Khader to ANI.    Police officials are questioning all the people that Siddhartha spoke to on Monday. They are also looking into call record details of his driver.  The CCTV footage is also being examined.    Siddhartha went missing on Monday night near the Nethravathi river in Mangaluru. According to police sources, Siddhartha left Bengaluru informing his family that he was going to Sakleshpur in Hassan district. However, once he left home, he allegedly told his driver to head towards Mangaluru. When they reached the Nethravati Bridge, he was allegedly on a call and informed his driver that he's taking a walk and would be back. Over an hour after he left, his driver got worried and called his cellphone multiple times but it was switched off. Thereafter, his driver, informed Siddhartha’s family and the police.    Speaking to TNM, Mangaluru Commissioner Sandeep Patil told TNM that the canine squad was deployed and that the dogs stopped at the middle of the 6km long Nethravathi bridge.    Siddhartha, the son of a coffee estate owner, began Café Coffee Day in 1996. Since then, the chain has expanded with 1550 stores with outlets in several international locations. According to a Forbes report, VG Siddhartha is worth more than 1.15 billion dollars and had shares in tech company Mindtree until March 2019 when he sold them to L&T. He also has shares in a few companies in the hospitality sector.   According to his profile on MindTree, his family has been in the coffee growing business for more than 130 years. The Coffee Day Group has interests in coffee retailing, logistics, technology parks (SEZ and STP scheme), financial services and investments in technology and software companies.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2Gw65QX
via IFTTT

Cafe Coffee Day founder and SM Krishna’s son-in-law Siddhartha missing, cops probe

Crime

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and Congress leader D K Shivakumar have rushed to the house of S M Krishna.

TNM Staff

V G Siddhartha, son-in-law of veteran BJP leader S M Krishna and the owner-founder of the Cafe Coffee Day chain, has been reported missing since Monday. Police officials have launched a probe into his disappearance.  As per reports, Siddhartha got out of his car near a bridge across the Nethravathi river in Mangaluru. His driver panicked when he did not return in an hour, and informed the family. The Dakshina Kannada police have been searching for Siddhartha since last night.  "According to the driver Siddhartha left from Bengaluru to Mangaluru on Monday night. They were crossing National Highway 66 and the driver was asked to stop the car at the bridge over Netravati River in Ullal. He was talking on his mobile phone when he asked his driver to stop the car and is said to have walked away from the car. He told his driver he would be back soon and that was the last time his driver saw him," Mangaluru Commissioner Sandeep Patil told TNM. A Mangalore based website, Daijiworld wrote that two other persons were with Siddhartha in the car and they had got down at Pumpwell circle. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and Congress leader D K Shivakumar have rushed to the house of S M Krishna. Siddhartha started Sivan Securities, which was later renamed as Global Technology Ventures in the year 2000. He also started the Cafe Coffee Day chain of coffee shops which garnered fame to the Chikkamaguluru coffee.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2YodsEj
via IFTTT

6th edition of Asia's premier nature and wildlife festival to be held in Bengaluru

Wildlife

This year, the Nature inFocus Festival is also launching its inaugural Nature inFocus Film Awards, thus attracting a wider audience.

TNM Staff

For nature, wildlife enthusiasts and photographers, it's their favourite time of the year. Presented by Dell this year, the Nature inFocus Festival – Asia's premier nature and wildlife festival, is back for its sixth edition and so is the excitement, as entries have been pouring in for the NiF Photography and NiF Film awards since it was announced. The NiF Festival this year will go on for three days, starting August 2. The venue this year, Chamara Vajra will witness a rush on August 2, 3 and 4 as thousands of nature and wildlife lovers, photography and film enthusiasts, and participants will pour in from across the country. To add to the already widespread excitement for the announcement of the winners of the annual NiF Photography Awards, this year Nature inFocus is also launching its inaugural Nature inFocus Film Awards, thus attracting a wider audience.   While the Nature inFocus Festival itself is a recognition of an environmentally conscious community that is fragmented and bringing them together, the Awards are a recognition of the photographers' and filmmakers’ ability in the creative space and their empathy for nature. Having received 9,800 images across six categories, the NiF Photography Awards contest is all set for a grand finale at the festival. This year the awards ceremony will also see prizes given out for the inaugural NiF Film Awards. In addition to the Awards, this year, the Nature inFocus Festival will host a 120-image photography exhibition which will include the winning images and selected shortlisted images from the NiF Photography Awards. There will also be an exclusive film showcase, screenings of the winning natural history and conservation films from the NiF Film Awards, where the respective filmmakers will present their films and talk about them.  The sixth edition of the three-day festival will see the presence of some powerful speakers from across the globe such as Environmental Historian Mahesh Rangarajan; Wildlife Filmmaker Rolf Steinmann; Wildlife Conservationist Vivek Menon; Scientist Aparajita Datta; Wildlife Biologist Ravi Chellam; Wildlife Photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee; Ecologist Harini Nagendra; Wildlife Photographer Anish Andheria; and Wildlife Filmmaker Joanna Van Gruisen among others. NiF Photography Awards The award categories are designed so as to churn out the various faces of nature and wildlife on one platform. Therefore, the winners will be chosen from each of the five categories namely, Animal Portraits, Animal Behaviour, Wildscape and Animals in Habitat, Conservation Issues and Creative Nature Photography. There will also be a 'Young Photographer Award' which will be awarded to young contestants (17 years and below).  From this year, along with the winner and runner-up, the NiF Photography Awards will also have second runner-up and special mention awards. Category winners will be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and a guided safari tour to a national park of their choice (Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Ranthambore, Tadoba and Corbett only) courtesy of Nature Wanderers, while category runners-up will get a cash prize of Rs. 25,000 and second runners-up will get Rs. 10,000. An additional cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and a trip to the Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya courtesy of Nature Wanderers await the ‘NiF Photographer of the Year.’ All winners and runners-up are also entitled to a certificate and a winner’s trophy. Jury for Photography Awards The winners this year will be chosen by a jury comprising wildlife filmmaker and photojournalist Sandesh Kadur, environmental photographer Arati Kumar Rao, renowned wildlife photographer Sudhir Shivaram, chief conservator of forests Vijay Mohan Raj and documentary filmmaker Jyothy Karat. The jury curator is Nature inFocus Co-founder, Kalyan Varma, a wildlife photographer, filmmaker and a naturalist. NiF Co-Founders Rohit Varma and Kalyan Varma NiF Film Awards The NiF Film Awards is a three-category award with a section solely dedicated to wildlife footage that has been captured using a smartphone. Lined up for the contest are entries from both professional and emerging filmmakers. Both Professional and Emerging Talent categories have two sub-categories in Natural History and Conservation. Participants in the Emerging Talent category can tell a story of an animal, plant or habitat or can highlight a conservation issue in under 5 minutes. In the Professional category, the films can be of any length and can be submitted from anywhere in the world. The Emerging Talent category is only open to Indian participants. The Mobile Moments category is for edited or unedited video clip shots on a mobile phone that captures an incredible moment of animal behaviour.  The Emerging Talent and Professional category winners will each be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 and the Mobile Moment category winner will receive a cash prize of Rs. 10,000. Jury for Film Awards The winners this year will be chosen by a 7-member jury comprising Rita Banerji, Founder-Director at Dusty Foot Productions; Gautam Pandey, Director at Riverbank Studios; Akanksha Sood Singh, a Natural History Filmmaker; Raghu Chundawat, a Conservation Biologist; Joanna Van Gruisen, a Wildlife Filmmaker; and Manish Mundra, the Founder of Drishyam Films. The jury curator is Sara, a wildlife filmmaker and a member of the NiF Advisory Board.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2KoKKdt
via IFTTT

Nurse who rescued woman from Mangaluru stabber receives Florence Nightingale award

Crime

Nimmy Stephen Kulakkattu, a 22-year-old nurse, said that she was “just doing my duty.”

Harsha Raj Gatty

One month after a 21-year-old student in Mangaluru was stabbed by her male friend in an incident that shocked the city, the young nurse who approached the attacker and brought the situation under control was awarded the state-level Florence Nightingale Award at a ceremony in Bengaluru on Saturday. The victim meanwhile has been shifted out of the Intensive Care Unit and is recuperating.  Nimmy Stephen Kulakkattu, the nurse who had earlier refused to reveal her identity when TNM first spoke to her, has now given permission for her name to be published. The 22-year-old nurse, who is a native of Payyavoor in Kannur district, said that she never imagined she would be honoured with the prestigious award so early in her career. “I was just doing my duty and was not thinking of anything except saving the girl on that fateful day last month,” she told TNM. On July 28, Nimmy reached the scene, on the road behind the compound of KS Hegde Medical Academy (KSHEMA) and saw 27-year-old Sushanth drenched in blood. After she began speaking to him, she was finally able to convince him to step away from the victim, who had already been stabbed multiple times.  Nimmy, a staff nurse at KS Hegde Medical College Hospital, Mangaluru had completed her nursing education at the same institution. “I always dreamed of being a nurse and consider myself lucky that the institution hired me soon after my education. It’s been 11 months since I started working here as a nurse,” she said. Hailing from an agriculturist family, Nimmy said that her father, Stephen Kulakkattu, is a farmer, while her mother, Thankamma, is a homemaker. Nimmy, who has two brothers, said she was always interested in serving people. In recognition of her bravery, she also received an award from the KS Hegde Institute. However, more than receiving an award, Nimmy said she is relieved that the stabbing victim is recovering. “I have visited her couple of times. Recently, the doctor introduced us formally. I remember her saying, ‘thank you’,” Nimmy said. Read also: 'Was doing my duty': Brave nurse who helped rescue woman from Mangaluru stabber  (Content provided by https://ift.tt/2DX7vnh and Scribes Media Ventures LLP).

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/331xJz0
via IFTTT

It's 2019 and Bengaluru's Whitefield Railway Stn still doesn't have power backup

Railways

However, it is not just the power backup issue that causes problems to commuters.

Soumya Chatterjee

There are not too many things that can get worse at Bengaluru's Whitefield Railway Station, but on July 25 the whole station went dark. Yes, it is 2019 and the place that is otherwise known as an IT and industrial hub remains neglected to a large extent. A blackout on Thursday revealed that the station does not have automatic power backup system, though thousands use it daily. Almost 40 trains stop or terminate at this station. With the suburban rail services set to get bigger the station will turn into a major transport hub with the Whitefield Bus Station in the vicinity. “It was a scheduled power shutdown by Bescom. Normally in these cases, backup automatically kicks in, but in Whitefield that type of system is yet to be put in place. We will ensure that in coming months, backup is provided to the station,” E Vijaya, Deputy General Manager, Public Relations of South Western Railways told TNM. But it is not only the power-related issue that causes problems to commuters who use the station regularly. Even the sheds in the platforms have holes in them and hence are of no use during heavy rain. It was earlier reported how the station lacks even a proper access from all sides. At present there is only one entrance at the north side even though a majority of the commuters come in through the south. These commuters make their way through a broken rail compound wall and walk over the tracks or even crawl under goods trains. It poses a safety risk as other than the trains that stop at the station, many pass through on a regular basis, often at high speeds. Sandeep Anirudhan, a Whitefield resident, said, “It's not jist about the blackout, the station is always under lit even though there a lot of passengers use it on a daily basis. And with infrastructural work going on in multiple sides, it’s messier than what it used to be. Plus, there are no other facilities. Even the ticket counter is also in one corner.”  

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/30ZgJY8
via IFTTT

CM Yediyurappa cracks whip on B’luru’s garbage: But is dumping it at landfills the right way out?

Civic Issues

45% of the waste generated in Bengaluru is mixed and NGT norms state that mixed waste must not be dumped in landfills.

TNM Staff

Smelly roads laden with piles of garbage on the perimeter — this not a new sight in Bengaluru and newly sworn-in Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa seems to have woken up to the reality. On Sunday, Chief Minister Yediyurappa rapped the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner for allowing garbage to pile up on the sides of the roads. Speaking to TNM, BBMP Mayor Gangambike said that CM Yediyurappa has given the BBMP three days to clean up the garbage. “The Chief Minister met with Commissioner Manjunath Prasad and asked him to take necessary action to remove the garbage on the streets. He informed the Chief Minister that tenders are being sorted out to dump the garbage from roads into two different landfills. There is a plot of land next to the Bellahalli landfill and the owner of the land has allowed BBMP to dump the garbage there until further arrangements can be made,” Mayor Gangambike said. BBMP figures say that 45% of the waste generated in Bengaluru is mixed and not segregated at the source, Mayor Gangambike says, while adding that the mixed waste either ends up in Bellahalli landfill or strewn along the sides of the roads. “About 400 tonnes of wet waste per day is going to the compost units. As per NGT orders, the garbage collectors end up dumping unsegregated waste that residents give them into auto tippers, which dump them on roadsides or at the landfills. In order to clean up the garbage being piled up on the roads, we are going to transport them to the plot near Bellahalli until it can be shifted to Mitaganahalli and Marenahalli landfills,” the Mayor said. However, NGT norms state that mixed waste must not be dumped in landfills and BBMP’s tenders. Disregarding the NGT order, the BBMP has called for tenders to dump mixed waste into the Mitaganahalli and Marenahalli landfills at the cost of Rs 64 crore and Rs 120 crore respectively. “The tender documents are currently being vetted by the health committee. The Joint Commissioner of health has okayed the plot for dumping the waste temporarily until the two other landfills can be opened. We are currently facing opposition from residents of Mitaganahalli, who do not want the landfill to be open. The Health Committee is looking into those complaints,” she added.     

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2Op7Zt1
via IFTTT

Movies, folk art and more: The tenth edition of Bangalore Queer Film Festival is here

Film

The film screenings kick off on Thursday, August 1 and will continue till Sunday, August 4 at Alliance Française and Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan.

TNM Staff

Roshan Shakeel

Now in its 10th year, the Bangalore Queer Film Festival is back this week, with an international line-up of feature films, shorts and documentaries as well as panel discussions and performances. The film screenings kick off on Thursday, August 1 and will continue till Sunday, August 4 at Alliance Française and Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan. Before the film screenings begin, the festival’s curtain raiser is set for Wednesday, July 31 at the Bangalore International Centre, where Karnataka Rajyotsava awardee B Manjamma Jogathi and her traditional folk art troupe will perform. This year’s event will feature of host of international screenings on deck, including A Woman is a Woman, directed by Maisy Goosy Suen in her first feature film, Si Chedeng at si Apple (Chedeng and Apple), a Filipino film from Rae Red and Fatrick Tabada, Chinese film Meili from director Zhou Zhou and award-winning Vietnamese film Song Lang from Leon Le in his debut feature. Films from Indian filmmakers include Neelu Bhuman’s Transfinite, which comprises seven short stories, and Udalaazham, a Malayalam film by Unnikrishnan Avala.  There will also be a range of documentaries from around the world, including Papua New Guinea, Colombia, India, France and Argentina. In partnership with New Delhi-based non-profit Public Service Broadcasting Trust, a series called ‘Engaging with Sexualities’ will highlight debut and early-career filmmakers through their short documentaries, which will tackle subjects of sexuality, love, identity, desire, relationships, among others. In one of the most anticipated events of the festival, celebrated poet Hoshang Merchant will release his latest book, The Gay Icons of India, on Sunday, August 4. The event will also include a panel discussion between Hoshang, writer and poet Vikramaditya Sahai, and writers and BQFF co-directors Namita Aavriti and Joshua Muyiwa.  The festival screenings will take place at Alliance Française on August 1 and 2 and at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan on August 3 and 4.  For the full schedule of films, check out the schedule here.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2YsKHpJ
via IFTTT