Yediyurappa battles twin trouble: A dissatisfied Belagavi unit and impatient MLAs

Politics

On Thursday, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and eight disgruntled MLAs flew to New Delhi to have talks with the high command.

Theja Ram

During his speech on July 6, ahead of tendering his resignation as the Chief Minister, HD Kumaraswamy had said in the assembly that trouble would mar the future BJP government too. Kumaraswamy’s prediction seems to be coming true as a few senior BJP leaders are unhappy about being left out of the cabinet. On August 20, 17 BJP leaders took oath as ministers after a list was approved by the high command in New Delhi. Several MLAs including Arvind Limbavalli, Renukacharya, Balachandra Jarkiholi and veteran leader Umesh Katti were not given ministerial berths. On Thursday, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and eight disgruntled MLAs flew to New Delhi to convince the high command that the senior leaders and those instrumental in bringing down the coalition government must be rewarded.   “Renukacharya, Balachandra Jarkiholi, Arvind Limbavalli were the ones who held talks with Congress and JD(S) MLAs and convinced them to resign. Now, the high command has inducted Laxman Savadi, who is not even an MLA, into the cabinet. The rebels are now scared that they will be left in lurch,” a source in the BJP said. The Belagavi angle The BJP has ten MLAs in Belagavi district and the party is largely divided into factions, one headed by Laxman Savadi and the other by Umesh Katti. Savadi lost to Congress leader Mahesh Kumatahalli from Athani constituency in Belagavi during the Assembly elections in 2018.  But despite this, Savadi was made a minister, on the insistence of BL Santosh, BJP's National General Secretary. According to sources, BS Yediyurappa wanted either Umesh Katti or Ramesh Katti to be accommodated in the cabinet, but other than Savadi, the only other MLA who made the cut from Belagavi was MLA Shashikala Annasaheb Jolle, who is also from the Savadi faction. This has left Umesh Katti and supporters fuming and they are demanding a ministerial berth.  The impatient rebel MLAs   Seventeen rebels from the JD(S) and Congress, who were disqualified are now putting pressure on Yediyurappa. Many believe that if a senior member like Umesh Katti who has won from the district eight times has not been accommodated in the cabinet, the BJP will not give them places either.  The rebels had resigned on the promise that they would be offered ministerial portfolios.  In addition, there is also speculation that the BJP will find a replacement for Yediyurappa in the beginning of 2020. "With Yediyurappa losing control of the position of power he earlier enjoyed, there is disillusionment among those who have been sidelined, mostly his followers and close associates,” the source added. Yediyurappa is slated to hold talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national working President JP Nadda on Friday to discuss the issues raised by state leaders and also finalise the issue of allocating portfolios to the ministers.  

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$16B veterans' health project hits major snag

The rollout is likely to be delayed six months, which members of Congress worry could be an early sign of trouble.

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No trains between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, parts of Kerala till Sunday

Floods

Trains in these sections were already cancelled for the last two weeks as unprecedented rainfall in the region triggered multiple landslides which caused damage to the railway tracks.

TNM Staff

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Train services connecting Bengaluru with Mangaluru, other parts of coastal Karnataka and parts of Kerala passing through Sakleshpur-Subramanya Road Ghat section, will remain suspended at least till Sunday. Trains in these sections were already cancelled for the last two weeks starting from August 10 as unprecedented rainfall in the region triggered multiple landslides which caused damage to the railway tracks.  According to senior railway staff, the section witnessed 59 incidences of landslides, and boulder and tree fall, between Hassan and Subramanya Road between August 5 and August 12 alone. This resulted in Debris of more than 75,430 cubic meters falling from the embankment, and caused extensive damage to the tracks at several locations.   “The track restoration works have been taken up immediately thereafter. Works have been going at all critical location with multiple machines and labour despite inclement weather conditions prevailing there. All landslips and breaches have been cleared except at three locations where bank has eroded. Senior officers from Zone and Division are personally monitoring the work,” South Western Railways said in a statement.  Officials said if no further heavy rainfall occurs, train services are expected to resume from Sunday night. On account of these works, the following trains remain suspended: A. Cancellation of Train 1. Train No.16516 Karwar to Yesvantpur express journey commencing on 24.08.19 is fully cancelled. 2. Train No.16518/16524 Kannur/Karwar to KSR Bengaluru express journey commencing on 23.08.19 and 24.08.2019 is fully cancelled. 3. Train No.16511/16513 KSR Bengaluru to Kannur/Karwar express journey commencing on 23.08.19 and 24.08.19 is fully cancelled. 4. Train No.16575 Yesvantpur to Mangaluru Junction express journey commencing on 25.08.19 is fully cancelled. 5. Train No.16585 Yesvantpur to Mangaluru Express journey commencing on 25.08.19 is fully cancelled. B. Partial Cancellation of Train 1. Train No.16514 Karwar to KSR Bengaluru express journey commencing on 25.08.2019 is partially cancelled between Karwar to Mangaluru Central.

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Karnataka floods: Death toll reaches 88, over 1.5 lakh people still in relief camps

Floods

Six persons including two from Belagavi, three from Kodagu and one from Haveri, continue to be missing.

TNM Staff

The death toll as a result of the heavy rains and flooding that affected Karnataka in early August has gone up to 88, a report by the Chief Minister's office stated on Thursday. The number of houses damaged by the floods exceeded one lakh, while six persons including two from Belagavi, three from Kodagu and one from Haveri, continue to be missing. The disaster affected 103 out of the 176 taluks in the state in 22 districts. Floods and landslides prompted rescue and evacuation operations in Belagavi, Bagalkot, Raichur, Yadgir, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Mysuru and Hassan. Twenty-four of the deaths reported so far were from Belagavi district, the highest in the state. The district in northern Karnataka and its neighboring areas were flooded due to overflowing of the upper Krishna river basin. Twenty-eight thousand houses were damaged due to the floods in Belagavi alone. 156 relief camps have been opened as of Thursday in Belagavi, while 121 relief camps are open in Bagalkot district. More than 1.5 lakh people are staying in relief camps in these two districts, while the total number of people in relief camps in the state is 1,59,991. Thirteen persons were reported dead in Kodagu district and three persons are still missing after a major landslide in Thora village on August 9. Landslides struck Kodagu a year after devastating floods and landslides took the lives of 18 people.  Ten people were reported dead in Shivamogga, where heavy rains in the western part of the district close to the Western Ghats caused flooding and prompted emergency rescue operations.   

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Bengaluru City gets new commissioner, BH Anil Kumar to replace Manjunath Prasad

Administration

M Maheshwar Rao was announced as the new chairman of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).

TNM Staff

Senior IAS officer BH Anil Kumar has been named as the new Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) replacing Manjunath Prasad by a list of transfer orders issued on Thursday.  Anil Kumar who was previously the Additional Chief Secretary to the Government in the Urban Development Department will take charge as the commissioner of the civic body with immediate effect. Prasad’s transfer was anticipated with him completing three years in the position. However, it was speculated that his transfer by the new regime under Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa will come only after the bye-elections were over. Other than the role as Commissioner, the position also involves the role of the District Election Commissioner. Before this transfer order, Manjunath Prasad was reinstated as BBMP Commissioner in May post the 2018 Assembly elections after he was transferred in the run-up to the elections following a complaint by the BJP made to the Election Commission. In other important transfers involving the state capital, M Maheshwar Rao was announced as the new chairman of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) replacing Tushar Giri Nath. Till now, Maheshwar Rao was the Secretary to Government,  Commerce and Industries Department.  Harsh Gupta was appointed as the Regional Commissioner, Bengaluru Division. His previous position of Secretary, Housing Department will be taken up by Manoj Kumar Meera. Maheshwar Rao was incidentally appointed as the BBMP Commissioner when Manjunath Prasad was shunted out of the BBMP temporarily. Prior to Thursday's transfer order Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on Monday ordered the transfer of other IAS officers posted for the civic administration, including the Commissioner of the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) after just 49 days in her post. N Manjula, the outgoing BDA Commissioner, was replaced by GC Prakash, a 2006-batch IAS officer. He is the third BDA Commissioner in two years. 

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Armed robbers nabbed after failed heist at Bengaluru jewellery shop

Crime

The police also commended the brave work by owners Rakhi and Asish in scaring off the armed robbers.

Soumya Chatterjee

Police have arrested four men hailing from different states less than a day after they allegedly attempted to commit armed robbery at a gold jewellery shop in Vylakavel, central Bengaluru on Wednesday.  The accused have been identified as Balaju Ramesh Gayakwad, a 25-year-old native of Maharasthra’s Sholapur, 24-year-old Balwan Singh from Bhimani in Haryana, 26-year-old Sriram Bishnoi from Badmer in Rajasthan and 27-year-old Omprakash from Jalore, Rajasthan. The four-person gang was caught staying in a rented accommodation in DVG Layout in Vinayaka Nagar around 10.30 pm on Wednesday, police said. Balaju is a silver ornament worker, while the rest are involved in steel welding works. Police have also seized two country-made guns and mobiles phones. Police are also trying to ascertain if they were involved in other crimes as well.  Read: Quick-thinking by owner foils heist attempt at jewellery shop in Bengaluru The police said the three teams led by inspectors of three police stations — Vyalikaval, Sheshadripuram and Sadashivnagar under the supervision of ACP Seshadripuram Sub-division Niranjanraj Urs — will be duly rewarded for the swift capture. “They are not an interstate gang, they know each other through common friends. They have called up each other and joined with common intention to carry out this act. While three persons went in the shop, the other person was giving the three logistical support and was involved in the entire conspiracy,”  Niranjanraj Urs told TNM. While the gang was armed, quick thinking and prompt action by Rakhi and her husband Asish, owners of Samrat Jewels, resulted in the robbers leaving without any goods. In the panic, the gang also left the bike on which they came to the shop. Rakhi had thrown a chair at the robbers, which made them flee after they shot in the air to scare them.   The police also commended the brave work by Rakhi and Asish in scaring off the armed robbers. He added, “Among the four, only Balaju has a criminal past. He has carried out a similar act in a bank in Maharashtra earlier this year. All other four co-accused were arrested in that case but he was absconding. The bike and CCTV cameras were helpful in nabbing the culprits." Following the incident, top police officials including Bengaluru City Commissioner Bhaskar Rao and Joint Commissioner (Crime) Sandeep Patil visited the crime scene. A case by Vylakavel Police has been registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder), Section 393 (attempt to commit robbery) of the Indian Penal Code and section 7, 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. 

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Panathur-Balagere road inundated again, causes traffic gridlock, delays school buses

Civic

The residents of the area say that the road gets inundated every year during the monsoon and are calling for a permanent solution to the problem.

TNM Staff

On Wednesday, residents of Bengaluru’s Panathur-Balagere road, which connects Kadubeesanahalli and Varthur in the Bellandur-Sarjapur area, woke up to the familiar sight of the road being inundated after a spell of rain. The situation was particularly alarming at the railway underpass in the area near the Croma store. “The situation has remained unchanged for a long time. Whenever there is rain, the road gets flooded. This causes huge traffic jams on the roads on a regular basis, and has affected all residents who commute to offices and schools. School buses reached our apartment only at 10.30 am instead of 7.30 am. This inconveniences everyone in the family since the parents have to stay back and ensure that students go to school,” Vishwanath Subbaiah, a resident of the area told TNM. According to local residents, the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) was laying underground pipes in the area four months ago but did not restore the road and left it dug up. “The work was taken up but not completed and now it has become unmanageable for us residents. There is no drainage or water vent, which means the slightest spell of rain will leave the road inundated,” added another resident. The submerged underpass was cleared on Wednesday afternoon after the issue was brought to the notice of Varthur ward corporator Pushpa Manjunath, but residents are calling for a permanent solution to the problem. A proposal to take up widening work on the road is yet to be carried out by the BBMP. Earlier in June, residents of the area held a protest highlighting the apathy of BWSSB officials. They formed a human chain between Orchid International School and Kadubeesanahalli Bridge. In September 2018, the residents had held a similar protest after a water tanker ran over and killed a 12-year-old boy. Ironically, current Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa visited areas in Balagere, around 2 km away from the area that was flooded, in 2017 and highlighted the bad condition of roads.   

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