With no funds from Centre for flood relief, Karnataka diverts money from 39 departments

Exclusive

The BJP government, which does not want the anger in flood-hit areas to simmer any further, has decided to divert funds from 39 departments.

Theja Ram

Representation Photo

It has been close to two months since floods ravaged several districts in Karnataka rendering thousands of people without homes. And yet, the central government has not released flood relief funds. With elections fast approaching, the BJP government, which does not want the anger in flood-hit areas to simmer any further, has decided to divert funds from 39 departments. These funds will be used to help rebuild homes of members of the Dalit and Adivasi communities, who were affected by the recent floods. Speaking to TNM, Joint Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Urmila, said that Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa held a meeting with heads of 39 departments in order to review the funds that could be pooled in for flood relief works. The meeting was held on September 20 and CM Yediyurappa has directed several departments to divert Rs 1,100 crore for rebuilding homes for the members of the Dalit and Adivasi communities. “Several department heads like those from Public Works, Irrigation, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and other departments, were at the meeting. The CM asked each department head whether they would be able to contribute funds to flood relief works. Each department has been asked to be frugal with spending money allocated to them as per the state budget and only projects that are absolutely necessary are to be undertaken,” Joint Director Urmila said. The Chief Minister has asked the various department heads to gather the funds, which will be allocated to eligible persons by the Department of Social Welfare. “The total amount is coming up to Rs 1,100 crore. This is only for construction of homes for SC and ST people. More money is needed for flood relief in terms of compensating crop losses, which the centre must provide. We are waiting for NDRF funds,” she added. The lack of progress in allocation of funds to Karnataka has made farmer groups threaten protests across the state. Speaking to TNM, member of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Kururbara Shanthakumar, said that farmers across the country would protest if the union government does not release funds for crop losses soon. “Construction of houses will take time but the government can at least give us money for crop losses so we can get started on farming activities. It's almost two months and there has been no progress,” he said. According to the Chief Minister’s Office, most farmers in the affected districts have incurred 50% crop loss due to floods. Data states that in 130 flood-hit taluks in Karnataka, 2.7 lakh farmers have lost their crops. Of these, Rs 730 crore damage has been in agricultural lands, Rs 126 crore in sericulture plants, Rs 136 crore in horticulture plantations and Rs 162 crore in coffee plantations. The National Disaster Management Fund allocates Rs 6,800 to each farmer for flood relief irrespective the damage. “The government has to allocate around Rs 1,100 crore for flood relief. The Centre had approved the funds but they have not been released yet,” Shanthakumar added. On August 20, the Home Ministry said that a high-level committee, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah approved Rs 1029.39 crore to Karnataka for floods in 2018. However, these funds have not been released to the state government. CM BS Yediyurappa met Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday and requested that Rs 2,000 crore be released immediately.     

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Karnataka man’s 58-chain link carved from pencil lead enters him into Guinness Book

Sculpture

The 32-yr-old contract worker surpassed the world record set by Pakistani student Abdul Baseer, who had achieved the same feat with a 50-chain link in January.

Harsha Raj Gatty

After four months of intense wait, Guinness Book of World Records (GBWR) has officially announced a Karkala artiste’s 58-chain link as the ‘Most links carved from pencil lead (graphite)’. With his achievement logged, the 32-year-old contract worker of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) surpassed the former record set by Pakistani student Abdul Baseer, who had achieved the same feat with a 50-chain link in January. For this stencil artiste – who was formerly famed for his sketches of gods, goddesses and famous personalities, the art of lead carving came to him by chance, he says. During the 2011 World Cup, Surendra says he came across a news story of an artiste carving a ‘World Cup’ with chalk. “Quickly I picked an unused pencil-lead from my boss Nishchitha D Suvarna at MESCOM and made a miniature artwork of ‘World Cup’ and showed it to her. An art critique herself, she was impressed by my amateur attempt and encouraged me to make another model of a goddess’s statue, which I did with ease. So she asked me to pursue my talent seriously,” he says. Although unwilling at first to go beyond his comfort zone of stencil art, coaxed by his boss, Surendra eventually agreed to hone his new skill. Initially, Surendra said he limited himself to making lead-based musical instruments, chain link, gods, goddesses, Christ, and personalities like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mother Teresa or chain links made out of lead. In the span close to a decade, Surendra said that he has delivered a total of 120 lead-based artworks, using almost all the famed brands of pencils including Natraj, Apsara, Camlin. “But given the fact that lead-based artworks are brittle, almost 40 of them have broken into pieces,” he says. The micro-artiste said that he used regular 10B or 12B pencil that on average is 8mm in length. “Given that this lead-based art form is very intricate, pencils over 10B – provide room to add more elements to the creativity. However, beyond 12B, they are not locally available. A few of my acquaintances based abroad told me that they will get size 12B and beyond, but it didn’t materialise,” he says. Over a period of time, Surendra said that he has evolved doing micro-arts involving Bharatanatyam Bhangi (Position) or Yakshagana related models, for which he cannot use pencil lead. “We need more flat variants of lead – which are available with the plywood companies. A few of the local plywood companies share it with me whenever they have excess supply of lead,” he says. In a candid admission, Surendra says that as much as micro-art seems simple, the biggest ‘terror’ in micro-art is while giving the final touches to the ideas. “A small miscalculation in estimating the depth, length, and weight-bearing capacity of the lead, can mean disaster. On several occasions, whenever the lead breaks – it has either left me staring blankly at the broken end – recollecting the time and patience invested or sometimes left me with tears,” he says. Rejoining the broken lead is next to impossible, he adds. He suggests that the artiste can only learn from his past mistakes, move on and start again, he says.  Interestingly, Surendra says that he never uses any specialised lenses or equipment to handle the delicate and intricate artwork. “Earlier I used only the regular blades, knives, and scissors to perform the art. Also, needles play a very crucial role in giving the final touches. Lately, with some help from my well-wishers, I sourced some surgical equipment for the ease of handling of the lead,” he says. A few years ago, during a micro-sculpture exhibition at SDM, Dharmadhikari of Sri Kshethra Dharmasthala and Chairman of SDM Educational Trust D Veerendra Heggade appreciated my art and suggested that I must attempt a world record. He put me in touch with his students, who had formerly attempted a World Record in a Rubik-Cube event. “Then a student of SDM, Pratyush K Bhat systematically guided me with the rules, regulations and gave me guidance. After years of practice and perfecting the chain-link, I decided to give it a shot,” he says. Narrating his D-Day on April 7, Surendra said that as per GBWR, he had to summon their officials, however that meant inflating the event expense by Rs. 7 lakh. But alternatively, Guinness Book of World Records rules also gave leeway to Surendra to arrange local witnesses, including a gazetted officer and videotaping the entire event to bear testimony to his performance. “Almost over 100 people had gathered at the Rotary Balabhavan venue at Karkala, from 7am till 7pm. It was very intimidating as there was no room for error. But I was able to gather my concentration and patience, and string together the 58-chain graphite link and succeed,” he says. “Subsequently, unedited footage of the event along with witness statements were sent to GBWR and in the mid-week of September, they announced the result,” he says. Besides his passion for lead-art, Surendra says that he was also honing his skills on wax-models, chalk-piece art, and acrylic colour painting. Having completed his education in an Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Surendra says that he wanted to complete his Diploma in Electrical. However, family commitments, including taking care of his aged parents and his three sisters, had compelled him to step back from pursuing his studies. Drawing a salary of Rs. 12000 from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited, (KPTCL) as a ‘temporary worker’, he hopes his service is regularised soon. Apart from monitoring the news for any challenge to his new accomplishment at GBWR, Surendra who already has 108 lead-based miniatures of Bharatanatyam Bhangi’s (positions) to his credit, says that he wants to create more variety of them so that it becomes a referral point for future generations to understand the intricacies of the art. “Photographs are generally 2D image, the younger generation wants to see beyond it. Micro-sculpture can be a great alternative to understanding art and dance forms,” he concludes. 

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Why 26 years after its release, Nishkarsha remains an unforgettable Kannada thriller

Flix Flashback

For those who grew up in the '90s watching Kannada films, 'Nishkarsha' was our introduction to heist thrillers like 'Die Hard' and 'The Italian Job'.

Prajwal Bhat

Last week, on the birth anniversary of actor Vishnuvardhan, a digitally remastered version of the classic 1993 film Nishkarsha was released in Kannada and Hindi in a fitting tribute to the actor's legacy. For those who grew up in the '90s watching Kannada films, Nishkarsha was our introduction to heist thrillers like Die Hard and The Italian Job. The plot revolves around an attempted bank robbery in which terrorists take hostages inside the bank. It follows the trials and tribulations of the police commissioner (Anant Nag) and the commando of the anti-terrorist squad (Vishnuvardhan) who try to free the hostages and capture the terrorists. Suman Nagarkar plays the role of a bank employee and Prakash Raj is one of the anti-terrorist commandos. Suman's character is sexually assaulted by one of the terrorists and the actor recently said in an interview that she has not done such a "powerful" role since. She also praised "the subtle yet powerful manner in which the scene was shot.” Guru Kiran is part of the film's cast too, but apart from holding the gun as one of the terrorists, he did not have a major role. This was much before he went on to become one of the leading music directors in the Kannada film industry.  Interestingly, BC Patil was cast as the leader of the terrorist group in what was his debut film. At the time, he was a police official in Davanagere with no prior acting experience in films. In an interview, the director of the film Sunil Kumar Desai, revealed that he watched BC Patil in a play in which he portrayed the role of Tipu Sultan and had decided that he was the right fit for the film. However, he made BC Patil remove his mustache due to the latter's habit of twirling it constantly.  BC Patil was also the producer of the film and since then he has been elected as the MLA of Hirekerur constituency in Haveri district three times. He was one of the rebel MLAs of the Congress who resigned from their positions and triggered the collapse of the JD(S)- Congress coalition government earlier this year. The film was shot almost entirely at the Manipal Centre off MG Road in Bengaluru, which was the location of the bank. The narrative delves into the struggles faced by the characters inside and outside the bank. In a particularly memorable scene, a flock of pigeons is released into the sky to divert the attention of the terrorists on the top floor. This is done so that commando Ajay (Vishnuvardhan) can switch with a lookalike and take charge of the plan to free the hostages and stop Devraj (BC Patil) from taking the money in the bank.  Sunil Kumar later revealed that the idea of releasing pigeons to cause the distraction was finalised only on the sets of the film, and that he took almost eight days to decide on the pigeons. "A few suggested the idea of flying balloons or creating smoke. One day, I saw two pigeons on the top floor and that triggered an idea,” Sunil said speaking to Deccan Herald. A resident of Shivajinagar in Bengaluru brought along 150 pigeons to be used in the scene. The film had a 100-day theatrical run. However, initially, many theatres in Bengaluru refused to screen the film because it did not have any songs (which was unusual in films made at that time) but Sunil Kumar managed to convince the owners of Santosh theatre in Gandhinagar to do so. As it turned out, the film continued to run for more than 75 days and was eventually replaced  by Odahuttidavaru, starring Dr. Rajkumar. Nishkarsha was shifted to Triveni theater and continued to run for over 100 days Few films from the Kannada industry can be compared to Nishkarsha. The film stuck to its premise of telling a gripping two-and-a-half-hour heist story set in central Bengaluru. The film's realistic execution set it apart from its peers and captured the imagination of young and old viewers. It was inspired by Die Hard and was one of the first films to explore the genre of a suspense thriller in Kannada film history.  Years after its release, the film has been played and re-played on television channels in the state, capturing film lovers who were too young to have caught it in theatres. With the digitally remastered version releasing, there's no doubt that Nishkarsha will gain new fans from later generations too.

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Disqualified Karnataka MLAs seek interim stay on October 21 bye-polls, SC to hear plea

Court

The Election Commission has announced bye-polls to 15 Assembly constituencies on October 21.

TNM Staff

The Supreme Court on Monday accepted the plea made by the 17 rebel MLAs from Karnataka, who challenged their disqualification. The disqualified MLAs also requested the Supreme Court to grant an interim stay on the bye-elections slated to be held on October 21. The Election Commission of India has, however, opposed the prayer seeking a stay on bye-polls.    Hearing the petition, a bench comprising of Justices NV Ramana, Krishna Murari and Sanjay Khanna issued notices to the former Karnataka Speaker Ramesh Kumar seeking his response to the plea filed by the disqualified MLAs. The court also issued notices to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Dinesh Gundu Rao and leader of the Congress Legislature Party – Siddaramaiah, seeking their response on whether a whip was issued by the party before the MLAs were disqualified. The court adjourned the hearing. The next hearing will take place on September 25.  The 17 disqualified MLAs include Pratap Gouda Patil, BC Patil, Shivaram Hebbar, ST Someshekhar, Byrati Basavraj, Anand Singh, R Roshan Baig, Muniratna, K Sudhakar, MTB Nagaraj, Shrimant Patil, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumatahalli and R Shankar from the Congress and JD(S) legislators AH Vishwanath, Gopalaiah and Narayana Gowda. While the Election Commission had on Saturday announced bye-polls to 15 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, it was yet to announce elections to RR Nagar, the seat of former Congress MLA Munirathna, and Maski, constituency of former Congress MLA Pratapgouda Patil. The EC’s announcement had come as a setback to the MLAs as then Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar had disqualified 17 Congress and JD(S) MLAs until the end of the Karnataka Assembly’s five-year term, thereby preventing them from being able to contest bye-elections. Then Speaker Ramesh Kumar had said that the former MLAs had indulged in anti-party activities. The 17 rebels had said that they were unhappy with former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s administrative methods and that they were opposed to the Congress-JD(S) alliance. Ten of the 17 rebels had flown to Mumbai in private planes and were staying in the Renaissance Hotel until the vote of confidence was held. The coalition had accused the BJP of horse-trading and paying crores of rupees to the renegade MLAs in a bid to topple the government. The rebels had tendered their resignations to the Speaker’s office on July 6 and had boarded a private charter plane, which flew them to Mumbai. After a long discussion on the repercussions of rebels’ actions and the BJP’s alleged role in the rebellion, the coalition failed to pacify their MLAs and HD Kumaraswamy stepped down as the CM after the motion of confidence was lost.    

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'No move to have more Deputy CMs in Karnataka': DCM Ashwathnarayana

Politics

The Deputy CM's statement comes after much speculation that the BJP is looking to appoint two more DCMs in Karnataka.

TNM Staff

After much speculation about the appointment of two more Deputy Chief Ministers in Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwathnarayana on Monday said that the party has not taken such a decision. Speaking to the media, Deputy CM Ashwathnarayana said, “To the best of my knowledge, there will be no more Deputy Chief Minsters in Karnataka. It is up to the party leadership to decide whether they want to have more DCMs but as of today, no such decision has been made. Even if the rebel MLAs are allowed to contest bye-polls and end up winning, there won't be any more Deputy Chief Ministers. The party is clear on this. There is no question of having any more deputy chief ministers,” Ashwathnarayana said. Karnataka already has three Deputy Chief Ministers – Laxman Savadi, Dr CN Ashwathnarayana and Govind Karjol. Speculation was rife in the BJP that the party is looking at appointing two more Deputy CMs in order to solidify the party’s reach in the state, and at the same time pacify the 17 Congress and JD(S) rebels, a few of whom are unhappy about not being considered for the post. Congress and JD(S) rebels, former Gokak legislator Ramesh Jarkiholi and former JD(S) state President and also the ex-MLA of Hunsur – AH Vishwanath, have been unhappy about the party nominating three Deputy Chief Ministers before the Supreme Court can decide on the fate of the 17 rebels, who resigned to bring down the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. Party insiders say that the negotiators had promised to appoint Ramesh Jarkiholi as a Deputy Chief Minister if he resigned from the Congress. Ramesh Jarkiholi was dropped from his post as the Minister for Municipalities in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government during the reshuffle in 2018, and he had openly expressed his displeasure over the issue. Ramesh Jarkiholi had also stated that he would join the BJP soon. Insiders in the Congress say that he led the rebellion that brought down the government. “The rebel leaders have to be inducted into the party, then the high command has to decide whether they want to create two more DCM posts. So far, the BL Santhosh faction of the party are opposing the appointment of two more DCMs and do not want to give the rebels the opportunity to rise within the BJP’s ranks quickly. The party’s central leadership is also looking to promote BJP loyalists. No decision has been made yet,” a BJP leader told TNM.     

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‘If you love democracy, you will have to fight the media’: Journalist Ravish Kumar

Media

Ravish Kumar received the inaugural Gauri Lankesh National Journalism Award in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Prajwal Bhat

Journalist and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Ravish Kumar was awarded the inaugural Gauri Lankesh National Award for Journalism at a ceremony in Bengaluru on Sunday. The award was announced on September 5 on the second death anniversary of Gauri Lankesh by the Gauri Memorial Trust. Speaking while receiving the award, Ravish Kumar, the Managing Editor of NDTV India, said that the award was not a cause for celebration. "I cannot comprehend how the people living in Bengaluru who consider themselves broad-minded can live with the fact that a reporter was shot dead on the streets. The death of a journalist is the death of the democratic system on which you trust and step outside your house thinking there is a system to protect you." He also chose to focus his speech on the debate surrounding the imposition of Hindi over other languages in the country. "There is no need to fear those who impose Hindi. It cannot be the language that unites the country. In the Hindi speaking states, there are no good universities or education. The number of Hindi speakers appearing for UPSC exams have reduced and in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, 10 lakh students failed Hindi...A taxi driver in Bengaluru knows up to five languages and there is something we can learn from that," Ravish said. Ravish also saved a few words for the Indian media, which he said, is killing the spirit of democracy. "If you love democracy, you will have to fight the media. The media has long fought for democracy but today the situation has changed. Stop subscribing to newspapers, stop watching television channels and protest in the streets. It looks impossible today but tomorrow you will have to do it," said the television journalist. He accused the mainstream media of not carrying voices of dissent, stating, “Many people who come to the streets to protest are those who have voted for the current government. The media is not carrying these voices. The people who are at the protest share the photos between themselves and post it on social media in the hope that it goes viral. The media is recording this but it is not publishing these stories. The mainstream media is busy telling the voter why we are better off under the current government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” The award was announced by the Gauri Memorial Trust and presented to Ravish by 102-year-old freedom fighter HS Doreswamy. An English news website in honour of Gauri Lankesh - https://ift.tt/32Uxzs0  - was also launched which will be managed by the trust. This is in addition to 'Nyaya Patha', the newspaper relaunched in memory of Gauri Lankesh. Gauri Lankesh was murdered on September 5 2017 at her residence in Bengaluru allegedly by people who wanted to eliminate anti-Hindu forces. The murder shook the conscience of people across the country with thousands taking to the streets across the country, a week after the murder. Two years since her murder, 18 people have been named in the chargesheet by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murder. This includes six people, who are also named as accused in the murder of scholar and rationalist MM Kalburgi, which took place four years ago in Dharwad. These men were linked to the Sanatan Sanstha, a radical pro-Hindu group.

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Students at NLS Bengaluru boycott semester exams in protest against administration

Protests

The Students Bar Association demands that the new Vice Chancellor be appointed as per norms without further delay.

Soumya Chatterjee

Many students of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru boycotted their end semester exams on Monday, continuing their protest against the existing ad-hoc administration. The end semester exams will be held until September 27. "We're boycotting the exams because the members of the admin are trying to stop the due process of law from taking its natural course," Hamza Traiq, Student Bar Association President said. The NLSUI campus has over 500 students enrolled.    According to sources, around 15 students sat for the exams which started at 10am on Monday and was set to conclude at 1 pm. Students that TNM spoke to claim those who wrote the exam are those with backlogs, who had no other option as they would lose a year if they didn’t. The students as part of the protest formed human chains sitting on the floor across the corridors and staircase of the academic block. Read: NLSIU Bengaluru students demand that V-C be appointed at the earliest TNM had earlier reported that the exam boycott was planned by the Student Bar Association (SBA) as part of the ongoing protest. While protests have been going on for a week, students boycotted classes on Friday and Saturday.    The students have been voicing their dissent for over a week against the inordinate delay in the appointment of a full-time Vice-Chancellor (V-C). While the position fell vacant when the previous Vice-Chancellor R Venkata Rao completed his term of 10 years on July 31, his successor had been named on August 2 following due procedure. Students allege that the present registrar OV Nandimath who was one of the applicants for the V-C post and is a vital part of the existing framework is acting in vested interest to stall the process.   Read: Why law students in the prestigious NLS Bengaluru are threatening to skip exams The students have also been protesting against some of the decisions taken by the current administration which they term anti-students. Recently the students were told that the academic block will be shut at 10 pm when it was open 24x7 until this point.  The current administration has also allegedly tried to reduce the budgets of institutionally-run student bodies which organise seminars and conferences, the students said. While until now, facilities like accommodation for judges and other legal luminaries were borne by the university, the administration now wants to charge the student bodies for the same, allege students. 

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