Karnataka govt launches new emergency helpline number ‘112’

Helpline

Emergency helpline numbers like 100 for police, 101 for fire brigade, 108 for ambulance and 1091 for women helpline, will continue to be functional for a while but will be discontinued soon and replaced by 112.

TNM Staff

Karnataka now has an integrated emergency helpline number, 112, which will allow residents of the state to call for police, fire and emergency, and ambulance services.  The Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), which is already in place in 17 states in the country, will be implemented in Karnataka in the next few days.  "A single number - 112 - will integrate all other helpline numbers with it. This will be helpful for preventing crimes and during emergencies. It can be used for any emergency including police, fire, ambulance, traffic issues, disasters," Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said speaking after the launch of the service at the Communication, Logistic and Modernisation wing of the police department.  This means that the different emergency numbers for services like 100 for police, 101 for fire brigade, 108 for ambulance and 1091 for women helpline, will now be integrated into one emergency number - 112. The concept is based on the 911 universal emergency number launched in the United States of America and was first launched in Himachal Pradesh in November 2018 before implementing it in other states.  Upon calling the number, an operator will note down the complaint and assign the caller to the concerned department in their district.  112 will be an alternative helpline number until it is fully implemented and established in the state. The other helpline numbers - 100, 101, 108 and 1090 - will be functional for now but it will be discontinued in the future, officials of the Communication, Logistic and Modernisation wing of the police department confirmed.  This also means that the 'Namma 100' helpline, which is an integrated helpline number in cities of Karnataka including Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hubbali, Dharwad, Kalaburagi and Manguluru, will be integrated into 112.  Currently, the 112 helpline number is fielding calls from only landline numbers across the state. It will be fielding calls from mobile numbers in the next two days, officials said.  A mobile-app '112 India' launched in May this year by the Union Government allows users to send a distress signal using a 'shout' feature in case of an emergency. This will now be integrated with the helpline in Karnataka. 

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Bengaluru civic body postpones launch of bus priority lane to Nov 15, cites heavy rain

Transport

Trial run for the bus priority lane along the Outer Ring Road between Tin Factory and Silk Board junction, will begin on November 1.

TNM Staff

Commuters braving the traffic along Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru will have to wait another fortnight for the bus priority lane operations to begin. The bus priority lane was supposed to roll out on November 1. However, the city’s civic body – Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is pushing the launch date to November 15 citing rains. Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) Managing Director C Shikha told the media that due to heavy rains, the BBMP has not been able to complete infrastructure construction for the bus priority lane on time, The Hindu reported. The BMTC, along with BBMP said trial runs for the bus priority lane between Silk Board and Tin Factor would, however, be begin on Friday. Director Shikha said that the trial runs will continue till November 15. BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar on Thursday said in a tweet that the trial run will be inaugurated on November 1. “The BBMP has created bus lanes to ease traffic congestion. Bus lanes have been marked out on ORR. I request the public to use BMTC buses and help ease congestion,” he said. Bus Priority Lane is a project launched by BBMP, BMTC, the Traffic Police and the Directorate of Urban Land Transport. Bus lanes are planned in the hope that buses which act as a mass transport system, get priority access over private transport especially two-wheelers and in the process motivate people to ditch their own vehicles. This in turn is expected to reduce overall congestion in the city.  The pilot project was set to begin on Friday and the chosen route was Outer Ring Road between Tin Factory in KR Puram and Silk Board junction. The move for bus priority lanes also comes at a time when the daily ridership of BMTC has steadily fallen over the years, from 51.3 lakh in 2014-15 to 36 lakh in 2018-19. At the same time, the length of cancelled routes increased almost 200% over four years, from 241.6 lakh km in 2013-14 to 717.9 lakh km in 2017-18. Sources in the Traffic Police Department told TNM that only vehicles with more than three passengers will be allowed in these lanes and violators will be penalised for violating lane discipline.  Incidentally, a decade ago, a similar plan was proposed by authorities between Central Silk Board and Hebbal, but the project never took off. Since then, citizen groups have demanded that these bus-only lanes be created wherever practically feasible along with other incentives for public transport. BMTC has deployed 50 people to make sure that buses stay in the designated lane. The BMTC has also installed 70 cameras on buses to help identify motorists who violate rules and use the lane designated for buses only. This footage will be submitted to the Traffic Police, who will initiate action against violators, Times of India reported.    

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Murdered Alliance Uni ex-VC allegedly had financial tiff with Chancellor Sudhir

Crime

Former Vice Chancellor Ayyappa Dore had allegedly loaned Chancellor Sudhir Angur Rs 9 crore in 2017.

Theja Ram

Over a fortnight after the Bengaluru police arrested Alliance University Chancellor Sudhir Angur for the murder of former Vice Chancellor Ayyappa Dore, investigators say that Sudhir and Ayyappa had allegedly argued over a financial dispute a few days before the murder.  Ayyappa Dore was hacked to death on the night of October 15 by five armed assailants at RT Nagar's HMT grounds when he was out for a walk late at night.  Speaking to TNM, DCP North, N Shashikumar, says that Ayyappa Dore had allegedly loaned Rs 9 crore to Sudhir Angur in 2017 and had on October 9 demanded that he repay the money within 24 hours.  On the morning of October 9, Ayyappa Dore had allegedly called Sudhir Angur and had asked him to repay the amount. "Sudhir Angur had repaid Rs 4.5 crore and Ayyappa Dore asked for the rest of the money within 24 hours. The deceased's wife Pavana says that he threatened to side with Madhukar Angur if the money was not repaid within 24 hours," DCP Shashikumar says.  Investigating officers say that Sudhir Angur had allegedly deployed another accused Suraj Singh to stalk Ayyappa Dore six months ago. Suraj Singh was in charge of managing the legal team at Alliance University and was Sudhir Angur's point man.  "There was a legal dispute between Sudhir and his brother Madhukar regarding the ownership of the college. Ayyappa Dore was an influential person and Sudhir suspected that Ayyappa was betraying him. He had instructed Suraj to follow him around six months before the murder. Sudhir suspected that Ayyappa had made a deal with Madhukar on the side to oust him from the post of Chancellor," DCP Shashikumar adds.  RT Nagar Police, who questioned Pavana, have learnt that Madhukar Angur had allegedly promised to offer Ayyappa Dore 50% share in Alliance Business Pvt Ltd if he changed loyalties.  "Since Suraj Singh had been stalking Ayyappa Dore, he informed Sudhir about the deal with Madhukar. Sudhir Angur confessed that on October 10, he instructed Suraj to kill Ayyappa Dore," the police says.  Suraj allegedly hired the other arrested accused Sunil Rao, Fayaz, Kantharaj, Ganesh and Vinay to kill Ayyappa Dore. The assailants used five machetes and two knives to hack Ayyappa to death on the night of October 15.  "Everything was planned well in advance. While Suraj, Suni, Fayaz, Kantharaj and Ganesh hacked up Ayyappa, Vinay allegedly stood guard outside HMT grounds. Vinay's brother-in-law Arun Kumar was also arrested last week for allegedly harbouring him. Fayaz's sister Rizwana and Suraj's girlfriend Salma were also arrested for abatement and harbouring accused persons.  Investigating officers are currently probing the Board of Directors of Alliance Business Pvt Ltd after Ayyappa Dore's wife Pavana allegedly accused them of being in on the murder plot. "We are looking into the directors and a few lawyers also," DCP Shashikumar adds.     

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White House aide: Time to abandon Pelosi drug plan, alter Senate bill

Joe Grogan said White House is not opposed to the inflation caps, but added they “were never part of our proposal.”

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Karnataka Congress announces first list of candidates for bye-elections

Politics

The bye-elections are slated to be held on December 5 in 15 Assembly constituencies.

Theja Ram

The All India Congress Committee on Thursday announced the names of candidates for eight of the 15 Assembly constituencies, where the bye-elections are slated to be held on December 5. The party has carefully selected both veteran and new leaders to contest polls in several crucial segments. The bye-elections were necessitated after 13 of its legislators rebelled and resigned in July this year. This led to the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition. The Congress has been faced with the task of selecting worthy candidates as the rebel leaders are likely to be offered tickets to contest the bye-elections by the BJP. Here is the list of eight candidates: Yellapur: Bhimanna Naik Bhimanna Naik is the incumbent Uttara Kannada District Congress Committee President. Bhimanna Naik was chosen over another major contender Prashant Deshpande, former Revenue Minister RV Deshpande’s son. Congress insiders say that the high command wanted to show its appreciation for “loyal party workers” by choosing him over Prashant. Bhimanna Naik had contested the 2018 Assembly elections on a Congress ticket from the Sirsi segment and had lost to Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, the incumbent Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Hirekerur: BH Bhannikod A veteran Congress leader, BH Bhannikod has been elected from the Hirekerur segment twice before. He first contested elections in 1989 from this constituency on a Janata Dal ticket and won the elections. He lost in 1994 and in 1999, he quit the Dal and contested as an independent and won. He contested once more in 2013 as an independent and won the elections. In the years 2004, 2008 and 2018 he lost to the then Congress BC Patil, one of the disqualified MLAs who rebelled. Ranebennur: KB Koliwad A four-time MLA from Ranebennur and a veteran leader in Karnataka state politics, KB Koliwad, who has held crucial governmental positions, is a Congress veteran. He, however, lost to Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha (KPJP) candidate R Shankar alias Pendulum Shankar in 2018 by a very slim margin. KB Koliwad was the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly in 2013. Prior to that, he served as the Minister of State for Drinking Water Supply in the SM Krishna cabinet. He has been elected as the MLA from Ranebennur in the 1985, 1989, 1999 and 2013 elections. Chikkaballapur: M Anjanappa A controversial candidate, the Chikkaballapura District Congress Committee President M Anjanappa has finally bagged the ticket to contest against his archrival Dr K Sudhakar. In 2013, M Anjanappa, a loyal Congress member, was unhappy when the high command decided to offer the Chikkaballapura ticket to Dr Sudhakar. At the time, M Anjanappa had also camped in New Delhi and had openly expressed his dissatisfaction over being sidelined. Despite his attempts to bag the ticket, Dr Sudhakar was chosen to contest as he was close to former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. KR Puram: M Narayanaswamy The former KR Puram block Congress President and former aide of disqualified Congress MLA Byrathi Basavaraj, M Narayanaswamy has been chosen to contest against heavyweight and rebel Byrathi Basavaraj. M Narayanaswamy was appointed as the Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) on the recommendation of Byrathi Basavaraj, who was his former mentor. M Narayanaswamy is also a close associate of Congress leader DK Shivakumar and organised his arrival bash in Bengaluru on Saturday.  Mahalakshmi Layout: M Shivaraj M Shivaraj is currently the BBMP corporator from the Shankaramata ward in Mahalaksmi Layout. Congress sources say that the party is showcasing Shivaraj as its fresh face as he has not been mired in controversies unlike other corporators in the constituency. M Shivaraj is also a close associate of former Home Minister and Congress veteran Ramalinga Reddy. Hoskote: Padmavati Suresh The wife of Hebbal MLA Byrathi Suresh, Padmavati Suresh has been chosen as the candidate to contest in Hoskote. Padmavati is the sister-in-law of Congress rebel and disqualified MLA Byrathi Basavaraj. Since September this year, Padmavati began campaigning for the Congress in Hoskote and soon it began making statement against heavyweight MTB Nagaraju, another Congress rebel. Nagaraju was a very close associate of Siddaramaiah and his betrayal has led the former CM to throw his weight behind Padmavati. Siddaramaiah has also paid numerous visits to Hoskote and repeatedly called Nagaraju a betrayer. By pitting his close associate – Byrathi Suresh’s wife, who is also from the Kuruba community, Siddaramaiah aims to defeat his former loyalist. Hunsur: HP Manjunath The Congress’ choice of candidate from Hunsur is unsurprising. HP Manjunath had contested on a Congress ticket from this segment in 2013 and had won. However, due to anti-incumbency, he had lost to JD(S) candidate AH Vishwanath in the 2018 elections. Vishwanath had defected from the Congress to JD(S) in 2017 after a fallout with Siddaramaiah. Vishwanath, who expected a ministerial berth, was ignored by the JD(S) top brass. He led the rebellion against the coalition government and has on multiple occasions criticised former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. Vishwanath is likely to contest from a BJP ticket in the bye-elections. 

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Mangaluru roads get facelift, but only along VP Venkaiah Naidu's proposed travel route

Civic Issues

Residents have been complaining about the poor state of roads and alleged apathy of officials in fixing them for weeks now.

TNM Staff

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A visit by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu to the port city of Mangaluru will be a blessing for some of its residents. With the impending visit on November 2 to National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Suratkal for its convocation, authorities want to ensure that the VVIP has a bump-free ride.  This comes after days of discontent among residents over the poor state of roads and the alleged apathy of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in fixing it. Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh held a meeting with concerned officials and asked them to undertake immediate repair work including in the stretch of highway from Kulur to the NIT. Following the meet chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, concerned officials have now divided the road stretch into three small parts amongst themselves. TNM had earlier reported how earlier in the month, people in the city had joined in protests after a 33-year-old social activist Arjun Mascharenas went on a silent-solo-protest. The protest was two weeks after some activists had held a protest at the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) headquarters and even met the top officials. The protests had triggered a kneejerk reaction from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). Officials had then done some patchwork in the damaged stretch at Nanthoor Circle towards Mangaluru city centre. But overall the state of roads remain grim with the Mangalore City Corporation polls scheduled to be held on November 12. But even then activists pointed out that while the main highway on which the Vice President will travel is getting repaired, there is no work done to improve the service roads. Gopal Krishna Bhat, a civic activist based in the city, said, “In Mangaluru, we have three culprits—-the MCC, the NHAI and the state PWD department. While it is true the rains have been relentless since June, the bad quality of roads can’t be ignored. This is a well-known system to make money for the contractors now. They don’t do simple road laying properly. So, every time it rains, everything washes away. 20-30 years back too, it used to rain but roads were not this bad.” He alleged, “Some roads are so bad that there is no tar left. People can grow crops there if they want to. And no politician is better than the other. We have written a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office and Nitin Gadkari (Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways) as well but there has been no improvement.” TNM could not reach the Deputy Commissioner’s office for a comment. 

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K’taka CM sacks Ballari Urban Development Authority Chairman after BJP members protest

Politics

Karnataka CM Yediyurappa rescinded the appointment of the body's chairman after multiple BJP members threatened to resign.

TNM Staff

 The appointment of Dammur Shekhar as chairman of Ballari Urban Development Authority (BUDA) has been rescinded, after more than 40 BJP members in Karnataka's Ballari district threatened to resign in protest.    Dammur was appointed on Saturday and took charge of BUDA on Monday. However, his appointment was revoked by Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa following protests by BJP leaders in Ballari.  "We opposed the appointment of Dammur Shankar since it has not been three years since he entered the party. There are several others who are suitable for the role and have been with the BJP for longer. We are also opposed to the manner in which this appointment was nominated and accepted", says Channabasavagouda Patil, the president of the Ballari BJP unit.  BJP's Ballari district unit president Channabasavanagouda Patil and general secretaries KA Ramalingappa and Pujappa were among the leaders who announced their resignations in a press meet in Ballari on Tuesday.  The appointment had sparked a revolt within the Ballari district unit of the BJP since Dammur is a close aide of Ballari City MLA G Somashekara Reddy. A functionary of the Ballari BJP unit based in Ballari City who is close to Somashekara Reddy said that most of the party members who have resigned are from outside the city. "The appointment of Dammur Shankar was for the development of Ballari city but it was opposed by many people, mostly from BJP leaders outside Ballari city. We did not consult with the district unit for this reason but after listening to their views, the appointment was withdrawn and we will come up with a different person for the role," said the BJP worker. The leaders claimed that Dammur Shekhar was appointed despite opposition from the district unit of the BJP. They point to his connection to Somashekara Reddy as the reason for his appointment at the expense of committed and more experienced party leaders. Somashekara Reddy is the brother of Gali Janardhana Reddy, a former Union Minister and the prime accused in the 2011 Ballari mining scam. Even though Janardhana Reddy is prohibited from entering Ballari district by the Supreme Court (he has taken up residence in Molakalmuru on the border of Ballari and Chitradurga districts), his influence in the BJP's selection of candidates and decision-making in Ballari came to the fore during the 2018 Assembly elections. The development comes amid the BJP's preparations for the bye-elections in nearby Vijayapura Assembly constituency on December 5. The former Congress rebel and disqualified MLA Anand Singh is said to be preparing for the Vijayanagara  constituency bye-elections, where he plans to re-contest on a BJP ticket if the Supreme Court gives interim relief for the disqualified MLAs. Ballari's BJP unit including Somashekara Reddy are opposed to the idea of Anand Singh contesting on a BJP ticket. "There will be no appointment till the bye-elections since the BJP is focused on winning the Vijayanagara Assembly constituency. The district unit of the BJP will work together to achieve this," said a functionary of the BJP in the district.      

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