Want to make Karnataka innovation hub of Asia: CM Yediyurappa at Bengaluru Tech Summit

Tech Summit

The theme for this year’s summit is Innovation and Impact 2.0, and this is the 22nd Bengaluru Tech Summit being held in the city.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

“Innovation and entrepreneurship is the driving force of the state’s economy, and we are working towards making Karnataka the innovation hub of Asia,” said BS Yediyurappa, chief minister of Karnataka. He promised to leave no stone unturned to support tech innovation. Yediyurappa, in his inaugural address at the Bengaluru Tech Summit, noted that the state’s GDP of 9.6% is much higher than the national average, which is less than 6%. The theme for this year’s tech summit is Innovation and Impact 2.0, and this is the 22nd Tech Summit being held in Bengaluru. The reason for the high rate of growth, he said, is due to the ease of doing business in Bengaluru which allows people to conduct their businesses smoothly, and also the weather which many people enjoy. There were dignitaries present from countries across the world like Lithuania, the Netherlands, UK, US, Canada and Vietnam. They represented their respective countries in leading the change to be more innovative and impactful. Yediyurappa emphasised to the representatives of the Asian countries that were present in the audience, “Do not worry that India didn’t sign the RCEP trade agreement. We will take care of the interests of investors, the PM still wants to conduct trade relations,” he said. The government, he said, is doing all it can to support innovation and impact in the technology sectors. The government already offers 300 out of 500 government ‘sakala’ services online, he said, adding that they aim to make all 500 services available online by March of next year. Sakala services are online services which the government offers for regulatory clearing, and land related matters. Panelists also discussed how it would be possible to make Bengaluru the next one trillion-dollar economy. Kiran Majumdar Shaw, a noted citizen of Bengaluru, and the director of Biocon, said that there was need for a proactive government. “The main problem is of bad roads, but the government has promised to work hard in this direction, and we can see some of the results of that already. Karnataka is already the leading state in innovation according to the NITI Aayog, and we owe it all to the startup companies in the city. We need to encourage more of that. The government also needs to be prepared for challenges, and anticipate them before they happen, by putting in place policies. These policies must embrace technology as it happens.” Companies also have the responsibility to take more risks, she said, adding that leaders of companies should have vision and dare to dream big.

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Australian tourist assaulted in Karnataka for allegedly misbehaving with women

Crime

A suo motu case was registered against the village residents who assaulted the tourist.

Prajwal Bhat

A 35-year-old Australian tourist was assaulted by a group of residents of a village in Bagalkot district of Karnataka after he allegedly misbehaved with women in the village. The incident occurred at 9:30 pm on Monday night when William K James, a resident of Melbourne, was tied up and assaulted by some residents of Kondanakoppa village near Badami.  "The tourist was alone and had taken a bus ticket to travel from Badami to Bagalkot. We are trying to determine why he got down from the bus and was found in an interior village. The residents in the village alleged that he misbehaved with women, and in response, attacked him," Bagalkot SP Lokesh Jagalasar told TNM. Konkanakoppa village is around 17 km from Badami, and is close to the road leading from Badami to Bagalkot. Following the assault, William was rushed to a private hospital in Bagalkot, where doctors confirmed he was inebriated. Police officials said that he is out of danger now. The Australian Embassy was informed of the incident. The residents of the village have not come forward with a complaint against the William, police said. A suo motu case was registered against the group that assaulted the tourist. "We are trying to ascertain how many people were involved in the assault and their identities. We have not found videos of the assault but we will be forming a team to investigate the incident swiftly," the police official added. An FIR has been registered under sections 321 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 322 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) at the Kerur Police Station. Police officials added that the instances of assault against foreign tourists are not common in the district, in spite areas like Badami being tourist attractions. The place is known for cave temples cut out of sandstone rocks dating back to AD 540. 

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248 candidates file nominations for upcoming Karnataka bye-polls in 15 segments

Elections

The nominations will be scrutinised on November 19 and last date of withdrawal is November 21.

IANS

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As many as 248 candidates, including 128 independents are in the fray for the 15 assembly by-elections in Karnataka on December 5, a poll official has said. "The 248 candidates have filed 353 nominations by November 18 evening, which was the last date for submitting the papers to contest in the by-elections across the state," the poll official told IANS on Monday night. The nominations will be scrutinised on November 19 and last date of withdrawal is November 21. Vote count is on December 9. The BJP and the opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) are contesting in all the 15 seats separately that will lead to triangular fights. The by-elections have been necessitated due to the disqualification of the 14 Congress and 3 Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) rebel legislators after they resigned from their respective assembly seats in July in protest against the former coalition government's functioning. Though former assembly speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar disqualified 17 rebels lawmakers on July 25-28 for reportedly defying their party whip, bye-polls in Muski (Raichur district) and R.R. Nagar (Bengaluru southwest) have been withheld due to litigation in the Karnataka High Court over their results in the May 2018 assembly elections. The bye-elections will be held in Athani, Kagwad, Gokak, Yellapura, Hirekerur, Ranibennur, Vijaynagara, Chickballapura, K.R. Pura, Yeshwanthpura, Mahalakshmi Layout, Shivajinagara, Hosakote, K.R. Pete and Hunsur. The former ruling allies (Congress and JD-S) are contesting the bye-polls separately as decided after the collapse of their 14-month coalition government on July 23 following the defeat of its chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's trust vote on the floor of the assembly in the absence of the rebels for voting in favour of the confidence motion. Earlier on Saturday, Election Commission officials seized cash amounting to 95 lakh rupees, 66 litres of liquor estimated to be worth around 80,000 rupees along with 30,000 sarees, in direct violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) in the state.

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Girl pushed out of moving bus by conductor in Bengaluru allegedly over ticket

Crime

An FIR has been filed against the conductor with the Konanakunte police station in Bengaluru.

TNM Staff

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A conductor of a KSRTC bus in Bengaluru pushed a 16-year-old girl out of the bus allegedly for not having the correct bus pass. The victim, identified as Bhoomika, is a student at Jyothi Kendriya Vidyalaya in Bengaluru’s Yelachenahalli. She had boarded the bus which was headed towards Kanakapura at around 3 pm in the evening on November 11. After the bus started moving, the conductor approached her. When she told him that she had a student pass, the conductor asked her to get a ticket. The conductor stated that such passes were not accepted on the bus. Bhoomika then requested the conductor to be let off at the next stop, however he refused and wanted her to deboard the bus at once, according to police. When she didn’t get down right away, he allegedly pushed her out of the running bus. Bhoomika fell flat on her face and sustained severe injuries to her face, forehead and left knee. She reportedly also suffered broken teeth as a result of the impact. People in the vicinity came to aid Bhoomika and rushed her to a nearby hospital. She later approached Konanakunte police and filed a complaint against the accused, who has been identified as Shivashankar, a bus conductor with the KSRTC who is attached to the Harohalli bus depot. “We have registered an FIR under section 325 of the Indian Penal Code and have sent him a notice to appear for further investigation,” a police official from Konanakunte station told TNM. Section 325 of the IPC is punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt. The victim, Bhoomika, a resident of Kanakapura Town, reportedly travels around 100 kilometers each day to and from college. She, like many other students, are dependent on the bus passes allocated for students. However, some conductors allegedly do not accept the passes in an effort to collect extra commission. In an eerily similar incident which took place in Kerala on Monday, a 17-year-old girl was pushed off the bus by a conductor as she was getting down. She too had sustained multiple injuries and was taken to the hospital for further treatment.

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Shivajinagar needs a cosmopolitan, urban face: Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad speaks

Politics

Rizwan is contesting from the Shivajinagar assembly constituency vacated by former minister and veteran Congress politician Roshan Baig

Soumya Chatterjee

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Congress's Rizwan Arshad is one of the younger candidates in the upcoming Karnataka bye-polls. Despite being unsuccessful in his two previous attempts to win a Parliamentary seat, 40-year-old Rizwan, an MLC since 2016, is confident that he can end his losing streak. Three-time MP PC Mohan of the BJP had defeated Rizwan in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls for the Bengaluru Central seat. This time, Rizwan is contesting from the Shivajinagar assembly constituency vacated by former minister and veteran Congress politician Roshan Baig. With neither the Congress nor the BJP willing to accommodate Roshan Baig again, Rizwan is set to face Saravan, a former corporator of the BJP and Tanveer Ahmed of the JD(S) among other candidates.  TNM caught up with Rizwan in a telephonic interview, a day ahead of him filing his nomination. Here are a few excerpts.  Compared to Lok Sabha elections, do you see yourself winning in Shivajinagar constituency?  I have contested twice from the Bangalore Central Parliamentary Constituency. Though there was a wave in favour of the BJP I still managed to secure a lead in the Shivajinagar area. I am both a voter and a resident here. The people of Shivajinagar recognise me, similarly, I am also familiar with them. And that is precisely the reason why my party chose me as a candidate for this seat. What are the challenges you see contesting in a bye-poll as an opposition candidate? Since this is a bye-election, the BJP will spend huge sums of money but I am very confident that I will be able to overcome all that and emerge victoriously. Although they might use government machinery, the common people will support me.  In the past, you have said Roshan Baig did not support you in campaigning, what role will he play?  I would not like to comment on him now because he is no longer in the fray. When he is not in contention, he is not an issue. My issue is the development of the constituency. People want a new face and a youngster to represent them. My commitment to the people is that I will be that face who will serve them better and work for the development of the constituency.  The BJP has fielded M Saravana, a former corporator. The CM has said he is a favourite as he speaks Tamil. How serious a threat is he to your hopes? Certainly, he is no threat. My BJP opponent being a corporator earlier has no special significance and his performance as a corporator did not leave a  mark. And people who speak Tamil don't vote for the BJP, they will stick with the Congress. The Congress party, however, doesn't depend on a single community, single religion or culture. And Shivajinagar is a constituency where Tamil, Telugu Malayalam, Kanada, Urdu and English can be heard and it is also multi-religious. Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs stay here. So it's kind of a mini India and Shivajinagar needs a cosmopolitan and urban face, who doesn't limit himself into one language or one religion or one culture. The government is currently with the BJP, how will you convince people to vote for an opposition candidate? This government in the last 100 days has failed to address the issues of the people and people want change. People are thinking ‘what is this government doing?’ The government has been bogged with internal squabbles and power fights. The state was reeling under severe floods, the new government could not reach out to the people of the state. The hundred-day performance of the BJP government is zero and they're more interested in poaching MLAs of other parties and settling scores with their rivals.  The new govt has promised to form MPC (Metropolitan Planning Committee ) after the bye-polls. The previous Congress govt did not do much to make the MPC truly functional. What do you say about that? The MPC was there, I have attended it myself as an MLC. But I want to ask the BJP what is their solution to fix the city? The BBMP of today was created by the BJP. My question to them is how are they solving the city's problems? We had formed the BS Patil committee to decentralise the BBMP into smaller bodies but the BJP wants to oppose it. This structure is nonperforming, it has to be decentralised and we have to take the power to the ward level. We have done all the basic work to re-structure but the political opposition from the BJP has stalled it. They are diverting funds from Congress MLA constituencies. How serious are these allegations of fund being divulged from Congress-ruled constituencies? It is very true. When we were the ruling party, we never discriminated between a Congress-held constituency and a BJP-held one. However, the government of the day has been redeploying funds based on Congress-BJP. Due to this confusion, development work is being hampered and this is not in the interest of the city The Congress has been saying that it will dislodge the BJP government by winning most of the bye-poll seats? How confident are you in doing so? I am not a big enough person to dislodge a government, my concentration is on serving the people of Shivajinagar. But I am sure we are going to win a lot of seats in the bye-polls as people are fed up with the government. This government has come to power by luring MLAs with their black money.

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Karnataka BJP expels its Yuva Morcha secretary for going rogue

Politics

Sharath Bachegowda decided to contest the election as an independent when the party denied him a ticket.

TNM Staff

The BJP in Karnataka expelled its Yuva Morcha Secretary Sharath Bachegowda, who is also the son of veteran politician and Chikkaballapura MP BN Bachegowda.  The decision to expel Sharath was on expected lines as he had gone against the party line and filed his nomination papers as an independent from the Hoskote segment for the bye-polls on December 5. In the 2018 Assembly elections, Sharath had fought unsuccessfully from the seat on a BJP ticket against incumbent MLA MTB Nagaraj. MTB Nagaraj already known to be the richest politician in the state had switched his allegiance from the Congress to the BJP. Sharath began openly dissenting against the BJP in August this year when Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and his loyalists started lobbying for the disqualified MLAs. With the BJP top brass signalling that it will field MLAs who quit from the Congress and JD(S) in the byepolls as quid pro quo, Sharath made up his mind to contest election without the party's support. Sharath followed his father’s footsteps into politics but in this decision, he has not found the support of the senior Bachegowda, at least publicly.  Speaking on the same, the Chikkaballapura MP said, “Now my son is not coming home. We are living separately. My son is educated and intelligent. It is his decision to contest the poll and I will not intervene. I will not solicit votes for my son.” Read: Karnataka rebel MLA MTB Nagaraj’s assets grew by Rs 185 crore in 18 months However, Sharath has received support from the JD(S). Former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday announced that the JD(S) would support Sharath in his election campaign if he would accept the party’s help. Senior Bachegowda himself was with the JD(S) but quit the party to join the BJP after a disagreement with former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.  The political development in the district has triggered speculation that the father-son duo was trying to wrest power in the region from MTB Nagaraju by playing the “divide and rule game” “This situation is exactly like Mandya during the Lok Sabha polls. Sumalatha wanted a Congress ticket but she contested as an independent. But Congress workers supported her. In Hoskote, Sharath wanted a BJP ticket but the party did not give it to him. He is contesting as an independent and the BJP cadre is supporting him. Although Bachegowda is saying that he won’t support his son, no one is ready to believe it,” a BJP leader had told TNM.  

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Hundreds protest as Kaiga nuclear plant expansion threatens Western Ghats

Environment

Activists say the expansion plan could wipe out 54 hectares of forest in the Wester Ghats as well as threaten the lives of those residing in the vicinity of the plant.

Prajwal Bhat

Environmental activists, religious leaders and residents living in the vicinity of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station held a public protest in Mallapura on Sunday raising concerns over the expansion of the power plant. "We are going to the strike," 34-year-old Milana Bandekar said, pointing to a group of women headed to Mallapura in the government bus from Karwar in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. Mallapura is adjacent to the Kaiga Township where employees of the power plant reside. The Kaiga plant had started commercial operations in November 2000, after being commissioned in 1989. The plant set up 56 km away from Karwar, currently has four functional units generating 220 MW of power. 33% of the power generated is reserved for Karnataka. This is the first of many such large protests set to be organised against the Kaiga expansion plan after all environmental regulatory hurdles were cleared at the state and Centre level on Aug. 29. The plant currently has four units but the Nuclear Power Corporation Ltd. under the Department of Atomic Energy has proposed a fifth and sixth unit. However, activists want the project to be shelved. They argue that expanding the Kaiga plant will take up 54 hectares of forests in the eco-sensitive Western Ghats in the buffer zone of Kali Tiger Reserve. They urged the government to consider replacing it with other safer and cheaper power generating options like solar and wind energy.  Other than the pristine wildlife zone that will be destroyed, activists point out due to lack of an elaborate safety protocol, the entire project might put the lives of the people living in the vicinity of this plant in danger Another source of contention is the nuclear plant’s overdependence on water. Once functional, the two expanded units will consume 7,500 cubic metres of water per hour. “The water used by the upcoming units can be used by 15 lakh people instead,” said Shankar Sharma, a power policy analyst, at the convention. Shankar also questioned the government’s lack of acknowledgement of reports of radiation levels in these areas. A Tata Memorial Centre report in 2010 had said there was a spurt in cases of cancer over the past two decades in Kaiga. Experts insist that this is because of the radioactive pollution caused by the nuclear power plant. The government has neither acknowledged such reports, nor has it carried out any assessment on its own. Vishwesha Theertha, the chief seer of Udupi's Pejawar mutt, addressing the crowd, said, “Scientists have explained what will happen here and we must resist the expansion of this power station.”. The organisers of the convention also got support from Ex Karwar MLA Satish Sail who said that he along with others are going to fight the issue on legal front and ensure that the project does not see the light of the day. “Today, science, spirituality and the culture of this region has come together because we have not received a response from the Indian government,” said IISc professor TV Ramachandra. Additional Director of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change Dr Shruthi Rai Bharadwaj while clearing the project had reportedly noted that many villagers were in favour of the project as it would result in more jobs and local infrastructure in the area. She also acknowledged there was some opposition to it. In December 2018, local environmental groups — Uttara Kannada Zilla Psrisara Samrakshana Samiti, Bedti Aghanashini Kolla Samiti and Vruksha Laksha and residents of the area – had also opposed the expansion of the power plant during the mandated public consultation process. Recently, even Gangadharendra Saraswati Swamiji, the seer of Sonda Swarnavalli Mutt, had also opposed the nuclear plant’s expansion.  

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