Steep fall in onion prices in Bengaluru, wholesale cost at Rs 40

Inflation

With the fresh onion crop from the kharif season reaching the market, consumers can now heave a sigh of relief.

TNM Staff

The prices of onions in Bengaluru, which had gone up to Rs 200 as recently as two months ago, have witnessed a sharp fall in January. Onions at wholesale markets in Bengaluru are currently being sold at Rs 40 per kg following the recent harvest in Tumakuru was sent to the city, The Hindu reported. The onion prices in Bengaluru had witnessed a steep climb in November 2019, going from Rs 30 to Rs 100, and even touching Rs 200 at a point in December 2019. Opposition parties across the country had lashed out against the union government over the rising prices as several places in India witnessed an 'onion crisis'. According to some traders quoted by The Hindu, onion prices in Bengaluru are expected to fall even further, as low as Rs 10, in the coming months. This is because onion farmers, fearing a crunch, had planted an excess of onions in their fields to make up for the demand in the market and to try and make more money. Speaking to TNM, Sanjeev Reddy, an onion farmer from Gadag, says he is happy with the prices that his onion harvest has fetched in the past few months. “We made a profit of more than 12 lakhs in December when we came to Bengaluru with our trucks of 800 bags of onions. We are very content about this and we plan to rest this season.” Many other farmers also cashed in on the crisis, selling their produce of 1 quintal (1 ton) at a highly inflated price of Rs 20,000, when the usual price per quintal for high-quality onions is around Rs 4,000.  Shivanand, another onion farmer, tells TNM that Maharashtrian farmers were the ones who suffered the most from the onion crop loss. “Many of our onion crops were lost in the rain, but what we managed to save, we got well compensated for that. My brothers in Maharashtra were not so lucky,” he muses. Meanwhile, due to the soaring cost of vegetables, retail inflation in the month of December 2019 stood at 7.35%, the highest since May 2014. Vegetable prices across India had hit an increase of 60.50 per cent last month. Read: India’s retail inflation at 7.35% in December, highest since May 2014

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DK Shivakumar vs Siddaramaiah: The fight for Karnataka Congress chief post is on

Politics

The AICC is slated to hold a meeting on Tuesday, where a decision is expected to be made on who the next KPCC chief and Leader of Opposition is.

TNM Staff

Facebook/DK Shivakumar

It has been over a month since the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Dinesh Gundu Rao and Leader of Opposition (LOP) in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah resigned from their posts. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is all set to pick new candidates for these vacant posts and both DK Shivakumar, who is aspiring for the KPCC President’s post and Siddaramaiah for the LOP post have been summoned to New Delhi. The AICC is slated to hold a meeting on Tuesday, where a decision is expected to be made. The fight for the KPCC President is one between DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. Siddaramaiah wants one of his confidantes to head the party in Karnataka while aspiring to be nominated as the LOP once more in order to retain his power within the party. If DK Shivakumar is picked for the KPCC President's post, Siddaramaiah's power would wane considerably as he would be the one, who would have to be in Shivakumar's good books if both Siddaramaiah and his son are to remain powerful within the party. Congress sources close to DK Shivakumar say that he is the favoured candidate by several leaders in New Delhi including Ahmed Patel and Kamal Nath, who are close confidantes of AICC interim President Sonia Gandhi. However, Congress insiders say that Siddaramaiah’s choice of candidate is being back by Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal. Siddaramaiah’s detractors have been lobbying with the Congress high command to curb the former Chief Minister’s power in order to “build the party up to scratch”. Senior Congress leaders BK Hariprasad and Ramalinga Reddy have opposed Siddaramaiah’s choice of candidate stating that his leadership drove the Congress in Karnataka to lose multiple elections within a span if two years. Sources close to Siddaramaiah say that competing for the KPCC President post is Byatarayanapura MLA and a please-all candidate Krishna Byre Gowda. In addition, two of Siddaramaiah’s supporters, MB Patil and Satish Jarkiholi are also aspirants for KPCC chief. The Congress high command had sent Shivakumar’s proposal to become the KPCC chief to its legal experts as he has been mired in several controversies. Shivakumar’s candidature will be decided based on the legal team’s report on whether he is a suitable candidate, the source added. Congress insiders say that if a situation arises where Shivakumar is not appointed the KPCC Chief, the party is likely to settle on Krishna Byre Gowda. Liked by members of both Siddaramaiah’s and DK Shivakumar’s camp, party sources believe Byre Gowda to be an able candidate, with necessary decision-making and leadership skills to lead the party. “He is a young candidate. He has not been mired in scams and scandals. Leaders from all political parties maintain a cordial relationship with him. He is a clean candidate,” the source said. With both DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah in New Delhi, sources say that these two leaders are likely to be made the KPCC President and Leader of Opposition respectively. “There is too much opposition for Siddaramaiah’s candidature. If he ends up being the LOP, then Shivakumar’s camp is demanding that HK Patil or Krishna Byre Gowda be the Deputy LOP. HK Patil and Dr G Parameshwara are also aspirants for the post of LOP,” the source said. However, if the leaders fail to come to a consensus on Tuesday’s meeting, the decision is likely to be delayed for another fortnight, the source added.  

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'We don't want Jesus statue': RSS, VHP protest against proposed statue in Karnataka

Controversy

The massive crowd at Kanakapura had members of the RSS, VHP, Hindu Jagrana Vedike (HJV) and other pro-Hindu organisations.

Prajwal Bhat

Pro-Hindu groups conducted a massive rally at Kanakapura in Ramanagara district of Karnataka on Monday in protest against the plan by local MLA DK Shivakumar to erect a tall statue of Jesus Christ.  The call for the protest was issued by the Hindu Jagrana Vedike. Senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat addressed the crowd of protesters belonging to the RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Hindu Jagrana Vedike (HJV) and other pro-Hindu organisations. "There is a big responsibility on Hindus. We don't want a statue of Jesus Christ. But instead we can erect a statue of Pejawar Swami or Basaveshwara Swami or Balagangadhara Swami, or someone else who has worked for this nation. Hindus have only one nation - India," Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat said while speaking at the protest march.  The protesters alleged that the land on which the 114-foot statue was proposed to be built in Harobele village of Ramanagara was not a barren one as claimed by DK Shivakumar. Revenue Minister R Ashoka had earlier stated that the land allotted was gomal (grazing) land and that the state government is reviewing the land allotted for the statue. The Ramanagara district administration has sent notices to the Harobele Kapalabetta Development Trust, which was going to construct the statue. Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat addressing a rally in Kanakapura, Ramanagara Speaking to ANI, DK Shivakumar said, "Someone called Prabhakar, I don't know who is this. I am not familiar with him but he or even the Chief Minister or other ministers can go to the place and examine the land in Harobele. There is nothing wrong in that.They don't know about our district. When I was the Culture Minister, we initiated initiated the project for a statue of Balagangadharanatha Swamiji and allocated Rs 25 crore for when the Kumaraswamy-led government was in power. There was another statue of Shivakumara Swamiji sanctioned as well on grazing land," Shivakumar said.  Shivakumar has previously stated that he will be paying Rs 10.80 lakh from his personal funds towards the cost of the land for the statue of Jesus Christ. Shivakumar is the MLA of Kanakapura constituency.  A bronze statue of Lingayat seer Shivakumara Swami was sanctioned in Veerapura in Magadi taluk of the district. A bronze statue of Balagangadhara Swami was sanctioned in Bidadi while a granite statue of Jesus Christ was sanctioned in Harobele, where 99% of the population is Christian. Shivakumar has said that Christians have been praying at the site for more than 4 centuries and justified the decision to erect a Jesus Statue.   Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, a top RSS leader was in news recently after he and other members of the governing body of the Sri Rama Vidyakendra High School in Dakshina Kannada district were booked by the police. The FIR was registered after the school students were made to enact the 1992-Babri demolition in a play.  

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Cong leader detained in K'taka ahead of protest against BJP MLA's anti-Muslim remarks

An FIR was registered against BJP MLA Somashekara Reddy for targeting the minority community in his speech during a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act rally.

Prajwal Bhat

Former cabinet minister and Congress leader Zameer Ahmed Khan was detained on Monday morning when he was entering Ballari city to stage a protest against BJP MLA Somashekara Reddy. The BJP MLA was recently booked for his anti-Muslim remarks during his speech at a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act rally.  “I wanted to stage a dharna outside Somashekara Reddy's residence (in Siruguppa Road in Ballari). I had sought permission for the same from the police and wrote to the Superintendent of Police to give me permission,” he said. However, Zameer Ahmed Khan was not allowed to stage the protest on Monday. He was detained in Kuditini by the jurisdictional police on the outskirts of Ballari city on Monday. “This is what is happening under the BJP government's rule and we saw how two people in Mangaluru were killed. We are here to hold a peaceful protest,” Zameer Ahmed Khan told reporters before he was taken away by the police. Somashekara Reddy has been under fire from opposition leaders and residents in Ballari over his comments made during a speech on January 3. In the speech, he warned the Muslims in India against participating in the protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).  During a pro-CAA rally, Somashekara said, “I want to caution those who are protesting… This (the crowd at the rally) is just 5%. If your antics grow and if 100% people come, just imagine what your situation will be.”  In an attempt to intimidate the minority group, he added, “The Congress is lying to you, and you are believing them and coming out onto the streets. We are 80%. You are just 17%. If we turn against you, what will be your situation?” Following this, a massive protest was held in Ballari on January 4, where opposition leaders demanded the arrest of Somashekara Reddy.  He was also booked by the Gandhinagar police after multiple complaints were filed by Congress and Muslim leaders. An FIR was registered under section 153A (promoting enmity between two groups on the basis of religion), 295A (punishment for deliberate and malicious acts that are intended to insult religious beliefs) and 505 B (making statement intended to cause fear, or alarm the public) of the Indian Penal Code. Somashekara Reddy was denied anticipatory bail by the Second Additional District and Sessions Court in Ballari. Former Chief Minister and Congress chief Siddaramaiah condemned the detention of Zameer Ahmed Khan.  I condemn @BJP4Karnataka's act of arresting @BZZameerAhmedK instead of Somashekar Reddy for his instigating speech aimed at creating communal violence. Zameer is demanding action against Somashekar Reddy.@BSYBJP, release Zameer immediately. — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 13, 2020

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Karnataka SIT takes into custody key suspect and Sanathan Sanstha member in Gauri Lankesh's murder

Crime

Rushikesh Devdikar has been accused of planning and recruiting people involved in the murder.

TNM Staff

The Special Investigation Team probing the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh has brought key accused Rushikesh Devdikar to Bengaluru. Devidikar, who was arrested on January 9 in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad, was produced before the court on Monday and he was remanded to police custody. Rushikesh Devdikar has been accused of planning and recruiting people involved in the murder of Gauri Lankesh. He is believed to be one of the key figures, who allegedly conceptualised the murder plot along with prime accused Amol Kale. A native of Kolhapur, Rushikesh Devdikar moved to Maharashtra’s Aurangabad in 2012 and lived with his parents, wife and a seven-year old daughter. Rushikesh ran a franchise shop that sold Patanjali products in Aurangabad after a man named Jagadish Kulkarni rented the shop space to Rushikesh. In 2012, SIT sources say that Rushikesh began attending events organised by the radical right-wing outfit Sanathan Sanstha, whose members have been accused of killing Gauri Lankesh. SIT sources say that Amol Kale and Virendrasinh Tawde recruited Rishikesh Devdikar to help recruit and train people for Gauri’s murder. Virendrasinh Tawde is one of the key persons allegedly involved in planning the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Maharashtra. SIT sources say that in July 2018, Rushikesh absconded and took refuge in Jharkhand’s Katras in Dhanbad area. Rushikesh was allegedly working as a serviceman at a petrol pump. Sources say that Rushikesh formed the plan to dispose the murder weapon and had appointed accused persons Sharad Khalaskar and Sachin Andhure, both from Aurangabad to dispose the murder weapon. “Rushikesh recruited Sharad Khalaskar and Sachin Andhure. While Amol Kale planned the murder, Rushikesh was involved in the plan of eliminating the evidence. He also recruited people upon Amol Kale’s request,” the source said. Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru’s Rajarajeshwari Nagar on September 5, 2017. The SIT has so far arrested 18 persons in connection with the crime. SIT sources say that one more accused Nihal is yet to be nabbed. Investigators believe that Rushikesh’s arrest would help them track down Nihal. Meanwhile, the Sananthan Sanstha has admitted that Rushikesh was a member of the organisation. “We have come to know that Karnataka police has arrested Rishikesh Devadikar in relation to the Gauri Lankesh murder case. We are enquiring more about this matter. He was an active member of Sanathan Sanstha but has not been active for over 8 years. We also came to know that he was working in some other organisation in the meantime. It is totally inappropriate to blame Sanatan Sanstha when someone involved in Sanatan's activities long back gets arrested in a case now,” Sanatan Sanstha national spokesperson Chetan Rajhans said in a statement. Read: K’taka SIT piece together GauriLankesh murder plot, make another arrest    

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FASTag adoption for vehicles still around 50% in Bengaluru as deadline looms

Transport

Initially, the Union government had targeted to make FAST tag mandatory from December 1 and later the deadline was extended to January 15.

TNM Staff

PTI

As the deadline for vehicles to be FASTag enabled nears, officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) have said that only half of the vehicles coming in and out of Bengaluru have adopted the system. The FASTag is an RFID sticker for vehicles, which ensures that toll can be collected when the vehicle is in motion. RFID, or radio frequency identification stickers, contains electronically stored information. It uses an electromagnetic frequency to deduct the toll amount from a prepaid wallet.The system was proposed to ensure near non-stop movement of vehicles at toll plazas on national highways. Initially, the Union government had targeted to make FAST tag mandatory from December 1 and later the deadline was extended to January 15. Post the deadline period, vehicles without FASTtag have to pay double the amount of the toll.   But even then, the queues at the cash-only lanes were still long on Sunday, reported The Hindu. Incidents of clashes between toll plaza managers and vehicle users have also come to light with low balance on wallets or extra deduction from vehicles and other disagreements. The report said the toll plaza at Electronic City, Sadahalli is still seeing long queues in cash collection lanes while the situation is much better in Hosakote toll booth. Incidentally, a large number of cabs which regularly ply to the airport and back to the city have not adopted FASTag, SP Somashekar, general manager and project director of NHAI told The Hindu. He said the reason behind this was a fear that extra money will be deducted from them and due to lack of a printed receipt for the toll paid. First launched in 2017, FASTtags have been fitted on commercial vehicles since December 2017, but wasn’t mandatory until now. The FASTag can be purchased online, at select bank branches of 22 national banks, some petrol pumps, and at national highway toll booths. If you wish to purchase the tag offline, the point of sale locations can be viewed here.  The tag in itself can be obtained for free, but other charges are applicable depending on the point of purchase. If the tag is obtained online, users can register the tag using the ‘My FASTag’ app.

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Four men drown after SUV flips over and falls into lake near Bengaluru

Accident

The vehicle landed up in the lake as the driver was trying to avoid a stray dog which had come near its path.

TNM Staff

Representational image

In a tragic incident, four Bengaluru men drowned to death on Sunday evening as they were out on a drive in the city's outskirts. This after their vehicle, an SUV flipped over and fell into the Bychaguppe lake near Tavarekere at around 4.45pm, reported the Times of India. The deceased have been identified as 28-year-old Santosh of RT Nagar, 34-year-old Raghavendra of Cholurpalya, 36-year-old Manjunath of Agrahara Dasarahalli and 35-year-old Sunil Kumar of Subramanyanangar. According to the report, Sunil Kumar was behind the wheel at the time of the accident. The report said the vehicle landed up in the lake as the driver was trying to avoid a stray dog which had come near its path. The accident spot is just 31km away from Bengaluru city limits. The four men who are friends were headed to a temple in Huliyurdurga in Kunigal taluk of Tumakuru district. Incidentally, the owner of the vehicle Manjunath, another friend of theirs, was not with them. While Sunil Kumar was working at a restaurant, Santosh worked at a private firm. The other two were working in a jewellery shop. The report further said that the car had flipped over after hitting a stone during a sudden left turn and ended up in the lake. With the car windows rolled up, they could not make their way out of the car which led to their deaths in a matter of minutes, even though the depth of water was only about six feet. Soon after the accident, locals alerted the police and emergency personnel were rushed to the spot. The bodies of the deceased were fished out.  A post-mortem examination will be conducted on Monday at a private hospital in RR Nagar in Bengaluru. A case has been registered at Tavarekere Police Station and police will probe further as to what led to the accident.

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