Karnataka cabinet: 10 MLAs to take oath on Feb 6, many remain disgruntled

Politics

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that only 10 out of the 11 Congress-JD(S) turncoats, who won the bye-polls in December 2019 would be sworn in as ministers on Thursday.

Theja Ram

Amidst hectic parlays between Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and several disgruntled MLAs, vying for ministerial berths, the cabinet expansion is slated to occur on Thursday. Addressing the media in Bengaluru on Wednesday, BS Yediyurappa said that only 10 out of the 11 Congress-JD(S) turncoats, who won the bye-polls in December 2019 would be sworn in as ministers on Thursday. The swearing in ceremony is slated to take place at Raj Bhavan at 10.30 am on Thursday. "I have spoken with leaders in Delhi and we have decided that only 10 new ministers will be inducted into the cabinet. We will see how we can accommodate Mahesh Kumatahalli. We will convince him by giving him some other post," Chief Minister Yediyurappa said.  The 10 MLAs, who will take oath on Wednesday are Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak), Byrathi Basavaraj (KR Puram), BC Patil (Hirekerur), ST Somashekhar (Yeshwantpur), Anand B Singh (Vijayanagar), Shivram Hebbar (Yellapur), K Sudhakar (Chikkaballapur), Narayana Gowda (Krishnarajapet) Shrimant Patil (Kagwad) and K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout).  BJP sources say that Mahesh Kumatahalli would be offered a plum post as the director of a state-run corporation.  Speculation was rife on Tuesday after BJP legislators from Hyderbad-Karnataka region led by Shorapur MLA Narasimha Nayak alias Raju Gouda showed up at Yediyurappa's residence and demanded that an MLA from the region be accommodated in the cabinet.  In addition, the six BJP MLAs from Dakshina Kannada district began restlessly questioning BJP state President Nalin Kumar Kateel as to why a single leader from the coastal districts (the BJP's fortress) had not been given a ministerial berth.  The frantic lobbying began after it became known that Yediyurappa had got the high command's approval to induct Umesh Katti, BJP leader from Channapatna, CP Yogeshwar and Halappa Achar (Yelaburga) into the cabinet. Yediyurappa had decided this after meeting with Amit Shah earlier in January and got a list of 13 names approved.  These disgruntled leaders threatened a full-scale rebellion within the party, leaving Yediyurappa, Nalin Kumar Kateel and the high command in a fix. Sources say that Yediyurappa had to hold talks with the high command again after which the decision was made to induct only 10 new ministers in order to quell the rebellion. Party sources said that the high command has suggested a cabinet reshuffle in July this year, where the disgruntled leaders can be accommodated. "In July, the leaders who defected but did not end up winning will be made MLCs and then given ministerial berths. MTB Nagaraj will definitely be accommodated but AH Vishwanath and R Shankar are unlikely to get anything. In addition, some of the older ministers in the cabinet will be dropped to make way for other aspirants," the source added.   

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2OvuYA4
via IFTTT

Ask media and public for footage of December 19 police firing: Karnataka HC to govt

Court

The police firing that killed two people in Mangaluru has come under severe criticism.

TNM Staff

Representation Photo

The Karnataka High Court, hearing the case of Mangaluru police firing on the protesters against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on December 19, directed the Mangaluru district magistrate on Tuesday to gather video evidence from those present at the protest on the date of the firing. Two people died in the firing on December 19, and there was widespread anger against the police action – especially after videos surfaced on social media where policemen could be heard complaining that ‘not even one has died’ in their shooting.  On Tuesday, the HC divisional bench consisting of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Hemant Chandangoudar, asked the local government to gather videos from mediapersons and the general public. They were directed to issue public notices to mediapersons and the public to send in any videos or CCTV footage they might have of the date of the firing, December 19, 2019. These videos will be set in the record of the courts, and must be preserved, reported legal website BarandBench. The hearing also confirmed that the National Human Rights Commission had no powers to undertake the matter, and only had the power to begin an inquiry and make recommendations, and only the court can issue a writ. Two people, Jaleel aged 49 and Nauseen aged 23, died in the police firing in Mangaluru. Several videos of the incidents on December 19 in Mangaluru are already on social media and with public individuals. For instance, on January 12, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy released a CD consisting of 35 videos shot in Mangaluru on December 19 – one of which debunked police claims. According to the police, there were people prepared to throw stones at the police, and claimed there was a truck filled with construction debris on standby that the protesters were planning to use. However, Kumaraswamy at the time of releasing the videos, said that the police version of events was wrong, and that the truck was working for a nearby under-construction building.  Several videos of police firing went viral on social media following the firing. In one video, a police officer can be heard saying “not even one person has died.” Read: Lack of tear gas led to police firing? Cops, witnesses divided on Mangaluru firing deaths    

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/31pRnEn
via IFTTT

Karnataka man arrested for abducting, forcibly tying mangalsutra on woman

Crime

The man who was a relative, abducted the woman, with the help of his friends.

Theja Ram

A woman can be seen weeping in a moving car. While one man holds her neck, another man ties a mangalsutra forcefully around her neck. A song from a Kannada movie can be heard blaring loudly from the car’s speaker and yet the woman’s cries are louder. The video of the incident went viral on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, Hassan district police in Karnataka have arrested three men for abducting the 23-year-old woman and forcefully tying the mangalsutra around her neck. Police say that the man forcefully who tied the mangalsutra is her relative.  The 23-year-old woman, a resident in Hassan district’s Arsikere taluk, works as a tailor in Hassan city. On February 3, she took the bus from her village to town for work. However, she did not return home that night and her parents began worrying. Dudda Police, who probed the case, said that the woman’s parents filed a missing persons complaint only on Tuesday night. “Her parents thought she had eloped and hence had not approached the police initially. Later, when they were unable to contact her, they approached us,” the Dudda Police said. Police say that the prime accused Manu (30) had been pestering the woman to get married to him for over a year now. “She had turned down his proposal many times. When she was waiting for the bus at the Hassan Dairy Circle, Manu and three of his friends Vinay and Praveen and another man, who were in a car approached her,” Hassan SP Ram Nivas Sepat said. Manu allegedly offered to drop her home and convinced her to get into the car. “When she refused, they forced her into the car and began driving around the area. They left Hassan and it was during the journey to Ramanagar that the video was recorded when he forcefully tied the mangalsutra,” SP Sepat said. Later, they also took her to a temple in Ramanagara, where the prime accused Manu exchanged garlands with the woman. On the night of February 3, Manu, Vinay and Praveen allegedly took the woman to one of their relatives’ house in Ramanagara and forced her to stay there. “We have rescued the woman and arrested the three men. One more accused is absconding,” SP Sepat added. Upset after the video went viral, police said that the woman's father attempted to end his life by consuming poison. He is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Hassan.  The trio have been booked under section 361 (kidnapping), 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman), 350 (use of criminal force), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.  

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/374oy1b
via IFTTT

NGT cancels eco-clearance for Godrej high rise project near Bengaluru lake

Environment

The Godrej residential high-rise apartment was going to come up near Kaikondrahalli Lake in Bengaluru.

Geetika Mantri

Kaikondrahalli Lake. Photo by రవిచంద్ర via Wiki Commons

The National Green Tribunal on Monday cancelled the eco-clearance granted to a Godrej high-rise residential apartment project near Kaikondrahalli Lake in Bengaluru. The NGT quashed the environmental clearance granted by the Karnataka State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) to Godrej Reflections (phase-1 of the project) and Godrej Lake Gardens (phase-2). P Ramprasad, who led the arguments against the eco-clearances given to these projects, told TNM, “The project was touching the lake on the southern side. It was in violation of environmental norms, municipal corporation norms and buffer zone regulations. Despite this, SEIAA granted permissions illegally. We challenged this before the NGT.” The violations There were two matters before the NGT regarding the ecological violations around the Kaikondrahalli Lake. The one pertaining specifically to the Godrej project was filed by HP Rajanna. The other, which is wider in scope and targets multiple structures around the lake for violating environmental norms, was filed by the NGO Mahadevapura Abhivriddhi Samraskshane Samiti (MAPSAS). The NGT on Monday clubbed the two matters and pronounced the order cancelling the environmental permissions of the Godrej residential apartments. “This means that the project has come to a grinding halt. Other permissions like construction, building plans licenses and all have no legal value,” P Ramprasad says. The advocate also alleges that in the past one year when the Godrej project was in the foundation stage, it has already tampered and endangered the ecology of the area. He placed these arguments before the NGT as well. “To build a high rise, they need to excavate a lot. That’s what they have been doing the past year,” he says. “There is a natural storm water drain whose the hydrology was altered because they were trying to cement the natural water stream itself. There are buffer zones along the natural water stream as well, where they were dumping waste. The environment load of the project is beyond the carrying capacity of the ecosystem there. This tampered the ecology and hydrology of the area,” Ramprasad says. Other structures in buffer zone It’s not just Godrej, but other structures also that have encroached on the Kaikondrahalli Lake. A joint inspection report pertaining to the environmental violations happening around Kaikondrahalli Lake was submitted to the NGT by a four-member committee in September last year. The committee consisted of members from the Central Pollution Control Board, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and Bangalore Development Authority. TNM has a copy of the report. The report states that according to the Revised Master Plan 2015, there is a 30-metre buffer of ‘no development’ zone around water bodies. Apart from the Godrej project, the report alleged that many other establishments were also found to be within the Kaikondrahalli Lake buffer zone. These include the Renuka High School with playground and toilet, Sports Centre, Raksha Car Service, Kidzee School, some other shops and commercial establishments. Further, apartment complex Sri Mitra Spring Valley’s swimming pool, club house and approach road were found to be in the lake’s buffer area, as was the southeast portion of Alps Estate, another apartment. Of the latter, the project area where the STP and exit gate are situated are in the lake’s buffer zone. One more apartment named SJR Water Mark has also been named in the report, as its rainwater harvesting tank, park, tennis court and a portion of the driveway are in 1 acre 17 guntas which fall in the buffer area. Interestingly, all of these properties had obtained environmental clearances from SEIAA. MAPSAS’s case was against all of the buffer zone violations around Kaikondrahalli Lake. A representative of the non-profit tells TNM, “We have seen that the area between Kaikondrahalli and Kasavanahalli Lakes has been constructed on rapidly. This, even as the area between the two lakes had a valley zone marked under the Comprehensive Development Plan 2015.” According to the Revised Master Plan 2015, a valley zone may only be used for laying down sewage lines, water treatment plants, roads, culverts, pathways etc. given that they do not obstruct the movement and course of the water. A Google Earth image shows construction in the valley area between the lakes Construction soil dumped near the lake While Kasavanahalli Lake is the upstream lake, Kaikondrahalli is the downstream one. Due to the rampant construction, the surrounding areas have seen flooding during heavy rains as the rainwater doesn't make way directly into the lakes as it should have. Had the wetlands between the two lakes been left in the natural state, this would not have happened. “And this has been happening around most of Bengaluru’s lakes, not just here. But here, because it used to be a large wetland between two lakes, the impact is felt on a bigger scale too. The government has failed to protect the lakes. The buffer zone is not respected at all. There is loss of bio-diversity due to garbage dumping/burning, sewage entry and ground water contamination. If we do not take action now, the lake will go back to being a cesspool and a decade worth effort of rejuvenation and maintenance will be wasted,” the MAPSAS representative says. A good precedent The NGT’s order has come as a ray of hope for organisations like MAPSAS. The NGT also ordered action to be taken based on the joint committee’s report on the larger issue of violations in the buffer zone within one month, and also expanded the scope of the matter to the nearby Kasavanahalli Lake as well. The Tribunal also gave P Ramprasad liberty to raise additional issues, and advise on any deficiencies in the report in the future. “While Godrej is well within its rights to approach the Supreme Court on the matter, the fact remains that the project is in violation of Kaikondrahalli Lake’s buffer zone. So, I don’t know how much good it will do them,” Ramprasad says. 

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2OxttSa
via IFTTT

Facing backlash, K’taka govt to resume supply of foodgrains to welfare institutions

Public Health

Government sources said that more than 32,000 students were affected by a sudden stop in supply of foodgrains, specifically rice and wheat.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Representation Photo

Poor students, especially from SC/ST and OBC backgrounds, who reside in government-aided and religious welfare institutions in Karnataka, have been struggling for the past two months after the government stopped supply of foodgrains.  For some, the supply stopped in November, while others suffered from December onwards. Only after the Opposition raised its voice on the issue, did the state government do something to rectify the situation. Following this, a Cabinet meeting was held and the Minister for Women and Child Development Shashikala Jolle said that the state will resume the supply of foodgrains. Government sources said that more than 32,000 students were affected by a sudden stop in the supply of foodgrains, specifically rice and wheat. Institutions like the Siddaganga Mutt in Tumakuru, and the Chitradurga Muruga Rajendra mutt were among those affected. The crisis was precipitated after orders to stop the supply were reportedly issued by the Centre, Deccan Herald reported. The state government was reportedly complying with an order from the Centre, which had banned supply of free foodgrains to private and aided institutions, from December 2019 onwards. Doreswamy, administrator at the Muruga Rajendra Mutt in Chitradurga said, "For the past two years, we were getting a supply of rice and wheat from the Food and Civil Supplies department, but it stopped from the past three months. We were managing on whatever we grow in the land belonging to the Mutt, and purchased from donations of the devotees." He added that in January, they had requested the government for assistance. "Every month, we hold mass marriages in our premises. In January, Shashikala Jolle, Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, attended the mass marriage and we asked for help." Vishwanath, administrative officer at the Siddaganga Mutt, said, “We couldn’t let the boys go hungry and had to do something. We got some paddy, milled it, and fed that to the students.” However, action from the government came only when the Opposition spoke out on the issue. Congress MLA UT Khader, slammed the government for not providing food to the social welfare institutions, calling it inhumane, regardless of the nature of the institutions. “Instead of taking forward the schemes we (the Congress) made, this (BJP-led) government is trying to remove these pro-people schemes. This is an inhumane government,” he said at a press conference in Bengaluru on Tuesday.  UT Khader served as the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies in Siddaramaiah's cabinet when the Anna Bhagya scheme was introduced. The state will now have to allocate the funds from its own budget. The Hindu reported that this would cost an extra Rs 18 crore to the exchequer. The Karnataka government is set to release its budget on March 5.    

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2ucZ8RY
via IFTTT

'Man tried to enter my home at 2 am, threw condoms': Bengaluru woman files complaint

Crime

When Deepa reached the police station, the police allegedly asked her to leave out the details about the condom packet from her complaint and then refused to lodge an FIR.

Sanyukta Dharmadhikari

Representative image

Deepa* was in bed on January 30 when, at 2 am, she heard a loud banging at the front door of her home in Bengaluru. Someone was trying to force their way into her home.  “I was sleeping and it was 2.06 am. Someone was banging at my door, and ringing the bell,” Deepa tells TNM. Deepa, who lives alone, immediately dialled 100. The closest police station, the Puttenahalli police station, is located five minutes away from her home. However, the police did not come till 2.30 am, and till then, the banging and ringing continued. “My main door has a window next to it. The man opened that window and put his hand inside. He tried very hard to open the door from inside, for half an hour, and at the same time, he was saying something. I was shivering in fear, I could only hear him saying 'Madam, madam’,” Deepa narrates.  “There is a switchboard inside between the door and the window, and while trying to open the door he accidentally switched on the light in the main hall. Till a few minutes before the police came, he was trying to scare me, switching the light on and off constantly. He kept ringing the bell too,” Deepa shares. Deepa heard the police arrive at 2.30 am, but the alleged intruder was alerted and fled the spot.  “I believe he was hurt and he tried to maybe climb my building from somewhere else. There were blood-stains on the stairs as well as my windowpane,” Deepa adds. She says the police checked the perimeter and the terrace, but did not find him.  “They did not go to the buildings nearby or stay there for the night or give me any sort of protection. They gave me a number, and said if something happens, give us a call. I asked them, ‘should I wait for this to repeat? That's all they said and they went. They did not care to check everywhere,” Deepa says.  Later, the police left and Deepa, evidently shaken, tried her best to go back to sleep, trying to dismiss the incident as a thief trying to commit a petty crime. However, at around 7 am, while getting ready for work, she noticed something on the floor near her fridge. “I saw a packet of condoms lying near my fridge. I am very sure it was him who had thrown the packet.  I picked up the packet and when I saw what it was, I immediately threw it back where I had found it. I called the police, who came around 9.30-10 am. And their attitude was very casual. They said okay, just throw it,” Deepa says.  She adds that the police did not take the packet with them, but instead kicked it out of her house and asked her to come to the police station to file a written complaint. Deepa then got in touch with the building caretaker, who also works as a broker, and retrieved the CCTV footage.  ‘He did something similar on first floor’ “The CCTV footage we got was from the ground floor and unfortunately, the CCTV on my floor had to be given for some configuration and hence was not there. On the first floor, you can see him clearly, he is a tall, fair, lean man, whom I have never seen before. I saw the video 50-60 times but I could not recall if I had seen him somewhere,” she says.  In the CCTV, Deepa says she could see him opening the door of an apartment on the first floor as well.  “On the first floor, he did something similar, he opened the window, it is a sliding window, he peeked inside and then closed the window,” Deepa says. ‘Police refused to file FIR’ When Deepa reached the police station, the police allegedly asked her to leave out the details about the condom packet from her complaint. But she added it in her complaint and also submitted the video footage to the police. However, they did not file an FIR. “I told sub-inspector Santhosh about the events that happened the previous night. But he refused to register an FIR, saying that we can't because the guy is unknown. Next day I received an acknowledgement of three lines, that someone on (January) 30th banged the door, opened the window, and that ‘we want to tell the complainant not to open the doors and windows for any unknown person.’ They did not mention the video, the timing nor the condom packet,” Deepa says.  Deepa went to the police station twice to question why important details were not acknowledged and why the police did not file an FIR. Deepa also approached her building caretaker asking that security be deployed, but the caretaker convinced her that the building is safe and that nothing will happen if they lock the front gate. After haggling with both the owners and the police, Deepa, who has been living at the apartment for three years, is now looking for a new home.  On Sunday, after getting no assurance from the police, Deepa reached out to activist Deepika Bharadwaj on Twitter to narrate her ordeal.  This is extremely irresponsible @BlrCityPolice A man tries to break open a womans house at night, throws condom packet inside & you're asking her to forget about it rather than acting on it? She's in fear. Plz Help @Copsview @ips_patil @D_Roopa_IPS @BlrCityPolice @DCPWestBCP pic.twitter.com/QxWhzXmnJe — Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj (@DeepikaBhardwaj) February 5, 2020 Cops say investigation underway TNM contacted Puttenahalli police station and an official there stated that though they have not registered an FIR, they have received the woman’s complaint and they are investigating. The official also stated that he was not authorised to give more information. *Name changed

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2GYPWDr
via IFTTT

Bengaluru man turns donor after mother's cancer fight, saves toddler from Thalassemia

Health

Doctors told the child’s parents that the only way to save their daughter would be to give her a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor.

Dharshana Kathiresan

“Shia is the best thing to have ever happened to us. We were shattered when she fell sick,” say the parents of the 4-year-old girl. At the tender age of 9 months, Shia was diagnosed with thalassemia, a blood dyscrasia which results in the body being unable to make enough haemoglobin for use. Haemoglobin is a molecule that helps transport oxygen to all the tissues of the body. An inadequate or deficient amount of haemoglobin would result in the cells of the body being deprived of oxygen. Doctors told her parents that the only way to save their daughter would be to give her a bone marrow transplant from a donor. This is done by first wiping out one’s immune system and then introducing new bone marrow, which contain stem cells that then help build a new and healthy immune system. A year after they began their search for a matching donor, the family met Debojyoti Banik, a Bengaluru techie whose bone marrow was a perfect match. Debojyoti was highly aware of the need to donate stem cells and the impact one can bring by being a donor after seeing his mother’s battle with cancer. “I had personally seen what a family can go through during the period of medical procedures. Not only the patient but the entire family collapses. This motivated me to register as a donor and that is something others can do as well because nothing is more noble than saving someone’s life” he said to TNM. While bone marrow transplants are usually invasive procedures, doctors took the girl up for peripheral stem cell transplant, a method through which stem cells from the bone marrow are transplanted without any surgical intervention. DKMS BMST is a non-profit organisation that functions to build a registry of donors in India. According to the organisation, every five minutes someone in India is diagnosed with blood cancer or blood disorders. In multiple instances, stem cell transplant becomes the only hope of survival for the patients. “Most of them tend to believe the myths related to stem cell donation. Due to the lack of matches for implant, people have also lost their dear ones. This is why the public should be encouraged to register, so that they can lend a second chance to someone at stake” said Dr.Latha Jagannathan, Director of DKMS BMST. There are several registries in the country, which run online initiatives for people to come forward and donate. Potential donors can enroll through the website, following which they will receive a simple swab kit, which they can mail back or ask the organisation to collect. The individual’s details are noted down in the registry and if someone is found to be a match, they are notified. “Peripheral stem cell collection is a safe process and the most common method, which might involve short term side effects like body ache, lasting for a day. Moreover, the support and encouragement from a donor’s family is very vital for these procedures to take place,” said Dr.Pooja Prakash Mallya, an Oncologist and Bone Marrow Transplant Specialist from Narayana Health City, Bengaluru. “With such donations, the contributor not only gives a new leash of life to the patient, but also to the entire family. I really urge the younger generation to learn about this and spread the message across” said Shia’s father, Saifulla Kobir.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2GWF9to
via IFTTT