Two yrs and waiting: Defence firm asks K’taka govt to resolve delay in plot allotment

Infrastructure

It has been two years since ADD Engineering Components (India) Pvt Ltd applied for a plot of land near Bengaluru but the application is yet to be considered.

TNM Staff

@SPOKESPERSONMOD Image for representation

It has been two years since ADD Engineering Components (India) Private Limited applied for a plot of land at the Nelamangala Industrial Area near Bengaluru to establish its manufacturing unit but the company officials have grown tired of the long wait for their application to be considered.  The company provides high-end cutting tools to other companies including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project but are now considering taking their manufacturing unit to other states after growing weary of the delay in starting operations in Karnataka. “We are waiting it out despite receiving proposals to start our manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh since we want to set up our manufacturing unit in Karnataka and be able to bring industries to the state," said ADD Engineering Components (India) Private Limited Director Girish Linganna. The application for a plot application is pending with the Karnataka Small Scale industrial Development Corporation (KSSIDC) and Girish says that after two years of delay, he was informed that the plot of land was held up with legal issues.  "We are not particular about where the land is located but we would prefer it to be close to Bengaluru," Girish adds. KSSIDC officials expressed helplessness in the delay in allotment of plots to companies in the Nelamangala Industrial Estate. An official said that there were legal hurdles and many companies like ADD Engineering Components were waiting for land to be allotted. He said that in this particular case, land could be allotted at Gauribidanur but that is not something the company is keen on since it is 90 km away from HAL.  Girish says there are sites in Kumbalgodu and Mysuru Road which are better alternatives. In August 2018, the company wrote to the then Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Defence Investor Cell, which provides information including addressing queries related to investment opportunities in the defence sector. Despite receiving a recommendation from the Defence Investor Cell, Girish says KSSIDC is yet to take action on the allotment of land.  "This is my last attempt to get the land allotted. There are many policies by the government to woo investors but there is a lack of proactiveness to follow up and resolve issues. If the land is not allotted, I will be seeking alternatives in other states," Girish says. 

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Bengaluru cops arrest aide of don Ravi Pujari from Mandya

Crime

Iqlaq Qureshi, a native of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, is a co-accused in the 2007 Shabnam Developers shootout case.

TNM Staff

A week after infamous gangster Ravi Pujari was denied bail in the high-profile 2007 Shabnam Developers shootout case, the Bengaluru police have been successful in arresting Iqlaq Qureshi, his aide and co-accused in the case. It may be recalled that 53-year-old Pujari was extradited from Senegal in February with the help of Interpol and foreign governments. In 2007, two employees of Shabnam Developers were killed by motorcycle-borne gunmen in their south Bengaluru office.  Speaking to TNM, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru (Crime) Kuldeep Jain said that Qureshi, who had jumped bail in the case and was absconding since then, was arrested on Friday morning from Nalamanagla in Mandya district based on a tip-off. Qureshi is a native of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. In a note issued by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bengaluru, it was said that the police made the arrest while probing Pujari’s criminal activities and as part of their efforts to nab his associates. The note said that Qureshi, along with another accused, had supplied the weapon to kill the two employees of Shabnam Developers. The police will now probe his role in other cases as well. The 2007 shooting case is among the 100 criminal cases that are pending against Pujari. Incidentally, the CCB in March this year had started probing one of their own inspectors for allegedly acting as Pujari’s informant. In 2007, within a month of the shooting, police had arrested 11 persons and claimed that the target of the shootout was Shamiulla, the owner of the company and a former corporator. The two killed were his driver and receptionist. According to the police officials investigating the case then, Ravi Pujari and one Kaviraj had conspired to kill the realtor for expanding their business and over land disputes. Incidentally, Kaviraj was arrested by police in 2009 again after he jumped bail along with others.  Nine of the co-accused in the case have been so far acquitted by the trial court in Bengaluru.

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NDRF teams arrive, relief camps set up: Karnataka govt braces for monsoon fury

Karnataka rains 2020

TNM looks at the preparedness of the Yediyurappa government in handling the south-west monsoon rains this year.

Pooja Prasanna

Even as 12 out of 30 districts in Karnataka have been impacted by the torrential rains brought on by the south-west monsoon, the state will have to brace for more floods and landslides in the coming days. A red warning has been issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for eight districts -Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru,Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Shivamogga, Kodagu and Hassan - for the next couple of days. A red warning is the highest warning given by IMD urging authorities to take action in the face of a calamity. Most rivers in the state, including Cauvery, Tungabhadra and Nethravathi, are flowing in full spate, crossing the danger level in many cases. A total of eight lives have been lost due to the rains, as per the state government.  In August 2019, Karnataka had witnessed one of the worst floods in decades causing large scale destruction. A total of 61 people died in rain-related accidents across the states and close to seven lakh people were displaced last year. Across 22 districts of Karnataka, 1160 rescue and rehabilitation camps were started at the time. And as rains continue to pummel coastal and northern parts of the state this year too, TNM looks at the state of preparedness in Karnataka this year.  In July, Karnataka Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) roped in Grama Panchayats for a decentralised approach to flood management in districts like Belagavi, Dharwad, Ballari and Koppal. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams from Andhra Pradesh were brought in to the border districts like Ballari and Kolar to be ready for heavy rains and related disasters.  The state government asked for a list of infrastructure available at the Grama Panchayat level and released funds for purchase of the needed equipment. Mock drills were conducted by Grama Panchayats weeks in advance for the officials to be able to react quickly in case of floods.  This after the IMD forecast heavy to severe rains this year too in the month of August and even issued red warnings to many districts of the state. With the state also grappling with the increasing cases of COVID-19, the handling of floods would further complicate the situation.  NDRF teams from Andhra Pradesh have arrived in different parts of Karnataka. Last week there was a mock drill conducted by the NDRF team in Dharwad. Similar drills were organised in Kodagu, Raichur and Belagavi," the official added. Visuals from Bhagamandala in Kodagu, Karnataka today. A landslide swept away houses and left five people including the prominent Talacauvery temple priest's family missing. Search efforts have been hampered by lack of road access to the landslide affected area in Talacauvery. pic.twitter.com/RVGqGkEFq2 — Prajwal (@prajwalmanipal) August 7, 2020 On Wednesday, as the situation started worsening, the Chief Minister released funds of Rs 50 crore for relief operations and instructed officials to provide Rs 10,000 interim relief to displaced families and Rs 5 lakh to families whose houses are totally damaged.  Government schools and colleges have been converted into rehabilitation camps for those who have already been displaced. People from low-lying areas are being evacuated by NDRF teams and brought to rescue and relief camps.  CM Yediyurappa has instructed all district-in-charge ministers to remain stationed in their district and oversee the rescue operations and submit daily reports to the CMO. Revenue Minister R Ashoka held a video conference with officials from 19 districts to take stock of the situation and collate the list of required amenities.  Kodagu, Shivamogga, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan districts have been put on alert.  Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy took to social media to implore the government to assist those in distress. “This year too,the State is caught in the web of excess rains. People, particularly farmers are in a state of distress.The monsoon ferocity in Kodagu & Uttara Kannada districts has unleashed fear.District-wise Special Task Forces should be constituted to manage flood situation.” This year too,the State is caught in the web of excess rains. People, particularly farmers are in a state of distress.The monsoon ferocity in Kodagu & UttaraKannada districts has unleashed fear.District-wise Special Task Forces should be constituted to manage flood situation. 2/7 — H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) August 7, 2020 Kumaraswamy urged the state government to also seek additional assistance from the Centre to tackle the floods.  “The Centre must also extend special financial aid to the State to help people continuously ravaged by the floods. The state government must also exert pressure on the Central government in this regard.” The government must ensure that there is no dearth of funds to take up relief works in flood hit areas. If not, the situation will become severe and have an adverse impact. 5/7 — H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) August 7, 2020

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Karnataka SSLC results to be out on August 10

Education

A total of 8.45 lakh number of students had written the exams this year, held between June 25 to July 3.

TNM Staff

Representational image/PTI

The results of the Class 10 or  Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations In Karnataka will be announced on August 10 at 3 pm, officials said. Earlier on July 20, Education Minister S Suresh Kumar had said the results were to be announced in the first week of August. The decision had come after the minister had visited some evaluation centres in the state capital of Bengaluru.  On July 20, he had said that the time frame was fixed as it was estimated to take at least 10-12 days time to finish scrutinising the answer sheets. He had reportedly visited more than 120 such evaluation centres in the state out of the total 220. The work of evaluating answer sheets were impacted due to the weeklong lockdown imposed in Bengaluru between July 14  and July 22. There were similar lockdowns imposed at the same time in other districts as well individually by respective Deputy Commissioners in a bid to arrest the spread of the pandemic. It may be recalled that a total of 8.45 lakh number of students had written the exams this year, held between June 25 to July 3 under the supervision of the health department due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All exam halls were sanitised and sanitizers were arranged in every centre. According to the education department, only 18 to 20 students were seated in a room to adhere to physical distancing norms. There were separate seating arrangements made for students with fever where they were promised N95 masks. It had come to light that 32 students who had registered to write the exams had incidentally tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The exams were originally scheduled to be held March 27 onwards, but it was postponed due to the nationwide lockdown imposed by the union government.

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Talacauvery temple priest and family still missing after landslide in Kodagu

Karnataka Rains 2020

Search operations, however, have been hampered with road access cut by floods and landslides.

Prajwal Bhat

Five persons including a temple priest and his family members are missing after a landslide in Brahmagiri Hills near Talacauvery in Kodagu district of Karnataka on Thursday morning. The missing priest Narayana Achar and his wife, brother and two assistants are among the missing persons. They are Narayana Achar (70), his wife Shantha (70), brother Ananda Theertha Swami (87) and two assistants — Ravi Kiran (26) and Srinivas (30). The search efforts for missing persons following the landslide, however, have stalled after rescue personnel experienced difficulties in moving an excavator to the area devastated by the landslide.  "The roads in Bhagamandala are flooded and there are 4-5 minor landslides on the road to Talacauvery. These landlslips need to be cleared first before the search operations can begin," Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy explained. The landslide occurred near Talacauvery and rescue personnel dispatched from the district headquarters of Madikeri have to go via Bhagamandala.  The Deputy Commissioner added that the landslide washed away houses and trees into the Cauvery river making it difficult to begin search efforts. "There is a lot of water due to the fact that a part of the hill slid down and joined the river. The intensity of the rains will have to reduce as well," Annies added.  Local residents and eye-witnesses told TNM that there are slim chances of the priest Narayana Achar and his family surviving the landslide. Narayana Achar is the chief priest of the Talacauvery temple. The door of Narayana's car was found floating near the Talacauvery Sangama, a few kilometres away from the landslide area. Talacauvery is considered the source of the Cauvery river.  Three relief camps have been opened in the district in Karadigodu, Virajpet and Bhagamandala. Those camped in the relief camp in Karadigodu were tested for the coronavirus as a precautionary measure.  "We have advised residents living in areas at-risk of landslides to vacate their house. Some of the residents in our village have left to go to safer areas," Dhannanjay, a resident of Monnangeri village in Kodagu said.  Minor landslides were reported across Kodagu district including in uninhabited areas. The landslide near Talacauvery was the only one to occur in a place where people were still staying.  The landslides were triggered by heavy rainfall reported in Kodagu district on Wednesday and Thursday. The rainfall in several places in Virajpet and Madikeri taluks was measured between 115 to 204 mm.  The disaster evoked jarring memories of the floods and landslides which devastated Kodagu in 2018 taking 18 lives and displacing over 7,000 people. A similar landslide was reported in Thora village of the district in 2019 which led to the death of ten residents.

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North Karnataka districts see heavy rains, officials say situation under control

Karnataka Rains 2020

A Karnataka Disaster Management Authority official said that the situation this year is much better due to smooth coordination between the Centre and state governments in maintaining the dams.

Soumya Chatterjee

Honga in Belagavi| .@rajkadolkar/Twitter

Continuous rains in northern Karnataka and upstream areas of neighbouring Maharashtra have put district authorities in the region on high alert for possible flooding, as rivers flow in full spate. Some low lying bridges and culverts have been submerged across Belagavi and Bagalkote districts.  In 2019, the region was battered by floods after heavy rains ravaged southern Maharashtra, causing massive loss of lives and destruction of property. A Karnataka Disaster Management Authority official said that the situation this year is much better due to smooth coordination between the central government and two state government agencies in maintaining the dams.   “As soon as the dams upstream in Maharashtra get filled to 75%, they are gradually releasing all the water as inflow, so there is no sudden flooding. The carrying capacity of Krishna downstream of Almatti and Narayanpura dams is upto three lakh cusecs. Right now, the inflow is around 1.2 lakh cusecs. Flooding has happened in some low lying bridges between Almatti and the state border areas in Belagavi and Bagalkote,” he said.  The official maintained that there is no major threat in the main rivers, but smaller streams may be flooding and affecting small areas. Other than the Krishna, 50,000 cusecs of water has been released from the Tungabhadra, which might lead to some crop loss but there should be no other major impact, the officials said.  Other than Belagavi, Bagalkote districts like Dharwad and Gadag are likely to be impacted if there are more incessant rains. People living in low lying areas have been evacuated.  Ghataprabha, a major tributary to Krishna, has reached 75% capacity so there might be a need to release water there. He said that Malaprabha is in a relatively safer position, with 66% of the dam filled as of now. The official noted only under unlikely circumstances would districts such as Gadag and Davanagre be impacted if the rains continue further. Belagavi Deputy Commissioner MG Hiremath said the situation is under control and there is no threat in the district. Officials are keeping a close eye on the ground situation.  “As of now, there has been no need to evacuate people in the district. Everything is under control, we are receiving 1.5 lakh causes in Almatti and we are letting out 1.5 lakh cusecs. In Ghataprabha, in the main catchment area of Gokak, rainfall is gradually reducing and in Malaprabha, whatever water has been released is not a problem,” he told TNM.     Officials at the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said there is no immediate threat, with rains predicted to recede gradually from Saturday. “The situation is not as bad as last year and the rainfall is gradually decreasing in Maharashtra and north Karnataka region, the situation is expected to get better soon. There has been no place where we have seen the water flow become so high to create inundation,” Subha Avinash, hydrologist at KSNDMC told TNM.  “We were expecting a flood-like situation in the region if the rains in Maharashtra continued but thankfully the rains seem to be reducing as of now,” she added. Sunil M Gavaskar, meteorologist at KSNDMC, said that the rainfall starting from July 30 has been considerably higher than normal in most districts except Vijayapura — Belagavi (85%), Bagalkote (56%) Dharwad (115%), Gadag (89%) Koppal (78%). “However, from tomorrow the rainfall is expected to come down much more,” he noted.   

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Karnataka’s Ranganathittu bird sanctuary closed due to heavy rains, COVID-19 concerns

Karnataka floods 2020

All staff at the sanctuary are undergoing tests after it was reported that a COVID-19 patient had visited the premises.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Pixabay, image for representation

The Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary near Mysuru, which is situated on the banks of the Kaveri river, has been closed to the public. This comes after parts of Karnataka have become flooded due to incessant rains, with authorities saying that they would release more water from the nearby Kabini dam to offset the heavy inflow. The officer in charge of the sanctuary also said that there have been concerns due to COVID-19. Surendra K, the Range Forest Officer at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary said, “We are testing all our staff after we found out that a COVID-19 positive person visited the sanctuary. All staff, including officers and field staff; around fifty people, are getting tested.” He added that the floodgates being opened is the secondary reason for the closure. “We are currently sanitising all the areas which are accessible to the public because of the risk of the coronavirus. However, we have also been told that water would be released from the dam gradually and that has also been taking place. They will continue to release the water for two or three more days,” he said. Sources said that the bird sanctuary’s administration is usually informed in advance, should the water be released from the dam for any reason. Several places across coastal Karnataka and Kerala have reported severe flooding, with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing red alerts in many areas. Mysuru reported 361 new cases of coronavirus on August 6, taking the total count of active cases in the city to 3,784. The bird sanctuary is situated around 19 kilometres from the city. Mandya district, under which the sanctuary falls, reported 134 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, taking the total count of active cases in the district to 1,026. The Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is a famous watering hole for a variety of rare birds, with many migratory birds also taking shelter in the expansive sanctuary. The availability of abundant water resources and trees attracts hundreds of species of birds, including the painted stork.

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