With Rs 300 crore loss, Namma Metro awaits Centre’s nod to resume services

Civic Issues

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd suspended services when the lockdown began on March 25.

IANS

PTI

The state-run Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) is hopes to resume its services in the tech city amid Covid pandemic, an official said on Wednesday. As a joint venture between the state and Centre, the operator has incurred Rs 300 crore loss over the last five months due to the suspension of its services to contain the pandemic. "We are waiting for the Central government's clearance to resume operations on east-west and north-south routes in compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and guidelines of the Union Health Ministry to ensure the safety of commuters," the official told IANS. Like other state-run transport firms, Namma Metro too suspended its services on March 25 this year, when the lockdown was suddenly enforced and extended, forcing thousands of commuters to switch over to alternative modes of transport. "Though limited bus, train and plane services were allowed to resume gradually during the three-phases of unlocking, regular express/mail passenger trains and metro rail services remained suspended to prevent crowding in public places and the virus spread," said the official. As the most popular transport mode for its punctual, efficient and cleaner service in air-conditioned coaches, the metro has been ferrying more than four lakh commuters on the twin routes, covering 42.3 km across 44 well-lit stations till pre-Covid days. "As social distancing has to be maintained, the guidelines may limit the number of commuters to one-third of the capacity in a six-coach train, that in normal times carries nearly 1,000 people per trip," the official observed. To ensure the commuters are virus-free, they will be screened at the entrance and advised to keep wearing mask throughout the journey for their safety and that of others. "As most of the commuters use smartphones, they will be advised to download the 'Aarogya Setu' application (app) for contact tracing in the event of any of them getting infected by the virus," the official added. All commuters will be advised to use e-tickets in the form of a smart card for entry and exit from the metro stations to minimise contact with tokens. "We are hoping the government to permit resuming metro services in a phased manner under the guidelines to ensure the safety of commuters and the staff as restrictions on inter-state and intra-state travel have been lifted across the country," the official said.

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‘Yediyurappa's son Vijayendra is super CM and corrupt’, claims letter by BJP MLAs to high command

Politics

The six-page letter accuses the CM’s son of sidelining his father and collecting VST-Vijayendra Service Tax’.

Pooja Prasanna

File Photo

Even as Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is trying to douse the fire within his party regarding the cabinet expansion, yet another rebellion is brewing within the BJP in Karnataka. Letters purportedly written by BJP legislators to the party high command, accusing the CM’s son, Vijayendra, of being the ‘super CM’ has rekindled allegations that Yediyurappa has allowed his son to become a parallel power centre in the government. The letter, which reportedly has the signatures of seven BJP MLAs, accuses Vijayendra of running a parallel government and misusing his proximity to the CM to misappropriate crores as kickbacks for clearance of tenders and other contracts. It says that like PM Modi had accused the Siddaramaiah government of taking 10% of all projects as commission, this government is collecting ‘VST-Vijayendra Service Tax’ of 15%.  The letter alleges that Vijayendra has a team of 31 people, holding various positions in the party and the government, former IAS officers, his relatives and even personnel staff of the Chief Minister. It further reads that they have repeatedly broached this issue on several party platforms but have not disclosed it publicly, in the interest of the image of the party.  The six-page letter also claims that Vijayendra has sidelined his father and claiming that he is the next CM of the state, taken administrative decisions bearing adverse effects on the party.  Vijayendra was appointed as one of the Vice Presidents of BJP Karnataka on August 1, 2020.  This is not the first that such a letter has been written by BJP MLAs. Last year too, a similar letter had surfaced. The Congress party has also taken up this issue and in a press conference held in Mysuru by party spokesperson. M Lakshman said the BJP MLAs have exposed what the opposition has been accusing the government of for many months. Stating that the slew of allegations are emerging from within the ruling party, Lakshman demanded a probe into the letter and the accusations made in it.  Taking to Twitter, Vijayendra denied the allegations and claimed it is a political conspiracy against him. “Fabricating stories is an old tactic practiced by the Congress party and one such attempt has been made in a statement coming in from Mysuru. I will not yield to such malicious, politically motivated accusations. My morals cannot be lowered by such rumours”

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Bengaluru businessman held for creating fake Facebook page of city police

Crime

The 40-year-old man with a PhD was arrested after eight months of investigation.

TNM Staff

Facebook

A Bengaluru businessman with a PhD was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly creating a fake profile of the city police on Facebook. The Central Crime Branch’s assistant sub-inspector Bhojaraju had come across the profile in December 2019 and had registered a complaint with the Cyber Crime Police back then, media reports stated.  According to the Times of India, Panjak Kumar Bachhawat (40), a resident of Malleshwaram, had created the Facebook page with 21,000 followers but had not uploaded a single post on it. However, the members frequently uploaded posts.  Deccan Herald reported that the posts on this fake account were often offensive. According to Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil, it took the cybercrime sleuths close to eight months to track down Pankaj Kumar.  Pankaj allegedly became a part of the community policing initiative launched by the city police 20 years ago and was issued an identity card by the police, the DH report stated.  He allegedly told the Cyber Crime sleuths that he had no malicious intent in creating the Facebook page but only wanted to help the people. However, speaking to TNM, Sandeep Patil said that Pankaj Kumar had claimed to be a police officer on the fake page he had created. “Creating a fake page and claiming to be a police officer is clear grounds for impersonating a public servant. Although he did not post anything, members had put up hateful posts,” he added.  The police said that irrespective of the intention, no civilian can create social media profiles in the name of police and impersonate police officers. The Cyber Crime sleuths are currently questioning Pankaj Kumar.  According to the DH report, Pankaj allegedly requested the police to delete the page and let him go. However, the police arrested him and produced him before a magistrate. The court had remanded him to 14-day judicial custody.  The First Information Report (FIR) against Pankaj Kumar has been registered under section 170 (impersonating a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and section 66 C and 66D (fake information or photo of some other person or stealing the identity of another person) of the Information Technology Act, the Cyber Crime Police said. 

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Kannada actors, musicians under police scanner for allegedly buying ecstasy

Crime

The Narcotics Control Bureau said that several actors and musicians have come under the scanner after recent arrests made in Bengaluru.

PTI

Wikimedia Commons

Several prominent musicians and actors from Karnataka are under the scanner of the Narcotics Control Bureau after the agency busted a drug trafficking racket in the state recently. The NCB said it seized 145 ecstasy or MDMA pills and over Rs 2.20 lakh cash from "Royal Suits hotel Apartment, Kalyan Nagar, Bengaluru" on August 21. "In follow up action, the team seized 96 pills of MDMA and 180 LSD blots at Nikoo homes in Bengaluru," Narcotics Control Bureau Deputy Director (operations) K P S Malhotra said in a statement. "Later, a woman drug supplier who had been the main kingpin of the case was intercepted and 270 pills of MDMA were recovered from her house at Dodagubbi, Bengaluru," Malhotra said. Three accused, M Anoop, R Ravindran and Anikha D, were apprehended by the agency during these raids, he said. "Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused used to supply drugs to affluent sections of society, including prominent musicians and actors as well as to college students and youngsters," Malhotra said. "More persons are likely to be apprehended in this connection by the NCB Bengaluru unit," he said. The federal anti-narcotics agency, early this month, had arrested Rahman K for allegedly dealing in ecstasy drugs. "Rahman had been selling MDMA and other party drugs among students of his college and the neighbouring ones, the NCB said. "Investigation also revealed that the accused had placed the order of MDMA pills online in exchange of Bitcoins," it alleged. A few days back, the agency nabbed a couple in Mumbai for allegedly dealing in this category of narcotics. MDMA (methylenedioxy- methamphetamine), commonly known as ecstasy, is a party drug that alters mood and its perception is chemically similar to stimulants and hallucinogens. It produces a feeling of increased energy and pleasure. As per officials, each ecstasy pill costs between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,500 in the domestic market. As per UNODC's World Drug Report 2020, ecstasy continues to be manufactured primarily in Europe, most notably in Western and Central Europe. "Europe accounts for two-thirds of the ecstasy laboratories dismantled worldwide," the NCB had earlier said. The total quantity of ecstasy seized worldwide has doubled over the period 2009-2018 and this is also reflected in the rapidly increasing popularity of such synthetic drugs in India, it had said.

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Karnataka committed to constructing Mekedatu Dam: DCM Ashwath Narayan

Water Resources

The Deputy Chief Minister said he would expedite the process of holding talks with the Centre in this regard.

PTI

PTI

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan on Wednesday said that the state government is committed to the constructing the proposed Mekedatu project across river Cauvery, and it will expedite dialogue with the Centre regarding the issue.  Narayan, who is also the Ramanagara district in-charge Minister, held discussions with officials of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd on issues concerning the implementation of the project. Mekedatu is a Multipurpose (drinking and power) project, which involves building a balancing reservoir, near Kanakapura in Ramanagaram district. Tamil Nadu has been vehemently opposing the project, raising apprehensions that the state will be affected if the project takes shape. The project would ensure drinking water to Bengaluru and that the government will expedite the process for seeking its approval from the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and the Central Water Commission, Narayan was quoted as saying by his office in a release. Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi has already spoken to the Union Minister twice in this regard, and "we hope to get the approval soon," he said. The detailed project report was before the Central Water Commission and Karnataka would request it to review it soon, Narayan said. Also, if approval was required from the forest and environment department, efforts will be made to expedite it. The project will be helpful in releasing water to Tamil Nadu as per the Supreme Court order and also 400 MW power can be generated, he said, adding that the estimated cost of the project was Rs 9000 crore. On August 18, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami had reiterated the state's opposition to the project and wanted the CWC and the Cauvery Water Management Authority to reject the proposal.

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DOJ may investigate blue states over Covid-19 deaths at nursing homes

Federal officials are seeking coronavirus data from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

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‘Tipu is a son of the soil’: BJP MLC Vishwanath courts controversy

Politics

Vishwanath was answering a query regarding the Karnataka government’s decision to remove chapters on Tipu Sultan from the Class 5 syllabus.

TNM Staff

File image

BJP MLC AH Vishwanath stirred a hornet's nest on Wednesday for praising Tipu Sultan, equating him with freedom fighter Sangoli Rayanna. Vishwanath, who was the former JD(S) President, went on to call Tipu Sultan a son of the soil.  Vishwanath was answering a query regarding the Karnataka government’s decision to remove chapters on Tipu from the Class 5 textbook, as a means of reducing the syllabus in the wake of the pandemic. "Tipu belongs to no party or religion, but is a son of the soil. The chapter on him has only moved to class seven from class five, and not been removed," he told reporters.   He was an MLA from Nanjangud constituency in Mysuru district until 2019.  Vishwanth was among the 17 ruling MLAs of the Congress-JD(S)  in the erstwhile HD Kumaraswamy government, who resigned and defected to the BJP, paving the way for the BS Yediyurappa government to come to power. However, Vishwanath went on to lose the December 2019 bye-election and was later made an MLC by the BJP. The BJP and the Congress have in recent years tussled over the subject of Tipu Sultan. While the Congress has championed Tipu Sultan, calling him a freedom fighter who fought the British, the BJP has chosen to label him as a despot and a tyrant who destroyed Hindu temples during his rule.The BJP has in the past alleged that the Congress championed Tipu merely to gain the Muslim vote bank. The issue gained prominence when in 2013, then Chief Minister Siddaramiaah began the tradition of commemorating Tipu Jayanti, a formal state celebration, under the Department of Kannada and Culture. BJP and other Hindu nationaist organisations since then have been vehemently opposed to the idea of celebrating Tipu in any form be it celebrating his birth anniversary or naming a train. Soon after coming to power, current CM BS Yediyurappa cancelled the state celebration of the event on November 10.  However it  had been reported prior to 2013, some BJP leaders had celebrated Tipu Jayanti with the same fervour as the Congress and other political outfits. In 2012 during BSY’s previous tenure as CM, the Department of Kannada and Culture had published a book titled Tipu Sultan – A Crusader for Change. 

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