Bengaluru’s Namma Metro gets lukewarm response in the first week of reopening

Transport

A total of 18,925 passengers travelled in Bengaluru metro on Thursday.

Soumya Chatterjee

PTI

With the resumption of  Namma Metro services in Bengaluru since Monday, close to six months after they were shut owing to COVID-19 restrictions, the response from the commuters has been lukewarm in the first week. While the ridership is steadily growing, it is yet to see even half of the patronage witnessed in pre-COVID-19 days, even accounting for the reduced operations and restrictions.  According to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the average daily ridership for the two existing lines (Purple and Green) combined was around 4.5 lakh.   But in the last four days, the highest daily ridership has been 18,925 which was recorded on Thursday.  The daily ridership so far from Monday to Thursday has been 4220 (Purple), 5645 (Purple), 14438 (both) and 18925 (both) respectively, said BMRCL chief spokesperson BY Chavan. Senior IAS officer and BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth said at this point, ridership is not the priority and efforts are on to ensure that physical distancing and other COVID-19 safety regulations are maintained. “We can only use 20% of the passenger capacity at any given time to ensure that physical distancing norms are maintained. We expect the ridership to steadily increase with both the passengers gaining confidence in the metro as a safe mode of transport and economic activities also opening-up. So we might need 15-20 days to come to a conclusion how people are reacting in the post-pandemic era. But at this point, we are not inclined to maximise ridership,” Ajay Seth told TNM. He added, “Our appeal to big companies would be to see if they can stagger their office hours so that everybody is not forced to travel much in peak hours.” It is also to be noted that, following the union government guidelines only 400 passengers per train will be allowed in the post-COVID-19 era as opposed to the full capacity of close to 2000.  Till Friday, the operations were scheduled to run only for six hours in the day as part of the phased reopening plan by the authorities.   As earlier reported, the metro rail services had restarted first from Monday itself along the Purple Line (Baiyappanahalli to Mysuru Road) alone, while Green Line (Yelachenahalli to Nagawara) began operating from Wednesday.   It was announced that till Thursday evening, trains on both lines will run between 8 am to 11 am, and 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm with a frequency of five minutes.  Starting Friday trains in both the lines will operate between 7 am and 9 pm. The trains will ply at a frequency of five minutes during peak hours and at 10 minutes during non-peak hours.

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Bengaluru airport gets 10000 sqft public warehouse for foreign cargo storage

Airport

The facility will meet the demands of customers for re-export and long-term storage of bonded cargo, at minimal logistics cost, the airport has said.

TNM Staff

The Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru is the largest air cargo terminal in south India and to aid long-term storage of bonded cargo at minimal logistics cost, the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) on Friday opened  India’s first on-airport public bonded warehouse. This 10,000 square feet facility will help in the re-export of goods, long-term storage of bonded cargo, will assist in partial clearances and allow value-added services such as labelling, packing and repacking services.   The facility will be operated by the Cargo Service Center (CSC) and will be under the jurisdiction of the City Commissionerate, Bengaluru Customs.  Satyaki Raghunath, the Chief Strategy and Development Officer of BIAL, said that the warehouse has been opened to simplify processes and meet customer demands. Bengaluru, the IT hub of India with the presence of many IT, Biotechnology companies, and retail brands, observes and handles large volumes of imports. A release from BIAL added, “The new facility will play a significant role in boosting the economy of the region, by improving trade and connecting markets around the world. Bengaluru airport is the busiest and most preferred cargo terminal for manufacturers in south India.” Tushar Jani, Group Chairman, CSC said, “Bengaluru airport has tremendous potential to become the cargo hub for South India, and at CSC, we are excited to be part of this transformation.” Bengaluru airport offers the largest air cargo terminal in south India, with a handling capacity of 5,70,000 metric tons and an average time of nine hours, including major manufacturing clusters across south India. During the first five months between April and August 2020, Bengaluru airport processed 99,154 Metric tons of cargo with a recording of 92% growth in cargo air traffic movements. Bengaluru airport is emerging as the third busiest cargo airport in the country and busiest in South India, the release added..   “To bring further efficiencies into cargo operations, BIAL recently announced the implementation of the Air Cargo Community System (ACS) to streamline the air logistics supply chain. This digital platform will enable seamless collaboration between all stakeholders in the supply chain to deliver superior and efficient cargo operations at Bengaluru airport,” the release added

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Monitor lizard genitals sold to Karnataka women to 'treat' infertility, 4 arrested

Crime

The godman allegedly advised women to worship the lizard genitals if they were struggling to conceive.

TNM Staff

Four arrested for dealing in protect wildlife

A 46-year-old self-styled godman in Karnataka’s Bagalkot and his associates were arrested on Thursday for allegedly selling monitor lizard genitals to women who were apparently struggling to conceive. Forest officials said that the godman would get women followers and they would be advised to worship the lizard genitals following a ritual. A joint operation by the police and the Karnataka forest department in Bagalkot’s Bilgi taluk resulted in the arrest of three more persons in connection with the godman. Officials also recovered 503 sea fans along with 498 lizard genitals. The godman has been identified as Sanna Eerappa Jammanna (46). His associates are Basappa Siddagiri Bilagi (33), Eerappa Bandeppa Jirali (61) and his son Pavan Eerappa Jirali 29. Shankar, Deputy Conservator of Forests and in-charge of the Forest Mobile Squad, said that the accused have been sent to judicial custody following the arrest. “We are yet to ascertain details from whatever they told us. So far, they have been evasive about how they procured the wild animals. Both the sea fans and monitor lizards are protected species under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, that is why we took action,” Shankar told TNM. “We do not know what exactly their motive was, but they were fooling innocent people. We will carry on our investigations, and next week again we will interrogate them,” he added.  Officials said the godman was procuring the wildlife artefacts through Basappa who in turn was sourcing them from Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh. The reptiles are usually caught by some tribal populations for their personal consumption. After sourcing these, he would recommend his followers, mostly women, to buy them from Bandeppa and his son, who ran a small shop. Following a tip off, the forest department staff along with the police had approached Basappa and offered him to pay Rs 2 lakh to buy this lot of artefacts.  

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NIH director: ‘I’m pretty puzzled and rather disheartened’ by Trump rally

Francis Collins lamented that commonsense mitigation measures had become politicized.

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Three priests found murdered in 12th century temple in Karnataka’s Mandya

Crime

The police suspect that thieves, who stole cash from the money boxes, murdered the priests.

TNM Staff

Three temple priests were brutally murdered in their sleep late on Thursday night in Karnataka’s Mandya district. Early on Friday morning, residents of Guttalu located in the outskirts of Mandya city, walked into the Sri Arkeshwara Swamy Temple and found the three priests lying in a pool of blood. Built in the 12th century during the time of the Cholas, the temple is renowned across the state and is revered by many in the district and across the state.  Speaking to TNM, Mandya SP K Parashuram said that Ganesh (55), Prakash (58) and Anand (40), were priests at the Arkeshwara Swamy Temple. They were also guardians of the temple and would sleep inside the temple at night.  When the local residents passing by early in the morning noticed that the temple’s gates were open at such an early hour, they decided to visit the temple. “The temple priests are very punctual in opening and closing the gates on the stipulated timings. So the locals wanted to find out why. But they found blood flowing down the steps where the seating area is and saw the bodies lying in a huge pool of blood,” SP Parashuram said.  The priests' heads were allegedly smashed with boulders. The police suspect that thieves entered the temple and made away with the cash in the money boxes (hundi). “Prima facie, it appears as if the crime was committed by more than one person. The priests were asleep when boulders were smashed on their heads,” an investigating officer said.  The money boxes which are usually kept inside the temple were opened and found lying outside. While currency notes were missing, coins were found scattered on the ground. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple was also raided. The Mandya East Police have registered a case of murder against unidentified suspects.  Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has promised compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased priests. “It is disturbing to learn that three priests at the Arkeshwara Swamy Temple in Mandya were brutally murdered and the hundis were raided by thugs. Compensation of Rs 5 lakh each will be given to the families. We will initiate a probe and immediately bring the miscreants to book,” Yediyurappa tweeted.  ಮಂಡ್ಯದ ಅರಕೇಶ್ವರ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದ ಪೂಜಾರಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದ ಶ್ರೀ ಗಣೇಶ್, ಶ್ರೀ ಪ್ರಕಾಶ್ ಮತ್ತು ಶ್ರೀ ಆನಂದ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ದುಷ್ಕರ್ಮಿಗಳು ಹತ್ಯೆ ಮಾಡಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದ ಹುಂಡಿಯನ್ನು ಕಳ್ಳತನ ಮಾಡಿರುವ ವಿಷಯ ತಿಳಿದು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ನೋವಾಗಿದೆ. (1/2) — CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) September 11, 2020

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ED will probe suspected money laundering activities in drug case: Basavaraj Bommai

Crime

CCB had recovered 10 different foreign currency notes at party planner Viren Khanna's residence during a search operation.

PTI

The Enforcement Directorate is investigating the financial aspects of the drug peddling and substance abuse case, and the money laundering angle, if any, will also be looked into, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Friday. The minister also said officials have been asked to check information coming from various sources in connection with the case and investigate it. "Central Crime Branch (CCB) investigation will continue in Bengaluru, some accused are being presented before the court.I have instructed officials to take information coming from all sources regarding the case seriously. Information from media reports should also be considered and investigated," Bommai said. Speaking to reporters here, he said there is no question of leaving anyone and officials have been told that comprehensive investigation should happen and strict action taken against those involved. "Drugs have financial aspects also and in most instances there is suspicion that it will have foreign connection,connection with those involved in various activities, hawala--so for detailed and thorough investigation ED's role is also important, they have collected information. ED will inquire into matters that come under their purview," he said. CCB's investigation into the case has led to several arrests including that of actresses Ragini Dwivedi, Sanjjanaa Galrani, and high-end party planner Viren Khanna, among others. Hawala denotes illegal transaction of funds by skirting the legal banking channels. CCB had recovered 10 different foreign currency notes at accused party planner Viren Khanna's residence. The police suspect that balck money beloging to businessmen, politicians and sandalwood celebrities were being funnelled through the drug trade.  To a question regarding Congress MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan's name allegedly being linked to the case, Bommai merely said officials have been asked to investigate information coming from all sources. Meanwhile, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa reiterated that the government has taken the case seriously and officials are investigating it thoroughly. "All our officers are taking a lot of interest (and investigating), a lot of things are coming out..we have taken it very seriously, you wait for some time, so many things will come out," he added.  

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In videos: Heavy rain causes havoc in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi

Weather

Water entered houses and shops in Mangaluru while extremely heavy rainfall was also reported in Udupi.

Prajwal Bhat

Heavy rains inundated roads and disrupted traffic in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts in coastal Karnataka on Friday. Visuals showed that major roads in Mangaluru's Hampankatta, Kottara Chowki and Jeppinamogaru were inundated by the spell of rainfall. Water entered houses and shops in Mangaluru in the early hours of Friday morning. The rainfall reduced in the afternoon, bringing respite to residents in the coastal city. The flooding mainly took place in low-lying areas in the city.  The collapse of a retaining wall in Derebail in the city led to a few vehicles being damaged. Video of the collapse of a retaining wall in Derebail in Mangaluru which led to damage of few vehicles. Rain has reduced now but forecast says rains are expected till Sunday. pic.twitter.com/suxezIp7Op — Prajwal (@prajwalmanipal) September 11, 2020 'Extremely heavy' rainfall was also reported in neighboring Udupi district, as per data recorded by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). Water entered several houses in rural areas in Udupi. The highest rainfall was measured in Udupi's Innanje village where 281.5 mm rainfall was reported.  "An off-shore trough and cyclonic circulation off the Karnataka coast is the primary reason for the rainfall. A red alert was issued by the IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) two days ago and the rainfall in coastal Karnataka is expected to continue till Sunday when the circulation is likely to become weaker," Sunil Gavaskar, an officer at the KSNDMC said.  Rainfall is also forecasted in parts of Bengaluru city over the weekend. "In Bengaluru, we are expecting more rainfall in isolated places today and tomorrow but it is expected to reduce from Sunday," Sunil Gavaskar added.  Over 100 mm rainfall was reported in Bengaluru on Tuesday night causing floods in HBR Layout and its surrounding areas in the city. The spell of rainfall coupled with overflowing water from a stormwater drain in HBR Layout led to water entering people's homes in the area.

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