Karnataka farmers travel over 2,000 kilometres to Delhi to resist controversial farm laws

Protest

Several farmer associations have travelled to New Delhi for a tw-day protest to roll back the three legislations.

Milana Neela

Farmers associations and groups from across the country are traveling to Delhi to protest against the three farm acts passed by the central government. Among them includes farmer associations from across Karnataka, who travelled for the protest. The two-day protest began on Thursday, the constitution day. The protest is being led by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee and the National Alliance of People's Movements.  Kodihalli Chandrashekar, President of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must listen to our issues farmers are suffering. "In the past, whenever farmers have protested, Prime Ministers have met them and listened to their problems. But Narendra Modi does not even want to meet us. We just want to be heard," Kodihalli Chandrashekar said. He said that the representatives of farmer association in Karnataka travelled to Delhi on Thursday as they were apprehensive about the potential health problmes farmers could face if they travelled en masse. He said that farmers across the country are deepky "hurt" by the Union government's "unwillingness to consider their plight".  "We are demanding that the three bills be rolled back immediately. We want fair prices for our produce. We have not asked for much," Kodihalli Chandrashekar said.  Speaking about the Delhi Chalo protest, Jnana Sindhu Swamy of National Alliance of People's Movement says, "We chose the Constitution day to question the unconstitutional farm acts. The three acts are interrelated and they only help the big corporates. The model proposed by these bills are practiced in South Africa and Brazil. We know how it has failed. We are moving from a socialist society to a disastrous capitalist society."  Social activist, Medha Patkar is also traveling to Delhi along with the farmers. Approximately five hundred farmer unions and around five lakh people are expected to gather in Delhi on 26th November 2020.  The Union government on September 27 this year, passed the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020. The acts received severe criticism from the farming communities. One of BJP's old ally, Shiromani Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from her cabinet post as food processing minister. Nationwide protests were held to pressurize the government to reconsider the legislations.  

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Bengaluru metro: Line from Yelachenahalli to Anjanapura gets safety nod

Transport

This six-km long extension is the first part of the second phase of the Namma Metro project in Bengaluru,

TNM Staff

Representational image

After a long delay, the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) has finally given his nod to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) to start commercial services between the 6.29 km Yelachenahalli–Anjanapura section. This section is an elevated extension of the existing Green Line of Namma Metro along the Kanakapura Road. The sanction is conditional and dictates that the BMRCL finishes the remaining electrical and civil works. The permission was granted after test runs were carried out between November 18 and November 19, where both the structural and passenger safety aspects were scrutinised. At present, the metro has two lines —- the Green Line between Nagasandra and Yelachenahalli which spans 24.22 km, and the Purple Line between Baiyyappanahalli and Mysore Road which runs for 18.08 km.  This six-kilometre long extension to the existing line is part of the second phase of the Namma Metro project in Bengaluru which has been marred with delays, similar to the first phase. The initial deadline for this extension was 2018, and before the pandemic, the BMRCL had aimed to open the line for public use by August. The most recent deadline, November 1, Rajyotsava Day, was also missed.  BMRCL can start operations from mid-December after filing a compliance report with the CMRS. The route will have five stops: Anjanapura Road Cross, Krishnaleela Park (ISKCON), Vajarahalli, Talaghattapura and Anjanapura Township. Since August, the BMRCL had been carrying out trial runs in this section, leading to occasional partial suspension of services between RV Road and Yelachenahalli.  The next lines that are likely to be opened for the public are the Nagasandra-Bangalore International Exhibition Centre line and the Mysore Road-Kengeri extensions on the Green and Purple lines respectively. According to BMRCL, the lines are due to open for the public before the end of March 2021.

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Parts of Bengaluru likely to face power cuts on Nov 27 and Nov 28

Power

The power supply will be disrupted from 10 am to 5.30 pm, reports say.

TNM Staff

Representative

There will be a power cut in some areas of Bengaluru on November 27, Friday, and on November 28, Saturday, the Times of India reported. There will be no power supply in Vivekananda Nagar, Srinivasanagar, Kathriguppe East, CK Achukattu, Kathriguppe Main Road, ITI Layout, Vidyapeeta Circle and surrounding areas from 10 am on Friday to 5.30 pm. On Saturday, November 28, power supply will be disrupted in Hosakerehalli, Mookambika Nagar 7th Block, Banashankari Stage 3, Venkatappa Layout, Dattatreya Nagar and surrounding areas, the report added.  Meanwhile, cyclonic storm Nivar, which made landfall between midnight on Wednesday and early on Thursday, is expected to move towards the northwest and then weaken into a cyclonic storm in the districts of south interior Karnataka, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. According to the IMD, a yellow alert has been issued in Bengaluru’s urban and rural areas, as well as other districts like Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru, Mandya and Ramanagara districts for three days, from November 26 to November 28. CS Patil, IMD Director in Bengaluru, said that south-interior Karnataka is likely to experience light to moderate scattered rainfall on November 26 and 27, and isolated rainfall on November 27 and 28. The latest development on Cyclone Nivar is that it has weakened into a severe cyclonic storm after it crossed the coast near Puducherry, the IMD said. In both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the cyclone left a trail of uprooted trees and waterlogged streets, authorities said. The very severe cyclonic storm Nivar made landfall near Puducherry in the early hours of Thursday, and heavy rains pounded the union territory and Tamil Nadu. As per updated meteorological data, Puducherry received the highest rainfall of 30 cm, followed by Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu with 27 cm. Nagapattinam recorded 6.3 cm rainfall, Karaikal 9.6 cm and Chennai 11.3 cm.

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‘Mane Number 13’ review: The horror lies in the fact that this film was made

Review

You’d be forgiven for wondering if the film is about quintuplets attached to the hip because the characters go together absolutely everywhere.

Sowmya Rajendran

The best thing about Kannada horror film Mane Number 13, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, is that it is short. Inspired by films such as I Know What You Did Last Summer, the most horror you will experience while watching the film is that so many people actually spent their time, money and energy making something as ridiculous as this. Five bumbling characters – three men and two women – find themselves in a spooky mansion two years after they were involved in a certain incident. You’d be forgiven for wondering if the film is about quintuplets attached to the hip because these five characters, played by Ramana, Varsha Bollamma, Aishwarya Gowda, Praveen Prem and Sanjeiv, go absolutely everywhere together. They work together, they party together, they travel together and they also live together. And obviously, they are scared together in the weird house. Written and directed by Vivy Kathiresan, Mane Number 13 hopes to throw one jump scare after another at the audience in the hope that it will pass for horror. The cast is left to act clownish one moment and scream the next, with the camera offering close-up shots of their faces. Just so we believe that what’s happening is very, very, very scary. The kindergarten humour consists of scenes like a person dropping a banana peel on the head of someone else. None of the characters get a defined sketch, with the story meandering its way into every jaded trick in the book. The lip sync in the dialogue delivery is off in many of the scenes, making an already ludicrous film even more so.  The characters also behave like they’re wearing blinkers and their vision doesn’t extend beyond what’s immediately in front of them. They look surprised and shocked by everything that happens because they simply didn’t see it coming even if the person who did the action was standing right there. My sympathies are with Varsha Bollamma, a talented actor, who has somehow found herself in the middle of this mess. The screenplay is a series of unimaginative scares, with no effort to build the suspense or create tension. And since the film opens with the badly staged incident that’s the reason for all that happens, there’s zero motivation for the viewer to sit through this train wreck. I only lasted because I had to review this film. If you, like me, have a similar compelling reason to watch it and are looking forward to some scares, be warned. There is no boo, only boohoo. Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.

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Temple priest arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly sexually assaulting 10-yr-old girl

Crime

The incident occurred on Tuesday in Devanahalli and the accused, Venkataramanappa, has been arrested.

TNM Staff

A 62-year-old temple priest was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl in Devanahalli, located in the northeast Bengaluru. The priest allegedly sexually assaulted the 10-year-old girl at his daughter’s residence. The incident was first reported by Deccan Herald. The accused has been identified as 62-year-old Venkataramanappa. According to the police, on Tuesday, he had gone to visit his daughter at around 4 pm in Devanahalli, when he saw the 10-year-old girl playing outside. Deputy Commissioner of North East Bengaluru, CK Baba, said that at around 4.30 pm, Venkataramanappa allegedly lured the girl inside, into his daughter’s home, and is said to have sexually assaulted her. DCP Baba said that the girl and her family live in the neighbourhood and so she often plays in the area. When the girl did not return home after a long time, her parents began looking for her. They went to the temple, located near the accused’s daughter’s home, and asked street vendors whether they had seen their daughter. A flower vendor allegedly informed the girl’s father that she had gone into the accused’s daughter’s house.  When her parents walked up to the house, they saw their daughter running out and crying loudly. The girl told her parents what transpired and soon a crowd had gathered outside the accused’s house. The Devanahalli Police were informed and the girl was taken in for a medical examination.  Venkataramanappa was taken in for questioning on Tuesday evening and subsequently arrested on Wednesday. DCP CK Baba said that the priest has confessed to the crime. The police have also retrieved CCTV footage of Venkataramanappa talking to the girl on the road, and taking her inside his house. The footage of her going inside was recorded by a camera in the temple.   

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Eight Bengaluru NGOs join hands to improve lives of informal waste pickers in city

Labour

Sweden-based H&M Foundation has committed $11 million for the first three years of the project.

Soumya Chatterjee

Bhavani Seetharaman

A coalition of Bengaluru-based and international social welfare organizations on Wednesday launched a program in solidarity and support of informal waste pickers and their families in Bengaluru. Named Saamuhika Shakti— the program for the next three years will work to ensure higher and more stable income, improved and safer working conditions, ability to choose other choices of livelihoods, form support systems to help victims of violence and substance abuse and give them the due recognition of their work for the city’s sustenance. Bengaluru has more than 22,000 waste pickers in the city most of them who belong to disadvantaged castes and minority groups, have low education levels and are from within Karnataka and outside. The large number of workers are made up of informal street waste collectors, sorters in DWCCs (dry waste collection centres) and scrap shops and itinerant waste buyers who go from house to house purchasing dry waste of low and high value. The coalition said although these workers pickers are a vital part of the waste management system in Bengaluru and contribute in significant measure economically and environmentally, they struggle to lead a healthy, productive and dignified life. The organisations which are part of the programme are BBC Media Action, CARE, Hasiru Dala, LabourNet, Save the Children, Social Alpha, WaterAid and The Nudge Foundation. Sweden based H&M Foundation has committed $11 million for the first three years of the project, with scope for expanding it by three additional years. “Spread across the BBMP geographical areas, waste pickers form clusters of communities often without even basic access to resources such as clean water or sanitation facilities, let alone opportunities to improve livelihoods and that of their children. Through Saamuhika Shakti, our partners and we hope to provide prospects that can lead to better outcomes, and in an equitable manner for waste pickers and their families,” said Lakshmi Pattabi Raman, Executive Director of Saamuhika Shakti, The/Nudge Foundation.  

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IMA scam: Ex-Congress minister Roshan Baig in CBI custody for 3 days

Crime

Sources said that Mansoor Khan, the prime accused, allegedly gave Roshan Baig Rs 400 crore for expenses to contest three different elections.

TNM Staff

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court on Wednesday granted custody of former Congress Minister Roshan Baig for three days to the national agency after he was arrested in the multi-crore I, Monetary Advisory (IMA) Ponzi scam.  CBI sources said that Roshan Baig will be questioned along with prime accused in the case, Mohammed Mansoor Khan. After the scam came to light, Mansoor Khan had alleged in a video that he had given Roshan Baig Rs 400 crore and that he had maintained records of money given to politicians, bureaucrats and the police to turn a blind eye to his company’s activities.  While questioning Mansoor Khan, he allegedly confessed to the CBI that he had met Roshan Baig 14 years ago, when he had allegedly run into problems with local gangsters in Shivajinagar, whilst in the process of establishing IMA Jewels. Mansoor Khan had met Roshan Baig, asking for his assistance, a CBI source said.  Subsequently, Mansoor Khan allegedly claimed in his confession to the CBI that he had given Roshan Baig money to contest elections in 2008, 2013 and 2018. “Mansoor Khan also claims that he gave Roshan Baig money to purchase luxury cars for him and his family members,” the CBI source added.  The CBI sources said that Mansoor Khan maintained records of money transfers he made and that the money would change the hands of four individuals before it finally reached Roshan Baig. “The money was transferred to shell companies, which we believe were set up by Roshan Baig,” the source said.  Baig, who was disqualified as a Congress legislator after he revolted against the party last year, was arrested by the CBI on Monday and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. The CBI suspects that Roshan Baig knew about the Ponzi scam and yet continued to accept payments from Mansoor Khan as bribes to remain outside the radar of investigators.  CBI sources said he would be 'confronted' alongside Mohammed Mansoor Khan, who is now in CBI custody till November 27. Baig's arrest came close on the heels of questioning Bengaluru Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration) Hemant Nimbalkar, another accused in the case, on November 22. The multi-crore ponzi scheme, run by Karnataka-based IMA and its group entities, allegedly duped over one lakh people to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore, promising higher returns using halal investment schemes, sources said. The scam came to light in June 2019 when the IMA operator Mohammed Mansoor Khan fled the country, accusing Baig and some government officers of cheating him. Khan had alleged that Baig had taken about Rs 400 crore from him, a charge rejected outright by the latter. Khan came to India after much persuasion by the police and surrendered. The then coalition government of Congress and JD(S) had formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter. However, the BJP government which came to power later handed over the case to the CBI. The central agency has arraigned an IAS officer, two IPS officers, a Karnataka Administrative Service officer and a corporator as accused in the case, among others, after the state government granted permission for prosecuting them. The IAS officer, who was the former deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district, had allegedly died by suicide in his house a couple of months ago With inputs from PTI

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