Taxis in Karnataka to get more expensive: Here are the new rates

Transport

The revised rates are in light of increasing fuel prices and maintenance costs, said the government notification.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka state government on Monday ordered a revision in the rates for taxis operating in the state, including Bengaluru. The decision was taken in light of the increasing prices of fuel, as wellas maintenance costs, the order said. This revision will apply to all city cabs as well as those operating under aggregators, with immediate effect. According to the new order, for non-air conditioned taxis, the rate for the first four kilometres will be fixed at Rs 75, after which passengers will be charged Rs 18 per kilometre. For air conditioned taxis, the rate for the first four kilometres will be Rs 100, and Rs 24 for each subsequent kilometre. The waiting charges have been revised as well. While passengers will not be charged for the first five minutes, for every minute after, they will be charged Re 1. As for those travelling with luggage, charges do not apply for baggage like suitcases, bedding etc upto 120 kg. However, it will cost Rs 7 for every 20 kg upwards of that number. Those who travel at night, between 10 pm and 6 am, will have to pay an extra of upto 10% of the fare. This revision comes after the Karnataka government earlier in January notified maximum and minimum prices for taxis operating under aggregators, based on the cost of the car and not whether it has air conditioning. This was done to prevent aggregators from demanding more than the maximum price, even during peak demand. Before that, the fares were last revised in June 2013. At the time, the fare for AC taxis was fixed at Rs 80 for the first four kilometres and Rs 19.50 for every subsequent kilometre. For non-AC taxis, the fare for the first four kilometres was Rs 70 and for every kilometre thereafter, Rs 14.50.

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Delhi court reserves order in MJ Akbar-Priya Ramani case

Court

After hearing the case for over two years, the court is expected to pronounce its order on February 10.

TNM Staff

A Delhi Court on Monday reserved the verdict in the former Union Minister MJ Akbar's defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani for February 10. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar reserved the judgment after Akbar as well as Ramani completed their arguments. The court also allowed both the parties to file their written submissions, if any, within five days. The court is hearing a case of defamation against Priya Ramani who had accused Akbar of sexual misconduct over 20 years ago when he was a journalist. Priya Ramani had made allegations of sexual misconduct against Akbar in the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018. Referring to the former Union minister MJ Akbar, Priya Ramani told the court last week that a person accused of sexual harassment cannot be of high reputation. Ramani, who had made allegation of sexual misconduct against Akbar in the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018, also accused him of undermining the sexual harassment that women go through at workplace by terming her allegations as fictitious. She made the submission before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar through senior advocate Rebecca John during the final hearing of Akbar's criminal complaint against her for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of sexual misconduct. John said though it was a fact that Ramani did not name Akbar in the Vogue article of 2017, in her evidence she has explained that it was #MeToo that gave her the courage to name him in her tweet. Merely because the accused (Ramani) had not been named in 2017, it does not take away the credibility of the allegations made at the height of the #MeToo, she said. Countering Akbar's allegation that Ramani's claim of having faced sexual misconduct was fictitious, Rebecca John said, "How is this fictitious? When I recall something that happens to me, it is a real life story and not fictitious. You are undermining the sexual harassment that women go through at workplace." Ramani further denied Akbar's allegations that she did not make proper enquiry before writing the article, and said, "When I (Ramani) am talking about myself and my own personal experience, whom do I inquire from? I am an eye witness in my own case. I could have only asked Akbar. We were the only two in the case," she said. Akbar had filed the criminal defamation complaint against Ramani on October 15, 2018. He resigned as Union Minister on October 17, 2018. Akbar had earlier told the court that Ramani had defamed him by calling him with adjectives such as 'media's biggest predator' that harmed his reputation. He has denied all the allegations of sexual harassment against the women who came forward during #MeToo campaign against him. Over 20 women came up with accounts of the alleged sexual harassment by Akbar while they were working as journalists under him. He termed the allegations false, fabricated and deeply distressing and said he was taking appropriate legal action against them.

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Bengaluru police bust drug racket, seize MDMA crystals worth Rs 75 lakh

Crime

The team of police personnel arrested four people, including two Nigerian nationals for allegedly peddling drugs in the city.

TNM Staff

Image for Representation

Karnataka’s anti-narcotics wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Saturday unearthed a drug racket in Bengaluru’s Ramamurthy Nagar. The team of police personnel arrested four people, including two Nigerian nationals for allegedly peddling drugs in the city. They reportedly recovered MDMA crystals valued at Rs 75 lakhs from the four accused. Identified as Ndikata Albert Jr., 43, from Nigeria, and Helson Henry Koppi, 34, Junaid, 32 and Shakeer, 35, from Kannur in Kerala, the four were allegedly procuring the drugs from Mumbai, said Police Inspector R Virupakshaswamy. “We received a tip-off on the night of January 29. After meticulously planning the details, we conducted a raid and seized 600 grams of brown MDMA crystals and 400 grams of white MDMA crystals from the four peddlers. We also have seized their phones and a two-wheeler from them. The Nigerian nationals were refusing to furnish their passport,” added the inspector. The police later discovered that Albert and Henry had arrived in India on business visas and had overstayed the visa. The inspector also revealed, “These peddlers were not only supplying the drugs to students of medical and engineering colleges in the city but also were sending these drugs to Kerala. Theirs is not a small syndicate, we are certain. We are still inspecting the case. The duo [Junaid and Shakeer] had bought 100 grams drugs from the Nigerian nationals earlier and later befriended them.” However, the cases of drug rackets being busted is not uncommon in Bengaluru. Over the past few years, the city police have been continually busting these rackets yet there are a hundred more operating right under their noses. When quizzed as to why the police have been struggling to combat the supply of drugs within the city, Virupakshaswamy said that they are trying their best to crack down on the drug suppliers in the city. While the Assistant Commissioner of Police (CCB) Gautham KC said that they have been coordinating with the Narcotics Control Bureau and other government departments to track any consignment apart from cracking down on the peddlers in the city. “So far we have arrested 70 drug peddlers in the city and we have proactively tried to curb the supply of drugs. We are trying to eradicate the syndicate from its root. If we receive cooperation from people of Bengaluru, we’ll be able to get rid of the drug syndicate,” he added. 

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Karnataka panel calls for suspension of ministers involved in Council ruckus

Politics

Condemning the behaviour of the two senior Ministers, the committee said that it is improper for them to hold any government post.

TNM Staff

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The three-member House Committee, headed by Marithibbe Gowda, in its interim report has identified Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan and Minor Irrigation Minister J.C. Madhuswamy as the main instigators behind the mayhem in the Legislative Council on December 15, 2020; suggested their suspension. They recommended barring several members from different parties from participating in House proceedings for a period ranging from one to two sessions. Condemning the behaviour of the two senior Ministers, the committee, in their report that was tabled in the House on Friday, said that it is improper for them to hold any government post. The report is in reference to the incident where the ruling party, in a bid to oust Council chairperson Pratapchandra Shetty, made former deputy chairperson late Dharme Gowda occupy Shetty’s seat, leading to the commotion in Karnataka Legislative Council. The committee implicated another Minister, Kota Srinivas Poojary, for two legislative sessions after alleging that Poojary had incited Arun Shahapur. Janata Dal (S) leaders Basavaraj Horatti, Srikante Gowda and Govindaraj were also held responsible for inciting the ruckus. Newly-elected Deputy Chairman of the Council, M.K. Pranesh, has also been blamed for closing the door through which the Chairman enters the Council hall. The panel suggested barring him for two sessions terming the act as “unparliamentary behaviour”. Congress members, including M. Narayanaswamy, Nazeer Ahmed, Srinivas V. Mane, and Prakash K. Rathod were blamed for dragging S.L. Dharme Gowda and kicking the door that had been closed by ruling party members. Congress member Chandrashekar B. Patil, who sat on the chair during the incident, has been suggested to be barred for one session. After watching visuals of the event and hearing the accounts from those present, the committee sought an inquiry by a retired High Court judge against Legislative Council Secretary K.R. Mahalakshmi. According to the committee, Mahalakshmi failed to discharge her duties; will be kept out of her duties until the final decision arrives. Pratapchandra Shetty had formed a five-member committee to go into the unprecedented chaos in the Upper House. However, the two BJP members — A.H. Vishwanath and S.V. Sankanur — withdrew.  Report cites the Additional Law Secretary has termed the committee legally set up by the Chairman using residuary powers under Rule 342 when BJP legislators questioned the legal sanctity of the panel after the report was submitted. 

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Miffed with ‘opportunistic party’ remark by Siddaramaiah, HD Kumaraswamy hits back

Politics

Siddhramaiah had said that JD(S) is not a political party but merely an opportunistic seeking power and lean towards whoever will assure the same.

TNM Staff

PTI

Reacting to Siddramaiah’s comment about Janata Dal Secular being an “opportunistic party”, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in an interaction with the press, on Sunday, said that it was the Leader of the Opposition who had first sought the party’s help. The Kumaraswamy further said that during the coalition government, he felt like a clerk. The JD(S) leader, who was miffed with the remark, mentioned at the Bagalkot JD(S) convention that after they were allegedly held responsible for the dissolution of the merger, they wanted to start anew.  “I was a clerk in the coalition government. When I was sworn in as the CM, I couldn’t independently think for Siddaramaiah would always pressurize on one hand and on the other was the BJP government that came to power using farmers’ waiver as their bate,” said the politician expressing his displeasure over the government. Kumaraswamy further said, “The Congress leader was the one who approached us and wanted to befriend us. The coalition did not work well and there was a fallout. Why is he [Siddaramaiah] dragging us through the mud when the friendship is long over? We don’t want to dig up old graves.” Siddhramaiah had, early on January 31, made a statement in the press that JDS is not a political party at all and that they were merely opportunistic seeking power who’d lean towards whoever will assure the same. He also claimed that their party [Congress] had paved the way for economic development in the state unlike other parties. The Congress-JD(S), the coalition government in Karnataka, had raised hopes of formation of a grand alliance to take on the Modi-Shah duo ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, lost the trust vote and was dissolved in July, 2019 which was brought upon because of internal bickering among congress leaders and lack of coordination among top leaders from both the parties. 

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Man attacks woman in Mangaluru restaurant for rejecting advances

Crime

The incident occurred in Coconut Grove restaurant in the city when a group of men barged in looking to speak with a woman.

TNM Staff

A group of men barged into a restaurant in Mangaluru on Saturday, reportedly upset with a woman for rejecting advances. Another man, attempting to prevent the woman from being attacked, was injured in the incident. The scene was caught on CCTV and police officials from Kadri (Mangaluru East) police station registered a case of criminal intimidation, assault and rioting. According to the police, the incident occurred on Saturday afternoon at Coconut Grove restaurant located on Bendoorwell Main Road in the city when a group of men including Trishul, Santosh, and Danish barged into the restaurant and allegedly attacked a group of people inside.  The 24-second long video clip shows a group of men barging into a restaurant and immediately starting to attack those seated around a table. In the group, two men wearing helmets start by throwing another helmet placed on a table near the door. The other men engaged in a fist fight, while throwing objects on the four people seated around a table. Two men in the group seated around the table retaliate and take the fight outside, while two women stare at the door.  Kadri police inspector Savitra Teja told TNM that the police has registered a case against the attackers. “The incident occurred at Coconut Grove restaurant when a man barged in looking to speak to a girl he was in love with. This led to a dispute between two groups and one person sustained minor injuries. The woman is fine and did not sustain any injuries but one person who tried to block the men from attacking her was injured,“ Savitra Teja said.   Police officials said that the investigation into the attack is underway and a First Information Report was registered against Danish, Santosh, Trishul and others under charges of rioting, unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation and assault.

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Karnataka's Covid positivity rate at 0.69 per cent

Coronavirus

With 522 new cases on Saturday, the state's Covid tally increased to 9,39,387

IANS

IMAGE FOR REPRESENTATION: PTI

Reversing the trend, 522 new Covid-19 cases in a day outnumbered 465 recoveries across Karnataka, said the state health bulletin on Sunday. "With 522 new cases on Saturday, the state's Covid tally increased to 9,39,387, including 6,029 positive cases, while recoveries rose to 9,21,122, with 465 patients discharged during the last 24 hours," said the bulletin. Of the 4 deaths occurred due to the virus in the day, 3 were from Bengaluru and 1 from Dharwad, taking the state's death toll to 12,217 since the pandemic broke in March last year. In Bengaluru, 242 fresh cases were registered on Saturday, taking its Covid tally to 3,98,886, including 3,827 active cases, while recoveries rose to 3,90,667 with 212 discharged during the day. Of 145 patients in the intensive care units (ICUs), 68 are in Bengaluru hospitals and 13 in Kalaburagi, while the rest are spread in the remaining 28 districts across the southern state. Out of 75,451 tests conducted in the day, 3,896 were through rapid-antigen detection and 71,555 through RT-PCR method. "Positivity rate was 0.69 per cent and case fatality rate 0.76 per cent across the state on Saturday," added the bulletin.  

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