Archives for January 2022

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said there is no discontent among his cabinet colleagues following the appointment of district in-charge Ministers, and that he has spoken to all of them before and after carrying out the exercise.

The Chief Minister’s statement came even as few Ministers stopped short of openly expressing their displeasures over them not being assigned their home districts.

“I have spoken to everyone (Ministers) before appointing them as district in-charge Ministers and after that as well. It is our party’s national policy that Ministers should be made in-charge of other districts, not their own,” Bommai said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the appointments have been made after detailed discussions with every one.

“No one expressed any kind of disgruntlement, there is no such thing….. I have spoken to all Ministers, there is no question of discontent. We are all together as one and have decided to work for the people and we are working towards it…. the talks about disgruntlement or discontent is far from truth,” he added.

Almost six months into his government coming to office, Bommai on Monday had allocated districts among the Ministers of his Cabinet, of which they will be in-charge, while keeping the key Bengaluru urban district with himself.

Effecting a complete change from the previous B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government, the Chief Minister has not assigned any minister their home districts under which their Assembly constituency comes.

While at least two senior ministers- Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy have not been assigned any districts; three Ministers- B C Patil, K Gopalaiah and Shankar B Patil Munenakoppa have been allocated two districts each.

Noting that he would have been happy if he was made in-charge of Tumakuru, his home district, Law Minister Madhuswamy said, he himself has opted out of being Minister in-charge of any other district.

“When it is the party’s decision that home districts should not be allocated to any Minister, there is no question of discontent, but I’m not in a position to work in any other district which I don’t know, just ahead of election…..I decided to stay away from it,” he said.

Another Minister MTB Nagaraj, who is made in-charge of Chikkaballapura district said, as he has represented a constituency that comes under Bengaluru rural district and understands the pulse there, it would have been better he was made in-charge there, but as it is the decision of CM and party leadership, he will abide by it.

Meanwhile, responding to Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivaumar’s claims that several leaders from other parties, especially from BJP are in touch with them, Bommai said, there is no question of anyone going out from the saffron party.

“It shows the amount of insecurity the Congress is facing, there is a fight between two leaders (Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah) there, there is a series coming out every month claiming who is with whom in their party, as a result of it they are making such claims,” he said.

“There is no question of anyone going from the BJP, they (few leaders who are now Ministers in BJP govt) have come here stating that they don’t want Congress, so there is no question of going there…..I don’t want to comment on certain political developments that are taking place, but you will see things, wait for few days, you will see how BJP will get strengthen politically,” he added.

Siddaramaiah today reiterated that few BJP and JD(S) leaders are in touch with him and he would not reveal their names.

Senior BJP legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal too on Monday had claimed that some MLAs and Ministers, especially those who joined the saffron party from other parties, are in touch with the Congress leadership, and will jump ship, once the 2023 assembly poll schedule is announced.

Parmesh S Jain

“using sub standard helmet is considered as no helmet”

On Saturday the city traffic police have launched an awareness drive on ISI helmet which according to the police can minimise fatal accidents and death rates.

A student jointly conducted by the officials of NIMHANS and the city traffic police at 15 selected locations across the city revealed that only 44 per cent of the motorists use ISI helmet , while the rest of them use sub standard helmets just to avoid penalty from the police.

The study also revealed that 70 per cent of pillion riders use helmets while the rest wither avoid wearing or uses sub standard helmets, B R Ravikanthe Gowda , joint commissioner of Police, said .

Since the last 20 years the traffic police managed to get the number of helmet wearing riders from 5 per cent to 92 per cent through strict enforcement.

However the out of the 92 per cent of riders with helmets only 44 per cent of them wear ISI helmets and follow the rules by strapping them.

From Saturday the traffic police have been directed to educate the motorist on wearing ISI helmets which is as per the section 129 of the Indian Motor vehicle Act.

After awareness campaign, the traffic police will be going to enforce the standard helmet rules strictly.rider wearing a Sub standard helmet will be considered as helmet less ride,Mr.Gowda , said in his statement.

Using standard helmets and strapping them will help safe riding and avod fatalities in case of any eventuality, Anilkumar Grampurohith, Inspector Chickpete traffic said in a awareness video.

He even said People spend thousands of rupees buying two wheelers but become careless when buying helmets.

The helmet use is not to avoid penalty and traffic police but for the safety of the riders, he added.

The traffic police are also going to write to all the DCPs to ensure that even policemen wearing half helmets be replaced with standard helmets. The campaign is going to start within the department , he added .

Parmesh S Jain

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s statue would be shifted to a suitable spot in-front of the Vidhana Soudha,Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

Speaking to media persons after paying floral tributes to Netaji on the occasion of his birth anniversary,Bommai said, the statue which presently is behind the Vidhana Soudha near the western gate should be shifted to a suitable spot befitting the honour he deserved.

A decision in this regard would be taken soon. Netaji’s next birth anniversary would be celebrated in-front of Vidhana Soudha.

State government would respond positively to the demands of various organisations which have been working with immense love and commitment for Netaji’s ideals,Bommai said.

An indomitable leader

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose is a brave, patriotic son of India.He was an indomitable leader who raised an army to fight against the British.

He gave a big thrust to the freedom struggle by uniting world powers of that time to wage a battle in India against the British empire.Netaji had a big role in India attaining freedom,Bommai said.

Netaji inspired the youth with his call, “give me blood and I will give you freedom.” He laid a strong foundation for the freedom fight by inducting 60,000 youth into Azad Hind Fauj.

His death has remained a mystery till today. He has become a globally renowned leader who is alive in the hearts of Indians, Bommai said.

An Inspiration for the youth

Netaji’s principles, ideals, patriotism and the spirit of sacrifice for the country need to be instilled among our youth.

In this regard our government has decided to celebrate Netaji’s 125th birth anniversary in a meaningful manner throughout the year.

Children would be introduced to Netaji’s ideals and objectives by organising debates, exhibitions and other programmes in all schools and colleges.

Books and articles on Netaji in various languages would be printed in Kannada and distributed to our youth, Bommai said.

A special programme has been organised at 4pm to celebrate Netaji’s birth anniversary with NCC cadets at Jakkur.

The defunct Flying School would be reopened on the occasion and various programmes for the empowerment of the youth would be announced, Bommai said.

Urban development minister Byrathi Basavaraj and others were present.

Parmesh S Jain

Highlights

• Testing target increased to 2 lakh per day from January 18.
• Targeted testing of symptomatic persons and primary contacts. RTPCR tests mandatory for symptomatic even if RAT is negative.

-Door to door survey in rural areas by ASHA workers. Mobile units being used to test mentally challenged and differently abled citizens.

29% of the tests between December 1 and January 20 conducted on children :

Karnataka which has always been aggressive in testing has crossed 6 crore Covid-19 tests on Saturday.

Congratulating all the healthcare workers and district administrations,Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr.K.Sudhakar said that extensive testing has always been a corner stone in our fight against pandemic.

When the pandemic started in early 2020 NIV units were used to conduct tests.State used to send samples to NIV centres in Pune.

Karnataka gradually established labs across the state and now we have about 268 testing facilities including 99 government and 169 private labs.

Karnataka has tested 6,01,14,815 samples so far including 1,14,12,162 Rapid Antigen Test and 4,87,02,653 RT-PCR tests.

While 1,41,96,065 samples were tested in 2020, 4,23,91,357 samples were tested in 2021 and so far 35,27,393 tests have been conducted in 2022.

Speaking to media about Karnataka crossing 6 crore tests milestone Dr.Sudhakar said,Testing plays a vital role in this battle against pandemic.

Karnataka has always been aggressive in testing and tracking and it has been one of our corner stones in this right against Covid.

Karnataka has now achieved another milestone by crossing 6 crore tests. I congratulate all our healthcare workers and district administration on this remarkable feat.

Testing Capacity :

Both Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education departments have always religiously followed 5T strategy of Test,Track,Trace,Triaging and Technology.

We have set up 3,678 (3,102 govt and 666 private) swab collection centres,which is one each for every 20,000 population.

We have labs in Govt hospitals,medical colleges and also private hospitals.Initially we had only 10-12 government labs had Covid testing facility which has now increased to 57.

With 108 NA Extractors,139 RTPCR machines we have capacity to test 1,20,800 samples per day in govt facilities.

After Omicron variant was found,we mandated that at least 2% of the tests should be conducted at airports.Then we increased the target to about 80,000 to 1 lakh samples per day.

Testing of children :

Since it was opined that third wave could predominantly affect children,we have mandated to conduct at least 2% of the tests on children.

Out of total tests conducted between December 1 and January 20, 29% of the tests are conducted on children. We are also conducting random RAT tests in schools, colleges, restaurants once in every 15 days.

Parmesh S Jain

In a swift action the Southeast division police cracked the bank robbery case and arrested a 28-year-old mechanical engineer who barged into the SBI Madiwala branch threatened the staff at knife point and made away with 1.8 kgs of gold valuables and Rs 3.7 lakh cash on January 14.

The accused has been identified as,Dhiraj S,29.

Senior officer told reporters,A special team led by ACP,Madivala sub division,Sudhir M Hegde and his special squad swung into action the team visited the bank to collect stock of the situation from the eyewitness as bank employee.

ACP,Sudhir M Hegde consisted of 3 special teams analysed the CCTV footage of the bank and surround and in one of the CCTV footage the team identified the accused from the CCTV footage and track him down at Yelahanka within four days of the incident,when the accused had come to repay the money to his friend.

During investigation the accused was identified as Dhiraj S,resident of Kamakshipalya and living with his father and younger brother is a mechanical engineer by profession and working for a private company in Indira Nagar.

Investigations revealed that Dhiraj had invested lakhs of rupees in online trading,cheated and incurred huge loss,he borrowed heavy loans from private banks and friends and had even pawned the gold valuables belonging to his late mother .

When the banks and friends demanded for repayment,Dhiraj hatched a plan to rob a bank.
He read articles by searching in google and read news papers about bank robbery and even goggled and watched you tube to learn the trick of the trade.

He even receed many banks without security before zeroing in on Madivala branch after watching the bank for two days.

As per the plan on the day of Sankranti festival (Jan 14),the accused wearing mask and armed with knife gained entry into the bank at around 6 pm and threatened the in charge manager and the staff forcing them to fill the valuables in a bag and escaped .

As per the plan the accused walked for three kilometres before boarding Autorickshaw to go to Banashankari bus stand.

From there he boarded a bus to Majestic and took the bus to Chikkamagaluru to move on to Tarikere,Tumakuru,Ananthpur and returned to Bengaluru.

He started repaying loan to the banks and to his friends and even got the pawned jewels of his mother from a gold company.

Meanwhile the police team led by Mr.Hegde,got a picture of the accused and a suspicion number from a nearest mobile tower.

With the help of the number the police team went to his house and found his pictures which matched with the photograph obtained by the police.

The police gathered all the detailed of Dhiraj and his friends who confirmed that Dhiraj had visited them to pay the loan.

The police team got the list of the friends whom Dhiraj had to repay and waited at the friend’s house in Yelahanka and caught Dhiraj when he had come to pay the rent.

The special team grilled the accused and based on his statement the team recovered 1.8 kilograms of gold,Cash Rs 6.5 lakh,a backpack, a knife and a mobile phone total worth Rs 85 lakh from him.

A detailed investigation by the team it was also found lapses on part of the banks in terms of security cover.

The bank should have a proper alarm system which could be activated and nearest police station or control room in case of any eventuality, a police officer said.

The bank did not have any proper security cover nor the staff members have any basic training given on how to handle such situations.

The team is collecting more information from the accused and further investigation is on.

Finally Bengaluru Police Commissioner,Kamal Pant has appreciated Addl CP East, Subramanyeswara Rao,DCP Southeast Srinath Mahadev Joshi ACP,Sudhir M Hegde and his whole team who has cracked the case in 4 days and nabbed the notorious offender and for the exemplary and excellent investigation done by the team a suitable reward will be given to the team he added.

Parmesh S Jain

The West Division police of JJ Nagar police have registered a case against president Bengaluru south BJP unit and three of his associates for organising his birthday party and procession at Rayapura ward on january 14.

Mr. Ramesh and his associates held a gaka event and procession to celebrate his birth.Thousands of people participated violating covid protocol of mask and social distance.

The celebration was held when the enforcement was on to contain the spread of infection and this amount violation and liable for penal action, the complaint, said.

Senior officer told media persons,Based on the complaint filed by Surya Mukundaraj,principal secretary of law and human rights section, KPCC, the police charged NR Ramesh and his associates Keshav,Gopal and shashikala,former bbm councillor,charging them under Karnataka Epidemic disease Act,Disaster Management Act and also under section 269 (negligent act to spread infection of any dangerous desease) and section 270 (Malignant act to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) on Thursday.

Parmesh S Jain

An all party meeting would be convened to discuss inter-state water disputes in the first week of February, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

Speaking to media persons after holding a video conference on inter-state water disputes with his ministerial colleagues,legal experts and the senior counsels who represent the state in the water disputes before the courts, Bommai said, the meeting discussed about disputes related to Krishna,Cauvery river basins and the Mahadayi project which are before the courts.

The legal counsels presented details about these cases. Another video conference would be conducted to discuss all these issues by the end of January.

“We will discuss with legal counsels, our water resources minister and law minister about the progress of the legal fight so far.

How we should move ahead.What measures need to be taken to implement the projects in the interest of the state.

Some cases are at a crucial stage. So we need to discuss once again with legal experts and leaders of the opposition.

We will formulate our stand after discussing all these issues at an all party meeting to be held in the first week of February,” Bommai said.

Replying to a question on Tamil Nadu trying to implement the Hogenakkal-2 project as a counter to the Mekedatu project, Bommai said, “as a government we have faced such challenges in the past too.

Karnataka has already opposed Hogenakkal-2 and inter linking of rivers projects of Tamil Nadu and we have filed a petition before the Supreme Court as well in this regard.

We have appealed to the Central Water Commission not to approve these projects. We are putting up a strong legal fight.”

Water resource minister Govind Karajol, law and parliamentary minister j c Madhuswamy, chief secretary of the state govt p. Ravikumar, advocate gen. Prabhuling Navadagi, senior advocates shyam diwan, mohan kataraki virtually participated in the meeting.

Parmesh S Jain

Though the number of cases is high in the third wave of Covid, the severity is less.Medications are available for the recovery rate too is high.

So we have taken a decision with an intention to avoid inconvenience to the common man and the working class with the objective of ensuring that the lives too are saved and life too goes on, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

Referring to hospitalisation of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, he said that the Covid has not spared any one. “I will speak to his family members and the doctors treating him,” Bommai said.

Parmesh S Jain

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has instructed the officials to invite tenders for package-6 of Singataluru Lift Irrigation project before March 31 and  complete the project before December.

Speaking at a meeting to review the progress of Singataluru Lift Irrigation Project,he asked the officials to redo the estimate for package-6 of the Singataluru project,take up the project on intervention model and provide the outlet for farmers directly at their fields.He wanted the Koppal branch canal works to be completed on priority basis.

Water Resources minister Govind Karjol, Industries minister Murugesh Nirani, Mines and Geology minister Halappa Achar and senior officials participated in the meeting.