Bengaluru: An FIR has been registered against the manager of One8 Commune, a restaurant co-owned by cricket star Virat Kohli, and four other establishments for allegedly operating beyond permitted hours, police said on Tuesday.

A special drive was conducted on July six following complaints that many restaurants and pubs in central Bengaluru were operating beyond the stipulated closing time of 1 am, they said.

According to the police, when a sub-inspector of Cubbon Park police station, who was on patrolling duty, reached One8 Commune at around 1.20 am, it was found that the manager was allegedly still operating the pub.

“After we received complaints that certain pubs and hotels were operating beyond the permitted time, a special drive was carried out on the night of July six,” a police officer said.

“Based on the violations found, we have registered an FIR against the manager of One8 Commune and four other establishments under the Karnataka Police Act for violation at Cubbon Park police station,” he added.

 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Karnataka Milk Federation — known for its ‘Nandini’ brand of dairy products — has achieved a milestone of procuring one crore litres of milk a day from farmers.

“The milk production in Karnataka was 90 lakh litres a day in May last year. Now, the KMF is getting one crore litres of milk a day. This is a milestone in the history of KMF,” Siddaramaiah said.

He recalled that when he was the Animal Husbandry Minister many years ago, he had handed over management of dairies to milk unions.

The Chief Minister said the State now has 15 milk unions, 15 mother dairies and 16,000 societies of milk growers.

He said the quantity of milk in half and one litre milk packets of ‘Nandini” has been increased by 50 ML due to the rising milk procurement, and proportionately prices were increased by Rs two recently.

“Due to the increase in milk production, we have increased the milk quantity in the packets. This has been done because we cannot say to the milk growers, who are basically farmers, that we cannot procure extra milk they are producing,” Siddaramaiah explained.

He said the opposition BJP did not understand this and started making a hue and cry that the Karnataka government increased the milk price.

“The BJP leaders are spreading lies on this issue because I feel that they have no concern for farmers. The government is giving Rs 5 crore a day to the milk producers as honorarium, which is Rs 1,800 crore annually,” the Chief Minister added.

BJP MLA Harish Poonja

 A special court for public representatives in Bengaluru has summoned BJP MLA Harish Poonja along with 64 other party members over allegations of obstructing police duties during protests against the arrest of Shashiraj Shetty, the BJP Belthangady Taluk Yuva Morcha taluk president.

Poonja and others have been mandated to appear before the court on July 10. The Beltangady police have registered two separate cases: the first involving summons for 28 individuals, and the second for 37. They are required to present themselves before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court for a formal inquiry.

The first case accuses MLA Poonja and other BJP workers of attempting to pressure the police to release Shetty, who was detained on charges of illegal quarrying. The second case pertains to a protest held on May 20 outside an administrative building opposing the FIR filed against Shetty.

Following the filing of chargesheets by the Belthangady police, the court decided to issue summons, initiating judicial proceedings scheduled for July 10.

Former Hassan BJP MLA Preetham Gowda

 The Karnataka High Court on Friday refused to stall the investigation against former Hassan BJP MLA Preetham Gowda, who is accused of distributing explicit videos of sexual assault allegedly involving former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna.

Gowda had filed a petition seeking to quash the FIR registered against him under Section 67, 66E of the Information Technology Act and Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code.

A single judge bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit passed the interim order while issuing notice to the respondents.

However, the court said that Gowda should not be arrested or detained as long as he cooperates with the investigation.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and DK Suresh

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stated that his brother DK Suresh is not interested in participating in elections as people have given a message for him to rest. However, Shivakumar said that Suresh is keen to work for the party. The DCM made these remarks upon his arrival at Mangaluru International Airport, where he spoke to the media before his visit to the Kukke Subrahmanya temple.

When asked about the Channapatna by-election, Shivakumar highlighted the strong support from the electorate, with 85,000 people voting for their party. He expressed the party’s commitment to serving these constituents and retaining their 136 seats. He also said that the people of Channapatna feel neglected and that the current time is ideal for addressing their concerns.

Shivakumar further said that HD Kumaraswamy entered politics much later than he did, with Shivakumar contesting for assembly elections as early as 1985, while Kumaraswamy entered after 1995. He asserted his familiarity with Channapatna, which predates Kumaraswamy’s involvement by ten years.

Addressing the demand for more DCM positions, Shivakumar dismissed the notion of daily news publications on the matter and assured that the party would respond appropriately to such demands.

In response to a question about Kumaraswamy’s knowledge of mining permissions in Bellary, Shivakumar said that “I don’t know whether Kumaraswamy knows about it or not however I don’t know anything.”

The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) has announced a ₹2 per litre hike in the price of Nandini milk, with the cost of a litre of milk now set at ₹44 in Karnataka. This increase, effective from June 26, marks the second hike in less than a year.

KMF Chairman Bhima Naik confirmed the price hike, stating that the decision was made in light of the rising costs associated with milk production. Despite the increase, milk prices in Karnataka remain competitive compared to neighbouring states. In Kerala, a liter of milk costs Rs 52, while in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Amul milk is priced at Rs 56 per liter. The milk price for Delhi’s Mother Dairy is Rs 54 per liter.

While the price hike has drawn criticism from opposition leaders, the KMF has defended the move and said that it is necessary to ensure the viability of milk production and support dairy farmers.

This increase affects various Nandini milk varieties, with Santrupti milk packets now priced at ₹57 a litre and Samruddhi at ₹53 a litre. The KMF has decided not to increase the prices of curd and other milk products at this time.

Bengaluru: Seventeen members who were elected unopposed to the Legislative Council by the Legislative Assembly members, along with those newly elected from the teacher-graduate constituencies, took their oaths as members of the Legislative Council. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Banquet Hall of the Legislative Building.

The members who took oath include Ivan D’Souza, K., who was elected to the Legislative Council by the members of the state assembly, as well as Govindaraj, Jagadeva Guttedar, Balkis Banu, N.S. Bosaraju, Yatindra S., A. Vasantha Kumar, Ode Maruti Rao, T.N. Javarai Gowda, CT Ravi, N. Ravikumar, Chandrasekhara Basavaraja Patil, Dhananjay Sarji, Ramoji Gowda, S.L. Bhojegowda, K. Vivekananda, and DT Srinivasa.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraja Horatti, Law, Justice and Human Rights Minister HK Patil, Legislative Council Secretary Mahalakshmi, and other dignitaries were present at the event.

Screengrab from the video

New Delhi: HD Kumaraswamy, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Mandya, took his oath as a Lok Sabha MP today in Kannada.

The former chief minister of Karnataka had won by a margin of 2,84,620 votes against his nearest rival Venkataramane Gowda (alias ‘Star’ Chandru) of the Congress in the Vokkaliga heartland of Mandya.

Earlier in the day, B Mahtab took oath as member of the new House as well as that of pro-tem speaker at Rashtrapati Bhavan. PM Modi and other prominent cabinet ministers also took oath.

In a significant jolt to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 100-day agenda to start mining iron ore in Devadari Hills of Sandur in Ballari, Karnataka’s Minister for Forests and Environment, Eshwar Khandre, on Saturday ordered a halt to the leasing of 401.5761 hectares for iron ore mining in the Devadari Hills.

This comes days after the Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy had directed officials of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) to commence mining activities in the Devadari forest area.

Minister Khandre highlighted that KIOCL has previously failed to comply with the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) directives appointed by the Supreme Court regarding its mining activities in Kudremukh National Park, located in Mudigere taluk of Chikmagalur district. The company’s inability to implement remedial measures for its past operations prompted the decision to halt new leases in the Devadari Hills.

Environmentalists have raised concerns about the potential ecological impact of mining in the Sandur forests, fearing it could lead to the felling of approximately 99,000 trees. They argue that the mining activities would devastate local wildlife and communities, urging the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to suspend clearance for the Devadari mining project.

In response to these environmental concerns, Union Minister Kumaraswamy assured that there would be no deforestation. He noted that the state government had approved mining on over 404 hectares for the Devadari project in 2019, with subsequent approval from the Central Environment Department. Kumaraswamy emphasized that KIOCL would undertake compensatory afforestation, planting an alternative forest over 808 hectares at a cost of Rs 194 crore before beginning iron ore extraction. He stressed that the Devadari project aims to boost steel production and create jobs.

Reports indicate that an average of 284 cases of wrong-side driving are registered daily in the city. Social media has seen a rise in complaints about this issue, highlighting its role in fatal accidents. During the crackdown, Bengaluru police also booked offenders for other violations, including defective number plates, driving while using a cellphone, over speeding, and more.

The Bengaluru Traffic Police recently introduced an Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) utilizing artificial intelligence to detect and document violations. This system identifies infractions such as speeding, signal jumping, helmetless riding, triple riding, and mobile phone use while driving. Additionally, drones are employed to detect and alleviate traffic congestion, ensuring smoother vehicle movement.