State health minister B Sriramulu seems to be a saviour for the sick and injured.

UDUPI: State health minister B Sriramulu seems to be a saviour for the sick and injured. He came to the rescue of yet another woman, who was injured in an accident, in Kumbhashi on Saturday. While passing through Kumbhashi on NH 66, the minister noticed the woman, on the side of the road, bleeding. 

He immediately stopped his convoy and shifted the woman to NR Acharya Hospital in Koteshwar,  in Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat’s vehicle. 

The injured woman is Tharamathi (55), from Kundapur. The accident occurred when an auto rickshaw, she was travelling in, hit the median and toppled. Her daughter-in-law Divya (26), who was in the same auto, suffered minor injuries.

Tharamathi injured her shoulder and is undergoing treatment at the hospital. Kundapur traffic police have registered a case about the accident.

Eshwarappa said that when Yediyurappa left the BJP and launched the KJP, he won only three seats. 

SHIVAMOGGA: Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa, while criticising Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah, ended up taking a dig at his own Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, to drive home the point that no leader is bigger than his party. Eshwarappa said that when Yediyurappa left the BJP and launched the KJP, he won only three seats. 

“Power is not permanent. Be it me, Siddaramaiah, Yediyurappa or Kumaraswamy, all politicians need the support of parties to rise to power. One should not act like a dictator,” Eshwarappa told reporters here on Saturday. Eshwarappa, who was among the most vocal critics of Yediyurappa when he left the party, remained critical even after Yediyurappa rejoined the BJP. This was apparent again on Saturday. 
Eshwarappa also expressed displeasure over allocation of the additional portfolio of youth empowerment and sports, and said he would speak to Yediyurappa whether to take charge of it or not. 

Eshwarappa said the Congress was defeated in the Assembly election and performed poorly in the Lok Sabha polls in the state due to the conspiracies of Siddaramaiah. “But when he was chief minister, Siddaramaiah behaved like a dictator. As a result, the Congress is nowhere in the state at present. It’s a lesson for not only Siddaramaiah but all politicians,” Eshwarappa said. “Siddaramaiah planned to form his own party but didn’t succeed. Yediyurappa launched his own party, KJP, but was not successful. Politicians need strong parties.”

Eshwarappa said that though senior Congress leader K H Muniyappa had accused former Speaker Ramesh Kumar of plotting his defeat and demanded his ouster from the party, Siddaramaiah made Ramesh sit next to him and didn’t take any action against him. There should be no support for those who deceive their own parties,” he said.

The minister expressed confidence that disqualified MLAs would get justice in the Supreme Court. 
“Ramesh disqualified the MLAs at the behest of Siddaramaiah. Did the apex court ask the then Speaker to disqualify MLAs? No. He accepted the resignation of Chincholi MLA Umesh Jadhav. The same Speaker disqualified MLAs who submitted their resignations. I don’t understand this,” he said.

‘Don’t oppose power project’

Eshwarappa requested environmentalists not to oppose the proposed underground power project in the Sharavathi Valley. “Deforestation is bad, but at the same time, there should also be continuous electricity generation. The project also helps supply electricity to villages in the Sharavathi Valley, so the project should not be opposed,” he said.

According to state government officials, the testing of drone or aerial vehicle called ‘Rustom-2’ was in progress when the incident occurred.

Courtesy: ANI

BENGALURU:

DRDO’s unmanned aerial vehicle ‘Rustom 2’ crashed in Karnataka while undergoing test flights
 

An unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV belonging to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) crashed during a trial in an agriculture field in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district on Tuesday.

No casualties were reported in the crash.

The incident created quite a scare at Jodi Chillenahalli village as a loud noise was heard after the drone crashed.

Soon, large number of people gathered at the spot. Confirming the incident, Chitradurga Superintendent of Police Arun K told news agency Press Trust of India that the UAV crashed in the Areca nut farm this morning.

Photos of the broken UAV were shared on the social media.

According to state government officials, the testing of drone or aerial vehicle called ‘Rustom-2’ was in progress when the incident occurred.

When contacted, a DRDO official declined to comment on it.

 After engaging in a blame game over the collapse of their coalition government, JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda on Thursday indicated his party is still open for continuing its alliance with the Congress.

“To get rid of the bad situation in the country, we have to keep aside our personal jealousy,” he told reporters here in an apparent attack on the BJP-led NDA rule without naming it.

Gowda hinted he was open for an alliance with the Congress in 17 assembly constituencies, where bypolls have been necessitated following the disqualification of rebel MLAs, but said it all depended on the decision of the national party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi.

In the bypolls, the JD(S) was not inclined to contest all the constituencies as the Congress was more stronger on many of the segments, he said adding it was for Sonia Gandhi to take the decision.

He said she cannot decide without consulting Karnataka Congress leaders.

I don’t know what is the stand of the local leaders, I have not discussed with anyone every one knows about developments that are happening in the country. so if they come to a decision, if local leaders of that party come to a consensus, we will give cooperation I have said. There is nothing to misinterpret, he added.

Gowda and Congress strongman in the state Siddaramaiah had traded charges, blaming each other for the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government in July after it was rocked by dissidence.

Both Congress and JD(S) leaders have also been non- committal over the continuation of the alliance after the fall of the coalition government.

Congress leaders including state party chief Dinesh Gundu Rao and Siddaramaiah, who is the Congress legislature party leader, have maintained that continuation of alliance will be decided by the high command.

However, several top leaders of the party on condition of anonymity had recently said the entire rank and file of the party were happy to end the partnership with JD(S).

The two parties, considered arch rivals, especially in old Mysuru region, had bitterly fought against each other during the 2018 assembly polls but came together to form a post-poll coalition following a hung verdict.

However, the alliance was not accepted by lower level leaders and the cadres of both the parties and this culminated in the open revolt by 17 MLAs of the combine and the fall of the government, paving the way for BJP’s return to power.

The then assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar had disqualified 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs under the anti-defection law. They have challenged it in the Supreme Court.

On the three seats represented by the JDS, Gowda said he would field candidates based on local leaders’ decision.

Referring to the criticism of JDS by Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah, during the assembly elections that it was a “B” team of BJP, Gowda said no one now say so. “…it is a gone thing now. I gave cooperation despite all these things.

“The point is both the parties had suffered badly on account of remarks against each other (during 2018 assembly polls), what was the use? They had 130 seats with them (in the previous assembly), they got reduced to 78,” he said.

Mangaluru: A private Bus driver on Saturday was fined with a whooping sum of Rs.5000/- for using phone while driving here at Jokatte Cross in Mangalore.

As the Mangaluru North Police were checking vehicle at Jokatte cross on Saturday night, the private bus driver was caught while he was speaking on the phone with someone.

Soon a penalty of Rs.5000/- was issued against him for using the phone while driving.

As the Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act has been made, it was brought into effect at Mangaluru on Saturday. However the officials clarified not to worry about the challans if people are carrying valid document

Courtesy: Vartha Bharati

Mangaluru: A Konkani Singer and Music Composer Jerry passed away while performing at a Ganesh Chaturti event in Mangaluru on Tuesday.

According to the reports, Jerry collapsed while singing at the rally and died while he was being taken to hospital.

The incident took place at Bejai near Pinto Lane in the city.

The Karnataka government collapsed last month after failing a trust vote brought about by the resignation of 16 coalition lawmakers.

Siddaramaiah said he didn’t object HD Kumaraswamy becoming Chief Minister

BENGALURU: Congress-JDS leaders trade blame over government collapse Alliance government was formed last year after Karnataka elections
Deve Gowda said wrong move to make HD Kumaraswamy chief minister

The Congress-Janata Dal Secular (JDS) alliance in Karnataka is all but over, with top leaders of the two parties trading blame for the collapse of their year-old government last month. After JDS leader and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda targeted Siddaramaiah and accused him of precipitating the fall of their government, the Congress leader hit back.

The Congress leader said that he supported HD Kumaraswamy’s name for the chief ministerial post to save the opposition, which, he alleged, was under threat from the BJP.

“Only HD Deve Gowda and his sons – HD Kumaraswamy and HD Revanna are responsible for the failure of our coalition,” Mr Siddaramaiah said.

The JDS and the Congress had stitched an alliance last year after the Karnataka assembly election to prevent the BJP — which was the single-largest party — from forming the government. JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy became the Chief Minister despite his party winning only 37 seats.

The fragile alliance, however, won only a couple of seats out of 28 in the general election earlier this year. Within months of the polls, the state government collapsed after failing a trust vote brought about by the resignation of 16 coalition lawmakers.

The BJP’s BS Yeddiyurappa later formed the government, assuming the Chief Minister’s position.

“A communal party was/is at the helm of affairs in our country. The central government was/is trying to curtail opposition. There was an urgent need to protect the constitution, democracy and the secular fabric. For the same reason, I did not object when HD Kumaraswamy was made the Chief Minister of Karnataka,” Mr Siddaramaiah said.

“In spite of this, HD Deve Gowda has blamed me for the downfall of coalition government when he gave an interview to an English newspaper. Only HD Deve Gowda, HD Kumaraswamy and HD Revanna are responsible for the failure of our coalition,” he added.

On Thursday, Mr Deve Gowda, 86, said the Congress had been “wrong” in making his son, HD Kumaraswamy, the Chief Minister without consulting Mr Siddaramaiah.

“I have clearly said that without taking Siddaramaiah, who was Chief Minister for five years, into confidence Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi all of a sudden came and said HD Kumaraswamy is the next Chief Minister, it was their wrong decision,” the former Prime Minister said.

Mangaluru: In another case of suspected Dengue, a 19-year old student died on Friday taking the toll of Dengue in Dakshina Kannada District to 11.

The deceased has been identified as Madhushri, a student of private college in Mangaluru.

Madhushri was admitted to a private hospital in the city due to suspected Dengue fever and was discharged just three days back.

She was again rushed to hospital on Thursday late night when she complained of chest pain. However, she passed away on Thursday after not responding to the treatment.

Health officials have denied Dengue to be the cause of her death and added that she was cured of Dengue while being discharged from the hospital.

The officials further added that she had developed lungs infection which caused her death.

The people expressed their anger towards Siddaramaiah, who represents the constituency, for failing to turn up during the crisis, and called him ‘guest legislator.

BAGALKOT: Nearly ten days after the floods, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah visited the flood-affected areas of Badami, where he lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for neglecting the flood-hit state. The people expressed their anger towards Siddaramaiah, who represents the constituency, for failing to turn up during the crisis, and called him ‘guest legislator.

Replying to the criticism, Siddaramaiah said, “I had an eye surgery on August 4, and the floods started on August 6. I was ready to visit, but doctors insisted I rest,” said the former CM. The Centre should at once release Rs 5,000 crore in relief funds, he urged, while promising the people that he would do all he can to ensure flooding doesn’t recur. 

‘discuss floods’ Shivamogga: KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao has urged CM BS Yediyurappa to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the flood situation. “Yediyurappa should resign if he fails to tackle the floods,” he said. Rao visited flood-affected areas in Shivamogga on Monday. “The Centre has failed to pay attention to the state, even 15 days after the calamity,” he said. 

Till Thursday, most residents were busy drying their household items which got wet during the flood.

HUBBALLI: IT’S been more than a week since the flooded Unkal lake inundated several residential areas of Hubballi. Though the water has receded now, residents are still not ready to move to their houses, fearing snakes, insects and most importantly getting electric shocks. The floods had wreaked havoc in Devi Nagar, Lingaraj Nagar, Ghamanghatti Road, Vidya Nagar and Kumarvyasa Nagar among other areas.

Till Thursday, most residents were busy drying their household items which got wet during the flood. And now, they are in fear of snakes and insects, which have entered their houses. Some people are also complaining of getting electric shocks from switchboards and wires. When the Unkal lake overflowed, water gushed into nearby areas and inundated around 150 houses. “Last week, most of the nights we spent outside our houses, and even now we are scared to sleep inside as many rooms are still filled with floodwater,” said Ravi Patil of Devi Nagar. “The flood has brought heaps of garbage into our houses, besides snakes and other insects. The Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation has been informed about the issue and its response is awaited. Some house are still waterlogged while some others are slushy.

As many people are complaining of getting shocks while touching electronic items, we are planning to request HESCOM officials to rectify the problem,” said another resident. HDMC officials said all the complaints received at the control room are being attended. “Officials are visiting areas based on complaints received. We are aware of the areas, which were affected due to flooding of Unkal lake, and are looking to their problems.”