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.”

After celebrating Eid with the jawans from the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment Center(MLIRC) in a mosque on Monday, residents of Shirgur village fed them sevian (sweet) and biryani to thank them.
Soldiers of MLIRC centre with villagers in Belgaum Soldiers of MLIRC centre with villagers in Belgaum

BELAGAVI: We have worshiped gods in temples and in mosques our entire life, but during these deadly floods we saw our gods in army uniform, say the residents of Shirgur village in Raibag taluk in Belgaum district, who celebrated Eid with soldiers on Monday.

After celebrating Eid with the jawans from the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment Center(MLIRC) in a mosque on Monday, they fed them sevian (sweet) and biryani to thank them for the rescue.

The soldiers had rushed to the flood-hit regions to save the people stuck in floods after a call from the district administration. In all, the soliders said they had rescued over 4000 people in the past 10 days in several flood-hit villages in Chikkodi, Athani, Raibag and Gokak taluks.

Aiding them were the boats and the ropes they had at their disposal. But sometimes they couldn’t even turn to these and had to swim in deep waters.

The soldiers took up rescue operations in Muslim-dominated Shirgur village for two days – August 10 and 11. People here had lost hope of survival until they saw the men in army uniform.

Working round the clock, the soldiers evacuated about 100 people stuck in the village

Miansab Mulla, a senior citizen of village said, ‘We would not have celebrated Eid this year had soldiers not rescued us from the deadly floods. The soldiers are the reason for our celebration, hence we invited them.’

Major Rajpal Singh Rathore of MLIRC said, “My column of 40 soldiers was engaged in operations ceaselessly during the last nine days. When they invited us for the celebrations, we agreed. We prayed for the villagers well-being. With love, they fed us sweets and biryani. It gave us immense satisfaction and we enjoyed being with the kind-hearted people.”