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.

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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.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has petitioned the Karnataka High Court to quash a sexual harassment case filed against him. This follows a notice issued by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for him to appear for an inquiry.

Yediyurappa faces charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code, based on a complaint by a woman alleging that he sexually harassed her 17-year-old daughter in February. The incident reportedly occurred when the mother-daughter duo approached Yediyurappa for assistance.

In his petition, Yediyurappa denied any wrongdoing and accused the complainant of habitual false accusations. He mentioned that he complied with a police inquiry on April 12, shortly after the FIR was lodged, but noted that the officers only retained an audio sample of his voice rather than officially recording his statement. Yediyurappa also highlighted that the complaint lacked specific details of the alleged crime and urged the High Court to dismiss the case.

A court here on Wednesday remanded former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of rape and sexual abuse against several women, to the custody of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) till June 18.

The court had on June 10 sent him to 14 days of judicial custody, but the SIT today sought a body warrant against him in connection with a cybercrime case.

The 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court granted the SIT’s request. With this, SIT secured the custody of Revanna till Tuesday.

The court, following Revanna’s arrest on May 31, remanded him to SIT custody till June 6, and later extended it till June 10.

The 33-year-old grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had failed in his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary constituency in the recent polls.

SIT officials arrested Revanna soon after he landed at  Kempegowda International Airport from Germany on May 31.

He had left for Germany on April 27, a day after Hassan went to the polls. A ‘Blue Corner Notice’ seeking information on his whereabouts had earlier been issued by the Interpol, following a request by the SIT via the Central Bureau of Investigation.

A Special Court for Elected Representatives issued an arrest warrant against Revanna on May 18, following an application moved by the SIT.

He was arrested in a case registered against him in Holenarasipura in Hassan district on April 28. He was accused of sexually harassing a 47-year-old former maid. He is listed as accused number two, while his father and MLA, H D Revanna, is the primary accused.

Prajwal Revanna has been booked in three cases of sexual assault. There are also charges of rape against him.

The cases of sexual abuse came to light after pen-drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls there on April 26.

JD(S) suspended him from the party after cases were filed against him.

On Wednesday, Karnataka High Court permitted the State Government to extend the deadline for installing High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) till August or September.

The divisional bench comprising Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Aravind heard the petitions filed by BND Energy Limited and others to direct the State Government to extend the deadline for installing HSR plates, on Wednesday.

“Vacation bench of the High Court had directed the state government not to take any action against the petitioner for not installing HSRP on May 21. Now the state government has stated that the deadline for HSRP would be extended till August-September. So the May 21 order has been rectified”, the court said.

Advocate Aditya Sondhi, representing the petitioners, had brought to the notice of the judges that the earlier order by the court preventing any action on his clients would terminate on that day. Advocate General Vikram Huilgol stated that “the government has decided to extend the deadline for installing HSRP till August or September. However, the vacation bench has ordered not to take any actions on May 21. So the government couldn’t release notification with extended deadline. So, the honorable court must rectify the May 21 order. A notification with extended deadline will be released within a week, if the bench permits”.

After hearing the arguments, the court postponed the hearing till July 4.

Police have arrested Kannada cine star and murder accused Darshan Thoogudeepa’s close aide Nagaraj and co-star Pradosh, sources said.

According to police sources, Nagaraj was looking after all the dealings of Darshan. He was also taking care of Darshan’s farmhouse in Mysuru. Nagaraj was on the run ever since police arrested Darshan, his friend actress Pavithra Gowda and 11 other henchmen. Police sources did not divulge details about Pradosh’s role in the murder.

Pradosh had worked in minor roles in some movies where Darshan played the lead. Darshan and his gang has been arrested in connection with the murder of Renukaswamy from Chitradurga on June 8 night for allegedly sending lewd messages to Pavithra. His body was then thrown in a stormwater drain at Kamakshipalya police station limits. Police got to know about the murder when a food delivery boy alerted them about dogs eating the body of a man.

Bengaluru: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for appointing him as Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries in the union government.

The former Karnataka chief minister took oath as the Cabinet Minister in the NDA government headed by Modi on Sunday.

“I am deeply grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi , for appointing me as the Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, in its third consecutive term,” Kumaraswamy posted on ‘X’.

The 64-year-old Vokkaliga leader had earlier made no secret of his desire to become Agriculture Minister.

Kumaraswamy defeated Venkataramane Gowda of the Congress by a margin of 2,84,620 votes in the Mandya Lok Sabha segment.