Kalaburagi: To cater to the increased passenger demand during the Diwali festival, South Western Railway (SWR) has announced a special express train service between Bengaluru and Kalaburagi. This one-time special service will begin on October 31, 2024, from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT) in Bengaluru.

According to a press release issued by SWR, the SMVT Bengaluru-Kalaburagi Special Express (Train No. 06217) will depart from Bengaluru at 9:15 PM on October 31 and is expected to reach Kalaburagi city at 7:40 AM on November 1. The train will pass through several key stations, including Yelahanka, Dharmavaram, Anantapur, Guntakal, Adoni, Mantralayam Road, Raichur, Krishna, Yadgir, and Shahabad.For the return journey, the Kalaburagi-SMVT Bengaluru Special Express (Train No. 06218) will leave Kalaburagi at 9:35 AM on November 1 and is scheduled to arrive in Bengaluru at 8:00 PM the same day. The train will stop at the same stations on its route back to Bengaluru.

Passengers seeking further details can visit the official railway inquiry website www.enquiry.indianrail.gov.in or use the NTES app. Additionally, inquiries can be made by calling the toll-free number 139, the release added.

Mallesh | Nagendra

Chamarajanagar: In a tragic incident, two men lost their lives due to electrocution near Ayyanpur village in Chandakavadi hobli on Wednesday. The victims, identified as Nagendra and Mallesh, were killed instantly when a live overhead electric wire snapped and came into contact with them.

The men were reportedly riding a bike towards a farm on the outskirts of Ayyanpur when the mishap occurred. Ramasamudra Police have registered a case and visited the scene to conduct an investigation.

Officials from CHESCOM (Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation) also visited the site to assess the situation.

Chamarajanagar: A hostel kitchen assistant was found dead by suicide in the library of a hostel located in Begur village, Gundlupete taluk.

The deceased has been identified as Pramod (27) from Sagade village, Chamarajanagar taluk. The exact reason for the suicide remains unclear.

Begur police arrived at the scene and transferred the body to a government hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Mangaluru: Gayathri, a beneficiary of ‘Gruhalakshmi’, stated that she saved the money received in ten installments of the scheme to pay the school fee of her son. Guarantee schemes had helped single parents like her to educate their children, she said while urging the government to continue the program. She was in conversation with Guarantee Schemes Implementation Committee state vice-president Dr Pushpa Amaranath, along with other beneficiaries, at DK Zilla Panchayat’s Nethravati Auditorium in Mangalore on Wednesday.

Ashwini, another beneficiary from Shanthigiri near Moodbidre, said that she used to get only 50 rupees from her husband when she needed a hundred to shop for basic needs of her house. “As we get 2000 rupees directly in our hands now, we need not ask anybody for minor expenses. We use ‘Gruhalakshmi’ money if we need to get the children something or to buy other items like soaps and toothpaste”, she added.

“My family of five has availed the benefit of all Guarantee schemes except ‘Yuvanidhi’. Our money reaches the coffers of the state again as tax when we buy anything from the outside with this amount. The four guarantees provide our family 4300 rupees in a month which amounts to 51000 rupees annually. Hats off to Siddaramaiah for such a scheme. The real lazy are those who call the guarantee schemes as ‘bitti bhagya’ and claim that it makes people lazy. Only those who have seen hunger and poverty in their lives will know the value of these schemes”, Bharathi Bolar, a beneficiary from Mangaluru, stated.

Athika from Harekala explained how Anna Bhagya, Gruha Jyothi and Gruha Lakshmi had helped her family of ten which included her three children and grandchildren. As she was a widower, this had helped her to take care of her family in the absence of her husband, she said. “We can never forget this help of Siddaramaiah. He must become the Prime Minister”, she added.

Lalitha, another beneficiary from Moodbidre, said that she was a daily wager and had to take loans to get one of her daughters married. “My son is physically challenged. Another daughter has only been employed recently. Son’s medicines cost 2000 rupees per month. I am using Gruhalakshmi money for that now”, she stated.

Explaining how Anna Bhagya and Gruhalakshmi benefited her, Laveena of Ullal said that she got daily wages as a manual labourer. “There is no work in the rainy season. It was difficult for us to even pay the electricity bill then. But now free electricity and other benefits are available”, she added.

An unmarried woman named Leela from Muliki said that she stayed with her brothers. She was using the Gruhalakshmi amount for medicines, she said. “Now I don’t have to seek anybody’s help. These schemes must continue to benefit poor like us”, she stated.

Responding to the rumors about the termination of the schemes, Dr Pushpa Amaranath said that this was the work of people who were jealous of the good work. She said that CM Siddaramaiah had assured that the schemes, which were a ray of hope for many, wouldn’t be stopped. “This program has been popular in the country as ‘5-I program’. Others are also copying this and even the name of the scheme was stolen. Those who opposed the schemes earlier are implementing it now”, she added.

District nodal officer for the implementation of the guarantee schemes and Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr Anand and District Implementation Committee President Bharat Mundodi were present.

Bengaluru: Karnataka on Sunday marked the ‘International Day of Democracy’ by forming a ‘historic’ 2,500-km-long human chain as a symbol of equality, unity, fraternity, and participative governance.

The massive human chain, which according to the Karnataka government will be the “world’s longest”, is being formed across the state from Bidar to Chamarajanagar, covering all 31 districts.

The state government has taken the lead in organising the large-scale event to mark the day in association with civil society.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah joined the human chain at the main event held in front of Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature and secretariat here, along with senior Ministers and officials.

The CM led by reading the preamble of the Constitution, following which people from various walks of life, including transgenders and differently-abled people held hands to form the human chain.

Similar events were held in all districts of the state in which Ministers, public representatives and senior officials took part.

A world record verifying team from London will arrive for the innovative and massive event, officials said.

The human chain will be approximately 2,500 km long, and is said to be the “longest in the history of the world”.

A total of 25 lakh people are expected to participate, with an average of more than 1,000 people for each kilometre, the government has said.

During the event, 10 lakh saplings are expected to be planted in the state by the participants, it added.

According to officials, the participants of the human chain will be given certificates.

Last year, the government organised a mega event of reading the Constitution’s preamble as part of the ‘International Day of Democracy’ celebrations.

Since 2007, September 15th has been declared as the International Day of Democracy, which is celebrated globally. Proclaimed by the United Nations (UN), the day serves as a platform to promote and uphold the principles of democracy worldwide.

Mandya: On Wednesday night, Nagamangala witnessed a wave of violence as looters targeted over 25 shops, vandalising properties and setting stolen motorcycles ablaze. The unrest followed clashes between two groups the previous day.

CCTV footage revealed the extent of the destruction, showing men breaking into a bike showroom, damaging vehicles before setting them on fire. Miscreants also dismantled surveillance cameras before looting several shops, including a textile store and a scrap materials shop, both of which were reduced to ashes.

The fire department received its first alert at 9:15 PM, with units from Nagamangala, KR Pet, Mandya, and Channarayapatna joining forces to extinguish the blaze. Around 50 firefighters battled the flames until early Thursday morning.

Nagamangala police have registered 10 FIRs, including charges of arson and theft. In response, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal announced a bandh in the town on Friday.

Nagamangala : Three more people have been held in connection with the clashes that broke out between two groups during a Lord Ganesh idol procession, police said on Friday.

The situation in Nagamangala town in Mandya district has returned to normal two days after the clashes on Wednesday following which mobs went on a rampage targeting several shops and vehicles leading to tension.

Though the situation remains peaceful in the town, additional police forces have been deployed and prohibitory orders preventing the assembly of more than four people have been imposed in the area till September 14 as a precautionary measure.

With the fresh arrests, the total number of people held in the case now stands at 55.

A team of experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory also visited the spot on Thursday to collect evidence.

“The situation is peaceful here and besides the 52 people already arrested, we have secured three more people in connection with the incident. We have additional police forces deployed and prohibitory orders will be in place till September 14,” Mandya Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baldandi told PTI.

A case has been registered for unlawful assembly, attempt to murder, obstructing public servants, destruction of public property and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

A few people, including two policemen, sustained minor injuries in stone-pelting.

The situation has been brought under control and additional security forces have been deployed, police said.

According to police, an argument broke out between two groups, when the Ganesh idol procession by devotees from Badarikoppalu village reached a place of worship on Wednesday, and some miscreants hurled stones, which escalated the situation. Following the clashes between the two groups, a few shops were vandalised and goods torched and vehicles set on fire on Wednesday night, they added.

Police used mild force to disperse the crowd to control the situation.

The group of youth that carried out the procession halted and staged a protest near the police station, demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible for the violence.

Chikkamagaluru: In the wake of Wayanad landslides, State government has ordered for the clearing of encroachments in the ecologically sensitive areas along the Western Ghats and Malenadu on Tuesday. Following this, the forest department has cleared encroachments in cases that has been already settled at the courts and the department is gearing up for more clearance.

Forest department has also issued clearance notices to unauthorized resorts and home-stays which are situated in ecologically sensitive areas and forest land. Based on the orders of the Minister for Forest and Ecology Eshwar Khandre’s orders, District Forest Officer (DFO) Ramesh Babu has issued notices to more than 25 home-stays and resorts in Chikkamagaluru sub division and has demanded them to submit the revenue and other related documents authorizing their construction.Along with unauthorized resorts and homestays, Forest department has also decided to clear residential layouts and plantations in encroached forest land. The department has also asked the unauthorized establishments, including estates and plantations, in Chikkamagaluru notified forest lands to immediately submit their revenue documents.

Malenadu region of Chikkamagaluru, nestled amidst the Western Ghats mountain range, attract thousands of tourist everyday which fuel the ever growing tourism industry in the coffee-land. Home-stays and resorts have come in almost all remote regions of the district to provide basic amenities to the visitors. Amidst all the authorized tourist establishments, many unpermitted resorts and home-stays also function, adding to the ever increasing nature-tourism menace. Environmentalists have repeatedly raised alarm against such tourist abodes. Wayanad and Ankola landslides have added impetus to the state’s anti-encroachment drive in Western Ghats, a globally recognized biological hotspot.

Tumakuru: Five people were killed and four others were injured in an accident involving two cars in Madhugiri Taluk here on Sunday, police said.

According to information available as of now, three among the deceased are said to be from the same family travelling in a car, while the other two were in another car police said.

The deceased were three men, an eight-year old boy and a woman.

Four people including a baby who was injured were shifted to hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.

Iqbal

Mangaluru: A rickshaw driver, Iqbal (47), passed away due to a heart attack while waiting in a queue at the Central Railway Station Rickshaw Park on Tuesday.

Originally from Vidya Nagar, Bajal, Iqbal was residing in a rented house in Borugudde, Adyar Kannur.

He reportedly experienced sudden chest pain while in the queue, and despite efforts by fellow rickshaw drivers to rush him to the hospital, he succumbed before receiving medical attention.

Iqbal is survived by his wife, three children, and several relatives.