The Hindu : Karnataka News : Briefly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 12, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Briefly

Bus pass for physically challenged

CHITRADURGA JAN. 11. All the physically challenged persons in the district, who want to either renew bus passes or apply for new ones, are requested to get the same at the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus stand in Chitradurga on January 12 at 10 a.m.

They are expected to bring the old pass, along with photos supporting their claims of handicap and a demand draft for Rs. 250 in favour of the Divisional controller KSRTC, Davangere, for the renewal of the pass. According to an official release, the persons applying for the first time have to bring a copy of their identity card, yellow card, income certificate, along with the prescribed application form.

For application and other details, the District Office of the Physically Challenged, Chitradurga, may be contacted on 231387.

Donations for relief fund

BELLARY Jan. 11. Bellary district has donated Rs. 20 lakhs towards the tsunami relief fund in addition to relief materials, including foodgrains and clothes, worth over Rs. 2.50 lakhs.

A group of people from Kudligi taluk, led by M.M.J. Chittaranjan, president of Kottur Town Panchayat, B.S. Veerbhadrappa, former MLA, and Devarmane Shivacharan, Director, Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee, gave a cheque for Rs. 1.5 lakhs to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to Mohan Muttin, Headquarters' Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner here on Tuesday. The group raised funds from public — Rs. 1.20 lakhs in Kottur town and the remainder in Kudligi. Sundar Rao, Kudligi tahsildar, was present.

Constable

run over

BELLARY Jan. 11. A police constable was killed and 12 others sustained injuries in two separate accidents in the district over the past 24 hours.

According to the police, Chandrashekar, constable, who was manning a checkpoint on the Kudligi-Gudekota Road, was killed on the spot after being knocked down by a lorry.

In another accident, 12 persons were injured, two of them seriously, when the milk van, in which they were travelling, overturned near Dashmapur in Hagari Bommanahalli taluk on Tuesday morning.

The injured have been rushed to a hospital in Davanagere for treatment, police added.

Two girls attacked

DAVANGERE JAN. 11. A woman, after forcibly gaining entry into a house in MC Colony in the city, assaulted two children with a knife on Monday.

The police said that the arrested, Jyothilakshmi (25), entered into the house of Sudarshan and assaulted Sony (10) and Amrutha (12). The two girls ran out of their house screaming and the people, who caught Jyothilakshmi, handed her over to the police. The girls' parents were not at home when the incident took place.

The police said that Jyothilakshmi was mentally challenged.

Protest

HASSAN JAN. 11. Members of Karnataka Provincial Plantation Workers' Union took out a procession here on Tuesday, urging both the State and Union Governments to take over of plantations that have been closed and to guarantee employment to the labourers.

The workers, led by the union's general secretary, V. Sukumar, and member of the State Committee, Dharmesh, raised slogans against the anti-labour policies of the Government. They submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner.

In the memorandum, the workers urged the Government to fix minimum wages and extend all facilities under the provisions of law. They have exhorted the Government to abolish contract system.

Subcommittees to be set up

BANGALORE JAN. 11. The Government will constitute two Cabinet subcommittees to deal with routine affairs pertaining to the waters of the Cauvery and the Krishna shortly, the Minister for Water Resources and Transport, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, has said. Mr. Kharge told presspersons here today that the purpose of constituting subcommittees is to prevent frequent Cabinet meetings and streamline the clearance of routine matters that did not involve policy. However, the Cabinet will meet when required to deliberate on policy matters. On the reported complaints and counter-complaints by farmers in Raichur district and those in Andhra Pradesh on sharing water for their seasonal crops, Mr. Kharge said the Government has constituted the Tungabhadra Water Board to study the situation. It will submit its report shortly.

Congress expels ZP President

Chamarajanagar Jan. 11. The Chamarajanagar Zilla Panchayat President, T.V. Lakshmamma, and the Vice-President, Makaiah, have been expelled from the Congress for six years for withdrawing their resignations for the second time. They were to have resigned after completing 10 months in office as per the power-sharing arrangement arrived at earlier. Although they were reluctant to resign, they were forced to submit their resignations on account of pressure from the party leadership. But they withdrew their resignations before they could be accepted. This happened two times. As a result, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) General Secretary, Prakash Rathod, issued an order on Monday expelling Ms. Lakshmamma and Mr. Makaiah from the party. The order was issued after the matter was discussed with Congress members of the zilla panchayat and the District Congress Committee in Bangalore. Party sources said Mr. Rathod had submitted a report to the KPCC President, B. Janardhana Poojary, on the development. The KPCC has also instructed the District Congress Committee to ensure that a no-confidence motion is brought against Ms. Lakshmamma and Mr. Makaiah to remove them from their posts.

Rs. 34-crore tourism plan

HASSAN JAN. 11. The Minister for Public Works and Energy, H.D. Revanna, today said a Rs. 34-crore proposal has been formulated by the Department of Tourism for the development of major tourist centres in the State, including Melkote, Shravanabelagola, Belur, Halebid and Jog. It has also been decided to carve out a separate tourism circuit to concentrate on the integrated development of these centres. Participating in the valedictory programme of the district conference of the Karnataka Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) at Shravanabelagola on Sunday, he said the proposal will be ready by next week. It will be sent to the Union Government seeking additional funds for the same. Many senior journalists, including R.P. Venkateshmurthy of Janata Madhyama were honoured on the occasion. The president of the district unit of the KUWJ, Shivanand Tagadur, proposed a vote of thanks.

Two medical colleges this year

MANGALORE JAN. 11. Two or three of the proposed five government medical colleges will be established during the current academic year, the Minister for Medical Education, Iqbal Ansari, has said. Mr. Ansari was here to inaugurate the 2nd All-India Physiotherapy Students' Conference, Physio Week '05, organised by the South Kanara Physiotherapy Teachers' Association. Briefing presspersons after the inaugural ceremony today, Mr. Ansari said the Government is considering setting up medical colleges in Bidar, Raichur, Belgaum, Mandya and Hassan districts. There is also a demand for a government medical college in Shimoga district. Mr. Ansari said that the Government will soon introduce a policy on the appointment of professional physiotherapists in district- and taluk-level hospitals. Now, only physiotherapists with a diploma in physiotherapy are being recruited in these hospitals. Under the new policy, those with a degree in physiotherapy will be appointed in district- and taluk-level hospitals, Mr. Ansari said.

Panel meets Arjun Singh

Bangalore Jan. 11. The State unit of the All-India Save Education Committee called on the Union Minister For Human Resource Development, Arjun Singh, here today and submitted a memorandum asking for merit to be the only criterion for admission to professional courses. The committee at the Central level is headed by the former Supreme Court judge V.R. Krishna Iyer. The memorandum stated that the Supreme Court in its order had taken away the right of poor and middle-class students with merit to take up professional courses. Fixing exorbitant fees for courses such as medicine would drastically reduce the quality of education. While merit should be the only criterion for admission, the fee structure should be within the reach of the poor and the middle class. If colleges said they could not meet their expenditure, the Government should step in to fill the gap after determining the shortage on the basis of a scientific and transparent evaluation of expenditure, the memorandum said.

Cornell University pact with UAS

Bangalore Jan. 11. Cornell University today signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad, which will facilitate exchange of students, faculty and technology and also work in areas of food security, nutrition and environmental protection. The memorandum was signed by Susan Henry, Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), and S.A. Patil, Vice-Chancellor of UAS, Dharwad. Dr. Henry told presspersons that it was the third agreement that CALS had established with universities in southern and western India. The others are Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) in Andhra Pradesh. She said that Dharwad University is currently a partner along with Tamil Nadu University, ANGRAU, and Sathguru Management Consultants in designing and organising "Agriculture in developing nations," the flagship course in the international programmes of CALS. This initiative is supported by USAID in India. The course, she said, has been structured in a way to show Cornell and Indian students and policymakers ways to bring about changes in agricultural policy and technology that are needed to improve productivity and promote competitiveness and integration in a global economy. About 40 Cornell students and eight faculty members are in India now studying developments in agriculture, the food sector, the information technology sector, among others, combined with exposure to living in a village.

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