The Hindu : Karnataka News : Briefly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 27, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Briefly

Iranian delegation coming

BANGALORE FEB. 26. The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, who is leading a parliamentary delegation, will be arriving in Bangalore on March 3 on a one-day official State visit. The Iranian delegation will visit International Tech Park and have a detailed discussion with officials dealing with the information technology sector. The delegation will also visit the Legislative Assembly and Council. The members of the delegation will meet the Speaker of the Assembly, Krishna; the acting Chairman of the Council, V.R. Sudarshan; and the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh. The delegation is scheduled to visit Alipur in Kolar district where a hospital has been constructed with Iranian aid.

Financial aid for Janapada Loka

BANGALORE FEB. 26. The Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, has promised to provide financial assistance for Janapada Loka, situated near Ramanagaram on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. Speaking to presspersons after meeting the president of the Janapada Parishat, H.L. Nage Gowda, here today, Mr. Singh said he has instructed the officials concerned to extend the required financial support to the cultural body. The Government is aware of the cultural and historical importance and tourism potential of Janapada Loka, he said. Mr. Nage Gowda met Mr. Singh following the Government's decision to reduce the annual grant to Janapada Loka.

Sandesh Nagaraj to head KFPA

BANGALORE FEB. 26. The former chairman of the Mysore Urban Development Authority and Kannada film producer Sandesh was unanimously elected president of the Kannada Film Producers' Association here today. Mr. Nagaraj will take charge from the outgoing president of the association, Basanthkumar Patil, on Wednesday.

Dharam Singh for Gulbarga

BANGALORE FEB. 26. The Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, will be on a day's visit to Gulbarga on Monday. He will leave Bangalore at 7.15 a.m. and reach Gulbarga at 10.30 a.m. Mr. Singh will lay the foundation stone for the Veerendra Patil Kalyan Mantap in Gulbarga. He will return to Bangalore the same evening, according to a press note issued by the Chief Minister's office.

Lull in BJP camps

Bangalore Feb. 26. The gram panchayat elections have brought about a lull in the infighting in the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Party leaders and the legislators were busy with the elections in their constituencies. The central leadership of the BJP has agreed to depute a senior leader to Bangalore to sort out the differences pertaining to the appointment of office-bearers of the State unit of the party. The deputed leader is expected to come here in the first week of March after the results of the Assembly elections in Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand are announced.

Appeal to pray for Pope

Bangalore Feb. 26. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) and the Archdiocese of Bangalore have appealed to all Christians to pay for Pope John Paul II who has undergone a tracheotomy in Rome. The CBCI president, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, has asked the Catholic community and all fellow Christians to pray for the recovery of the Pontiff. "I appeal to all the faithful to continue to offer prayers for His Holiness, and we pray that God in his mercy will grant him strength to recover from his illness. The Church in India joins the Christian community all over the world to pray for the Pope who has guided us as our spiritual leader during the 26 years of his pontificate." Special prayer services are being held in Catholic churches here to pray for the Pope's recovery. Bishops, priests and nuns are participating in the prayers.

Guidebook on Nagarahole

BANGALORE FEB. 26. Amateur wildlife enthusiasts planning to visit Nagarahole and Bandipur national parks have something to rejoice over. There is now a guidebook with checklists for them. C.R. Sarath, chief naturalist at Jungle Lodges and Resorts, launched his first paperback, "A guidebook to Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks," at Crosswords bookstore today. The book was released by Anil Kumble, who is also a wildlife enthusiast. Mr. Sarath said he hit upon the idea of writing the book when he visited wildlife parks in Africa. "They had a range of literature regarding the parks that were so useful to visitors." Once back home, he set about writing the guidebook. "I wanted it to be informative without becoming too trivial. I also wanted to show people how clever some mammals are," he said. So, the book has interesting facts about mammals as well as illustrations in black and white. Mr. Kumble said he got interested in wildlife when he and a few of the other Karnataka cricket players stayed at Nagarahole to film the `Save the Tiger Campaign.' "It was my first experience and it was beautiful." The cricketer says he still remembers vividly his first encounter with a leopard in its natural habitat. "I was able to see it for 45 minutes in its own surroundings. It was amazing." Guidebooks such as this, Mr. Kumble said, would be helpful to children interested in wildlife. "It will help them start off at a young age. There is a need for such books." The book is published by Macmillan India and costs Rs. 175.

`Include Tumkur under Article 371'

Bangalore Feb. 26. Tumkur District Congress leaders have demanded that the district be brought under the purview of Article 371 to solve the large-scale unemployment problem in the region. As per the Nanjundappa committee report, five of the ten taluks in the district are most backward, three are more backward and two are relatively developed. Senior Congress leaders of the district, including the District Congress Committee President, Muddahanume Gowda; the former Ministers G. Parameshwar and T.B. Jayachandra; V.S. Ugrappa, MLC; and the former MP G.S. Basavaraj, told presspersons here today that the District Congress Committee has organised a programme in Tumkur on Monday to mobilise the people in favour of the demand. Thereafter, the State Government would be urged to impress on the Centre to amend Article 371. It will be a long process and the struggle has commenced, the leaders said. Yet another demand pertains to the implementation of the Nethravati diversion scheme which has been in cold storage for a long time, they said. The diversion of the west-flowing river will not only ensure adequate drinking water supply for Tumkur city but also recharge groundwater. The water-table in and around Tumkur has dropped to 1000 ft, they added.

Two killed in accident

BIJAPUR FEB. 26. Two persons were killed on the spot when a goods carrier hit their autorickshaw at Unnibavi Cross on National Highway 13 in Basavanabagewadi taluk in the early hours on Saturday.

The police gave the names of dead as Prakash Mahadevappa Chauvan (22) and Allabaksh Bailkur (18), both residents of Alamatti. The victims were going to Golasangi village to supply milk packets. The police are trying to trace the goods carrier with the registration number: KA 29 - 3046 and its driver, who drove away after the accident.

Woman found dead

BIJAPUR FEB. 26. A 20-year-old woman was found dead under suspicious circumstances at Harnal village in Sindagi taluk on Friday night. The police gave the name of victim as Mariamma Karimsab Nadaf.

According to police, there were sings of torture on the body. The victim's parents alleged that she was murdered by her husband, Karimsab, and his mother, Khausumbi. Mariamma married Karimsab 10 months ago. The Deverahipparagi police are investigating.

No buses

BIDAR FEB. 26. Buses will not ply on a few routes in the five taluks in Bidar on Sunday, as the North Eastern Karnataka Transport Corporation has supplied 140 buses for gram panchayat election duty.

These vehicles will be used for security arrangements by the police and for other poll related activities. The corporation regrets the inconvenience that may be caused to commuters, the divisional controller, R.K. Seetaram, said in a release.

Yatra

BIDAR FEB. 26. Devotees of Sri Siddharoodha, the 19th century saint who promoted rainwater harvesting and land reforms in and around Hubli, will participate in Siddha Jyoti Yatra, a rally from Chalkapur in Bhalki taluk to Hubli on March 4.

Followers of the mutt from the State, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra will start from the Siddharoodha Mutt in Bidar reach Hubli on March 6. The yatra will stop at all holy places which have a significance to the life and work of the saint. Interested can register with the ashram at Bidar by dialling 234713, 235026, said a release.

Arrack seized

Raichur Feb. 26. The Yergera police arrested Syed Shameer and seized 1,400 sachets of arrack worth Rs. 14,000 while he was illegally transporting it in a car at B. Hanumapur village near here on Friday. He has been remanded in judicial custody.

The police also chased a motorcycle in B. Hanumapur village on information that some unknown persons were carrying 350 sachets of spurious arrack worth Rs. 3,500. However, the accused ran away leaving behind the motorcycle and the arrack sachets. The Yergera Police have registered two separate cases.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka