Karnataka   

Briefly

Backlog vacancies: meeting called

GULBARGA: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa have convened a meeting of senior officials of key departments and Dalit leaders in Bangalore on Monday to find a solution to the long-pending demand on filling backlog vacancies.

Disclosing this to presspersons here on Wednesday, chairman of the Federation of Dalit Organisations Shivaram Moga and former chairman of Gulbarga Development Authority Vittal Doddamani said they had received intimation about the proposed meeting. — Special Correspondent

Two rural banks merge

TUMKUR: Kalpatharu Grameena Bank, which had its headquarters here, has merged with Cauvery Grameena Bank, Mysore, according to a press release here on Wednesday.

Chairman of the merged entity Shivaswamy said the two banks merged as per the Union Government's policy on rural banking.

Mr. Shivaswamy said the merger of the banks would be formally announced at a function in Mysore on Thursday. — Staff Correspondent

Canara Bank pays dividend to Centre

Bangalore: Canara Bank has paid a dividend of Rs. 198 crore for 2005-06 to the Union Government which holds an equity of 73.17 per cent in the public sector bank.

The dividend cheque for Rs. 198 crore was presented to P. Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister, by M.B.N. Rao, chairman and managing director, Canara Bank, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Canara Bank recorded a net profit of Rs. 1,343 crore during 2005-06 and had declared a dividend of 66 per cent for the year, a bank statement said here. — Special Correspondent

Another term for Lokayukta sought

TUMKUR: A "Dharani Satyagraha" seeking another term for Lokayukta N. Venkatachala began here on Wednesday.

People who participated in the protest said they had faxed a memorandum to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam requesting him to advise the State Government to give Mr. Venkatachala a second term.

They appealed to the general public to support the Lokayukta officials and keep them informed about corruption in public offices. — Staff Correspondent

Two killed in accidents

HUBLI: Two persons were killed and three persons, including a woman, were injured in two accidents here on Tuesday. The police gave the names of the deceased as Basanagouda Kallyanappagouda Nadagouda of Tirlapur village and Yallappa Rajappa Bhajantri of Tadasa village. Basanagouda was killed on the spot when the car in which he was travelling collided with a truck on Kusugal Road.

The other accident occurred near Malali Cross on the Puna-Bangalore national highway. The injured have been admitted to Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences hospital. — Staff Correspondent

Train halt cancellation

HUBLI: South Western Railway has temporarily cancelled halting of Amaravati Express trains at Daroji station in Hubli Division for two more months from July 1, according to a release. It was earlier cancelled for a month from June 1. — Staff Correspondent

`Eye Fest-06' from July 1

HUBLI: M.M. Joshi Eye Institute here will organise "Eye Fest-06," a two-day Continued Medical Programme from July 1. As many as 250 ophthalmologists from across the country are expected to participate in it.

M.M. Joshi, Medical Director and Chief Ophthalmic Surgeon of the eye institute and A.S. Guruprasad, organising secretary of the event, told

presspersons here on Wednesday that a live demonstration of stitchless microincision cataract surgery (phacoemulsification technique) will be held as part of the programme. — Staff Correspondent

Inaugurated

HUBLI: MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) Processing Centre, which will speed up processing of inter-bank cheques and settlement of funds among banks in Hubli-Dharwad, was inaugurated here on Monday by Partha Bhattacharya, General Manager (Network- 2), State Bank of India, Bangalore.

The new facility would help in reducing the time required for clearing of inter-bank cheques to one day, a release said. — Staff Correspondent

Lens implant

HUBLI: As many as nineteen persons underwent intraocular lens implant surgery at the 179th camp organised by the M.M. Joshi Eye Institute here recently. As many as 160 persons were treated for various eye-related problems. In the valedictory function of the camp, Jabbarkhan Honnalli, former Minister, lauded the efforts made by the institute in taking advanced eye treatment to the public. — Staff Correspondent

Workshop

HUBLI: Ramakrishna Vivekananda Ashram, Hubli, has organised an education workshop at Srujana auditorium on Karnataka College Campus, Dharwad,on July 15 .

For details, contact the office of the ashram at 5th Cross, 3rd Main Road, Kalyannagar, Hubli (Ph: 0836- 2377345). — Staff Correspondent

Foundation Day

PANAJI: Goa University will celebrate its 21st Foundation Day on Friday. Eduardo Faleiro, Commissioner for NRI Affairs and former Union Minister Eduardo Faleiro, will deliver a lecture on "South Asia and Asia Resource" as part of the celebrations. — Special Correspondent

Rs. 45 crore for water supply in villages

Bangalore: Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Govind M. Karjol on Wednesday informed the Legislative Assembly that the Centre had released Rs. 45 crore for taking up a programme for supply of drinking water in villages. He reiterated that there was no shortage of funds for drinking water supply. Replying to criticism by Opposition members on the issue, Mr. Karjol, who held the Rural Drinking Water Supply portfolio earlier, said Rs. 60 crore had been allocated for the purpose last year. Of Rs. 124 crore allocated this year, Rs. 20 crore was for Bangalore Rural district. But the money had not been spent, and the Government was ready to grant it when it was required. — Staff Reporter

`Government has no concern for the poor'

BANGALORE: The Janata Dal (United) group leader in the Legislative Assembly J.C. Madhuswamy on Wednesday criticised the Government for "allowing" funds earmarked for rural water supply programmes to lapse. Questioning the use of crores of rupees earmarked in the budget and funds granted by the Centre, he said the State Government had no concern for the rural poor. — Staff Reporter

Rs. 992.5 lakh for scholarships

BANGALORE: The Social Welfare Minister Balachandra L. Jarkiholi announced in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that the Finance Department had approved the release of Rs. 992.50 lakh for payment of scholarships to schoolchildren from the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. — Staff Reporter

Canara Bank staff strike today

BANGALORE: Canara Bank employees will go on strike on Thursday to demand higher interest rates on Provident Fund and hiring of moer employees to meet the increased workload. M.R. Shenoy, president of the Canara Bank Staff Union, said the management should not have reduced the interest rate on Provident Fund to 7.5 per cent. In most other public sector banks, the rate varied from 8.5 to 10 per cent, he said. The union said the shortage of manpower in bank branches had affected work and customer service. — Special Correspondent

Firing in forest: revolver seized

CHAMARAJANAGAR: The Yelandur police, who are investigating the firing incident during the shooting of the film "Rakshaka" at Doddasampige reserve forest area in the BRT wildlife sanctuary, on Tuesday seized a revolver from Shivappa, gunman of Kollegal MLA Balaraj. The revolver has been sent to the Forensics Science Laboratory, Bangalore. A case has been registered. The police have recorded the statement of Erappa, who was injured during the incident. — Correspondent

Stay on land acquisition for airport

BANGALORE: Following a stay order issued by the Karnataka High Court, the Government can take steps to acquire only 154.06 acres of land for the Mysore airport project, Minister for Tourism and Textiles B. Sriramulu told the Legislative Council on Wednesday. Mr. Sriramulu said 174.22 acres of land was to be acquired for the project. Owners of 20.16 acres filed a petition and a stay order was given, he added. D. Madegowda and others suggested the Government look for alternative land as delay in the airport project would hamper development of the district. — Staff Reporter

Congress panel presidents named

BANGALORE: After a delay of several months, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee has named presidents for 323 block committees of the party. The names were released on Wednesday by Chairman of the Pradesh Election Authority Khan Ghufran Zahidi, a former MP from Uttar Pradesh. — Special Correspondent

Sentenced

Raichur: Principal Chief Judicial Magistrate Ramakrishna Sindhe convicted Mohammed Mahamood, a lorry driver, under Section 279 and 304 (a) of the IPC and sentenced him to six months' simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 5,600. According to an FIR submitted by the Shakthinagar police, on September 25, 2004, Mohammed Mahamood drove the bus (APSRTC) negligently and hit Sugappa (45) of Shakthinagar injuring him seriously. He was admitted to the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited Hospital at Shakthinagar where he died the next day. — Staff Correspondent

Arrested

Raichur: The Raichur police arrested K. Ramakrishna, a native of Paidoddi village in Andhra Pradesh, and seized 14,000 sachets of arrack packed in 47 polythene bags worth Rs.1.67 lakh while he was transporting them in a vehicle near Arsikera village near here on Wednesday. He has been remanded in judicial custody. The driver, Basha is absconding. The Yapaldinni police have registered a case. — Staff Correspondent

Heavy rain in Bijapur

BIJAPUR: Heavy rain lashed city and other parts of the district on Wednesday disrupting traffic and electricity supply. Since noon, Bijapur recorded a rainfall of 40 mm. Many low-lying areas, including Navbagh, Meenakshi Chowk, Bus Stand and Shikarakhana, were waterlogged. Power supply was disrupted in some localities for several hours. It resumed in a few localities in the evening but remained unstable. — Staff Correspondent

Three dead

Gulbarga: Three people and two bulls died after lightning struck them in Kallangadaga village in Gulbarga taluk on Wednesday evening. Ambabai Madhavrao (28), Shivananda Ramachandra (30) and Shanakarappa Tippanna (55) died on the spot. They were working in the field, police said. A case has been registered in the Gulbarga rural police station. — Staff Correspondent

Postponed

MYSORE: The University of Mysore has postponed the entrance examination to various postgraduate degree, diploma, certificate and M. Phil courses scheduled to commence on Thursday. It also extended the last date for submission of applications to various courses to July 8. — Staff Correspondent

Admission to CAVA

MYSORE: The Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) has invited applications for Master in Fine Arts courses with specialisation in painting, sculpture and graphics for 2006-07. A press release said those who have passed the Bachelor in Fine Arts examination were eligible. Those interested may contact the Dean, CAVA, Sayyaji Rao Road, or call 2438931 for details. The last date to submit applications was July 4, the release said. — Staff Correspondent

Meat stall owners warned

MYSORE: The Mysore City Corporation has warned meat stall owners of stringent action and imposition of fine if the meat meant for sale was not kept in glass cases. A press release said meat was being kept in open that might attract bacteria and dust, which could lead to serious health problems. Those who violated the directions of the corporation would be fined Rs. 1,000. Their licence would be cancelled, the release added. — Staff Correspondent

Training in poultry

MYSORE: The Regional Poultry Development and Training Centre at Malavalli near here will conduct a training programme in poultry management. It will be provided free of cost. A release said unemployed youth and members of Stree Shakthi self-help groups could apply. Details could be had from the centre at Malavalli or on Ph: 08231242457. — Staff Correspondent

Inner Wheel Club programme

MYSORE: Classical danseuse Vani Ganapathy will participate in a programme of the Inner Wheel Club of Mysore Mid-Town on July 5. A press release said Ms. Vani Ganapathy would install the new team of office-bearers of the club for 2006-07. — Staff Correspondent

Hostel facility

MYSORE: Sri Neelakanteshwara Students' Hostel has invited applications from students studying in Mysore for admission during 2006-07. Details could be had from the hostel, Sri Neelakantaswamy Math, Harishchandra Road, Khille Mohall, or call 2447694 for details. — Staff Correspondent

Woman injured

SHIMOGA: An elderly woman was seriously injured when the private city bus in which she was travelling fell into a ditch near Tunga Channel at Tippunagar here on Wednesday. Ten others sustained minor injuries. Buses are being diverted through the narrow road owing to repair of the old channel on the main road. — Special Correspondent

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