Bengaluru, Apr 19: Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Wednesday directed IGP (Eastern range) Sharat Chandra to conduct a probe into an incident wherein a truck hit Union Minister Anant kumar Hegde’s convoy in Haveri.
Hegde had claimed that it was a deliberate attempt on his life, while the BJP leaders demanded a thorough probe into the incident. State BJP general secretary Shobha Karandlaje claimed that it was an attempt by jihadi elements to kill the Union minister.
Bengaluru, Jul 27: Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, on completion of one year of his government, today said coronavirus hampered his development plans for the state.
He said the state will not see a lockdown again "at any cost".
"Due to coronavirus we couldn't meet people's expectations but now we'll not have lockdown in Karnataka at any cost. In future we're going to fulfill whatever I announced in Budget. If necessary we'll take loans and complete all development work," said Yediyurappa.
"Covid has hampered development plans of Karnataka, lot more needs to be done, i'm committed to providing an able, stable government," he said.
Arrangements were made for virtual celebrations to mark the one-year anniversary of Yediyurappa government at Banquet Hall in Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. Social distancing was maintained at the event.
A record 5,199 new COVID-19 cases and 82 deaths were reported from Karnataka on Sunday, the state's health department said.
With this, the total number of coronavirus cases in the state stands at 96,141, including 58,417 active cases and 35,838 recoveries.
So far, 1,878 deaths have been reported from Karnataka. Karnataka is the only state to have over 50,000 active cases with overall tally below 1 lakh.
Bengaluru, Apr 16: The lockdown in the wake ofthe coronavirus pandemic has turned out to be a deeply painful story for the Kannada film industry.
Schedules have gone awry following the stay-at-home curbs and operators in Sandalwood, as the industry is popularly known as, say about 100 films under production are affected.
They include big budget movies- 'Raja Veera Madakari Nayaka', 'Kotigobba 3', 'Robert' and 'Yuvaratna.'
Noted producer Rockline Venkatesh told P T I that the loss to the industry is to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees.
In addition, it's a challenge for producers to secure the content of their movies from "piracy and leak" during long periods of time before their release, Venkatesh, who is Secretary of Karnataka Cine Artistes' Association, said.
A leading distributor said even after the lockdown is lifted and situation returns to normalcy, it remains a big question if investment in film business will pay off at all.
"People don't have money. We will know the impact when things become normal. Questions many ask if people will return to cinema halls like the way they did before or they prefer to stay away from crowd."
Venkatesh, who had also produced Rajinikanth-starrer 'Lingaa' and co-produced 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' with Salman Khan in the lead role, said it would take at least one to one-and- half years for the industry to be back on its legs.
"That too if the government does hand-holding but if the industry faces a bad hit in terms of income tax and GST and other taxation, 80-90 per cent of the industry will face closure," he said.
"It does not matter if the government does not help the industry but they should not trouble us with things like IT and GST," Venkatesh, who is also a distributor and artiste, said.
A top director said people's "behaviour" towards movies is crucial for the industry's health in the post lockdown scenario.
"With people likely to shy away from going to malls, cinema theatres because of large gatherings there, it's going to be a long road to recovery for us", an industry insider said.
Striking a philosophical tone, Venkatesh said all that people worry now is to save their life and keep good health, adding, amassing money and wealth is the last thing on their mind.
Producers Soorappa Babu and Umesh Banakar, who is also Vice-President of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, told P T I that the industry has taken a huge hit.
Banakar said the loss to the industry due to the lockdown is at least Rs 1,000 crore.
"The coronavirus has affected the entire world. We don't know what to do; we just have to wait," Soorappa Babu, producer of Kiccha Sudeep-starrer 'Kotigobba 3', said.
Bengaluru, Mar 30: The total number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka has climbed to 88 on Sunday after five more persons tested positive for the lethal infection.
"Five more COVID-19 cases reported in Karnataka taking positive cases in the state to 88," said the State health department.
Of the five, one is a close contact of an earlier confirmed patient and the others are workers of a pharmaceutical company in Mysuru, from where a person had tested positive, the department said.
The country is under a 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has infected 1,071 people so far.
Comments
Probe would have not ordered if attempt would have been against muslim politician.
Shobakka got a good chance to raise her voice, keep it up Shobakka.
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