Bengaluru, May 2: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar has urged Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to help the farmers in sending their produce to a market here amid the coronavirus lockdown.
The Congress leader made the appeal to the Chief Minister after listening to the farmers' issues while visiting KR Puram market on Friday.
Farmers told Shivakumar that the police are stopping their vehicles going towards the market despite the order passed by the Centre permitting the movement of vehicles carrying essential commodities during the lockdown.
"I have received calls from more than 100 farmers in the past few days. Every day, farmers from Kolar, Chikballapur, Malur and many other places come to KR Puram market to sell their agricultural goods, but their vehicles are stopped by the police. The cops do not allow them to sell fruits and vegetables. I request the Chief Minister to look into the matter and help the farmers," Shivakumar told reporters.
"I got to know that more than 50 vehicles were sent back. This government is of no use if they cannot secure the interests of the farmers. This government is not providing required support to the farmers," he added.
The Congress leader was accompanied by MLC Narayana Swamy and former president of Hoskote Authority Narayana Gowda during the visit to KR Puram market.
Bengaluru, Apr 11: Seven more people have tested positive for coronavirus taking the tally to 214 in the state.
"Coronavirus cases rise to 214 in Karnataka, with seven more people testing positive between 5 PM Friday and 12 PM Saturday," said the Karnataka health department.
According to the health department, all these seven people have a history of contact with COVID-19 patients. Five of them are workers of a pharmaceutical company in Mysuru.
"Out of the total cases in the state, six people have died while 37 others were cured or discharged," added the state health department.
Bengaluru, Jan 28: Brace for hefty traffic penalties as the state government is all set to reverse a notification on revised fines which came into effect last September following pushback from road users and opposition parties.
The Karnataka government will implement traffic penalties as stipulated in the amended Motor Vehicles Act, 2019, in a phased manner following a diktat from the Centre. The government did not specify the timeline for it.
“At a recent meeting of transport ministers from various states, the Union government explained why it wanted to implement these huge fines. We found it convincing and will implement it in its original form,” said transport minister Laxman Savadi on Monday.
Savadi said India’s image globally has taken a beating due to the high number of road deaths and the Centre wants to change it at any cost. However, he said the entire set of hefty fines would not be reintroduced all at once.
BJP govt revised rates in Sept
The BJP government last September had revised fines on compoundable offences and those which are fined on the spot by traffic cops by 50%- 80%, barring drunken driving and racing.
As per the revised rates, helmetless riding attracted a penalty of Rs 500 against Rs 1,000 notified by the Centre. Driving without a licence attracted a fine of Rs 1,000 for
two- and three-wheelers and Rs 2,000 for light motor vehicles as against the earlier Rs 5,000 for all types of vehicles.
The central government recently told states and Union Territories they should enforce fines as per the amended Act and they cannot be rolled back. The road transport and highways ministry said fines cannot be reduced below the minimum amount fixed by law, unless the President gives his assent.
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