Centre may announce relaxation on 'many things' after May 17: Karnataka CM

May 10: Azaan is an integral part of the faith, not the gadget, says veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, asking that the Islamic call to prayer on loudspeakers should be stopped as it causes "discomfort" to others.

In a tweet on Saturday, Akhtar wondered why the practice was 'halaal' (allowed) when it was, for nearly half a century in the country, considered 'haraam' or forbidden.

"In India for almost 50 years Azaan on the loud speak was Haraam. Then it became Halaal and so halaal that there is no end to it, but there should be an end to it. Azaan is fine but loud speaker does cause of discomfort for others. I hope that atleast this time they will do it themselves (sic)," Akhtar tweeted.

When a user asked his opinion on loudspeakers being used in temples, the 75-year-old writer said everyday use of speakers is a cause of concern.

"Whether it's a temple or a mosque, if you're using loudspeakers during a festival, it's fine. But it shouldn't be used everyday in either temples or mosques.

"For more than thousand years Azaan was given without the loud speaker. Azaan is the integral part of your faith, not this gadget," he replied.

Earlier in March, Akhtar had supported the demand to shut mosques amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, saying even Kaaba and Medina have been closed due to the pandemic.

He had also appealed to the Muslim community to offer prayers from home in the holy month of Ramzan, which began on April 24.

"I request all the Muslim brothers that now that Ramzan is coming, please say your prayers but make sure that this doesn't cause problems to anyone else. The prayers that you do in the mosque, you can do that at home. According to you, the house, the ground, this all has been made by Him. Then you can do your prayers anywhere," he had said.

Bengaluru, Jan 2: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "neglecting" Karnataka ahead of his visit on Thursday, the state Congress questioned why he did not give adequate relief and pay a visit to the state, when most of its parts were affected by severe floods last year.

Modi will begin his two-day visit to the state on Thursday afternoon.

The Congress' Karnataka unit in a series of tweets also questioned the Prime Minister about not conferring the "Bharat Ratna" on Shivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganga Math, who passed away last year at the age of 111 years.

"Why you did not visit the state, when it was affected by floods? Despite the damage of over Rs 1 lakh crore why you did not declare it as a national disaster? Why you did not give interim relief? When the state government has given a report that the damage caused was to the tune of Rs 35,300 crore why did you sit quiet by giving just Rs 1,200 crore," the state Congress tweeted.

As many as 103 taluks in 22 districts of Karnataka were affected due to unprecedented floods in August, in which over 80 people were killed.

Around seven lakh people were shifted to safe areas during the deluge and thousands of houses were damaged.

In October, various parts of the state faced a deluge for the second time in two months, killing over 13 people and damaging thousands of houses.

Asking as to why the Centre was not giving the state's share of GST amount adequately, the Congress questioned as to why dues under MNREGA programme were not paid so far, and why Karnataka was being neglected while allocating grants.

Questioning Modi as to why he did not visit Tumakuru when Shivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganga Math passed away, the principal opposition party in the state Assembly, also sought to know why the seer was not conferred with the Bharat Ratna yet.

It also pointed out that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had written a letter in this regard in January 2018.

The Congress has also hit out at the BJP-led Central government over imposition of Hindi language by neglecting regional languages and mother tongue.

The Prime Minister will kickstart his visit to the state by paying tributes to the late pontiff's 'Gadduge' (final resting place) at the Math premises near Tumakuru.

Later, he will attend an event organised to give away Krishi Karman awards and to distribute fishing equipment at the government college ground in Tumakuru, before leaving for Bengaluru where he will be attending a DRDO event.

On Friday he will be inaugurating 107th Indian Science Congress here.

Bengaluru, May 20: A mysterious "boom" heard in large parts of Bengaluru this afternoon left residents of the city and social media users puzzled. While the source of the sound is being investigated, the Indian Air Force (IAF) indicated that it could be the result of "routine test flights that necessitate going supersonic a times".

The sound was heard from as far as the Bengaluru airport in Devanahalli to the IT hub of Electronic City 54 km away. It was also heard in Kalyan Nagar in east Bengaluru, central Bengaluru's MG Road and areas such as Marathahalli, Whitefield, Sarjapur and Hebbagodi.

IAF said no aircraft of training command was flying in the area. "However, ASTE (Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment) and HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) could have been undertaking their routine test flying, which necessitates going supersonic at times. These are done well beyond the city limits in specified sectors. However, considering the atmospheric conditions and reduced noise levels in the city during these times, the aircraft sound may become clearly audible even if it happened way out from the city," said the air force statement.

Many people had speculated that the sound could have been caused by a fighter jet such as a Mirage 2000.

"We have also asked the Air Force Control Room to check if it was a jet or supersonic sound. Bengaluru police are awaiting confirmation from the Air Force," Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao said in a statement.

It was not an earthquake, Karnataka's state disaster monitoring centre had tweeted earlier.

"Earthquake activity will not be restricted to one area and will be widespread. We have checked our sensors and there is no earthquake activity recorded today," the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said, quoting its director Srinivas Reddy.

"The activity reported in Bengaluru is not due to an earthquake. The seismometers did not capture any ground vibration as generally happens during a mild Tremor. The activity is purely a loud unknown noise," the agency tweeted.

#Bangalore and #BangaloreBoom was among the top trends on Twitter this afternoon.

"We are trying to ascertain the source of the noise," a senior police officer said. "In Whitefield area, we have searched on the ground and so far, there is no damage to any property," he added. There were no calls to the police control room reporting any damage.