Mangaluru airport bomb planter Aditya Rao surrenders; calls it act of revenge

Mangaluru, Jan 15: Thousands of people on Wednesday boarded boats from Ullal's Kotepura to join a massive protest against the amended Citizenship Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Adyar here.

People travelling through boats and steamers decorated with national flags, raised slogans during their journey through the Netravathi River.

The innovative mode of transportation was used by the protestors to reach the venue, as it not only saved time but was also more convenient for the fishermen, as large number of people from this community joined the protest.

The protestors docked their boats at the shore, which was barely 500 metres from the site of protest, being held at Shah Ground in Adyar.

The distance between Kotepura to the Shah Ground is approximately 15 kilometres but protesters would have to walk more five kilometres to reach the venue because of heavy traffic.

Due to protest, the national highway was also blocked and resulted in huge traffic snarls on routes leading to agitation site. 

Bengaluru, May 9: The Karnataka government may not extend the daily working hours from 8 to 12, with Labour Minister A Shivaram Hebbar saying on Saturday that the move would neither benefit the industries nor workers.

Hebbar said that the proposal has not been discussed and it may come for final deliberations next week. He also noted that some States have already extended the working hours. More than extending working hours, there should be employment to be given. If there are no jobs what can be done by extending working hours? If it is done (working hours extended to 12 hours), it would neither benefit workers nor industries. Let's see what happens, he said.

Asked if the government was in favour of the extension, he said, "I don't think it will be ready for the (12 hour) proposal." Meanwhile, the Minister also said that their top priority now was to see that all MSMEs start operating again, salaries are paid to employees and there are no job losses for any reason. If industries don't reopen, how can workers get their employment? We should think in parallel, Hebbar said adding, the government was keeping the interests of both MSMEs and workers in mind.

He urged the Centre to offer a relief package to the MSME sector, saying it is facing very difficult times due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19-induced lockdown, and also noting its role in generating large-scale employment and feeding large industries.

The BJP-led government has done whatever within its limitations to help the MSMEs, he said. Earlier this week, the Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa announced that the monthly fixed charges of electricity bills of MSMEs would be waived for two months. MSMEs have suffered huge production losses due to the lockdown. It takes some time for them to revive, Yediyurappa had said. The Chief Minister had also said payment of fixed charges in the electricity bills of the large industries will be deferred without penalty and interest for a period of two months.