Countdown for Modi government has begun: Siddaramaiah

Mysuru, Jan 20: As the Karnataka state Congress is still awaiting the appointment of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President, MLA Satish Jarkiholi has said that in order to balance the caste and regional equations, All India Congress Committee (AICC) was planning to create four working presidents posts for KPCC.

Talking to media personnel here on Sunday, Mr Jarkiholi, who is considered to be in the race for the post, said that a clear picture about the constitution of additional posts of the working president in the KPCC would emerge in a week.

He added that it has been delayed due to the Assembly elections in Delhi.

Bengaluru, Apr 11:  Amid nationwide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19, former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday urged the state government to announce a relief package for farmers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a video conference with Chief Ministers.

Taking to Twitter, Kumaraswamy wrote, "As the lock down continues, what action plan does the government have to tackle the challenges of ensuring marketing channels for farm produce with timely transport and ensuring uninterrupted supply of essential groceries to towns and cities?"

He later asked the government to act "swiftly and effectively".

"On one hand we see farmers throwing their produce in despair and losing their livelihoods. On the other hand supplies to towns are depleting. This is threatening both lives and livelihoods. The government must act swiftly and effectively," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

"I urge the state government to immediately announce relief package to farmers by way of direct benefit transfer mechanism and purchase all the agricultural produce so as to avoid farmer suicides," he added.

With 40 deaths and 1,035 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India on Saturday witnessed a sharpest ever increase in coronavirus cases, taking the tally of the infected people in the country to 7,447, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Bengaluru, May 25: Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds that lashed Bengaluru last evening left hundreds of trees uprooted near the BTM layout and other areas.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a thunderstorm accompanied with lightning in Karnataka for the next five days.

"Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning at will prevail at isolated places over Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, South Interior Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe and Tamilnadu, Puducherry and Karaikal," the IMD said its All Indian Weather Forecast Bulletin.

According to the forecasting agency, due to strong southerly wind from the Bay of Bengal to northeast India at lower tropospheric levels, heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls likely at isolated places over parts of northeastern states.

In addition to that heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over adjoining parts of east India during 24th-28th. "Heavy rainfall at isolated places over parts south peninsular India from May 26th-28th, 2020," the IMD said its All Indian Weather Forecast Bulletin.