Drug scam allegation is sheer lie; I am ready for any probe: UT Khader

Mysuru, Jul 20: Police and the Bengaluru City Quarantine Squad apprehended quarantine breacher “Drone Boy” Prathap N M in Mysuru on Monday afternoon.

Police sources said that the 23-year-old youth agreed to surrender following negotiations with officers. 

“He agreed to turn himself in after realizing that he had no other alternative,” said an officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

A team of officers from the Quarantine Squad under Dr Prayag H S and police from the Talaghattapura Police Station under Inspector Ramappa Guttedar said they apprehended Prathap who was staying at a hotel in the Mandi Mohalla area at around 3 pm.

Prathap’s father accompanied the team to convince his son to surrender. Police said Prathap will be returned to the city to be placed into 14 days of institutional quarantine. 

With two cell phones at his disposal Prathap, who is accused of twice breaching home quarantine regulations, fled the city on Saturday. 

Police, who were initially aware of only one cell phone, lost track of the youth as he drove out of the city, turning his phone off near Kengeri.

However, after quizzing the fugitive’s family, police learned that Prathap had a second phone and sim card. “His whereabouts were established on Sunday evening by tracking this second phone,” an official source said.

Manipal, Mar 12: Team WGSHA is proud to announce that the culinary museum in WGSHA has been listed in Limca Book of Records as India's First Living Culinary Arts Museum.

Limca Book of Records (LBR) is a catalogue of achievements made by Indians, at home and abroad in diverse fields of human endeavour. LBR is a celebration of exemplary exploits and recognizes accomplishments such as firsts, inventions, discoveries, honours, awards and the truly extraordinary.

Chef Thirugnanasambantham, Principal of WGSHA, while thanking MAHE and ITC Leadership for extending all support towards instituting this museum in Manipal and WGSHA, also appreciated and thanked all those who have directly or indirectly helped towards setting up this museum in Manipal.

"The process for WGSHA's culinary museum to make an entry into the popular Limca Book of Records started almost six months back and after validation by LBR recently, has been listed in the book of records. We are glad that we could be the first of its kind in such endeavour and we also hope to be in Guinness World Records soon", said Chef Thiru.

"We are indeed grateful to Michelin-starred Indian celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna, the founder and curator of this museum, who had this idea of establishing a culinary museum and donated thousands of kitchen tools and equipment worth millions of dollars to this museum for preserving the history of India's rich tradition of culinary arts and to educate the future generations. Chef Vikas Khanna, 'Distinguished Alumnus' of WGSHA, being very desirous of making such a museum in India, what better place it would be than in his own Alma Mater!", he said on the background of having the museum.

Chef Thiru mentioned that Udupi, popular for the famous 'Udupi Cuisine', and being a temple town, is adjacent to International University Town of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

MAHE is home to thousands of international students and visitors. With a great heritage of Udupi, combined with the large number of Indian and International students residing in and around Manipal, it was very apt for the college to create a museum for today's Indian youth and the International visitors to understand the rich culinary heritage of India, through the priceless kitchen tools and equipment donated by Chef Vikas Khanna.

"Has placed WGSHA in the global culinary map and we are proud to have joined all such efforts to preserve the history of cuisines and cultures across the world", said Chef Thiru.

The culinary art academic block housing the museum was opened in April 2018, spread approximately over 25,000 sq ft and is shaped in the form of a giant pot very similar to the ones found in Harappa.

There are historical as well as regular household items such as plates made by the Portuguese in India, a 100-year-old ladle used to dole out food at temples and bowls dating to the Harappan era, an old seed sprinkler, an ancient Kashmiri tea brewer known as 'samovar', vessels from the Konkan, Udupi and Chettinad regions, apart from a large collection of rolling pins, utensils of all shapes and sizes, tea strainers of different types etc.

Bengaluru, June 14: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government of Karnataka has once again urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union BJP government to release GST compensation worth Rs 10,208 crore that is due for the state.

The request was placed with Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman during the 40th GST council meeting, in which Karnataka Home Minister and state’s representative to the council, Basavaraj Bommai, participated.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Bommai said that Rs 10,208 crore was due from the Centre as GST compensation for four four months - from March to May.

“We have requested the Centre to release Rs 1,460 crore - pertaining to GST compensation for the month of March - as soon as possible due to the dire financial conditions of the state,” he said.

Bommai said that the state was confident that the funds will be released soon, noting that Karnataka had recently received Rs 4,314 in GST compensation for three months, between December 2019 to February 2020.

Meanwhile, the state also proposed the Council to reduce penalty for delay in filing GST. Bommai said that while people are made to pay 18% of the tax as fine in delay in payment, Karnataka has asked the Centre to reduce the percentage by half to 9%.