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Karnataka Election Commission postpones gram panchayat polls

News Network
May 28, 2020

May 28: The Karnataka State Election Commission on Thursday announced postponement of gram panchayat polls citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Out of 6,025 gram panchayats, the tenure of 5,800 gram panchayats will end by June-August 2020.

"After examining the feasibility of conducting general elections to gram panchayats, the State Election Commission, considering the current situation as exceptional circumstance, has decided to temporarily postpone the general elections to the gram panchayats," the SEC said in a release.

It said after examining the situation in the days to come, the decision will be taken on holding the general elections to the gram panchayats.

The CEC also states that report by Deputy Commissioners of districts on holding the elections was verified and it has been found that district administrations are involved in COVID-19 related work and there will be shortage of staff and transport facilities for the elections. Besides, there would be a problem in maintaining law and order.

Last week through a letter to Deputy Commissioners of districts, the commission had sought opinion on holding panchayat polls amid the COVID-19 crisis. It had also pointed out that electoral roll needs to be prepared and reservations had to be allocated as per the new amendments.

Stating that the state election commission's decision to postpone gram panchayat elections was against the provisions of the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act 1993, the Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah said the Congress will question this "undemocratic act" in the court of law.

He accused the commission of playing to the BJP's tune and said the congress will protest the decision at gram panchayat level.

Opposition parties in the state, especially congress, have been demanding elections.

The government was in favour of postponement of polls and wants to have administrative committees to govern the panchayats, until the polls are held, according to government sources.

The Congress, raising apprehension about administrative committees, has accused the government of conspiring to have ruling BJP workers as its members.

A congress delegation had last week submitted a petition to State Election Commissioner B Basavaraju and urged the Commission to hold elections.

The congress had even suggested continuation of sitting panchayat members until the polls are held, instead of appointing administrative committees.

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News Network
August 9,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 9: Swollen rivers and flood-like situation continue to threaten lives and property in several parts of Karnataka that have been ravaged by torrential rains over the last few days.

Though there has been a respite from the downpour in some parts, rivers continue to flow above the danger mark, inundating low lying areas in several parts of Malnad, coastal and interior Karnataka.

There are also reports of continued landslides in hilly areas of Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru.

In Dakshina Kannada, heavy rains have submerged several areas in Bantwala and Belthangady, among others, with the Netravati river overflowing and also water being released from nearby dams.

Officials said incessant rains in Cauvery river catchment areas have led to increased inflow in the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya district. Water is being released from it and people living in low lying areas have been warned, they said.

There is also a flood-like situation in Najanagudu and nearby areas of Mysuru as the swollen Kapila river has inundated roads connecting Ooty in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, with water being released from Kabini dam.

There has been some respite from heavy rains in certain parts of Kodagu, which has been ravaged by floods and landslides. However, several areas of the district continue to be in deluge with the Cauvery and Lakshmana Tirtha rivers overflowing due to rains in the hilly areas.

There are also reports of landslides in some parts of the district.

Meanwhile, continuing rains are hampering the search operation by NDRF and authorities to locate five people, including the priest at Talacauvery, the origin of the river Cauvery, who had gone missing due to massive landslides at Bramhagiri hills on Wednesday night.

There are also reports of landslides at a few places in Charmadi ghat region of Chikkamagaluru and the road connecting to Dakshina Kannada has been closed temporarily.

Though Belagavi district has had some respite from the heavy rains, flood like situation continues to persist as the Krishna river and its tributaries are swollen due to continued inflows because of rains in neighbouring Maharashtra.

Inflow has also increased to the Tungabhadra dam of Ballari district due to rains in the catchment areas of Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru.

Authorities have alerted people living in low lying areas about opening dam gates to release water anytime with rising inflow.

There is a similar flood like situation in parts of Yadgir, Raichur and Bagalkote districts with water being released from various dams.

The state government has released ₹ 50 crore for emergency relief and has announced ₹ 10,000 as immediate relief each to affected families.

An amount of ₹ 5 lakh has been announced for completely damaged houses, while in the case of partially damaged ones, relief will be distributed considering the extent of damage.

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News Network
February 17,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 17: Out of the total 418 samples of suspect coronavirus cases sent for testing to National Institute of Virology from Kerala, 405 have come out as negative, while the results for the rest, barring three, are awaited.

"Out of three persons in whom the disease was confirmed, two persons have been discharged. One person is stable and the repeat sample results are awaited," according to a release by the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Kerala government.

The release added that till Sunday a total of 2,276 people have been placed under surveillance, "out of which 2262 are under home isolation and 14 are admitted in designated isolation facilities."

The health condition of all symptomatic people under isolation is stable, according to the release.

The release added that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Centre) has informed the Kerala government that 115 people belonging to Kerala are currently in quarantine in two camps in Delhi.

These 115 people have been tested and found negative for coronavirus and they will be allowed to travel back to Kerala on Monday evening.

The people have been requested to remain in home isolation upon their return.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 10: Two Iranian nationals have been arrested by the Karnataka police for allegedly stealing money from car showrooms by diverting cashiers’ attention in Mangaluru, Udupi and Bengaluru.

The arrested are Saeed Rostami, 26 and his friend Saber Hossein Eghbalzadeh, 35, are both residents of Tehran and in India on tourist visa. They were caught by the sleuths of Bengaluru’s RMC Yard police station.

The accused would approach the cashiers, asking for change for Rs 2000 notes to divert their attention and flee with cash from the showroom. 

The duo landed in New Delhi on January 16. Later, they arrived in coastal Karnataka before reaching Bengaluru on February 1. 

The same day around 4pm, the two visited Trident Automobile Pvt Ltd’s service centre in RMC Yard. They went to cashier Kiran and sought change for Rs 2000. One of them dropped the note and Kiran picked it up for him. Meanwhile, Kiran also noticed there was no change in his cash box and informed the duo accordingly. 

“Kiran later realised Rs 44,000 was missing from the cash box. He verified CCTV footage and found the two visitors stole the money when he bent down to pick up the Rs 2000 note,” a police officer said.

Kiran filed a theft and cheating case against the men. RMC Yard police suggested Kiran circulate the footage at other car showrooms and service centres as they had heard about similar incidents being reported from Udupi, Mangaluru and other places in Bengaluru.

“Sharing of CCTV footage helped us nab the suspects. They visited a showroom near Cauvery junction on Ballari Road on February 6. The staff noticed the duo and realised they were the same guys, who had stolen the money at RMC Yard and informed us,” said police.

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