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Karnataka: Taxpayers' money splurged on cars for 12 new ministers

[email protected] (DHNS)
August 3, 2016

Bengaluru, Aug 3: Twelve of the 13 ministers inducted into the state cabinet in June are set to get brand new Toyota Innova cars. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently approved his new ministerial colleagues' request for new four-wheelers. The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) has placed an order for Toyota Innova Crysta, which costs Rs 19.49 lakh each. The new ministers are said to be not comfortable using the existing cars though they are in a good condition.

innovaThe department will procure a total of 15 new vehicles for the ministers by spending nearly Rs 3 crore of taxpayers' money. The new ministers are so particular about having new cars that none of them is ready to accept Toyota Fortuner that former minister Manohar Tahsildar was using until recently.

Toyota Fortuner is a top-end Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and is more expensive than Toyota Innova. Except for the chief minister, all the ministers were provided with Innova. But the chief minister gave special permission to Tahsildar to buy a Fortuner as he complained of back pain. The car was bought just three months ago, a source in the DPAR said.

Of the 13 new ministers, Labour Minister Santosh Lad is an exception. He has not sought a new car. Lad, who owns an iron ore mining company, is said to have no qualms about moving around in the old car (Toyota Innova) used by his predecessor P T Parameshwar Naik. Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa, Health Minister K R Ramesh Kumar, Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddi and Minister for Planning and Statistics M R Seetharam are among the 12 new ministers who will get the new cars.

As per the rule book, new ministers are entitled to new cars from the DPAR. Incumbent ministers can ask for replacement for old cars only if the vehicles have run for more than one lakh km or are more than three years old. Except for the cars used by three members in the 34-member council of minister, the vehicles of all other ministers are in good condition or less than three years old, the source said.

B Ramanath Rai (Forest Minister), H C Mahadevappa (PWD Minister) and Vinay Kulkarni (Mines and Geology Minister) are the three ministers who are entitled to new vehicles. Though Kulkarni became a minister in October 2015, he has been using the old vehicle left behind by his predecessor, the source said.

The chief minister recently bought a new Toyota Fortuner for himself by spending Rs 34 lakh. There was speculation in the media that Siddaramaiah bought the new car after a crow was found sitting in his old vehicle.

Comments

Irshad
 - 
Wednesday, 3 Aug 2016

It is not a big issue 12 cars are lesser than PM's one day's foreign Trip.

Satyameva jayate
 - 
Wednesday, 3 Aug 2016

Our PM uses a BMW..what are laaya kya..any comment....

SYED
 - 
Wednesday, 3 Aug 2016

CAR BHAGYA TO MINISTERS....

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News Network
March 20,2020

New Delhi, Mar 20: An official of South Western Railway has been suspended for "hiding" her son, who returned from Germany and later tested positive for coronavirus.

The youth has been hiding at a railway guest house in Bengaluru, officials said on Friday.

"She (the railway official) not only failed to inform authorities about her son's return from Germany, but also endangered the lives of others by lodging him in a railway rest house near the main Bangalore railway station," railway spokesperson E Vijaya said.

The Assistant Personnel Officer (Traffic) has been suspended, Vijaya said.

The 25-year-old man, who came from Germany via Spain and was instructed to be in home quarantine after he landed at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on March 13, later tested positive for Covid-19 on March 18.

"She virtually hid her son to protect her family but endangered all of us," a South Western Railway official said.

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News Network
July 20,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 20: Karnataka on Monday reported 3,648 COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 67,420, informed the state health department.

According to a bulletin issued by the department, the state recorded 72 more deaths due to COVID-19 with the toll at 1,403 while six patients who tested positive for the infection have died due to non-COVID causes, as of Monday.

There are 42,216 active cases in the state.
As many as 730 patients were discharged today, taking the total discharged patients to 23,795.
Bengaluru recorded the highest number of cases and deaths today at 1,452 and 31, respectively, informed the state health department.

India's COVID-19 case tally crossed the 11-lakh mark with the highest single-day spike of 40,425 new cases and 681 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, said the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Monday.

The total cases in the country now stand at 1,118,043 while the death toll is 27,497.

The ministry said the total number of cases include 390,459 active cases and 700,087 cured/discharged/migrated.

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News Network
May 22,2020

Bengaluru, May 22: The Karnataka government, which has fixed Rs 200 as fine for not wearing masks and covering faces to contain coronavirus spread, has collected Rs 3.43 lakh from 15,000 people as fine from May 5 till date.

"From May 5, the government has collected Rs 3,43,000 by fining 1,715 citizens for nor wearing masks or covering their faces," the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) Commissioner said in a statement.

Here is a zone-wise chart showing fines that have been collected:

Meanwhile, Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said the state has reached its target of scaling up to 10,000 tests per day by conducting 11,499 tests on Thursday. In Kalaburagi, where the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the State, conducted over 1000 tests yesterday.

"By conducting 11,449 COVID-19 tests yesterday, we reached our target of scaling up to 10,000 tests per day Kalaburagi that saw the first COVID-19 case in the state conducted over 1000 tests yesterday," Sudhakar said.

As per the Union Health Ministry, Karnataka has 1,605 positive cases, of which 571 have been recovered and discharged and 41 have succumbed to the infection.

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