KAS officer's wife ends life; hubby, accused of harassment, goes missing

Bengaluru, Jan 8: The second instalment of flood relief funds from the Centre, announced on Monday, has left BS Yediyurappa less than cheerful, with the chief minister insisting that it is barely adequate. The CM on Tuesday said he will urge the Union government to release more.

On Monday, the Centre announced it will release Rs 669.8 crore in addition to the Rs 1,200 crore it had released earlier towards flood relief and rehabilitation. The total sum is a small fraction of the loss, which the government pegged at a staggering Rs 38,000 crore.

“The Centre has released assistance in two instalments so far, but it is inadequate given the magnitude of the damage. I will request for more funds and I am confident the Centre will oblige,” Yediyurappa told reporters.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the state last week, Yediyurappa had urged him — even openly at a function — to release funds. This followed several pleas over the past four months, which barely drew a response from the Centre. Now, the CM himself suggests it’s barely a drop in the ocean.

The opposition has been criticizing both Yediyurappa and the Centre for their handling of the situation and on Tuesday, leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah of the Congress criticised the CM for “misguiding people” on the sum released by the Centre.

Siddaramaiah tweeted, “Reports from State govt officials say only Rs 669 cr of addl funds are released in 2nd instalment as opposed to the claim of Rs 1,870 cr by Karnataka BJP leaders. At a time when manufacturing industries are closing, BJP’s fake news factory is running at full potential ".

In another tweet, he said, “Moved by the plea of chief minister, Yediyurappa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released an additional Rs 669.8 crore, taking the total amount to Rs 1,869.8 crore. BJP leaders, who are devotees of the god of lies, attempts to depict the total relief amount as 1200+1869.85 = Rs 3,069 cr is ridiculous.”

A high-level committee chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah had sanctioned the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) funds on Monday. While the Press Information Bureau claimed Rs 1,869 crore was approved on Monday, state government officials clarified that the figure included the Rs 1,200 crore released in October.

Meanwhile, sources say the two instalments is all the assistance the state can expect from the Centre towards flood relief. Sources say the Rs 1,870 crore is roughly 60% of the funding — Rs 3,000 cr— which was supposed to be allocated for Karnataka, based on an inter-ministerial team’s assessment of losses in the state.

“Compared to other states for the same period, Karnataka has received the highest amount in flood relief. We cannot expect more,” said a revenue department official, who said the government will not approach the Centre for a special package.

However, revenue minister R Ashoka said the state will pitch for the entire Rs 3,000 crore. “The state government will pursue the matter with the Centre until it releases the entire Rs 3,000 crore. The state government will cover the remainder of the Rs 38,000 crore loss. We will not go back on our word,” Ashoka said. Incidentally, the state has spent about Rs 6,000 crore on relief and rehabilitation so far.

Bengaluru, Jun 16: Continuing easing of restrictions under 'unlock-1,' the Karnataka government has allowed shooting and production of films and television programmes in the state.

In a clarification, Principal Secretary Revenue N Manjunath Prasad said, shooting and production of all films and television programmes that were stopped in between due to lockdown can be allowed.

It is also allowed to continue with the post-production activities of film and television programmes after completing the shooting, it said.

The permission is conditional as it is subjected to adhering of the national directives issued in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, and standard operating procedures prescribed by the Department of Information and Public Relations.

The clarification said permission can be given as film and television shooting and production activities are not banned under guidelines issued by the centre and the state government recently.

Bengaluru, Jan 5: BJP leader and Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa once again blamed the Congress of creating 'confusion' among the Muslim community over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act-2019 while launching a door to door campaign to dispel such rumors.

Yediyurappa was on a door-to-door campaign to make people aware of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and to allay their fears.

"Unnecessarily, the members of Congress are creating confusion among the Muslim community. I assure you that not a single Muslim will be affected because of CAA," said B. S. Yediyurappa.

"Almost all previous Prime Ministers have supported it, now Congress is creating a problem so as to create confusion among Muslims. That's why we are out on the door-to-door campaign," he said.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.