Mangaluru: Habitual offender tied to tree, beaten to death by villagers

Bengaluru, Feb 14: After the swearing-in of ten former JDS and Congress MLAs, political boundaries seem to have become more fluid, with little clarity on who is on whose side. When Honnali BJP MLA Renukacharya visited senior Congressman DK Shivakumar at the latter’s residence, many eyebrows were raised over the reason behind the meeting. There was speculation over why Renukacharya would be meeting a man who is, in all likelihood, slated to be the next KPCC president.

Renukacharya reacted to the rumours by making the meet sound purely professional. He said, “We have a three-day Krushi Sammlan in Honnali, and I went to invite him (DKS) for it.’’   Shivakumar also remained tight-lipped over the real reason behind the meeting, and corroborated Renukacharya’s story. However, insiders claim that the two discussed other issues too. It may be recalled that Renukacharya had openly rebelled against Yediyurappa in 2009.

Bengaluru, Apr 27: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Monday demanded that the Karnataka government announce a special package for farmers who are on the verge of quitting agriculture as their profession following losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Please announce special package for the farmers to bail them out of the loss due to the lockdown.

Drop many of the schemes in the budget but don't leave the farmers in distress," Gowda said in his letter to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.

The JD(S) supremo said the way relief has been announced for the milk producers by procuring the unsold milk and distributing it to the slum dwellers, the same assistance should be provided to the farmers of the state.

"If you don't come forward to assist the farmers, then they will be forced to sell their land," Gowda cautioned the Chief Minister.

The former prime minister said the farmers are on the verge of falling in the debt trap and may be compelled to take the extreme step of suicide due to the losses.

Gowda said the farmers are unable to sell their crop because they are not getting proper price for their produce and are selling their crop at a throwaway price to minimise their losses.

"In just one month farmers reached the brink of bankruptcy as they are unable to sell the standing crops in lakhs of acres of land," Gowda said.

The JD(S) supremo has been championing the cause of farmers in the state and highlighting their sufferings.

On April 3 Gowda has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look into the plight of farmers, labourers and the middle class people due to the lockdown.

"In such times of crisis, we should see to it that there is no disruption in farming activities by ensuring proper marketing channels to agricultural produce, especially perishables.

Only then we can sustain our long battle against this pandemic," Gowda said in a tweet.

Bengaluru, July 25:  Karnataka reported 5,072 new COVID-19 positive cases and 72 deaths on Saturday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 90,942.

The total count includes 55,388 active cases and 1,796 deaths, the state health department said.

Meanwhile, a 100-year-old woman resident of Huvina Hadagali town in Bellary district here recovered from COVID-19 after testing positive for the virus earlier this month.

"Doctors treated me well. Along with regular food, I was eating an apple a day. The doctors are giving me tablets and injection, and I am healthy now. COVID-19 is like a common cold," said Hallamma while speaking to news agency.

The woman's son, daughter-in-law, and grandson had also tested positive for the virus, and the family was treated at their home.

India reported a spike of 48,916 coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the total number of reported COVID-19 cases to 13,36,861, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total count include 4,56,071 active cases, 8,49,431 cured/discharged/migrated. With 757 deaths in the last 24 hours, the cumulative toll reached 31,358.