Meenakshi Shantigodu elected Dakshina Kannada ZP chief, Kasturi Panja deputy

Bengaluru, Jul 26: The government of Karnataka has urged the Muslims to celebrate Eid al-Adha in a simple manner and follow all guidelines amid mounting cases of covid-19.

The festival, also known as Bakrid, will be celebrated on July 31 in coastal districts of Karnataka and on August 1 in other parts of Karnataka. 

In an order, A B Ibrahim, secretary of the department of minority welfare, Hajj and Waqf has prohibited offering Eid prayers in open grounds (Eidgahs) in the wake of pandemic.

Eid prayers can be offered in mosques by following all the necessary precautionary measures including maintaining physical distance. The congregation should not exceed 50 worshippers. If they number exceeds, they should be divided into three groups. 

However, except for mosques, no other places should be used for offering congregational prayer. 

Besides, all those who attend Eid prayers at mosque should compulsorily wear face masks. Entry is banned for people who are above the age of 60 years and below the age of 10. At least six feet distance needs to be maintained while offering prayer.

Thermal scanning needs to be done before entering the mosque. Hands need to be washed in soap or sanitizer. No one should touch the holy books in the mosque. Hand shaking and embracing to greet will also not be allowed. If any strangers are seen, their movement should be monitored.

Feb 26: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday claimed that it prevented Karnataka from discussing the contentious Mekedatu reservoir issue at the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) meeting held in New Delhi.

Besides the representatives of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at the fifth meeting of CWMA, presided over by Central Water Commission Chairman R K Jain, officials of Kerala and Puducherry also participated.

CWMA member and TN PWD Secretary K Manivasan told reporters after the meeting that the state government prevented Karnataka from discussing the dam issue by pointing out the pending petitions in the Supreme Court against the project filed by the E Palaniswami government.

"We have told participants of the meeting that Mekedatu reservoir will be against the interests of Tamil Nadu and its farmers. Our consistent stand is that it should not be built at any cost. Finally the issue was not discussed in the meeting," Manivasan said.

The Mekedatu reservoir is proposed to be constructed by Karnataka across Cauvery river near Mekedatu, about 110 km from Bengaluru, in Kanakapura taluk.

It was first proposed along with Shivanasamudra hydro power project at Shimsa in 2003 with an intention to use the water for a hydro power station and supply drinking water to Bengaluru city. It was designed to store 67 tmc feet of water.

While Tamil Nadu is claiming that the construction of a balancing reservoir will disturb Cauvery water flow to the state affecting irrigation, Karnataka says the project is basically designed to take care of the drinking water needs of Bengaluru after releasing water to Tamil Nadu as per the quantum specified by the Cauvery water disputes tribunal.

Davanagere, Jan 19: Seven people, including four women, were arrested for allegedly selling a 13-month-old female baby here on Saturday.

Police said that the baby was sold to a couple who had no child. The couple hailed from Ranebennur town in Haveri District of Karnataka. They sold the baby, which was their fourth child.

The arrested were identified as Kavita (26) and her husband Manjunath (couple who sold the baby), Dakshayani (34) and her husband Ravi (49) of Ranebennur, Haveri District (the couple who purchased the baby, Chitramma (44) Nurse, Kamalamma (45) and Karibasappa, who acted as middlemen for the deal.