MSEZ issue: Hunger strike enters third day

[email protected] (CD Network)
March 3, 2011

ZP1

Mangalore, March 3: Dakshina Kannada district unit of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha on Thursday expressed its support to the cause of the job seekers in the project displaced families of the Mangalore Special Economic Zone, whose indefinite hunger strike has entered the third day.

Kishore Kumar, the district unit chief of the BJYM along with his few associates joined hundreds of protesters, who have camped in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner here since Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion he said that BJYM is ready to extend its full support to the struggle of the displaced people. “We have been opposing the anti-people activities of MSEZ right from the beginning and now we have decided to intensify our fight against it” he said.

On Wednesday the district unit of Kannada Rakshana Vedike had joined the protesters, who are exerting pressure on the government and the company to fulfill the promise of providing suitable jobs to the trained youth belonging to project displaced families.

Around two hundred youth, belonging to MSEZ affected families, who have already completed training and those who are being trained at the Karnataka Polytechnic (KPT) are taking part in the protest.

Currently, 186 candidates have completed the training imparted by the company, while 188 other candidates are still undergoing job training. Most of them had stopped their education half way through following the company's assurance that they would get high salary jobs if they passed out of training classes.

Speaking on the occasion, R N Shetty Kalavaru, who is representing the affected people, said that they will welcome any organisation or person willing to join the protest.

One of the protesters said that they will continue their protest until a favourable decision is taken by the district administration with regard to their demands. “We will not go back till the government makes arrangements to provide jobs to all those members affected families, who have completed the training and those who are undergoing training at the Karnataka Polytechnic, either in MRPL or in ONGC,” he said.

The protesters accused the MSEZ officials of giving empty promises of providing jobs in MRPL or ONGC during the land acquisition.

Fast unto death

The protesters, who are holding the daylong hunger strike, have warned the authorities concerned that they will launch a fast unto death strike if their demands are not met within three days of the given deadline, i.e., Thursday evening.

“We are now holding daylong hunger strike to bring the issue to the notice of Deputy Commissioner Subodh Yadav. We will intensify our protest and fast unto death, if the district administration does not take initiatives to solve our problems within Thursday evening,” said Narayana, another representative of the protesters.


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News Network
February 18,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 18: Veteran actress Kishori Ballal, 82, best known for playing Kaveri Amma in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Swades, passed away on Tuesday. She was suffering from age-related health issues and breathed her last at a Bengaluru hospital.

Kishori, who hailed from Mangaluru, made her debut in Kannada film 'Evalentha Hendathi' in 1960.

In a career spanning five decades, she went on to act in movies like Hani Hani, Kahi and Suryakanthi. A Bharatnatyam exponent, she was also a part of Hindi films like Lafangey Parindey, Ek Alag Mausam and Gair Kanooni.

Kishori Ballal played the role of Kaveri Amma, the nanny of Shah Rukh Khan (Mohan Bhargav) in Swades.

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News Network
July 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 19: Three legislators of the opposition Congress in Karnataka, including 2 MLAs and 1 MLC tested positive for coronavirus and are under treatment, a party official said on Saturday.

"Our Bailhongal MLA Mahantesh Koujalgi in Belagavi district and Humnabad MLA Rajashekhar Patil and his MLC brother Chandrashekhar Patil in Bidar district tested positive for the infection and are under treatment at designated hospitals," party spokesman Ravi Gowda told media persons in Bangaluru.

Koujalgi's swab sample was taken on Friday after he showed signs of illness and its result turned positive earlier in the day.

"As Koujalgi attended a review meeting at Bailhongal, about 20 officials who participated in the meeting have been home quarantined," said Gowda.

Koujalgi is the second lawmaker in the state's northwest region to test positive after BJP's Belagavi North assembly segment MLA Anik Benake tested positive for the virus on July 15.

"Patil brothers were in self quarantine after meeting BJP's Bidar Lok Sabha member Bhagwanth Khuba, who tested positive on Wednesday. Their tests also showed they were infected with the virus," Gowda said.

Congress MLC Sandesh Nagaraj, who tested positive on Friday, is under treatment at a private hospital in Mysuru.

Dakshina Kannada district Youth Congress president Mithun Rai is in institutional quarantine in Bengaluru after he tested positive for the infection.

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News Network
May 17,2020

Bengaluru, May 17: Left to itself, Karnataka will look to spring back towards normalcy under Lockdown 4.0 as the state government is on standby to resume public transport services from May 18, if the Centre allows it. 

Though KSRTC and BMTC have been preparing for resumption of services, officials in the two corporations told DH that they cannot make a move till the government makes a decision.

Transport Commissioner N Shivakumar said the department will take a decision based on the state government's orders. "The government will take a call on buses as well as taxi and other transport services," he said.

Senior officials in the state government said Deputy Chief Minister and Transport Minister Laxman Savadi has written to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari seeking a nod for resumption of the services. 

Transport Secretary Gaurav Gupta has written a separate letter to his counterpart in the Union government requesting permission to operate public transport. "The state government wants the services to open. The official has listed out the steps the corporations will take to ensure social distancing other steps that will be taken to check spread of Coronavirus," a source said.

The B S Yediyurappa administration has been bullish on easing lockdown restrictions. 

If the Centre empowers the states to define Lockdown 4.0, Karnataka is likely to do away with the red-orange-green zoning of districts and allow public services to resume, except in COVID-19 containment zones. The government is also likely to redefine its containment strategy by micromanaging localities where COVID-19 cases are reported, without letting life in an entire district get affected. 

The government has already shown willingness to allow hotels and gyms to open after May 17 subject to social distancing norms and restrictions. In fact, the government has proposed to allow the resumption of all economic activities in standalone establishments. The government, however, is not keen on opening malls, theatres, diners and establishments that have centralized air conditioning. 

“Everything depends on the Centre,” Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said. “Our only stand is that the red zone should be treated at par with the other zone when it comes to relaxation.” 

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