Karnataka witnesses a politically turbulent 2012

December 23, 2012
yeddy


BS Yeddyurappa breaking ranks with BJP and floating his own party, another change of guard, the Cauvery issue, busting of a terror module and an ugly incident of three ministers watching porn clippings in the assembly marked the year 2012 for Karnataka.

The year also saw attacks on girls and boys at a home stay in Mangalore, clash between lawyers and police in the wake of men of legal fraternity attacking journalists and exodus of people from northeastern states following rumours of attack.

The Cauvery water sharing row returned to haunt Karnataka, with Tamil Nadu managing to get court orders for release of water on two occasions and Cauvery basin districts plunged into agitation opposing water release.

The first-ever saffron party government in south India continued to be hit by political turmoil following a banner of revolt launched by its strong man Yeddyurappa, who later launched Karnataka Janata Party with the sole aim of decimating BJP in next year's election.

The other notable events that marked the year was a problem of mounting garbage in the city, which also tarnished the brand name of Bangalore at the international level, resignation drama by ministers and legislators to seek the sacking of D V Sadananda Gowda as chief minister.

There were private complaints pouring against Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, which the Lokayukta court quashed, Law Minister S Suresh Kumar, former chief minister Sadananda Gowda , BBMP Mayor Venkatesh Murthy and former chief ministers H D Devegowda, S M Krishna and Yeddyurappa accusing them of abusing their power.

The year also witnessed an unprecedented scene of ministers and ruling party legislators boycotting the budget session to press for their demand to sack Gowda and make Shettar as chief minister.


In a continued collision-course between Governor HR Bhardwaj with the government, the former rejected in February the recommendation to appoint retired judge S R Bannurmath as Lokayukta in the wake of him facing a land allotment row.

The image of the BJP government took a beating when two of its ministers, Laxman Savadi and C C Patil, were caught on camera watching porn clippings in the state assembly when the house was debating the hardships faced by drought-hit people.

The footage aired by a regional channel and later by others led to the resignation of three ministers-- J Krishna Palemar, who was accused of providing the clippings, besides Savadi and Patil.

Yeddyurappa got a major relief from the high court in March when it quashed the FIR registered against him in illegal mining case on Lokayukta report and also a chapter in the report that indicted him. This prompted the 70-year-old Lingayat leader to stake claim for re-instating himself as chief minister, a post he was forced to quit in July 2011, but the BJP high command rejected the demand, which ultimately led him to bid adieu to the saffron party and launch KJP.

However, Yeddyurappa suffered a major setback when the Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe in May into illegal mining and mysterious disappearance of iron ore from Belekeri Port in Uttara Kannada district.

The year saw the tragic death of two officials -- Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer Mahantesh, who was murdered by some individuals in Bangalore City and an Assistant Conservator of Forest Madan Naik in Dandeli, who was assaulted by a group of tourists to death for warning them to be beware of crocodiles in the lake, triggering off protests from government servants.


The internal feud that has been simmering in the ruling BJP ever since it came to power in 2008 continued unabated in 2012 and led to sacking of Sadananda Gowda as chief minister by the rebels led by Yeddyurappa.

Yeddyurappa ensured that nine ministers loyal to him quit seeking Gowda's replacement with Shettar on June 29 and they withdrew the resignation on July 2 after BJP high command accepted the demand for change of guard.

Gowda quit as chief minister on July 8 and Shettar, another Lingayat leader, assumed office on July 12. But the rumblings in the government and also the party continued.

People of the state were for a rude shock when the city police announced that they have uncovered a terror module with the arrest of 11 terror suspects who had planned to eliminate prominent politicians and journalists on August 30.


The reputation of the state suffered a major dent when the activists of Hindu Jagaran Vedike stormed a home stay in Mangalore, beat up girls and boys partying there in July. The attack evoked nationwide outrage.



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Agencies
March 3,2020

Facebook on Monday launched a new consumer marketing campaign in India titled 'More Together'. India is the first country in the Asia Pacific region where such a campaign is being rolled out.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

"India is at the heart of Facebook and one of our focus areas this year is to tell the exciting story of a service that is deeply embedded in the fabric of India," said Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director, Facebook India.

The campaign would have multiple campaigns over the next few weeks in eight languages and the one will be set in the context of Holi.

Facebook in 2019 introduced a new company logo to further distinguish the company from the Facebook app.

The company recently announced the appointment of Avinash Pant as the Marketing Director for India operations, to drive the consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps.

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Agencies
July 24,2020

Pune, Jul 24: Agile and dexterous, 85-year-old Shantabai Pawar wields sticks with absolute ease as she displays 'lathi-kathi' on the streets of Pune.

A video of her, displaying her skills in the Indian martial art form for livelihood, has gone viral on social media.

Pawar told media persons that she learnt the art form when she was only eight and has been practising it since then. The ancient martial art s believed to be linked to Dombari community, a nomadic tribe in Maharashtra.

"I have been pursuing the art of lathi-kathi since I was eight. I have never left it. It is part of me and it is an honour to practice it. My father taught me this. He taught me to work hard," Pawar told media persons.

In the video, the sari-clad octogenarian takes a warrior-like stride and effortlessly rotates a stick several times in a second in her hand and around her head and then does it with two sticks together with a smile on her face. She also tosses a stick in the air and catches it with ease.

The assembled gathering is impressed and enthused.

"People come and say, 'Well done Daadi!' I practice it to earn money for my children and grandchildren," she said.

Pawar leaves her home in the morning in the conditions created by coronavirus and performs the art form on roads and streets.

"I go to various areas to perform the art form and people give money," she said.

The artiste also uses thali and stick to gather the attention of people as most of them are indoors due to conditions created by COVID-19.

Senior citizens have been advised against venturing out due to their greater susceptibility to coronavirus but Pawar said she is not afraid to step out.

"People do advise me to not go out due to fear of COVID-19 but I am not scared. Whenever I step out, I pray to my God and he has kept me safe so far," she said.

Aishwarya Kale, a dancer and the person who uploaded the video on social media, said that it is "only an artist who can understand what help another artist needs".

"I was in that area shopping for some items and it was then I saw her performing and thought that I should film her and upload her video on social media. But I never thought that the video would go viral and she would receive financial help not just from people in the country but overseas as well," Kale told media persons.

"She is now getting honour for her craft that she couldn't get in the last 85 years. I feel good that through my small video, her art form has become viral," she added. 

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Agencies
March 8,2020

Consumer watchdog Which? has claimed that more than one billion Android phones and tablets are vulnerable to hackers as they no longer supported by security updates.

According to the research report, the most at-risk phones are any that run Android 4 or older and those smartphones running Android 7.0 which can not be updated are also at risk.

Based on data from Google analysed by Which?, two in five android device users around the world are no longer receiving the important updates. Currently, those devices are unlikely to have issues, but the lack of security leaves them open to attack.

"It is very concerning that expensive Android devices have such a short shelf life before they lose security support, leaving millions of users at risk of serious consequences if they fall victim to hackers," Kate Bevan editor Which? said in a statement.

"Google and phone manufacturers need to be upfront about security updates with clear information about how long they will last and what customers should do when they run out. The government must also push ahead with planned legislation to ensure manufacturers are far more transparent about security updates for smart devices and their impact on consumers," Kate added.

Android phone released around 2012 or earlier, including popular models like the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Sony Xperia S, are particularly at risk to hackers.

Which? has made suggestions to Android users on what to consider if they have an older phone that may be at risk.

Any Android device which is more than two years old, check whether it can be updated to a newer version of the operating system. If it is on an earlier version than Android 7.0 Nougat, try to update via Settings> System>Advanced System update.

In case a user is not able tto update the phone, the device could be at risk of being hacked if it is running a version of Android 4 or lower.

A user also need to be careful about downloading apps outside the Google Play store and should also install a mobile anti-virus via an app.

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