MPL 2016 off to dazzling start as Azhar spreads cricket fever in Mangaluru

Bengaluru, Feb 27: Karnataka Chief Minister and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa turned 78 on Thursday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of leaders greeting him.

Modi hailed Yediyurappa as a "hardworking" chief minister and wished him long life and good health, while several state leaders flocked to his residence and greeted the Lingayat strongman.

"Birthday greetings to Karnataka's hardworking CM @BSYBJP Ji. He is passionately working for the state's progress, especially on farmer welfare and rural development. I pray for his long life and good health," the Prime Minister tweeted.

A large-scale "non-partisan" birthday bash will be held here later in the evening.

The felicitation function will see Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and former chief minister S M Krishna besides Siddaramaiah of Congress and H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) sharing the stage.

Union Ministers D V Sadananda Gowda, also a former chief minister, Pralhad Joshi and Suresh Angadi will be in attendance.

BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B L Santosh and state party chief Nalin Kumar Kateel are among those who will be gracing the event.

While Santosh will release a felicitation volume in Kannada with 78 articles from a cross-section of people, including politicians, writers, bureaucrats, and spiritual leaders; Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy will unveil a coffee table book and documentary respectively.

Yediyurappa, on the eve of his birthday on Wednesday, had said whatever he has achieved is a result of the people's "blessings and faith" and requested well-wishers not to bring bouquets, flowers, shawls, sweets, turbans or any souvenirs to greet him.

The birthday function organised by "Yediyurappa Abhinandana Samiti" (Yediyurappa Felicitation Committee) is being seen in some quarters as an attempt by Yediyurappa and his loyalists to send a message to the party leadership that he was still "strong".

The BJP's current dispensation under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah has retired several senior party leaders who crossed the age of 75.

However, an exception was said to have been made in Yediyurappa's case after the BJP won 25 of 28 seats in the Lok Sabha election under his leadership.

In the 2018 elections, he spearheaded the campaign of the BJP which emerged as the single largest party but fell short of the majority mark following which Congress and JD(S) came to power stitching a post-poll pact.

However, the coalition collapsed in July last year, paving the way for return of Yediyurappa as Chief Minister for the fourth time.

Kasaragod, Jul 14: Kerala State Excise department officials confiscated hawala money to the tune of Rs 2.85 crore from a person hailing from Mangaluru.

According to sources, the officials of the Kumbala Range Excise had noticed the huge baggage containing hundreds of bundles of unaccounted currencies when they intercepted a vehicle at the border check-post at Thoominad in Manjeshwar early on Tuesday morning.

The accused Shamsudheen, who was trying to transport the illegal money into Kerala has been arrested and handed over to the Manjeshwar police authorities for further action, sources added.

Newsroom, Jan 29: Karnataka’s capital has earned the unwelcome distinction of global capital of traffic congestion. According to a report by TomTom, the Netherlands-based global provider of navigation, traffic and map products, Bengaluru beat 415 other cities across 57 countries to earn the title of world's most traffic congested city in 2019.

“Bengaluru takes the top spot this year with drivers in the southern Indian city expecting to spend an average of 71% extra travel time stuck in traffic," TomTom said in the ninth edition of its annual Traffic Index.

Three other Indian cities, namely, Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi are also ranked in the 2019 edition of TomTom’s Traffic Index of the world’s most traffic-congested cities. 

The report released on Tuesday ranks cities by the average time added to a trip. TomTom index also includes details on when congestion is heaviest and lightest, how highways compare with surface streets, and how much time drivers wasted waiting for other drivers to get out of their way.

Following closely on the heels of Bengaluru is Manila, Philippines, with the similar 71% traffic congestion. Among the top five worst traffic affected cities are Mumbai and Pune from India at the fourth and fifth place respectively, while Bogota, Colombia is on third spot.

Delhi, the national capital of India is on the 8th spot, while Moscow (Russia), Lima (Peru), Istanbul (Turkey) and Jakarta (Indonesia) are on 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th spot respectively.

Mumbai recorded a 65% traffic congestion with 9th September, 2019 being the worst day. On an average, a Mumbaikar lost 209 hours in traffic congestion. Pune has 59% traffic congestion with 2nd August, 2019 being the worst day. 193 hours are lost due to congestion. Delhi, on the other hand, has 56% traffic congestion. 23rd October, 2019 was the worst day, while 190 hours are lost in traffic congestion.

Interestingly, among all the four Indian cities, Delhi has the most number of cars. Previous studies have concluded that Delhi has the best road conditions among the Metro cities of India.

If you are wondering what exactly the percentages mean, a 53% congestion level in Bangkok, for example, means that a trip will take 53% more time than it would during Bangkok’s baseline uncongested conditions.

TomTom calculates the baseline per city by analyzing free-flow travel times of all vehicles on the entire road network – recorded 24/7, 365 days a year. The report by Dutch navigation and mapping company ranks cities by the average time added to a trip. It also includes details on when congestion is heaviest and lightest, and how much time drivers wasted waiting for other drivers to get out of their way.