Bengaluru Dec. 4: Congress party incharge for Karnataka Prithviraj Chavan, arrived here on Thursday, ostensibly to finalise the list of party candidates for the byelections to be held on December 27. Sources in the party said that Chavan seems to be carrying a message from the party high command. He has been told to persuade local leaders to agree to a tie-up with the Janata Dal (S).  Local Congress leaders have been voicing their opposition to a tie-up with the JD(S) claiming the pact would be opposed by party workers and district leaders. The two parties had a tie-up in the recent elections to the Legislative Council in which the Congress lost all  three seats to BJP. The JD(S) had not fielded any candidates in this election and is instead likely to lend support to the Congress party.

Sources said that at Wednesday’s meeting, Mr Chavan was told that the Janata Dal(S) had a clear advantage with a sympathy wave in its favour in Maddur constituency. The JD (S) has decided to field    the wife of former MLA late Siddaraju as the candidate to get sympathy votes, the sources added.
 Meanwhile, Opposition leader in the Legislative Council V.S. Ugrappa has demanded a white paper on the precarious state of the state’s finances so that people  realise how badly the BJP government has performed on this front.  According to Ugrappa, the government has already conceded that it is bankrupt.

“There is no money to provide relief to drought and flood victims nor funds to implement the Dr Nanjundappa’s report on improving backward taluks,” he said here on Thursday. At a recent review meeting, it was revealed to the Chief Minister that resource mobilisation by way of tax collection, which should have achieved 60 per cent of the target by December, was only 20 per cent. Utilisation of the funds allocated was also very low, the Congress leader claimed.

Bengaluru Dec. 4: The controversy over the ‘bobbitisation’ of a 33-year-old doctor in the city continues with the victim alleging that his girlfriend did it while she asserts that she had done nothing of this kind. Mir Arshad Ali is now recovering at a private hospital in the city. He told reporters on Thursday at the hospital that he was very upset with Syeda Amina who he alleged had ‘bobbitised’ him.  “We were good friends for eight years. I agreed to marry another girl only after Syeda turned down my proposal. I have no idea why she did this to me,” he said.

The grief stricken man said he had lost all hope. “ I did not expect this from Syeda, who called me to the city seeking medical advice,” he said. According to Arshad, Syeda called him on Saturday morning. “She sought my advice on a few medical complications. As I have been doing this earlier, I reached her clinic around 11.30 am where she offered me a tetra pack of juice,” Arshad explained.

Arshad said he found the juice bitter. “I asked Syeda about this and she said it was the original taste. Soon I lost consciousness,” he said.  When he gained consciousness an hour later, he was shocked to find that he had been ‘bobbitised’. “I pleaded with Syeda to shift me to a hospital and she got me admitted me to Sagar Hospital on Tilaknagar main road. She then vanished,” Arshad claimed.

Syeda has however refused to take responsibility for the “crime” and alleged that Arshad had reached her clinic in the same state. “I called her on the mobile and was shocked when she asserted that she found me bleeding and in an unconscious state and so shifted me to the hospital,” Arshad said.  On why he had delayed filing the complaint, Arshad said this happened because of the condition he was in. “How you can expect me to file a complaint by jumping out of  bed immediately after the operation,” he asked.  On learning about the incident, family members of Arshad rushed to the city. He has now filed a case against Syeda.

When asked whether he would seek monetary compensation from the accused, Arshad stated that he was more concerned about his health. “At this stage, I can’t think of anything else but my health,” he said.  According to him, the organ can be replanted if the operation is conducted within 12 hours after the incident. But with the accused refusing to disclose where the severed organ is,  this is also a remote possibility now, he said.

Arshad did MBBS at Al-Ameen college at Bijapur and started private practice in Mysore while Syeda who studied at a city-based college, has a dental clinic in Koramangala.
“The injury will take at least three weeks to heal. We can then consider the future course of action,” said a doctor at the hospital.

Hubli Dec. 4: With by-elections  round the corner, politicians are turning shepherds tending to the sheep once thought to have been cared for by saint Balu Mama. A shepherd himself, the saint had a few hundred sheep four decades ago. Their number has risen to 25,000 today and they are found grazing in several parts of North Karnataka.  The sheep are worshipped by people in the times of distress as  the saint is said to have performed miracles for the welfare of the poor and downtrodden. Admapur village in Maharashtra, where the saint was cremated, has turned into a pilgrimage centre. Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa, ministers Basava-raj Bommai and C. M. Udasihad also tended sheep here for divine blessings in the last assembly elections. Top political leaders of Maharashtra are believed to participate in this ritual.

“These sheep have proved an antidote to all kinds of problems confronting   people. A large number of politicians come to seek their blessings during the elections,” says shepherd Suresh Erannavar who has been tending to a flock of 3,000 sheep belonging to Balu Mama for the last 22 years.

People suffering from various diseases are given the milk from a few of the male sheep in the flock to cure them. A  few drops of the milk are often put into the eyes of the visually impaired, in the belief that they could regain their sight.   It is believed that many dumb have regained their speech after drinking the milk of these sheep. “All my financial problems and family disputes were resolved after I guarded the sheep belonging to Balu Mama for six months. My mother was also cured of a prolonged illness,” says Irappa Garagad  of Alnavar village in Dharwad taluk. People invite the sheep during drought to their villages and perform pooja to ward off evil.

Bellary Dec. 4: The global economic meltdown which has severely hit the iron ore industry in Bellary, has also affected the  marital plans of youth here. The boom began in Bellary in 2001 after construction picked up in China and other emerging economies  pushing up the demand for iron ore. Over the next few years, the district witnessed a mining frenzy with large companies, small businessmen, farmers, politicians, migrants and even  groups of college drop-outs entering the mining sector. They dug for iron ore everywhere in Sandur-Hospet-Bellary.

This led to the emergence of a class of rich youths in their mid twenties who made profits from the mineral trade and from transporting ore. Their huge stylish houses and swanky cars said it all. Getting brides from rich and powerful families was no big deal for them.
This July, the world came crashing down on them. Just when the global iron ore industry was getting euphoric over the record price of $175 per tonne of iron, it dropped to $50 a tonne with the demand from China suddenly evaporating. The US financial markets started stumbling creating one crisis after the other.

These distant happenings have dealt a body blow to business segments depending on the ore industry. Families which made their wealth from mines, are now hurriedly looking to other sectors. With their fortunes on the downswing, the once prosperous youth of Bellary are suddenly witnessing a decline in their marital prospects with well to do brides no longer as keen as they used to be.

Bengaluru Dec. 4: The Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, has asked all states to start monitoring the chemical content in crops by testing farm produce. “The process which began two months ago across the country has found that the fertiliser level in agriculture and horticulture produce is above alarming levels,”  Dr T.P. Rajendran, assistant director general (plant  protection) told reporters here on Thursday. Speaking on the sidelines of the three-day ‘Dr Lislie C. Colman Memorial National Symposium on Plant Protection’, Dr Rajendran said the country will achieve self sufficiency in its agricultural needs in the next one decade.  “The Union government has provided Rs 34,000 crore to improve agricultural yield and for research in the 11th five year plan. This is also meant to inculcate better agricultural practices among farmers,” he added.

Bengaluru Dec. 4: The city is not very child-friendly as the majority of children don’t feel safe going out alone.  The findings of the survey, ‘Me and My City’ which were released on Thursday, said that 66 per cent  of children felt unsafe going out alone in the city though almost 60 per cent also felt proud to be Bengalureans. The study was conducted by civic club members of Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness, which is a Public Affairs Centre and Swabhimana initiative.

Children do not like traffic jams and bad roads, garbage, spitting and urinating in public and air and noise pollution.  Nearly 3,149 children from private schools and 1,246 from government schools were interviewed in October and November this year.  The respondents were in the age group of 13-15 years with girls constituting 53 per cent and boys 47  per cent.  Vrunda Bhaskar, national coordinator, CMCA, said, “The survey was conducted to help children articulate their perceptions and experiences of living in Bengaluru.”

Bengaluru Dec. 4: The Janata Dal (S) is all set to field Anita Kumara-swamy, wife of party state president H.D. Kumaraswamy in Madhugiri constituency which will go to polls on December 27 along with seven other constituencies in the state.  Sources said that party supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, who was initially against this move, had to finally give in to the pressure from party leaders.

The party had earlier planned to field a serving Karnataka Administrative Service(KAS) officer, Veerabhadraiah, who also sought voluntary retirement from state service. The government kept his application in abeyance following which Mr Veerabhadraiah appro-ached the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT).  The KAT directed the government to take a final decision on his VRS application on or before December 6. Sources in JD (S)  said the BJP government may play spoilsport and may not give its consent to the VRS proposal.

“Workers from Madhugiri are insisting that Ms Anita Kumaraswamy should contest the elections. She was reluctant to enter politics. With party workers in Madhugiri bringing pressure on her, she has agreed to enter the fray. The decision is not final. Mr Gowda has to give the green signal,” sources said. After the prospects of Mr Veerabhadraiah securing VRS turned bleak, the party tried to persuade former minister Sathyanarayana to contest but he refused the offer.  Earlier, when party workers approached Mr Gowda, he is reported to have asked them whether any of them were willing to contest the polls. He has set a condition that any leader keen on contesting the polls should fund his election himself which turned out to be a difficult offer, sources added.

Bengaluru Dec 4: Total ban on export of iron ore to new mining companies and a strict no-mining activity in bio-diversity hot spots of Western ghats, are the two among many salient features of the reformed mining policy unveiled by the state government.  “The reformed mining policy was approved by the Cabinet at its weekly meeting here on Thursday,” rural development and panchayatraj minister Ms Shobha Karandlaje told reporters after the cabinet meeting.  Yet another important feature of the mining policy, Ms Karandlaje said, is that those who set up iron and steel industries in the state will be given preference as well as some concessions, while giving permission for mining.

 “With this decision, the state will get the required steel for its infrastructurel projects besides providing employment to the local youth,” she added.  The policy also envisages spending the royalty money collected from the mine owners in the same district for infrastructure development projects.  “The government will also review the status and progress of the on-going mining projects in terms of yield and decide whether to renew the lease or not. This is to make sure that the un-yielding land does not remain in the hands of the mine owners and is later used for non-mining activity,” Ms Karandlaje added.

The Cabinet also took important decisions in the internal security front.   As a first step to strengthen the security apparatus, the cabinet approved establishing internal security wing headed by Additional director general of Police. Four important cells will work under this wing.  These are, anti-terrorist squad, coastal security police, anti-naxal squad and intelligence.  “The cell will integrate, coordinate and monitor the functioning of all these wings. About 750 personnel will be provided to the internal security wing,” Ms Karandlaje said.

The Cabinet also approved purchase of 600-GPS fitted vehicles - 100 for city and 500 for different districts, especially naxal-infested areas — as 1,500 existing vehicles in the police department have been scrapped.  While work is in progress to establish one India Reserve Battallion near Munirabad in Koppal district, the Cabinet has also decided to seek three more IRBs for the  state to be stationed at Davanagere, Bijapur and Tumkur.

Bengaluru Dec. 4: The officials of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provide security to the Bengaluru International Airport, on Thursday morning detained three Kashmiri youth loitering at  the airport and screened them and their baggage.

  They were later allowed to board the aircraft.  The three were booked to fly on Spice Jet flight SG 224 to New Delhi. The young men, aged around 20 years are students of private professional colleges in Bengaluru and were found moving around at the airport in a very suspicious manner. According to official sources, they seemed to be asking too many questions, were inquisitive and had a problem at the boarding pass counter and at the security check.

“We took them aside and frisked them thoroughly. We even made them open their shoes and books. Later we let them board the flight after we found nothing suspicious with them. But we informed our counterparts at the Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi about them. They may have come to reconnoiter the airport,” said the officer. He added that the CISF and police are taking all measures to make sure that there’s no security lapse. The BIA has turned into a fortress in the wake of a threat to blow up the airport. The paramilitary force and the State reserve police have thrown a stringent security cover at the airport and are holding multiple layer screening of passengers and their baggage.

In an unprecedented measure the CISF has also installed software to check the alertness of their personnel. The software called threat image perception installed in the screening machines also reflects the responses and alertness of the officials handling them. “They are regularly monitored,” said the officer.

Bengaluru Dec. 4:  In the wake of mounting pressure from the top IT firms in Karnataka to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide them with security cover, the new Home Minister Mr Chidambaram may consider their demand and seek the amendment of the CISF Act 1968. The industry is hopeful because he was earlier the Finance Minister and they had on several occasions apprised him of their security concerns. It is reliably learnt that the Centre may concede the demand of the IT firms and corporate houses in the wake of increased terror threat and heightened threat perception to these new economy houses.

Some of the top multinational IT firms in Karnataka - Infosys, Wipro and TCS had reportedly approached the CISF to provide them with security cover after the serial blasts in Bengaluru in July. Not just them, even the family of the former Mysore Maharajah has sought security protection from the CISF for Mysore Palace apart from the police security the palace already has.

Bengaluru  Dec. 4: The city is making an attempt to learn from Mumbai's 60 hours of terror and increase its state of preparedness. But while the Vidhana Soudha has been fortified and frisking has been increased in malls, five-star hotels and tech parks, crowded
market places and major bus stands and railway stations still remain vulnerable.  In some places security personnel are unarmed, while in others they are equipped only with ancient single barrel rifles and lathis.  A close look at the security at some of the important government edifices and public places leaves one wishing they could be better protected.

Bengaluru  Dec 4: Deserted islands off the coast of  Karnataka could pose a worry for the government keen on ensuring the security of the state following the terror attacks in Mumbai. There are nearly 40 uninhabited islands along the 350 km long coastline of Karnataka, besides the Netrani or Pigeon Island off the  Murdeshwara coast  and the Madheghad islands off the Karwar coast. “Not all these islands are vulnerable as some of them are  inaccessible due to their steep rocky topography and the high tides around them, which make landing impossible,” say coastal experts .

The Netrani island has been well guarded ever since the Navy started using it as a venue for target practice by its men from the Naval Base in Karwar. Fishermen are no longer allowed on the island which has a number of caves and large trees, according to a police officer.
The fishing zone which covers waters up to 18 km from the mainland is usually not as vulnerable as the 200 km stretch beyond it called “territorial waters.” An IG post was created a few years ago to strengthen the coast guard police.  However, a year ago the post was done away with.

“Around three years ago there was an intelligence tip-off about firing practice on one of the islands.  But the coast guard police didn't even have a boat to inspect the island at the time,” says a police officer.  Today the coast guard police is still badly equipped and needs to hire boats from fishermen to do its patrolling.