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Karnataka News Archive: March 2005

4.7 lakh students slug it out today

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 | Editor
BANGALORE: Over 4.7 lakh students will appear for the annual II Pre-University exams starting Monday. A majority of the students are from the Arts background (2.6 lakh), while 1.3 lakh are Commerce students. As for Science, 79,597 students will appear for this year’s exams.

As against 2.54 lakh Kannada medium students, 2.18 lakh are from English medium. Although girls record a better pass percentage, their number is far lower than boys. Just for the record, 2.72 lakh boys will face the test against 1.98 lakh girls. The exam will be held in two sessions 9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm.

"The chief secretary has already issued a letter instructing all DCs to ensure the exams are conducted in a fair manner. We will continue with the system of having sitting squads at all centres, besides flying squads to check malpractices," department of pre-university education director D.N. Nayak said.

The annual exams, which conclude on April 13, will be held at 642 centres across the state. A majority of the students will be from Bangalore South (37,816), followed by Belgaum (32,765) and Bangalore North (32,382).

On complaints that city colleges were withholding admission tickets for shortage in attendance, Nayak said: "All admission tickets were sent to schools in January itself. We have instructed the headmasters to issue hall tickets to only those students who have 75 per cent attendance.Today, students will appear for three papers — Chemistry (Science), Logic and Education-I (both Arts).

Google to support R&D in Indian varsities

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 | Editor
Bangalore March 28, 2005
Google, which recently opened its R&D centre in Bangalore, has announced initiatives to promote research in Indian universities.

Google stated that be it a faculty member or a student who gets his research paper accepted for a few major computer science conferences globally, it will sponsor the candidate for the event.

Google has zeroed in on seven international conferences including the 14th International World Wide Web Conference, Conference on Management of Data, Association of Computational Linguistics, International Conference on Machine Learning, Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, Conference on Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages & Applications besides the Symposium on Operating Systems Principles across the globe.

According to Google India, this is an initiative it is taking to identify talent in basic computer science engineering and is an effort to promote research.

The company also recently announced the winners of its India Code Jam contest, another initiative to identify talent in the South Asian region. Code Jam is an online programming competition in skills assessment and competitive software development.

Said a spokesperson for Google India: 'The Google India Code Jam is a demonstration of the value Google places on excellent programming. In addition to celebrating the top programmers in the region, we also hope that the competition will provide further opportunities to attract strong computer scientists to our R&D centre here.'

A student from Singapore, Adrian K Poernomo won the contest this year, which was the third Google Code Jam contest and the first in India.

'The India Code Jam is an extension of our annual Code Jam contest and celebrates the art of computer science, demonstrating to professionals everywhere the value Google places on coding,' the spokesperson added.

Bomb threat triggers panic in Bangalore

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 | Editor
A bomb threat triggered panic at the ICICI bank's main branch premises in Bangalore today.

However, a thorough search by police found it to be a hoax.

Nearly 700 employees were evacuated from the premises, after a bank employee received a call stating that bombs had been placed in the multi-storeyed building.

The call was traced to a public phone booth in Krishnarajapuram, a suburb in east Bangalore, said Police Commissioner S Mariswamy, after the search operations.

Spate of hoax calls

Bangalore has reported a spate of hoax calls this month. In one instance, an employee of software firm Wipro was arrested on charge of making the anonymous call.

Software major Infosys and Central Schools at Sanjaynagar were also affected by hoax calls.

The calls had created panic, coming as they did, days after the Delhi police uncovered a plot by Lashkar-e-Toiba militants to target the Bangalore-based information technology companies. (PTI)

Karnataka Cong chief throws down the gauntlet at Gowda

Sunday, March 27, 2005 | Editor
Bangalore,Mar 26 : Accusing JD(S) supremo H D Devegowda of trying to cross the "Lakshman Rekha" in the coalition arrangement with Congress in Karnataka, KPCC President B Janardhan Poojary today dared him to seek a probe into the property allegedly acquired by him and his sons and by himself (Poojary) and his family.

Taking exception to Gowda making public his letters written early this week to Chief Minister N Dharam Singh regarding alleged land grabbing in and around Bangalore and the functioning of Bangalore corporation, Poojary said the former Prime Minister was seeking to create an impression as if the Chief Minister was soft towards land grabbers.

Poojary said there was nothing wrong in writing the letter but releasing it to the press with a note of warning to the Chief Minister and attacking the Congress was wrong.

"Gowda had been keeping quite for some time. But he is at it again. He is trying to cross the Lakshman Rekha," Poojary told reporters here. "We will also give a fitting reply," Poojary, who has been uninhibited in his attack on the JD(S) chief, said.

"Let Devegowda demand an inquiry into the property acquired by him and his sons. Let the property made by me and my family also be subjected to the probe," he said. Asked why he was not demanding it and was asking Gowda to do it, he said, "it would be good if he suggests it. It will carry more weight if the demand comes from a former Prime Minister." To a question, he said the Congress would like to run the coalition government with JD(S) for full term but, "if Devegowda does not want, obviously, the government will fall." PTI

Karnataka Cong chief throws down the gauntlet at Gowda

Karnataka's fiscal management was good: Dy CM

Friday, March 25, 2005 | Editor
Karnataka's fiscal management was prudent and good, Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today asserted and said the Centre has given the state Rs 260 crore as fiscal incentive for its achievement during the financial year 2004-05.

Replying to the discussion on supplementary estimates for Rs 2,375 crore for 2004-05, the third instalment, in the state assembly, Siddaramaiah said the state had mobilised Rs 1,000 crore additional taxes than the projected figures.

"2004-05 was the year of economic recovery for the state," Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio, said. PTI

Karnataka govt sanctions Rs 6.5 crore for biotech park

Friday, March 25, 2005 | Editor
Bangalore

Karnataka government has announced a sanction of Rs 6.5 crore towards setting up of the Biotech Park close to the Electronics City, an industrial hub in the outskirts of Bangalore.

During the Karnataka Budget 2005, deputy chief minister handling the portfolio of finance in his presentation stated that he would not ignore biotechnology, which is a sunrise industry and did not want to lose out opportunity in this segment, informed a press release.

The park, titled ‘Bangalore Helix’ which was conceived in 2001 by the State government, did witness a hi-tech foundation stone ceremony at the Bangalore Bio 2003, that was unveiled by the former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna.

The release said, the state government’s Millennium Biotech Policy of 2001 offered investment opportunities in biotechnology. In July 2004, during the fourth edition of the Bangalore Bio an international annual biotech event, the State government expected to see investments to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore in the biotechnology sector in the next two years. The total turnover of the sector in 2003-04 is Rs 1,500 crore (US$300 million). The total exports earnings registered in March 2003-04 is Rs 750 crore (US$150 million).

The sector employed 9,000 persons of whom 5,000 are technical personnel, the goal of the Vision Group on Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka was to create one million jobs by 2010.

Karnataka HC admits petition against bandhs/hartals

Friday, March 25, 2005 | Editor
Bangalore: Karnataka High Court today admitted a public interest petition praying for declaring calling of bandhs and hartals as unconstitutional.

When the petition filed by an advocate came up for admission, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Nauvid Kumar Sodhi and Justice K L Manjunath directed the government to take notice on behalf of the state of Karnataka and the Director General of Police.

The petitioner also prayed for a direction to the state and its officials to implement the Kerala High Court judgement on bandhs which has been confirmed by the Supreme Court.

The judges directed the government to produce a list of all registered parties in Karnataka within two weeks and adjourned further hearing.

The petitioner, A V Amaranathan, submitted that he and others had faced difficulty in reaching the courts due to bandhs and hartals called by various political parties and organisations.

Some of the bandhs and hartals turned violent and caused extensive damage to public and private properties, resulting in heavy losses to the exchequer and the public, he argued.

According to the petitioner, a full bench of the Kerala High Court has held that no political party had a right to call for a bandh on the plea that it was part of the fundamental right of speech and expression.

The court, he contended, also held that the political parties were liable to compensate the government, the public and the private citizens for any loss due to destruction caused during bandhs. PTI

21 govt undertakings in Karna making loss

Friday, March 25, 2005 | Editor
Bangalore : Twenty one state-owned companies in Karnataka were in the red and had incurred a total loss of Rs 301.80 crore as in 2002-2003, Large and Medium Industries Minister P G R Sindhia told the assembly today.

The NGEF accounted for the highest loss of Rs 157.48 crore, followed by Mysore Lamps Works Limited with Rs 57.31 crore, he said.

Sindhia said in case of companies incurring continuous losses, the government would identify reasons for the same and suggest remedial measures including disinvestment and closure.

He, however, said the government's efforts would be oriented more towards reviving the loss making units. PTI

Release Tamil prisoners in Karna jails

Friday, March 25, 2005 | Editor
CHENNAI: The MDMK requested the Karnataka government to make early arrangements to ameliorate the problems of more than 1000 Tamils, reportedly languishing in prisons in Karnataka.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko and five other party leaders, in a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh, cited the cases of 13 remand prisoners, arrested under various charges and who have been in jail for more than two-and-a-half years.

"Even after completion of the arguments on their bail petitions, judgments were not pronounced. Eventually bail was not granted," they noted.

They also requested Dharam Singh to conduct enquires of the position of prisoners in Bangalore jail, most of whom are reportedly Tamils and arrange to release them.

Fans and film for Puneet's birthday

Friday, March 25, 2005 | Editor
Bangalore, March 24 : Kannada actor Puneet Raj Kumar celebrated his 30th birthday with a difference.

On March 27, fans were allowed to storm into his Sadashivanagar residence, where the actor cut a dozen birthday cakes of all sizes and shapes.

In the afternoon, he headed to Kanteerava Studios to attend the launch of his own untitled film to star him and Gauri Munjal. Veera Shankar of "Gudumba Shankar" fame will direct it.

Murthy to lay the foundation for GSSS

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 | Editor
Mysore, Mar. 21- Infosys Chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy will lay the foundation stone for the hostel of Geetha Shishu Shikshana Sangha (GSSS) Institute of Engineering and Technology for Women here on KRS Road at 10 am on Mar. 23.

Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari, Dharmasthala Srikshetra, will preside. Dr. K. Balaveera Reddy, Vice-Chancellor, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum and Prof. M.H. Dhananjaya, Director (Technical), JSS Mahavidyapeetha, will be the guests of honour.

GSSS Hon. Secretary Prof. B.S. Pandit disclosed this at a press meet in Pathrakarthara Bhavan here this morning.

Giving details about the Institute and also the hostel, Prof. Pandit said that the buildings with a built area of 1,80,000 sft. were in a land area of 15 acres. The hostel building, with accommodation for 300 students, was expected to be completed by June this year, he disclosed. There were 400 students at present in the Institute in which classes of fourth semester were in progress.

The Institute, exclusively for girls, was the only one of its kind in the entire State, Prof. Pandit explained. It had adequate number of spacious class rooms, laboratories, edusat and computer facilities and workshops, he disclosed.

Four subjects namely Electronics and Communication, Information Science, Computer Science and Electrical and Electronics, were being offered at the Institute, Prof. Pandit said. AICTE norms were being followed in the Institute, he added.

Admission of students to the Institute was through the Common Entrance Test (CET), he said.

Chief Administrative Officer R.K. Bharath was present.

CM assures support for professional colleges

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 | Editor
BANGALORE: The State Government has assured its continued support to private professional education institutions despite differences that had emerged over the CET (Common Entrance Test).

'The Government has a duty to assist private educational institutions which are contributing substantially to the growth of both information technology and bio-technology,' Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh said at the inaugural ceremony of M.S. Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, a multi-speciality state-of-the-art hospital, here on Monday.

Asserting that Bangalore had turned out to be the knowledge capital of the country, he said private institutions had always played an important role. He hailed the late M.S. Ramaiah as a great philanthropist and educationist.

'He combined both vision and action. Education, for him, was a powerful instrument to uplift the society,' added Karnataka Governor T.N. Chaturvedi. Earlier, he inaugurated the hospital.

Gokula Education Foundation chairman M.R. Jayaram, who is also the son of M.S. Ramaiah, said 50 per cent of beds in the new hospital would be reserved for the poor patients. 'The hospital is designed for 21st century and what we offer is world-class facility at affordable prices,' he said.

The Foundation, he added, was also planning to set up a 100-bedded ‘free’ hospital at Kaiwara in Kolar district.

Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor Dr R. Chandrashekara and MLA M.R. Seetharam were among those who attended the function.

Foundation’s chief executive B.R. Prabhakara welcomed the gathering and M.S. Ramaiah Medical College principal Dr S Kumar briefed on the hospital and silver jubilee celebrations of the M S Ramaiah institutes. A one-stop centre for all medical disorders, the hospital also offers diagnostic centres and preventive health check-up programmes.

BSNL to expand broadband, mobile connectivity

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 | Editor
BANGALORE: India's largest telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has aggressive expansion plans for the southern state Karnataka.

BSNL's Karnataka circle, Bangalore Telecom, yesterday announced the release of 1.1 million SIM cards for mobile phone users, as well as increased broadband connectivity for Karnataka in the coming fiscal.

The announcement was made during the release of an updated two-volume Bangalore supplementary directory listing BSNL connections across the entire state.

BSNL is pumping in Rs 2.54 billion to increase mobile connectivity from its existing 700,000 connection base to 1.1 million and doubling its terminals to 2,654 over the next four months. Chief general manager -Karnataka Circle S Ramaganapathy said that mobile connectivity would spread to 343 towns in addition to the existing 319 centers. Of the 1.1 million new connections announced, around 1 million would be pre-paid, while the rest would be post-paid.

An additional 45,000 wireless local loop (WLL) lines (which don’t require telephone cable connecting the instruments) have been commissioned to clear the waiting list for landline connections in rural areas.

Additionally, 700 kilometers of optical fiber would be laid by the end of the month.

Ramaganapthy also highlighted the success of Bangalore Telecom's Data-One broadband service saying that 20,000 connections, including 6,000 in Bangalore alone, had been given. BSNL plans to introduce broadband services to Mangalore by the end of this month and cover 13 more districts in the state over the next three to four months.

NHRC awaits reply on STF operation

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 | Editor
New Delhi: The NHRC still awaits a reply a year after Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Governments were asked for their comments on the Justice Sadashiva Panel report on alleged atrocities on villagers by the Joint Special Task Force during its operations against Veerappan.

Expressing deep concern at the delay despite repeated reminders to the two state governments, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) directed on March 7 to the two governments to send in their remarks on the report within six weeks.

The Justice Sadashiva Panel, which had been constituted to look into the allegations of atrocities on the villagers by Joint Special Task Force submitted its report on December 2, 2003 to the Commission, which accepted it on February 23, 2004.

The NHRC had directed that copies of the report be forwarded to the Chief Secretaries to the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for their comments within three months.

When no reply was received, the Commission on June 30, 2004 directed that a reminder be issued to both the Chief Secretaries asking for their response within two weeks.

The State Government of Tamil Nadu through its letter dated July 12, 2004 conveyed to the Commission that the report was under consideration and that the remarks would be intimated to the Commission shortly.

Chinnaswamy stadium gears up for Indo-Pak face-off!

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 | Editor
Bangalore: Bangalore's Chinnaswamy stadium is gearing up for the mother of all test matches to be played between the sub-continental arch rivals, India and Pakistan from March 24.

India and Pakistan are scheduled to play their third test match in Bangalore from March 24. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has already started making arrangements for the test match.

Brijesh Patel, Secretary of the KSCA, is busy making comfortable and hygienic arrangements for the matches, taking place after a gap of over two decades.

" Cricketing facilities like player's dressing room, lounge, seating, toilets, showers, ground, practise wickets, indoor facilities are taken care of. Then comes the crowd whose basic amenities like toilets, water, and seating will be a priority. Good and hygienic hot food will also be served to them," says Brijesh Patel, a former Indian cricketer.

He also believes "The Pitch is a sporting wicket in Bangalore. It helps the bowlers as well as the batsman resulting in producing good results".

He further adds, "Pakistan has also asked for 820 tickets plus some guests coming in. Therefore, we are expecting around 900 Pakistanis".

The last test match played at the stadium was between India and Australia, in 2004 October. India lost the test by 217 runs.

Earlier known as the Karnataka State Cricket Association Stadium, was later named after M Chinnaswamy (Board President from 1977- 80), made its first class debut in the 1972-73 season. It went on to replace the Central College Ground as Bangalore's premier cricket venue and entered the pages of history when Karnataka ended Mumbai's 15-year reign as Ranji Trophy champions in the 1973-74 semi-final.

The stadium was accorded Test status in the 1974-75 season against the West Indies.

In 1986-87, when India and Pakistan played here, India went down to Pakistan by 16 runs on an under prepared wicket where Gavaskar, in his farewell Test, displayed his class in the second innings with an effort of 96 that took India to the doorstep of victory.

Other landmarks at this ground include Richard Hadlee taking over from Ian Botham as the highest wicket taker in Test history in 1988-89 with his 374th wicket (Arun Lal) and Kapil Dev equalling Hadlee's record tally of 431 wickets off the last ball of the Test against Sri Lanka in 1993-94.

The highest individual score at the Chinnaswamy stadium is Sachin Tendulkar's 177 against Australia in 1997-98. Mark Waugh responded with his highest Test score of 153 not out and Australia won the game by eight wickets, their first Test victory in India since 1969-70. The match also saw Azharuddin become the second Indian after Gavaskar to take hundred catches in Tests.

With a half built stadium to accommodate 50,000 spectators, the venue has hosted 14 tests so far. Out of the last seven Tests played on the ground, six have produced a result.

By now India and Pakistan have faced each other on 51 occasions in a test match, with Pakistan winning 10 times. India has managed to win only seven of them, rest of them have been drawn. (ANI)

Irrigation projects: `State given central aid of over Rs.2111 cr'

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 | Editor
NEW DELHI: Karnataka has been given Rs.2111.79 crore till March 15 this year as Central assistance under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) to speed up the completion of eight ongoing major and medium irrigation projects in the State.

Union Minister of State for Water Resources Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav, replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, said of the eight projects, one has already been completed with funds from the AIBP. This programme is in operation since 1996-97. But Karnataka has not sent any proposal seeking financial assistance from the Centre to complete all the irrigation projects in the State.

Answering another question, he said the Karnataka Government had not taken any policy decision to curb the flow of water from the west-flowing river systems into the Arabian sea. However, as per the National Water Policy, 2002, water should be made available to the water deficit area from other areas including transfers from one river basin to another, based on a normal perspective after taking into account the requirements of the areas and basins.

The minister replied in the negative while answering a question on whether any proposal had come from the Karnataka Government for the construction of vented dams across west-flowing rivers and streams in Uttar Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. Normally the state governments submit major and medium irrigation project proposals as DPR for the techno-economic appraisal of the Central Water Commission. No such DPR has been received from Karnataka, he said.

‘Rakshasa’ will be released in Karnataka and Kerala

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 | Editor
The much hyped Shivrajkumar film, ‘Rakshasa’ will be released simultaneously in Karnataka and Kerala.

Rakshasa will release at the Samrat DTS theatre in Kasagargod in Kerala. This was announced by producer Ramu recently. He plans to release the film with 75 prints, the highest for a Kannada film so far.

Ramu next film is Auto Shanker starring Upendra, Shilpa Shetty and Radhika and he intends to release this film with 100 prints and release the film simultaneously in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. He also plans to do an aggressive marketing for the film prior to its release.

Ramya undergoes plastic surgery?

Monday, March 21, 2005 | Editor
Ramya, one of the top actresses of Kannada cinema underwent a cosmetic surgery for her nose recently. Remember that Bollywood beauties like Sridevi and Shilpa Shetty had done similar surgeries to become more beautiful.

Ramya is currently riding a wave in Kannada with a few big films with top heroes in hand. She went ahead and did this surgery to look more beautiful and glamorous said a source close to the actress.

However the young actress said recently that she is against showing too much glamour and smooching on screen. But her detractors says that her song sequences in Tamil films like Kuthu with Simbu on the Phuket beaches were vulgar and contrary to statements that she makes in Karnataka.

Udees

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | Editor
Director
P.N.Sathya
Producer
Satish Chand
Music
Venkat-Narayan
Cast
Mayur, Sonali Joshi, Anu Prabhakar, Srinivasamurthy, Satyajith

Director P.N.Sathya who had given a neat film ‘Sardara’ a few months back has failed in his latest film ‘Udees’ which has nothing new to offer. It has the same tried and tested d formula of the hero turning into an underworld don due to circumstances. The director has not failed in mixing the right amount of sentiments to the narration.

Sathya (Mayur) is student and he comes from a very poor family. His father is a fruit seller, mother is working as a maidservant in a reformed don’s house and has an elder sister to get married. With hand to mouth existence they are lead a peaceful life till the father is forced to take loan for the engagement of Satya’s sister.

When the money is not returned in due time to rowdy (Harish Roy) he asks him to send Sathya’s elder sister with him. Sathya interferes and he brutally kills the rowdy and runs away. His father commits suicide, mother dies and sister is hospitalized for mental shock!! Sathya becomes a don and joins with the rowdy’s gang.

The second half is full of violence and seems to be inspired by half a dozen Hindi flicks. Mayur in the lead role has done an action film for the first time and he has done a decent job. The rest of the cast are adequate. Sonali Joshi is bubbly and good.

Verdict: Average

Shadyantara

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | Editor
Director
Rajesh Murthy
Producer
Keerthi Murthy
Cast
Harishraj, Namratha, Rezah Shah, Venki

This small budget film shot with Digi Beta technique was blown to 35 mm. However the experiment is commendable. The film revolves around four characters. Kumar is a former don turned press owner. Kavya is his beautiful wife but she elopes with Bharath, an employee in her husband’s press as she is not happy with him!

Kumar on the other hand hires Shambu a cop on the verge of retirement to trace Kavya and kill Bharath. Shambu plays a double game and instead of killing Bharath he kills Kumar but leaves his lighter behind near Kumar's dead body. Barath comes to the press to collect his salary and discover that Kumar is dead with Kavya's gun lying around. He thinks Kavya killed Kumar and decides to get rid of the body.

Actually Kumar is half alive. Shambu on the other hand is under the impression that Kumar is dead and Kavya has the vital clue with her - the lighter. So what happens? All this forms the rest of this murder mystery.

The entire film moves like a slide show. Probably director Rajesh Murthy has not has no clue about film making? The camera and music is hopeless. The four characters have worked hard.

Verdict: Damp Squib

Encounter Dayanayak

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | Editor
Director
D.Rajendra Babu
Producer
Vasusri Productions
Music
R.P.Patnaik
Cast
Sachin, Spoorthi, Sumithra, Ananthnag, Mahesh Manjrekar.

The hall mark of this film on Dayanayak the super cop of Mumbai, are the narration, gripping and chilling stunts supported by a strong story and excellent cinematography. This is a high voltage action film that dwells into the reasons behind the police encounters. The last 20 minutes of climax in Dubai is something extraordinary so far not seen in Kannada cinema. Producer M.G.Rammurthy has to be appreciated for investing over Rs 4 crores on a new hero and making a film on popular personality. Director D.Rajendra Babu in his 50th film has given a splendid film.

The film opens when an ordinary cop Dayanayak (Sachin) daringly rescues a bus full of foreign delegates who are held hostage by terrorists. This is the right opening for an action extravaganza film. He kills four criminals to save 40 people without the permission of his senior officers and the department holds an enquiry against his act. The Home Minister pats him with a special posting in CIU. In this crime branch, Dayanayak meets his mentor Prakash Hegde (Ananthnag) and there after a series of encounters start. About 80 rowdies are killed in encounters and thus he earns the name ‘Encounter Dayanayak’.

Enter a Dubai based underworld don Yusuf Shakeel (Mahesh Manjrekar) who tries to establish his empire in Mangalore. . It is a make or break situation for Dayanayak, as Shakeel tries to threatens his family. All is not well for Shakeel as he tries to eliminate the police officer until Dayanayak meets him in Dubai to give the final punishment.

Debutant Sachin has done great job in his role as Dayanayak. The exhilarating stunts done by him under the guidance of Pradyumna Kumar is first class. Sphoorthi looks very charming. It is Mahesh Manjrekar and Ananthnag’s poised looking performance that attracts more attention. On the whole the film manages to keep the audience in the edge of their seats.

Verdict: Good

Ayya

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | Editor
Director
Om Prakash Rao
Producer
H.C.Byre Gowda
Music
V.Ravichandran
Cast
Darshan, Rakshita, Chitra Shenoy, Avinash

The Kalasipalya hit trio of Darshan, Rakshita and director Om Prakash Rao is back with their new action film Ayya that does not disappoint.

Ayya is a high voltage action drama with lot of intelligence played in by protagonist Ayya (Darshan), the ACP of Hubli. He takes on the villains who have a nexus with corrupt politicians that are not new to Indian cinema. But it is the way of narration and the style of presentation that makes Ayya look different and racy.

There are plenty of thrills and action. The director has been successful to a very large extent in getting his masala mix correctly. The role of honest cop suits Darshan and the film is sure to catapult him to stardom. His body language and dialogue delivery in high pitch reminds us of his father late veteran actor Togudeepa Srinivas. Rakshita provides the necessary oomph associated with her character though she has very little to do.

For the first time crazy star Ravichandran has scored music for an outside banner and he gives two lovely tunes. Anaji Nagaraj camera is good. If you are a Darshan fan don’t miss. It is sure to entertain.

Verdict: Entertaining

Gowdru

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | Editor
Director
S.Mahender
Producer
Sandesh Nagaraj
Music
Hamsalekha
Cast
Ambarish, Mena, Shruthi, Devaraj

This is the 200th film of Ambarish who is also an MP. Actress Meena plays his heroine and top Kannada actress Shruthi is his sister in the film. Inspired from a Tamil tearjerker,director S.Mahender has interspersed it with folk tale ‘Kerege Haara’. Devraj plays anti hero role in this film.

The story revolves around village chieftain ‘Gowdru’ ( Ambarish), his wife (Meena) and his sister( Shruthi). The happy family of brother and sister is in turmoil when she gets married. She is badly treated by her in-law’s who take it as a chance to take revenge on Gowdru.

But situations reach the helm of it when the village faces acute water shortage. The ancient belief is that the sacrifice of village head’s wife was the remedy! This puts Gowdru in uncomfortable situation and his wife Meena falls to the well as ‘Balidaan’.

Gowdru is set in the village backdrop and is much hyped by the media. It is director S.Mahender’s 25th film. Politician and producer Sandesh Nagaraj is producing this film under Sandesh’s combines. Hamsalekha has scored the music. Sundarnath Suvarna is the cinematographer. Editing is done by P.R.Sounderaj, B.A.Madhu known for village based subjects has penned the dialogues.

News

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | Editor
Director
M.K.Maheshwar
Producer
Vidya Pictures
Music
Guru Kiran
Cast
- Upendra, Reema Sen, Renuka Menon, Amrutha

Vidya Pictures News has superstar Upendra, Reema Sen and Renuka Menon in the lead roles. The film conveys the age old saying that ‘Pen is mightier than Sword’. It will be a through entertainer which will keep the viewer mesmerised.

In News director M.K.Maheshwar coveys the message that in today’s world those who hold the pen in one hand should also have a sword in the other hand. The protagonists in the film Upendra and Reema Sen are journalists. Through their columns they bring to light the corruptions and shady deals in the society. They also have the support from people and muscle power which plays a major role in their success.

The story and screenplay are brilliant and the film promises to be racy which will have audience on the edge of their seat. There is one song in the film, which the names of all leading newspapers and magazines in the country is used. Songs are shot at exotic locales of Bangkok and Crab islands.

The cast also has Amrutha, Tennis Krishna, Bank Janardhan, Bhagyasri, Shoba, Nazar, Avinash, Ashok, Satyaprakasham, R.G.Vijayasarathy and others. Music is by Guru Kiran and camera is by U.K.Sendhil Kumar. Editing is by Harshaa nd choreography is by Chinni Prakash. Art direction is by Arun Sagar and the film is directed by M.K.Maheshwar.

Viswamitra

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | Editor
Director
Basant Kumar Patil
Producer
Basant Kumar Patil
Cast
Basant Kumar Patil ,Aparna

Basant Kumar Patil the president of the Kannada Films Producers Association is back again in films as the hero in Viswamitra after a gap of 16 years.

There is an idealistic village, which is liquor free and perfect. The man who runs this paradise is Dharmapurusha (Patil) and he is loved and adored by the villagers. Suddenly a dance troupe led by Aparna Vaidyanathan arrives to entertain the villagers. Dharmapurusha presses the panic buttons, as he does not want anybody to come and spoil the harmony and peace in the place. But Aparna is out to seduce Dharma and create havoc. Dharmapurusha tries to advice her and does everything possible to stop her, including dancing better than her! Soon love blossoms between the two, after he saves her from a bull.

Dharmapurusha is now in a dilemma as he has promised the villagers that he will remain a bachelor. Then there is an outsider who opposes the hero. On one night he catches the lovers red handed, but gets brutally killed after his face is smashed by a stone. The lovers elope leaving behind Dharmapurusha’s ring by the side of his body. The villagers presume that the somebody killed Dharmapurusha and they cremate him. On the other hand the lovers run from pillar to post to start a new life. Will they be able to do that?See Viswamitra based on the popular stage play Kaalu Jaarida Hennu.

Aham Premasmi

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | Editor
This musical love story is the debut of dream merchant of Kannada cinema Ravichandran’s brother Eshwar. Launched under the home banner of Ishwari Pictures, this film has already created hype for the technical brilliance and grandeur. Ravichandran is hoping to give a grand opening for his brother like how he got it from ‘Premaloka’ in 1987.

The concept of the film is unique. In the college campus the protagonist falls in love with an aristocratic girl. He realizes that to win her heart it is not all that easy as the girl does not reciprocate. She puts five conditions to the lover boy and asks him to answer all of them to win her heart. The lover boy uses his brilliance and fulfills the four questions posed by her.

When it comes to the fifth condition he struggles hard to find the answer. In comes the replica of love in Kannada cinema V.Ravichandran who bails out the hero and declares that pure love always wins and it should not be disturbed. The beauty of this film is that the hero answers all the questions of his dream girl in the song format. There are eight songs in the film.

The cast has Eshwar, Arathi Chabria, Ravichandran, Akila, Chitra Shenoy, Shanker Ashwath, Padmini, Bank Janardhan, Mandya Ramesh, Sarigama Viji, Bullet Prakash, Mandip Rai, M.N.Suresh, Shivaputra, Hemanth, Venkatesh Prasad, Badri, Banu Prakash, Navarasa Ramakrishna and others.

The banner is Ishwari Entertainments. Story, Screenplay, Dialogue, Lyrics, Music, Direction is by V.Ravichandran, Cinematography is by G.S.V.Seetharam and dance director is Nataraj, stunts are by Kaurava Venkatesh and Art direction is by Ismail.

Thunta

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | Editor
Om Prakash Rao’s will now produce and direct Thunta which has been re-launched with an all new star cast and technicians. Ravi chandran is the new music director and his brother Eashwar is the hero. A new glam girl Ekta Khosla will be the heroine.

Ekta has participated in 'Miss India' contest and is a model in Mumbai. An advertising graduate, Ekta has no formal training in acting and confesses that’s he has never seen a Kannada film nor does she know the language. Says Ekta: 'I like Bangalore and acting was always my passion though modeling is my profession'.

Thunta has pretty interesting star cast comprising Ashish Vidyarthi ina negative role along with Sudharani, Vanitavasu, Chitra Shenoy, Sharan, Ganesh, Ramakrishna, Dharma and Swastik Shankar. G.S.V. Sitaram is the cameraman and M.S. Ramesh has written the dialogues.

Tremors rock parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | Editor
MUMBAI:An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale hit the Koyna region in Maharashtra today. The tremors were felt in Mumbai and Pune among other places.

The epicentre of the quake was located at 17 degrees latitude and 74 degrees longitude in quake-prone Koyna region, which includes Satara district.

Several high rises in Mumbai and its suburbs were evacuated as a safety measure.

The tremors, which were felt around 3.14 pm, shook furniture and glass panes in buildings as people rushed out in fear.

However no casualties or damage to property have been reported so far.

Mysore underpins Bangalore boom

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | Editor
Sathya Mithra Ashok / Bangalore March 15, 2005
Bangalore has been in the limelight for close to a year now for the wrong reason. Its infrastructure has been bursting at the seams and the question being asked is: can Bangalore, and by extension Karnataka, continue to play host to a fast growing IT and BPO industry?

When the prime minister opened Infosys’s massive training centre in Mysore recently, the event both underlined the problem facing the premier IT destination of the country and one of the solutions that Karnataka is seeking in order to overcome the problem.

The arrival of Mysore on the IT scene is really part of a bigger trend encompassing other parts of the country.

States or regions which have one prime IT destination to boast of —like Chennai for Tamil Nadu, Kolkata for West Bengal and the national capital region for north India - are developing as second line of cities which can in a way be part of a hub and spoke system. In the case of Karnataka, the new talking point is: tired of traffic jams in Bangalore, try Mysore and Mangalore.

Mohandas Pai, director, CFO and head, finance and administration, at Infosys, underlines the emerging trend thus: 'The Golden Triangle or the Knowledge Triangle which includes Hyderabad and Chennai is going to grow tremendously. Trivandrum is becoming more exciting, Pune presents great promise and other places to watch out for would include Chandigarh, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and Calcutta.'

But even as competition hots up from outside the state, the second- tier cities of Mysore and Mangalore within Karnataka are emerging as increasingly attractive choices.

'Mysore is at a stage where Bangalore used to be quite some time back. With the Bangalore-Mysore expressway coming up, I don't see any reason Mysore cannot be the next Bangalore,' says Tamal Das Gupta, CIO of Wipro.

Mysore's advantages to the IT industry include lots of land, a reasonable climate and the comfort it affords in moving around the city.

With big names like Infosys already setting up shop there and Wipro waiting for a confirmation on land, the movement towards Mysore should increase.

Interestingly, Karnataka’s third line of defence, Mangalore, is not only competing but in some ways ahead of the second. It has been getting a bigger pieces of the IT pie than Mysore and more software exports occur out of it than Mysore.

B V Naidu, chairman, Software Technology Parks India, Karnataka, explains the higher growth of Mangalore in software exports than of Mysore: 'The educational cluster around Mangalore ensured that it came out on people's radars much earlier. The STPI set up its centre here in 1998 and some companies came in to establish an early presence. Moreover, the air connectivity from Mangalore is really good.'

In fact, Infosys alone has around 1,600 people in Mangalore and has recorded software exports of Rs 450 crore out of it in the last 12 months.

But despite the early start, Mangalore is not growing as much as some of the second tier cities in other states. Explains Bob Hoekstra, CEO of Philips Innovation Centre: 'Satellite cities to Bangalore which want to play host to the expansion of companies out of Bangalore should be not more than an hour's drive from the city. As far as the Bangalore-Mysore expressway is concerned, I would like to hold judgement till the road is done and I don't see any stray cow and oxen on it.'

So the status of Karnataka’s second and third line of defence is as follows: Mysore, which is close to Bangalore, is just starting to move and Mangalore, which has more activity cannot geographically be a satellite to Bangalore (at 300 km, it is a bit far away) so as to literally take the spillover. So if you are looking for a tried and tested destination where you can start operations double quick, you come back to Bangalore.

Not surprisingly, there are companies like Logica CMG which remain happy about the promise that Bangalore holds.

Says Mike Weston, offshore development director of Logica CMG, which had recently moved to a new campus, 'The quantity and quality of IT talent in the city vis-a-vis outside means that we are committed to growing in the city. Our campus satisfies our immediate expansion plans and we don't plan to go anywhere else at this stage.'

Is the state taking the necessary steps to make sure that the IT industry does not migrate out of it?

Some feel that it may be difficult to make an impact on Bangalore but the government is also not doing much to improve the secondary cities of Mysore and Mangalore to become more attractive IT destinations. Officialdom naturally demurs.

Says Naidu: 'The government is quite conscious of the IT industry's concerns and is all making all efforts in that direction.'

There can be a dispute over whether there is much activity on the ground or not. But there is no dispute over what needs doing.

The government has to pay close attention to the development of Mysore and Mangalore while tackling the more intractable problems of Bangalore. Otherwise the state will have to bid good bye to at least some future expansion.

Boon to children films!

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | Editor
The Karnataka state budget for 2005-2006 presented a few days ago by deputy Chief Minister cum finance minister Siddaramaiah has announced Rs 25 lakh subsidy for two good children films made in the year with effect from April 2005.

Besides this, the state budget announced separate encouragement to state and national award films from this year. Rs.10 lakh subsidy was compulsory for such films in the quality films list all these years. But those five films would not come under the subsidy list with this announcement.

The best three Kannada films given by State film awards committee every year, a film going to the Indian Panorama and the best regional film announced at the National level are likely to get more than Rs.10 lakhs grant from the government. Besides this there is some relief for leasing of cinema halls, exhibition and composite tax in this budget.

Trial of Jaya begins

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | Editor
Bangalore, Mar. 14 (UNI)- The trial in the case of amassing disproportionate assets by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa resumed here today at a Special Court headed by the judge A.S. Pachchapure.

After hearing the arguments of the counsels for Jayalalithaa and others for 20 minutes, the judge adjourned the case to Mar. 28.

Though summons were issued to Jayalalithaa, her foster son V.N. Sudhakaran, her close aide Sasikala, her relative Ilavarasi and Dinakaran, MP, only Sudhakaran turned up for the hearing.

N. Jyothi, the counsel for Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and Ilavarasi, appealed to the judge to exempt his clients from personal appearance.

Jyothi sought the exemption on the ground that his clients were not unknown people. They were public figures and there was no need for them to appear in the Court.

The judge granted the appeal.

Sharavanakumar appeared for Sudhakaran and Jinsen for Dinakaran, MP, in the London Hotels case.

The advocates prayed the judge to provide them copies of charge sheet which runs upto 17,000 pages and sought three weeks' time to go through it.

Though the judge agreed to provide the charge sheet copies to them on Mar. 25, he refused to give three weeks' time. He fixed the next hearing for Mar. 28.

There was a heavy Police bandobust in the Civil Court complex premises where the Special Court is located on the second floor.

Media persons entered into a wordy duel with the Police as they were not allowed into the Court Hall.

The scene was similar outside the Court when the Police prevented media persons from talking to Sudhakaran and the Tamil Nadu advocates, after the case was adjourned.

However, Sudhakaran briefly spoke to the scribes in Tamil saying "I am innocent. I will abide by the law."

The case was transferred from a Chennai Court to Bangalore following a Supreme Court order on Nov. 19, 2003.

The Rs. 66.65 crore "disproportionate wealth case" against Jayalalithaa has been pending for eight years. Registered on Sept. 18, 1996 under Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the charge sheet in the case was filed on June 4, 1997 before the then Special Court-I, which was one among the three set up by the DMK Government to try cases of alleged corruption. Initially 1,053 witnesses were listed in the charge sheet.

However, the prosecution later decided to prune the number. Trial commenced on December 28, 1998.

Tourism not changed in Mysore

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | Editor
Mysore, Mar. 14 (BRS&BLU)- P.V. Giri, Managing Director, Shanti Enterprises, today observed that Mysore was the same as it was in 1980.

Speaking on the topic Vision for Growth: Tourism at the one-day seminar on Vision for Mysore organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mysore Zone at Quality Inn Southern Star here this morning, marking its Members' Day, he said the tourist spots had not developed nor the people had demanded it.

Successive Union Ministers as well as Chief Ministers were pro-mising that the airport at Mysore would be ready by the Dasara festival each year, but nothing had happened, Giri lamented.

Even in smaller towns like Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram, there were airports but not in Mysore, he regretted and remarked that in Goa and Kerala, changes happened very fast but nothing seems to be happening in Mysore.

Private sector could not take up all works relating to large infrastructure. Government must take up such works and expedite them quickly, he said.

D. Sudhanva, Managing Director, Excel Soft Technologies Pvt. Ltd., who spoke on Vision for Growth: Information Technology, said there being more than 30 IT companies in the city and many other international majors in the sector coming to Mysore, a full-fledged airport and doubling of the rail track must be expedited.

India's leading company in IT field, WIPRO, had also acquired 100 acres of land in Mysore region and was expanding its operations, he added. In that backdrop, if the two works were completed early, it would be doing a great deal of good to the IT industry, Sudhanva averred.

He also sought government's substantial help and policy support in the matter.

Industrialist R. Guru spoke on Infrastructure: Requirements and Preparations while Raman Boards Managing Director Aroon Raman spoke on Vision for Growth: Manufacturing.

Chairman of CII-Mysore Zone Ashok Rao welcomed. Vice-Chairman R. Krishna and P. Radhakrishna were present. Nearly 100 delegates are attending the seminar.

Tanveer sait bereaved

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | Editor
Mysore, Mar. 14 (RK&BRS)- Zubeda Bai (78), wife of late Minister Azeez Sait and mother of Labour and Haj Minister Tanveer Sait, passed away yesterday in Manipal Hospital, Bangalore following heart failure.

She is survived by two sons and four daughters.

She had been admitted to Manipal Hospital for treatment after first aid in a private hospital here yesterday morning when she complained of chest pain.

She breathed her last at about 3 in the afternoon, family sources said.

Mortal remains of Zubeda Bai were brought here last evening and kept at the residence of Tanveer Sait in Udayagiri for the public to pay their last respects.

A large number of Congress party leaders visited his residence yesterday.

Last rites will be performed this afternoon after prayers in Masjid-e-Azam opposite Meelad Bagh on Ashoka Road, according to family sources.

Karnataka Exhibition Authority Chairman Raghu, Mysore Paints and Varnish Company Chairman Nagaraja Murthy, leader M.N. Mahadevu and others have condoled the death of Zubeda Bai.

Lack of awareness on cyber laws

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | Editor
Mysore, Mar. 14 (KCU)- In the absence of a uniform law around the world, it has become difficult for the Police to put down the cyber crimes, opined Police Commissioner Praveen Sood.

He was delivering a lecture on Friday on 'Cyber Crime' at a pro-gramme organised by Computer Society of India (CISI) at B.N. Bahadur Management Institute here.

Internet has become an indispensable medium. Transactions of huge magnitudes are done on the net. A wife could be forgotten but not a laptop. With the increased use of net, there has been a rise in cyber crimes also, hinted Praveen Sood.

There is lack of awareness on cyber laws among users of the internet. If anyone hacks one's website, they do not complain to the Police. Most of the lawyers and Police are not sufficiently equipped to handle cyber crimes. Few companies shy away from reporting against hackers of their software. Hence, many cyber criminals go scotfree, added the Police Commissioner.

Recently, 18 million dollars was siphoned off in a credit card cheating case on an internet transaction. Though the culprit was caught, he was not punished. A person from Philippines spread the virus 'love bug' which resulted in losses to the tune of millions of dollars. He was arrested but could not be punished owing to the absence of any cyber law in that country. A person spreading virus in USA will be stationed at Russia, where there are no cyber laws and no punishment can be awarded, added Praveen Sood.

Abolition of cyber activities is not a solution. The Information Technology (IT) is growing so fast that nothing can be stopped. Providing awareness to people on cyber crimes and laws is the only solution, opined the Police Commissioner.

Anti-virus softwares are being formulated at the same pace as that of the virus being spread. There has been an apprehension as to whether the so-called anti-virus software companies are aiding the spread of virus and thus increase their business, questioned Praveen Sood.

Sudhakaran welcomed. CSI President M.S. Veerendrakumar presented the report. Anitha Venkatesh proposed a vote of thanks.

Ffive from Mysore killed

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 | Editor
Maddur, Mar. 14 (MRA,KNR& BRS)- In a ghastly road accident, a goods tempo collided head-on with a lorry last evening at about 9.30 near Channegowdana Doddi in the taluk killing five from Mysore and causing injuries to 12.

The deceased, all residents of Bamboo Bazar near the RMC yard on Sayyaji Rao Road in Mysore have been identified as Mahesh (20), Jayamma (63), Abhilasha (9), Supreeta (9) and Kumar (18).

Seriously injured Kumar, Mangala, Asha, Cheluva, Pallavi, Selvam, Babu, Satish, Jayamma, Sumathi and Ganesh have been admitted to the Government Hospital, Maddur.

A group of 35 had proceeded in a tempo from Mysore to Madhugiri in Tumkur taluk on Saturday evening to attend a wedding. While they were returning to Mysore yesterday, a lorry transporting goods which was going from Mysore to Bangalore collided head-on with the tempo killing three on the spot. Two more died later in the hospital. The dead as well as all the injured were passengers in the goods tempo, it is learnt.

The bride, Roopa, is learnt to have not joined the returning party while her father had returned to Mysore separately. Her brother, Kumar died in K.R. Hospital in the middle of night, family sources said.

The glare of the goods tempo's headlight is said to have caused the mishap. Inspector Puttaswamy Gowda and Sub-Inspector Ramachandrappa visited the scene of the tragedy immediately after learning about the incident and helped in shifting the injured to the hospital.

Superintendent of Police Hitendra and Additional SP Mohan S. Hegde visited the accident spot.

Minister

District in-charge Minister as well as Health Minister Cheluva-narayana visited the Government Hospital here after coming to know about the incident and spoke comforting words to the injured. The large number of people who had gathered at the hospital expressed their ire at the apathy of the Government towards the four-laning of the Mysore-Bangalore stretch which is in a deplorable condition and causing many fatal road-mishaps. They urged the Minister to see to it that the road construction work was expedited on a war footing.

Compensation

The Minister assured the gathering that he would use his good offices and get adequate compensation to the families of the dead and those who sustained injuries.

Maddur Police have registered a case and taken up investigation.

Thandege Thakka Maga

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 | Editor
‘Thevar Magan’, that classic Tamil film (starring Sivaji Ganesan and Kamal Hassan) is now being remade into Kannada as ‘Thandege Thakka Maga’ starring Ambarish and Upendra. The film went on the floors at Hotel Ashok on Sunday (20th Feb) evening.

Karnataka Chief Minister N.Dharam Singh switched the camera for the maiden shot. This is the second film function attended by Karnataka CM in his regime of roughly six months. Prabhavathi Dharam Singh lighted the lamp and KFCC President H.D.Gangaraju sounded the clapper board. Upendra and Ambarish in traditional attire faced the camera.

Ambarish, a sitting MP and actor of over 200 films had grown a thick moustache for the covete role that Sivaji Ganesan had made memorable in Tamil. Upendra has also changed his get-up for ‘Thandege Thakka Maga’.

S.Ramesh is the producer of this film. Director S.Mahender takes credit for screenplay and direction. Gurukiran scores the music and Krishnakumar is the cameraman.

Karnataka Bank to step up ATMs

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 | Editor
As part of its drive to make banking more convenient for its customers, Mangalore-based Karnataka Bank plans to increase its ATM network to 100 by December this year.

This will be its second phase of the ATM network expansion. It added three more ATMs recently, taking the number of its own ATMs to 15. The bank which had 12 ATMs of its own in the first phase of ATM network recently inked a pact with India Switch Company, Chennai.

The bank installed its ATMs at Bangalore and Mumbai in its second phase of ATM network expansion plan. With this addition, the number of banks’ own ATMs in Bangalore rose to nine.

Besides Bangalore, the bank has its own ATMs in Chennai and Mumbai. Apart from its own 15 ATMs, thebank has tie-ups with Corporation Bank. The mutual sharing agreement between the banks allows ATM card holders to access over 800 ATMs for 'free'.

The bank, which is technology-savvy and customer-centric is well set to launch Visa Debit Card facilities shortly.

Meanwhile, the bank has raised the interest rates on its non-resident (external) rupee deposit (NRE) scheme and its foreign currency non-residents (banks) scheme for British Pound, US Dollar and Euro deposits from March 1.

Karnataka pitches big tourism package

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 | Editor
Over the last few weeks Mysore has been in focus for its development and promotion as a major tourist destination. It is likely to get a boost as deputy CM Siddaramaiah, who represents Mysore taluk, is keen to develop the major tourist attractions in and around Mysore which have remained neglected for decades.

The state government has been keen to keep pace with neighbouring states in developing the tourist spots in other parts of Karnataka too by creating better infrastructure.

It has drawn up a Rs 556-crore proposal for the comprehensive development of the tourist sector over five years. The proposal was placed before the Centre during the State Tourism Ministers’ Conference in New Delhi on March 4.

The scheme covers the construction of rest houses every 50 km on state and National Highways with dormitories, formation of tourism parks in Mysore, Bangalore, Gulbarga, Belgaum and Hampi and allocation of Rs 10 crore to each of the 27 districts for development of tourist spots.

While the state tourism department is planning a special package for development of Hampi as an international tourist destination, the Jog Falls Development Authority is meeting on Monday to discuss measures to develop the spots that lacks facilities despite having one of the highest waterfalls.

The meeting is expected to consider the release of water to the falls from the Sharavathi Dam in summer, when the falls dries up.

The proposed tourism park on a 300-acre plot at the foothills of Chamundi Hills in Mysore is expected to take off in about three months, initially on 50 acres, with themes like rock garden, health tourism, eco-tourism and adventure tourism on the lines of ‘Suraj Kund’ near Delhi.

While fresh tenders will be invited for the construction of a ropeway to Chamundi Hills on the model of the one in Singapore, efforts are on to develop the Mandakalli airport to airlink Mysore. The ongoing four-lane Mysore-Bangalore highway work when completed is expected to give further boost to tourism to Mysore.

According to tourism minister D T Jayakumar, the Centre will release Rs 200 crore to Karnataka for Tourism Development during 2005-06.

While the tourism minister is keen to develop Karnataka’s tourism sector to be on a par with neighbouring states, tourism commissioner Mahendra Jain feels the need for imaginative and aggressive promotion to develop tourism in the state.

The proposed new plans and proposals came into focus at a seminar on ‘Tourism: Opportunities and Challenges’, organised in Mysore by Banumaiah’s Educational Institutions and the Rotary Mysore last week-end.

Giant Shiva Statue star attraction during Shivaratri

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 | Editor
BANGALORE, (UNI)

A large number of devotees thronged the huge idol of god Shiva to offer their prayers on the occasion of Mahashivaratri celebrated with religious fervour all over Karnataka today.

From the early hours of the day, long queues were seen at the venue which is close to the airport. Devotees offered milk to a shivalingam located at the footsteps of the massive idol of Shiva in sitting posture.

Devotees observed a day's fast and participated in special poojas in the temples. As per tradition the devotees also stay awake all night and perform poojas to Lord Shiva.

Beru

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 | Editor
R G Vijayasarathy

Mithra Chithra, a co-operative unit of several artists and technicians of the television and film industry in Karnataka, has produced two Kannada films so far. They have won National Awards and some special awards from the Karnataka state government.

Beru, the group's third venture, portrays the degradation of values in the bureaucratic system and the impact of a corrupt, insensitive and indifferent administration.

It is certainly the best film directed by P Seshadri, who is known for taking up burning issues in his films. The director's first film Munnudi dealt with the marriage of minors to rich sheikhs from Arab countries. The film gained entry to five international film festivals and won two National Awards. His next film Athithi was on terrorism. It won an award from the Central government.

But certainly Beru (Root) stands out in terms of quality. The message and the impact of the film is strong. The narration is crisp, the dialogue hard hitting, and the sarcasm realistic.

Raghunandan, an honest officer, is posted at the Karadipura government office. He comes to the village with his wife and finds that the staff of the office lack the motivation to work for the poor. He barely starts tuning his office when he is told of a minister visiting the area along with a foreign delegation.

The officer is told to put the delegation up at a government bungalow. The search for the bungalow starts in the forests surrounding the area. The officer comes to know the building exists only on paper. His predecessors have even swallowed up government funds for its 'renovation,' and a watchman exists on paper, his salaries going to the corrupt staff.

A poor folk artiste, Goravayya, wants permission to cut a tree in front of his home, which is threatening the stability of his house. Despite making several trips to the government office, Goravayya - who has an orphaned girl with him - finds his pleas falling on deaf ears. The officer and the entire staff are completely focused on making arrangements for the minister and the have no time for the problems of the poor. Instead, Goravayya is sent to scout the forest to look for the non-existent bungalow.

Finally Raghu decides to cover up the fiasco to save an inefficient staff member. He sends a report to the government that the building had to be demolished and a new building will be constructed. Goravayya is paraded as the watchman to the team that comes for spot inspection.

The government suggests action against the watchman for not safeguarding the building. By the time Raghu and his deputy go in search of Goravayya, he has died because his house collapsed in the rain.

The film ends with the orphaned child spitting on the officer and his deputy. The impact is terrific.

The lead artistes put in fine performances. Sucheendra Prasad excels in the role of the officer. H G Dattathreya does a splendid job of an office supervisor who knows how to exploit situations. Venkata Rao (Goravayya) and Baby Soumya (his adopted daughter) leave a powerful impact. Lakshmi Chandrashekhar is very good as well.

Sheshadri has taken care to select his artists, mostly from theatre. Ramchandra's camera work delights, but the music re-recording could have been better. J M Prahlad uses sarcasm as a powerful weapon in his dialogues.
Overall, Beru acts as a wake up call about the dangers of an inefficient administration.

Karnataka ready for talks with Naxals: CM

Monday, March 7, 2005 | Editor
Approaching a year in office surviving coalition blues, Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh said he is prepared to talk to naxalites if they shed arms.

The 69-year-old CM, who is in Delhi on a short but hectic visit, said in a wide-ranging interview that his government is "well settled" now and faces no threat from any quarter.

Facing the problem of extremism in the Malnad region, the Chief Minister declared that his government was prepared to talk to the Naxalites if they come to the negotiating table.

"I am ready to talk with them. But they should give up the weapons and come for talks. At the same time the police will ensure that there is law and order and peace in society. Violence will not be allowed," he said.

He also met Home Minister Shivraj Patil for additional grants from the Centre to provide relief package for tribal families in the forest areas, whose discontent is exploited by the Naxalites. (PTI)

Vijaya group launches Kannada daily 'Usha Kirana'

Monday, March 7, 2005 | Editor
BANGALORE: Vernacular Journalism received yet another boost with the launch of the new daily "Usha Kirana". The new publication for the Vijaya Karnataka group is a sister publication of Vijay Karnataka - the Kannada Daily that transformed the vernacular newspaper scenario in Karnataka in a span of just 5 years.

In a period of just 3 years Vijay Karnataka claims that it overtook newspapers with an established history to emerge as the state's number 1 daily with a circulation today that is close to 5, 76,000. Vijaya Karnataka has a network of 500 journalists. Vijaya Karnataka claims to be the only daily to offer 18 supplements that encompass a range of topics of interest to different segments of the reader community.

Usha Kirana, the new offering from the Group will be published from nine centers. Usha Kirana is also the first Kannada Newspaper to launch nine simultaneous editions available all across the state because of an effective distribution network that the group has established across the state.

The new daily was launched at a ceremony on 3rd March, with luminaries such as Infosys Foundation Chairperson Mrs. Sudha Murthy, Lokayukta Justice N.Venkatachala, and Kannada Sahitya Parishad President Mr. Chandrashekara Patil present at the occasion.

Bangalore cyber cafes get tough with netizens

Saturday, March 5, 2005 | Editor
HUNDREDS OF cyber cafes in Bangalore have started recording personal details of visitors to comply with a new rule aimed at tracking perpetrators of online fraud, virus attacks and terrorism. Internet users have expressed concern that the law could lead to invasion of privacy and police harassment, while cafe owners fear a drop in customers.

The Karnataka government had passed a law last year requiring cyber cafe patrons to provide proof of identity and details such as name, age and address. However, the police began enforcing this law only this week.

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