Karnataka News Archive: August 2005

Science Academy set up to popularise science
Wednesday, August 31, 2005 | MP

The state’s newly set up science and technology academy will meet for the first time on Sept 1 to work out on strategy for its working and implementation of the state’s science and technology policy. The academy constitutes members like government officials, scientists and industry representatives and is headed by space scientist U R Rao. The academy will focus on coordinating with the government departments towards using science and technology in everyday life to improve quality of life, lessen poverty and increase food production. The academy also aims to formulate programmes to fulfill the state’s science and technology needs.

MCI Regulation on MBBS could affect 700 BDS seats
Tuesday, August 30, 2005 | MP

Medical Council of India’s regulation for MBBS course if implemented this academic year could lead to loss of seats for students admitted to dental course (BDS). As many as 700 students admitted to BDS under government quota without required percentage of marks in the entrance test will be affected if the single judge’s order on MBBS is applied for BDS too. This was stated in an argument raised by the State Government in its appeal against a single judge’s order which had held as invalid admissions of 236 students to the MBBS course as they had not scored the minimum 50 percent marks in the entrance test as per the MCI regulations.

Deadly Soma
Monday, August 29, 2005 | MP

Debutante director Ravi Srivasta’s "Deadly Soma" is based on the real life story of Bangalore’s notorious underworld Don Somashekhara alias Soma, who was shot dead in a police encounter 10 years back. Soma who hails from a good family background ends up in jail for a near fatal assault on his father's partner. Circumstances force him to get involved in many murders, kidnappings and murder attempts. He also takes on an underworld don. Rest is about how the police hunt him down. Director tells the story through a tight screen play and a realistic narrative technique. Narration by Ravi Belagere lends it a touch of a crime story. Adithya has given a good performance. National award winner Tara, Devaraj, who plays the police officer's role are equally brilliant. Rakshitha has nothing much to do in the film than for the songs. Shobharaj, Avinash, Bullet Prakash, Girija Lokesh have done their roles well. Sadhu Kokila's music is quite notable. Mathew's cinematography is good. "Deadly Soma" altogether proves to be a good film.

Thunta
Monday, August 29, 2005 | MP

Director Om Prakash Rao presents "Thunta" for the action lovers. Produced by Purushoththama Rao, the movie's story line is almost a remix formula which reminds viewers of scenes from many other Kannada and non-Kannada films. The story of "Thunta" revolves around Krishna, a fun loving college boy and Divya, a girl who is over protected by her brothers. Krishna who is neglected by his own brother is very fond of his sis-in-law. Divya who is forcefully engaged to the son of the city's don frames up a love story with Krishna. When Divya's brothers target Krishna, he throws out a challenge that he will marry Divya. Keeping away the threats from the city don, Krishna fights and gets Divya. Hero, Eswar shines in his second film and lives up with his performance. Mumbai based girl Ektha Khosla looks well in the songs, but not so good in performance. Director keeps up with the pace for the film but script work could have been better. Seetharam's camera work is brilliant. Ravichandran has delivered a couple of good songs in the film.

Black flags welcome CJI
Monday, August 29, 2005 | MP

The Chief Justice of India (CJI), R C Lahoti was greeted with black flags by the activists of the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha in Bangalore on Sunday. The CJI was attending the 13th annual convocation of the National Law School of India University. The activists were in protest over the recent Supreme Court order on admission to professional courses. As the CJI stepped out into the lobby after the convocation, they greeted him with black flags and slogans before being overpowered by the police.

Rakshita’s bracelet gets flicked
Sunday, August 28, 2005 | MP

Kannada film actress Rakshita loses her gold bracelet worth Rs 16,000 to her frantic fans at Santosh Theater, Bangalore on Friday. She was returning after watching her recent movie “Deadly Soma” in which she has starred with Adithya. While leaving the theater, she was surrounded by a group of people who asked for autographs. After all the exaltation, she noticed her bracelet had been flicked. An oral complaint made by the actress’s mother has been filed with the Chikpet police.

Rahul Bose reaches out for a good cause
Sunday, August 28, 2005 | MP

Actor, Rahul Bose inaugurated the Adora Rahki festival at Shopper’s Stop, Bangalore and shared special moments with the children present at the occasion. The actor supported the Spastic Society of India’s effort to promote rakhis designed by the handicapped children. Rahul was all set for a good cause, helping Adora reach out in the true spirit of Raksha Bandhan.

Intake of fruit juice makes school kids sick
Saturday, August 27, 2005 | MP

As many as 40 students of Cambridge School in Bangalore falls sick after consuming a packaged fruit drink which were given to them. As an attempt by the makers of the juice to promote their product at the school, the students were given glasses of ‘Real Juice’ around lunch time. The children began feeling giddy and nauseous about 20 minutes later and soon all affected were taken to the various hospitals in the City. All children were reported to be out of danger. Samples of the juice have been sent to Manipal hospital and Bangalore Mahanagara Palike health dept laboratory for tests. The juice made by Dabur India says their product compiled with the norms of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system.

Pahanis to cost less from Oct2
Friday, August 26, 2005 | MP

To mark Gandhi Jayanti, from Oct 2 onwards, the fee for issue of pahani to farmers would be slashed from Rs 15 to Rs 10. Around 5000 computerised centers are opened at the hobli level as well as in big villages for the issue of pahani. The announcement came from Deputy CM M. P. Prakash after inaugurating the gram panchayat building and laying foundation for an open theater in Davengari. He said the fee for pahanis would further come down to Rs 5 very soon and also promised to release widow pension arrears within a month.

ITI office not to shift: Union Ministry
Friday, August 26, 2005 | MP

On the wake of protests and demonstrations in Bangalore by the ITI employees, Union Ministry of Communications has said that it had no plans to shift ITI’s corporate office from Bangalore to Delhi. The Ministry also said that plans are occurring to relocate a couple of "very senior officials, including the Chairman and Managing Director and a few key directors" of Indian Telephone Industries Limited from Bangalore to New Delhi. However the workers are not convinced by the Ministry's assertion. "This is an insidious way of shifting the corporate office," says Michael Fernandes, president, ITI Employees' Union.

Staff question on shifting ITI corporate office
Thursday, August 25, 2005 | MP

The proposal to shift the corporate office of Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) from Bangalore to Delhi has led to protests from its employees who number over 4000. The employees allege the move to shift the office is a part of a conspiracy with the ultimate motive of closing down the public sector unit. The employee association are concerned that instead of developing the ITI as a flagship company, efforts are being made to close down the company only to grab the 350-acre land. The employees who already staged a rasta roko agitation have warned of observing rail roko, fast unto death and Bangalore bandh.

Hampi Kannada University to study on tribes in State
Thursday, August 25, 2005 | MP

The Hampi Kannada University gets Rs. 22 lakh grant from the UGC to conduct a comprehensive study on tribes in the State. The grant will be used to complete the project entitled ‘extensive spread and evaluation of tribal set up in Karnataka.’ This would be the first ever such study on all the tribal communities in the state. The project will highlight the origin, population, eating habits, physical features, social status, language, traditions, religious practices, health, education and cultural conditions of the tribes.

Dronacharya means a lot to me: Savur
Thursday, August 25, 2005 | MP

Arvind Savur the former national champion in billiards and snooker gets the Dronacharya award, the highest national honor for coaches. With this Savur becomes the first from Karnataka to get the same. Savur gets it for the cuesports. He had coached Pankaj Advani in the national and international level. His ward, Pankaj Advani is the IBSF world champion. “Dronacharya means a lot to me. I have really struggled to coach people, and without any intention of making money”, Savur said, responding to the awards.

ONGC project gets PM’s approval
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 | MP

PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh has written a letter to Chief Minister giving the approval to the RS. 25,000 crore petrochemical project. The project is to be taken up at Mangalore with the involvement of Oil and natural Gas Coorperation(ONGC). PM has given 5 modalities, including nominating Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals as the implementing agency for the project. The ONGC which is the parent company of MRPL will approve the proposals of MRPL and provide the funds.

‘Mental Manja’ doing well than expected
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 | MP

It was a surprise that a movie like “Mental Manja” made a decent opening in many of the theaters. This movie unnoticed by the trade and media is reported to have done well in some major centres. The film made on a budget of around Rs.5 million, has been able to recover half its investments in the first 10 days of its run in Bangalore theatres alone. The theme of the movie is about an underworld don falling in love with a girl.

ONGC to go ahead with petro-chemical project in Karnataka
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 | AA

Bangalore, Aug 23 (PTI) Karnataka today said all hurdles in the way of implemention of the ONGC's Rs 22,000 crore mega petro-chemicals project in Mangalore have been removed, following Prime Minister Manmohan Singh giving his approval for it.The Prime Minister in a letter to Chief Minister N Dharam Singh has assured that the project would be implemented in line with an agreement signed between ONGC, Karnataka Area Industrial Development Board and Canara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, indicating there would be no alterations, Minister for Industries and Finance P G R Sindhia told reporters here. The agreement, which was signed last year, could not be implemented following objections raised by the petroleum ministry. It had contended that ONGC had not sought the approval of the government or the Company's Board before signing the agreement. The Prime Minister, in a letter dated July 27, said that Mangalore Refineres and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) had been nominated as the implementing agency for the project. ONGC would provide finance and other guidelines required by MRPL and contract for importing LNG and the state government would play the role of a co-promoter of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The ONGC can float equity and also induct non competing financial partners but it should maintain a minimum equity of 26 per cent and excluive management control. PTI

State stands second in milk production
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 | MP

According to the Karnataka Milk Federation, the state stands second in milk production with a milk output of 30.5 lakh litres a day. The State also aims at increasing storage facility for milk and milk products by nine per cent every year and four per cent increase in value added product sales and production. The Federation also launched the five-liter jumbo-pack for the first time mainly targeting at bulk buyers such as hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. With 17 lakh litres of milk consumed within the state every day, the milk federation aims to produce 40 lakh litres of milk a day by 2008-09. At present Karnataka supplies its milk products to Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa and Tamil Nadu.

17 IAS and 13 IPS officers transferred
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 | MP

The State Government has transferred 17 senior IAS officers and as many as 13 IPS officers. This includes the heads of three important departments like Finance, Commercial Taxes and Excise handled by former deputy chief Minister, Siddaramaiah. The transfer also included MD of Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation, MD of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd, Health and Family Welfare Commissioner, Commissioner of Backward Classes, Register of Cooperative Societies, Municipal Administration Dept Director.

IIIT gets deemed university status
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 | MP

Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Bangalore gets deemed University status under de-novo category. This was informed at the Parliament on Monday. The Minister of State for Human Development M.A.A Fatmi said that the state government has corresponded to the University Grants Commission for its no objection to the grant of the status to IIIT.

Brindavan Garden Pond in bad state
Monday, August 22, 2005 | MP

The condition of the Brindavan Garden boating pond, built in an area of 15 acres at the KRS dam site is becoming worse. The Garden which is under the control of Cauvery Niravari Nigama was renovated recently. But no efforts were made to restore the pond which is filled with mass of deep rooted weeds and dirt. The pond is looked after by Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) who says they are helpless with the weeds growing back immediately and uprooting the weeds completely being practically impossible. The only option is to dry the pond for which the pond need to be closed for visitors. KSTDC had sent a proposal on this but the Nigama has not responded to this yet.

The power of fan clubs
Monday, August 22, 2005 | MP

The release of the Shivaraj Kumar starrer Jogi has created chaos in many theaters across the state. On the first day of the movie’s release, hordes of hyper fans that waited impatiently in front of the theaters just rushed in. The police had to use lathi charge to bring some of the groups under control. They were also fireworks and much whistling in the theaters when the super star appeared on the screen. How the audience managed to catch the film in the midst of all such activities is really surprising.

Jogi
Sunday, August 21, 2005 | MP

The much media hyped Shivarajkumar starrer Jogi, directed by Prem is the story of a village boy who comes over to city to earn money finally end up becoming an underworld don. Shivarajkumar as Jogi puts up an admirable performance. The story also got a subplot that brings out the deep bond shared between a mother and her son. Popular theater artist Arundhati Nag has brought life to her character by playing the role of Jogi’s mother, who comes to the city in search of his son. The heroine Jennifer Kothwal’s performance is average. Gurukiran’s music is different and well pictured. The songs "Ello Jogappa Ninna Aramane", "Hodi Maga" and "Bin Laden" were so popular even before the movie’s release. The director lent a realistic feel to the film by portraying the rustic life and the use of local Kannada, but while unfolding the various aspects of rowdism loses the subtleness of the plot.

New Satellite bus terminal to open
Saturday, August 20, 2005 | MP

Bangalore: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is opening its first of the 4 satellite bus terminals planned in the city’s peripheral areas, at the Mysore Road for usage from August 28. The new terminal located opposite the Gali Anjaneya Temple, has been designed on 3 levels. Level I will house a commercial complex and the terminus for BMTC buses. Level II for KSRTC services while Level III is to be bus depot where 75 buses can be parked and serviced. For South-bound passengers to places such as Mysore, Madikeri and Kerala, will become easy because shuttle bus services are also to be operated from the suburbs. The 20 shuttle services will serve Banashankari, Jayanagar, Vijayanagar and Nagarbhavi, among other areas. "By stopping many inter-State buses such as those going towards Kerala at Mysore Road, traffic congestion will also be reduced within the city,'' KSRTC officials said.

Turmeric to nail malaria parasite
Friday, August 19, 2005 | MP

Some new researches show that a turmeric extract could arrest the malaria parasite. The population studies of the malarial parasite at the molecular level have shown a 95 percent mutation rate. A team at the biochemistry department at IISc has been looking at extracts for anti malarial properties using traditional methods. The curcumin in turmeric has got this property. Being turmeric derivative we do not need to do toxicity and side effects as it is being used since long. If clinically this could be tried out it could be an Indian contribution to arrest malaria, says Prof G Padmanabhan of IISc.

News
Friday, August 19, 2005 | MP

The film has to some extent succeeded in building some suspense and tension in the minds of the viewers. But things would have turned better if director, Maheshwar had put some more efforts on the script. Guru Kiran’s music is what makes the film more attractive. Upendra's performance is also brilliant. But 'News' has its flaws in the so-called comedy sequences, and the double meaning dialogues which are of bad taste and not in tune with the basic story of the film. The story goes around the investigative journalist Guru, who finds out a girl who foresees things in her dreams and she reveals these dreams to a newspaper editor. And all these dreams turns out true, what makes the newspaper a success. Guru is out to solve the mysteries behind her dreams. Malayalam actress Renuka Menon has done her role reasonably, but Reema Sen has nothing much to offer. Tennis Krishna's comedy is in bad taste. Ashok and Nasser have come out with decent acts. Cameraman Senthil Kumar has done a fantastic job in his first Kannada film. The editing work also seems okay. The Upendra fans may enjoy the film, but otherwise nothing much than the usual affair, maybe well for one time viewing.

Valmiki
Friday, August 19, 2005 | MP

Producer Shilpa Srinivas and Dialogue writer turned director M.S.Ramesh has presented this movie in a much washed-out style. 'Valmiki' with leading star Shivaraj Kumar has nothing new in this movie which tells the same story of a young star whose look alike living in another village is dead. To save his family reputation he admits a murder which he has not committed. Later he is set free by the court. The hero fakes himself as the person who is killed and takes revenge on those who have killed his look alike. There have been many films of this kind and the theme has lost its gleam. The narration too looks to be a repetition of many Kannada and other south Indian films and turns out very slow in pace in the second half. Hrishitha Bhatt and Lakshmi Shri have nothing to prove in this film, except their sex appeal. Srinivasa Murthy and Veena Sundar have done their roles somewhat satisfactorily. Artists like Shobharaj, Avinash, Rangayana Raghu and Sathyajith are just okay. With a poor making style and dull story, ‘Valmiki’ fails miserably in all respects.

Congress says ‘no’ to Ahinda meet
Thursday, August 18, 2005 | MP

The Congress party indirectly says no on the issue of party men participating in the Ahinda meet to be held on August 20 at Tumkur. Earlier a resolution was passed by the top party leaders in the Congress Coordination Committee which said that the party men should not do anything that would damage the unity, ideology and culture of the party. However the party did not specify any action against those who will take part in the convention.

Rajkumar undergoing checkup in Mumbai hospital
Thursday, August 18, 2005 | MP

Kannada actor and cine idol, Rajkumar and his wife Parvathamma were admitted in the Bombay hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday. The couple accompanied by their son, Raghevendra and family doctor, Dr. Ramanna was admitted for undergoing some tests and routine check ups. He would be under examination of reputed cardiologist Dr. B. K. Goyal and a team of expert doctors from abroad. Dr. Rajkumar is said to be in good health and is likely to be discharged in a couple of days.

State Badminton Championship concludes
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 | MP

Rohan Castelino and Ashwini Ponnappa were crowned the men’s and women’s singles titles respectively in the State Badminton Championships which came to an end in Bangalore on Tuesday. Rohan beat Utsav Prakash 15-7, 15-9 in the finals. Ashwini won 11-6, 7-11, 11-9 over Ruth Misha who stretched the match to 3 games. Ruth Misha bagged the junior girls’ title while V. Amar won the boys singles.

“My dream is to direct a movie”- Actress Tara
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 | MP

By winning the Best Actress for her role in Hasina, Actress Tara becomes the first from the Kannada industry to obtain the National award for Best Actress. The actress who got introduced to films through dance got her name ‘Tara’ from the Tamil film industry. “I am just Anuradha Venugopal, a married woman who wants to have children. My dream is to direct a movie. With films that I produce, I’d like to bridge but I’ll continue to act in all films. I have never been choosy in my life” says Tara.

Mysore goes Wi-Fi
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 | MP

Mysore is the country’s first Wi-Fi(Wireless fidelity) enabled city, an achievement which the hi-tech Bangalore is yet to catch up. With Mysore achieving the Wi- Fi connectivity it gives you complete freedom to connect to the internet without wires- be it a room in your hotel or even your home. The city has 3 access points as of now, with the first hot spot being Jayalaxmipuram, an upmarket area in Mysore. Wi Fi revolution has reached right upto Kaushalnagar, a small town en route to Madikeri, about 100km from Mysore. With just Rs. 750 a month, irrespective of the kind of data download internet is made available round the clock.

State gets Rs. 300 Cr aid from PM
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 | MP

Prime Minister who had to cancel his visit to the State due to bad weather had announced Rs. 300-cr aid from the National calamity Contingency Fund for providing relief to the State’s flood victims. PM has extended his help for rehabilitating the homeless and to revive the agriculture destroyed by the flood. The PM also announced a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh each for the families of the flood victims from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

Flora plays another ‘Basanti’ in Nammanna
Wednesday, August 17, 2005 | MP

Actress Flora plays a tangawalli in the Kannada film Nammanna. This character has a role which is similar to Basanti, played by Hema Malini in Sholay. “I am a very loud character, in fact a slightly wilder version of ‘Basanti’ played by Hema Malini. The lead character goes through a complete change in the film, and Iam the one who really stands by him through it all”, claims Flora.

IT to rural areas through E-Grama
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 | MP

In an attempt to bring IT to rural areas and to increase computer literacy of those living in rural areas, Bank of India is initiating an e-grama project in Mysore from September 10. The e-grama project is a joint venture by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Grameena Mahiti Parishath. The project funded by the Bank of India will start from next month. The project will help 100 villages in Mysore district to obtain the benefits of the information technology revolution in the first phase. This will also bring more employment opportunities in these regions and reduce the flow of educated unemployed youths to cities.

CM announces five-point plan
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 | MP

Chief Minister Dharam Singh on the occasion of the Independence Day celebrations announced a five-point social welfare programme for the State. This includes providing employment guarantee, health insurance, food security and compulsory primary education for the under privileged in the State. "Ours is a welfare State," and the Constitution has given the Government the responsibility of implementing welfare programmes for the people, Mr Singh said. All these programmes will be executed on a time-bound basis and a high level committee will be assigned to monitor their implementation.

Girish Kasaravalli’s new project in September
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 | MP

Director Girish Kasaravalli, who recently won the best film award in the social welfare category of the national awards for his film "Hasina", is starting a film based on S.L. Byrappa's popular Kannada novel "Naayi Neralu". The movie will have reincarnation as its main theme and is scheduled to start in September. The title of the film is yet to be disclosed. Ex-president of the Kannada Film Producers' Association, Basanth Kumar Patil, will produce this film.

VTU enters MoU with chip makers
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 | MP

The India Semiconductor Association (ISA) and the VLSI Society of India (VSI), entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Visveswaraya Technological University (VTU) to create a joint forum that would promote student and faculty training, and faculty research in the key areas specific to the semiconductor industry. The pilot programme will run in five centres and colleges affiliated to the VTU, Biswadip Mitra, president of VSI and Balaveera Reddy, vice chancellor of VTU told reporters in Bangalore.

IT Hardware Park to begin by Oct
Friday, August 12, 2005 | MP

With all the necessary requirements for setting up the IT Park in place, the Karnataka IT Hardware Park proposed by the government is expected to see the sunshine soon. The state government is likely to notify 1,000 acres of land for this purpose adjoining the upcoming Bangalore International Airport by October 2005. Once the land is notified, the tendering processes for companies are to begin. The state is also seeking the special economic zone status for this park from the Centre, which will help to attract companies.

Cisco wins $2million from Symphony
Friday, August 12, 2005 | MP

Cisco Systems had won a $ 2 million deal from Symphony Services for installing a Cisco-powered network with integrated firewall and security modules along with IP telephony technologies for its global operating centre in Bangalore. Symphony Services, a US-based company focused on helping clients leverage the global market for competitive advantage, chose to supply the equipment priced at $ 1.2 million in the first phase, a Cisco Systems statement said. The total deal is valued at $ 2 million, which is to be completed in two phases over the next 1 year.

“Kannada is almost like my mother tongue”- Manya
Friday, August 12, 2005 | MP

The London bred actress Maanya is already known to the Kannada industry with her films like Varsha, and the recent Shastri, which has been said to be a commercial success. Though a Hyderabadi, this Telungu girl dubs for herself in all her Kannada films. When asked how she managed to speak so well in Kannada, she says “I never faced any problems dubbing in Kannada. Some of my relatives live in Karnataka. I should say Kannada is almost like my mother tongue.”

B’lore to host ‘Karnataka Heritage Hunt’ on I-Day
Friday, August 12, 2005 | MP

Karnataka Tourist Forum and Karnataka Department of Tourism will be conducting a road show and treasure hunt on August 15, with the State’s various tourist destinations as its touch points. Airport Rd., Jayanagar, Vijayanagar, Malleswaram and Cox Town will be the 5 flag-off points and these points will put up stalls that would display an elaborate listing of what each major destination of Karnataka got to offer. The road show will start at 9:30 am. Registration charges for 4 wheelers: Rs. 300, 2 wheelers: Rs. 200, students: Rs. 125. For details, call: 9845041912.

Mysore airport project gets green signal
Thursday, August 11, 2005 | MP

The Center has given its nod for the construction of an airport in Mysore. The State Government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will sign a land exchange agreement on September 5. The Centre has also agreed to release Rs. 16 crores for upgrading the Hubli airport and Rs. 15 crores for the Belgaum airport. The State Government has sought Rs. 80 crores for building a new terminal at the Mangalore airport. Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel agreed in principle to the proposal for the new terminal.

Seminar on biotechnology in Mysore
Thursday, August 11, 2005 | MP

Sarada Vilas College, Mysore, and the University Grants Commission will organise a two-day seminar on "Biotechnology - Emerging Trends" on the college premises from August 12. Scientists from institutions such as Central Food Technological Research Institute; Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, will be presenting papers duting the sessions.

Center takes up 2 tourism projects
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 | MP

The tourism Ministry has taken up 2 tourism projects of the state for the 2005-06. This includes Destination Development of Jog Falls and Mysore. The Central government will provide the funding for these projects after the receipt of the proposals are complete in all respects. However the Chamundi Hills project proposal submitted by the Karnataka govt earlier was not considered as it was not complete as per the guidelines and no such proposal for the same was received for grant of financial help during 2005-06, said Tourism Minister Renuka Choudhary.

Ramya Chaitrakala
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 | MP

The well known director, Sunil Kumar Desai is returning after a long gap with his new project, Ramya Chaitrakala. D.Ramesh is producing this film. The film projects a beautiful love story between an innocent village boy, Chinna and a postmaster’s daughter, Shobha. Their problems, turbulences, troubles forms rest of the story. “In none of my earlier films, love was so deeply projected. I find that marriage and love are interlinked. Conflicts and controversies among this occur and it is a regular process and is a delicate thing. I tried to project that in a very delicate way," says Desai speaking about this film. Sandeep, Nandita, Reshma, Archana, Manasa, Rahul are playing the lead roles. Story, Screenplay and Direction by Sunilkumar Desai; Dialogues: Jayanth Kaykini; Camera: Prabhu; Music: Syamsunder; Editor: Kemparaj; Choreography: Prasad. The shooting has been going on at Sirsi and also at Sagara, Gokarna, Hulekal, Saathoddi waterfalls, Sondaa, Yaana and other places. Desai assures that the audiences are going to have the taste of the olden days' melody from the songs of this film.

Goodluck
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 | MP

Goodluck produced by Srinivasa Reddy and Srinivasa Shetty is almost done with its shooting and the re-recording work. Journalist Nandakumar, the owner of the film magazine Hello Gandhinagar is trying his luck through this directorial debut. Music is by Rajesh Ramanath. Modeling world is the theme for this triangular love subject. Anirudh, Radhika, Akshaya Krishna, Daamini, Chitrashenoy, Sandhya are in the cast. Radhika who reentered the Kannada industry through movie Rishi will play the lead role of a glamorous model. One of the hero plays a modeling coordinator while the other a dress designer. Damini plays a negative role. The movie is also reintroducing A.T.Raghu as an actor, who in fact directed films like Mandyada Gandu, Mysoru Jaana, Aasha, Kaadina Raaja, Anthima Teerpu, Padmavyooha and many others.

Hathway to launch Digital Cable TV services
Tuesday, August 9, 2005 | MP

Hathway on Wednesday will launch its Digital Cable TV services in Bangalore. Hathway will be the first cable company to offer this service in Bangalore and the city will be the 5th city in the country to avail this service. This will be offered through a Set Top Box (STB), placed at the customer’s house. With this viewers will now be able to watch sharper and brighter digital quality pictures and listen to stereophonic sounds on their TV sets irrespective of their location in the spectrum. The STB’s including remote control will cost Rs. 3950. There will be no extra charge for the digital service and monthly cable fee will remain unchanged.

Anti-haemophiliac factors to be distributed free
Tuesday, August 9, 2005 | MP

The Hemophiliac Society of Karnataka has identified Bowring and Vani Vilas hospitals in Bangalore, Wenlock Hospital in Manipal and CJ Hospital in Davangere for distribution of the Anti-haemophiliac factors. Each vial of the anti-haemophiliac factor costs around Rs. 2,500 and some patients require at least 20 shots every year. The State Government is taking up the cost and is the first in the country to provide such a service. Doctors and members of the State branch of the Haemophiliac Society will begin training the Government doctors on giving patients vials of the clotting factors 8 and 9, needed to treat them.

Independence Day sports
Monday, August 8, 2005 | MP

Karnataka State Billiards Association will conduct the Independence Day snooker and tournament from Aug 13 to 15.The event is open to all clubs and parlours in Karnataka. Entries will close on August 11. Further details may be had from KSBA joint secretary.

Noted litterateur, Dr. Shantadevi passes away
Monday, August 8, 2005 | MP

Dr. Shantadevi Malawada, renowned litterateur, and one of the early writers in Kannada died of old age after being bed ridden for about a year. She died at her residence in Kalyan Nagar in Dharwad during the early hours of Sunday. She was 84 and survived by an adopted son. She was one of the illustrious women writers of all time in Kannada. A strong believer in woman’s empowerment, she formed ‘Akkana Balaga’ for social service and literacy activities. A versatile writer, her forms of literature ranged from short stories, travelogue, biographies, books on history and spirituality. She was also chosen as chief of Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in 2000.

M.P. Prakash as DyCM
Sunday, August 7, 2005 | MP

Revenue Minister MP Prakash was appointed as DYCM on Saturday to replace Siddaramaiah who was sacked as JDSLP leader and dropped from the Ministry. Prakash would continue to hold charges of Revenue and Muzrai portfolios. Meanwhile former DyCM said that he never wanted to be DyCM but only took on the post under pressure and lashed out against JD(S) National President H D Deve Goda, calling him “dictatorial”, “inhuman” and “Hitler”.

Bangalore Metro rail gets PIB’s clearance
Sunday, August 7, 2005 | MP

The Public Investment Board finally gives clearance to the Bangalore metro rail project. The project file will now move to the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs for the final approval. UTI bank which has made financial review for the project has agreed to raise Rs 3,200 crore to fund the project. As for tax exemption, the Karnataka government has agreed for exclusion sum to Rs 177 crore, while the Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Ltd. wanted exemption of Rs. 492 cr. from the Union government.

Electronics expo -'Cliktronica 2005'
Saturday, August 6, 2005 | MP

The sixth exhibition of electronics and IT hardware, sponsored by the Department of Commerce and Industry, Government of Karnataka and organised by the Consortium of Electronic Industries of Karnataka, will be on till Sunday. The event 'Cliktronica 2005,' was inaugurated by the Minister of Industries, P.G.R. Sindhia, in Bangalore on Friday. Karnataka ranks fourth in the country in terms of IT and electronics knowledge and 33 per cent of India's exports comprised electronic goods.The event would serve as a platform to integrate the buyers and sellers and is also beneficial to the public at large.

State asked to release water from Almatti dam
Saturday, August 6, 2005 | MP

On the request of Maharastra govt, the Center Govt. on Friday asked the State to release 6,00,000 cusecs of water from Almatti dam to reduce flooding in southern districts of Maharastra. However the excess release of water from the dam is causing flooding in the downstream villages of Karnataka. The Maharastra govt had earlier blamed Karnataka for the flooding in the districts of Sangli and Kolhapur in the Krishna river basin. PM has promised to provide all assistance from the Union govt. to the flood ravaged parts of Karnataka.

Intel opens Definition Center
Friday, August 5, 2005 | MP

Intel Corporation, the world's largest chip maker has opened four platform definition centers, including one in Bangalore, to define locally relevant computing solutions based on Intel technology. These definition centers will identify environmental considerations and marketplace requirements specific to each geographic region, such as inclement weather, intermittent power supply or specialised content needs for consumers and small businesses. Besides Bangalore, Intel platform design centers are being established in key markets: Cairo (Egypt), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Shanghai (China) that would primarily serve the South Asian, Middle East, African, Latin American, and East Asian regions, respectively.

M.P. Prakash elected as new JDLP leader
Friday, August 5, 2005 | MP

Following the ongoing internal strife in JD(s), the party announced on Thursday, Mr. M.P. Prakash as its new Legislative Party leader replacing Mr. Siddaramaiah. Mr. Prakash assumed the office in Vidhan Soudha on Thursday evening. In spite of these developments, the rebel leader Mr. Siddaramaiah stated that Mr. Prakash’s appointment was illegal. He repeated that he will not resign and would continue in the party. The DyCM, who has filed a caveat before the Speaker, said that he would stand by the Speaker’s decision. Refusing to reveal his plans, the DyCM said he wants to rest for sometime before working on any strategy.

Movie tickets to cost more
Thursday, August 4, 2005 | MP

The government has decided to reintroduce service tax in all theaters across the state. The Assembly has passed the Karnataka Entertainments Tax(Amendment) Bill-2005. Movie-goers will now have to shell out an additional Re1 towards service tax in non-AC class, while the service tax rates for AC will be Rs.1.50 per ticket.

State launches ‘plea bargaining’ system
Thursday, August 4, 2005 | MP

With the introduction of ‘plea bargaining’ system, Karnataka becomes the first state in India to initiate a system for speedy disposal of criminal cases. This would bring down the pendency of cases. The state has over 14.5 lakh awaiting cases in various courts. The new Bill passed would allow the offenders to plead guilty to a reduced charge voluntarily, provided the public prosecutor or the complainant, the accused and the victim of the crime all agree to it for a “mutually satisfying disposition”.

Masala
Thursday, August 4, 2005 | MP

The story is about 3 medical college friends played by Sunil, Vishal and NagaSekhar. The 3 of them happen to witness the murder of a model (Suja).The boys ID cards are found at the spot of the murder and the police are after them. The three friends disguised as women take refuge in their girl friends’ hostel. How the trio clear themselves of the murder charge forms the rest of the story. However the movie offers no suspense and every scene is much expected. Nagashekar a gifted comedian is wasted and Radhika who plays Sunil’s ladylove has nothing much to do. Sunil and Vishal look very feminine in the lady roles. Music is by Sadhu Kokila. The film has couple of good songs while Satya's cinematography is average. Director Dayal discloses a murder mystery without any thrills.

State IT exports likely to drop
Wednesday, August 3, 2005 | MP

The States IT exports growth during 2005-06 is likely to fall about 30% compared to the last years impressive 52%. An additional 50,000 jobs were projected to be created in the state. The rising mode of global economy, the fast developing field of information and communication technology (ICT) and the ICT friendly atmosphere in the state were the major cause for success last fiscal, said the Minister of State for IT, Shakeel Ahmed. He also said that the steps being taken by the Centre to increase software exports included promoting the secondary cities at Mangalore, Mysore, Hubli and Gulbarga, earth stations and incubation centers being set up at Belgaum and a technology park, that has been set up at Hubli.

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary closed
Tuesday, August 2, 2005 | MP

With the fear of floods heightened, Mysore district administration has barred the entry of visitors to the world famous bird sanctuary in Ranganathittu near Mysore. With heavy rains pouring in the catchment areas of Cauvery, the birds flocking in the sanctuary are in a flight of despair as the floods in river Cauvery submerged their nesting sites.

Flood relief: State requests Rs. 109 Crore
Tuesday, August 2, 2005 | MP

State govt. has sought Rs.109 crore from the Center towards rain relief and flood crisis management in north Karnataka. CM has informed the assembly that the Center would send a team to assess the damages and sanction funds based on their estimate. With almost all the rivers and reservoirs overflowing, and lot of water being released from neighboring Maharastra, more villages of the State are reported as submerged. The districts most affected by the mansoon fury are Belgaum, Gularga, Bagalkot, Koppal and Bijapur.

Dy. CM told to resign from post
Monday, August 1, 2005 | MP

The JD(S) state working unit president Kumaraswamy has conveyed to Minister H. C. Mahadevappa that the Gowda loyalists wanted the deputy chief minister, Siddaramaiah to resign from his post and take up party work. However the Siddaramaiah camp has not responded to this suggestion. Meanwhile CM Dharam Singh said he discussed the issue with Congress President Ms Sonia Gandhi and a coordination committee between the two coalition partners will be formed with 3 members nominated from each party to discuss on the differences.

Veeco opens Nanoscience Center In Bangalore
Monday, August 1, 2005 | MP

Veeco Instruments- leading solution provider to the nanoscience community, along with the Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) has officially opened a nanotechnology center at Jakkur Campus, Bangalore. The JNC promotes scientific research in various areas of science and engineering. The center will be equipped with Veeco’s latest Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) products and other advanced nanotechnology application modules. Now on Indian researchers and scientists will have access to these products.

Archive: 2004, 2003