Karnataka bans gifts, mementos during govt events; Kannada books allowed

Karnataka's Urban Development Minister, BS Suresha (Byrathi), has initiated a detailed investigation into ₹5,527 crore worth of projects executed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Smart Cities Mission in six cities of the state.

The minister expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of work in Belagavi, Davangere, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, and Tumakuru. To ensure accountability, Suresha announced the formation of a committee comprising experts from universities and the Indian Institute of Science. The committee will assess the projects and submit its findings within three months.

Bengaluru, however, is excluded from the probe as it falls under the jurisdiction of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

Launched in 2015, the Smart Cities Mission aims to enhance urban infrastructure across 100 cities in India, funded jointly by the central and state governments. Karnataka has spent ₹6,405 crore under this mission, including ₹877.72 crore in Bengaluru.

"Most of the funds have been allocated to roads, drainage, and park maintenance," Suresha lamented in a statement. "The focus should have been on creating permanent infrastructure such as smart schools, hospitals, libraries, and bus stands."

Suresha pointed out that, on average, each Smart City in Karnataka received ₹990 crore, with spending patterns revealing 36% on roads, 8% on energy, 2% on education, 2% on healthcare, and 5% on sports. He criticized this distribution, emphasizing that projects under the mission should have developed long-lasting government assets instead of temporary solutions like roads and drains.

With the mission slated to conclude in March 2025, Suresha urged the remaining funds to be directed towards constructing world-class smart schools. "This will enable children from economically weaker sections to access quality education," he said.

The minister also revealed that he had received multiple complaints from elected representatives about substandard work, particularly in Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Shivamogga. The probe, he assured, will prioritize transparency and accountability.

Eight members of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) have called upon the regime’s minister of military affairs Israel Katz to instruct the occupation army to destroy all water, food and energy sources in the Gaza Strip “to achieve the war goals.”

The letter to Katz asserted “the Israeli military’s operations were failing to achieve the political objectives set for the war”, the Israeli Haaretz daily newspaper reported. 

Despite Israel’s complete siege on the Gaza Strip and the reduction in aid being allowed into the coastal territory, the legislators said the current plans to displace north Gaza residents to the south are not being implemented “properly”.

The Knesset members urged Katz to re-examine war strategies, asserting that after besieging northern Gaza and displacing its residents, the Israeli military should destroy all energy, food and water sources in the area.

They also called for the killing of anyone who moved within northern Gaza without surrendering by waving a white flag.

The measures should not be limited to northern Gaza, they said, but extended to other regions.

They made no mention of the Israeli captives being held in Gaza, Haaretz noted.

Backed by the United States and its Western allies, Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in response to its decades-long campaign of oppression against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 45,658 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 108,583 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

Udupi: A resident of Karkala in Udupi district has accused five individuals of defrauding him of nearly Rs 2 crore under the guise of business partnerships.

Dawood Hakim, a resident of Ennehole in Marne village, Karkala, has filed a complaint stating that he operated a mobile sales and service business on Karkala Market Road for 15 years. He had known the accused for over two decades and trusted them implicitly.

According to Dawood, the accused convinced him to invest in multiple business ventures, including land dealings and a travel business, promising substantial returns and partnership benefits. Believing their assurances, Dawood reportedly handed over cash, gold, and a vehicle.

However, the promised profits never materialized, and the accused allegedly failed to return the money or assets. Dawood claims this deception has caused severe financial distress to him and his family, amounting to a loss of around Rs 2 crore.

A case has been registered at the CEN police station, and investigations are underway.