Karnataka govt holds striking RTC employees responsible for driver Rabeed Rasool’s murder

coastaldigest.com news network
April 17, 2021

Bengaluru, Apr 17: Even as the tussle between the Karnataka government and striking workers of the state road transport corporations (RTC) led to the death of a driver who had reported to work, Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi held the agitators responsible for the unfortunate incident. 

Rabeed Rasool Avati, a driver working with the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) succumbed to his injuries after stones were pelted at the bus he was driving on Friday. 

Mr. Avati, 56, was taking the bus on the Vijayapura-Jamkhandi route when unidentified persons pelted stones at the windshield. The broken pieces of glass caused a gash on the driver’s neck. Mr. Avati, who was bleeding heavily, was immediately rushed to Jamkhandi Taluk Hospital, but could not be saved.

"The striking workers said it will be a peaceful protest but have claimed the life of their colleague now. The government will not forgive this. Those on strike are not allowing workers to return to duty and think they can deter the loyal workers through criminal acts," Mr Savadi said in a statement.

The DyCM announced a compensation of R 30 lakh and a job on compassionate grounds to a family member of the deceased. Soon after the announcement, NWKRTC managing director Krishna Bajpai visited the family of the deceased and handed over a cheque for Rs 30 lakh.

The KSRTC State Road Transport Corporation Employee League, the organisation observing the indefinite strike, also condemned the incident. “Our organisation is in no way linked to the incident. We have been asking employees not to resort to any kind of violence,” said R. Chandrashekar, president of the league.

Though the office-bearers of the league have been reiterating that the indefinite strike will continue till the State government meets their demands, the number of employees reporting back to duty has also been gradually increasing by the day.

On Friday, which was the tenth day of the strike, RTCs managed to run more than 5,500 buses, of which Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation operated more than 2,500. On Thursday, the corporations operated over 4,000 buses.

On the other hand, the number of incidents of stone pelting on moving buses also increased. Till Friday, 80 buses had been damaged by miscreants. Officials claimed that because of the ongoing strike, RTCs had suffered a revenue loss of Rs 187 crore so far.

On RTCs operating more buses daily, Mr. Chandrashekar said, “The corporations are giving distorted figures. Officials are resorting to various tactics and pressuring the bus crew to report to work. No one is voluntarily reporting back to duty.”

Sacking spree

The four RTCs on Friday sacked 254 employees, taking the total number of such workers to 1,054. In addition, 489 employees remain suspended from service.

The murder of employee is expected to bring more edge to the government's stern action starting Saturday, when the polling in the byelections are set to be completed.

Meanwhile, more employees reported to duty on Friday, helping the four RTCs to run more buses instead of depending on private players. By 9 pm, 5,639 buses were operated from the four corporations.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 2,2025

gazacity.jpg

Israel has conducted a fresh round of strikes on the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, claiming the lives of at least 11 people amid the regime’s unceasing aggression on the Palestinian territory.

Local media said the Israeli onslaught targeted a tented encampment in the al-Mawasi area of western Khan Yunis at dawn on Thursday.

The aggression killed at least 11 people, including three children, and the resulted in the injury of 12 others, with reports naming Major General Mahmoud Salah, the director general of the police department in the Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza, among the fatalities.

The occupation forces also struck the central Gaza Strip, where Israeli vehicles fired at the north of Nuseirat refugee camp and shelled the west of the camp with artillery.

The regime’s helicopters also fired at the southwest of Deir al-Balah.

Moreover, the Israeli forces launched a raid targeting Gaza City and the Saftawi area, northwest of the city, as well as the Jabalia camp in the north of the Strip.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on the first day of the New Year that the Israeli regime had slaughtered 17 Palestinians in the northern Gaza refugee camp of al-Bureij.

Twenty Palestinians were also injured in the Wednesday airstrike.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.

So far, Israel has killed 45,553 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured 108,379 others.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced and much of the besieged territory is in ruins.

Occupation of Gaza City

Citing Israeli media, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday that the Israeli regime was considering ordering the military to occupy Gaza City.

Israeli Channel 14 claimed the move comes amid a stalemate in indirect negotiations aimed at reaching a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap deal with Palestinians.

“The political echelon is considering issuing an order to the Israeli army to head south and occupy Gaza City in the near future,” the channel said.

“Such an operation is possible now, especially in light of the ceasefire in Lebanon and the availability of more army forces to carry out large-scale and prolonged maneuvers.”

The broadcaster also said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet is “satisfied” with the results of its military campaign in northern Gaza.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a ceasefire in Gaza have so far failed due to Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the protracted war.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the blockaded territory.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 13,2025

losangeles.jpg

Los Angeles wildfires have continued their trail of devastation, razing death tolls to 24 and destroying thousands of structures, while intensifying winds are worsening the situation for both civilians and firefighters.

In an update on Sunday evening, the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner said a total of 24 people have died due to the wildfires.

According to the examiner, this number is only an estimate as hundreds of people in various parts of the county are still missing.

Weather forecasters in California are also warning fierce winds which fuelled the infernos around Los Angeles are expected to pick up again this week.

The notoriously dry Santa Ana winds would pick up again from Sunday night until Wednesday, reaching speeds of up to 96km/h, they said.

The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, said weather service meteorologist Rich Thompson. “You are going to have really strong gusty Santa Ana winds, a very dry atmosphere and still very dry brush, so we still have some very critical fire weather conditions out there,” he added.

On Saturday, the flames spread east, creeping closer to Interstate 405 and a busy mountain pass. This is a “significant development,” said L.A. County spokesman Jesus Ruiz.

With the fire rapidly growing and moving in the direction of “a heavily populated area … we are definitely concerned,” he continued.

Gavin Newsom, governor of California said that he believes that in terms of costs associated with the wildfire, it will be the worst natural disaster in terms scale and scope in the history of the US, and the fatalities is likely to increase significantly as well.

On Sunday, private forecaster Accuweather increased its preliminary estimate of financial losses from the blazes to between $250 billion to $275 billion. The wildfires are on track to be among the costliest in US history.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 6,2025

gazajournalist.jpg

Journalist Mohammad Hijazi has been killed in an Israeli attack, raising the number of media workers killed by Zionist forces since the start of the war on Gaza to 220.

The Israeli regime forces killed the Palestinian writer, poet and journalist in an airstrike on northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, according to his family.

He was among nearly 90 other Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardment across the besieged territory in the last 24 hours, according to a Gaza Health Ministry statement on Sunday.

“I don’t know if I will write to you again. I keep what I have written and am writing. Maybe it will come to light one day. I refuse a cheap death. I curse the murderer,” Hijazi wrote in a post on social media in August 2023.

“Let us in this bottom that we have finally reached, arm ourselves with patience and prayer, and count the days we have lived as a historic achievement while awaiting what is coming with a broken heart, an extinguished eye, a head held high, and a spirit that fights until the end of the road.”

Since the Israeli killing machine imposed a military siege of northern Gaza in early October intensifying its bombing attacks on the the Jabalia camp, hundreds of people have been killed.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Sunday that at least 88 Palestinians had been killed and 208 others injured in the past 24 hours alone.

According to media reports from central Gaza, among those killed in the latest Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday were three Palestinians who were living in a tent in Deir el-Balah.

A family of 15 people was also buried under the rubble in Gaza City, following a separate strike, media reported.

The Israeli regime launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by the Palestinian  Hamas resistance movement in October last year, killing more than 45,805 Palestinians and wounding 109,064 others.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.