Radar stations to come up in Kundapura and Belekeri for coastal surveillance

News Network
January 8, 2023

Mangaluru: Two more radar stations are being set up by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) to beef up security along the Karnataka Coast.

"Radars will be installed at Kundapura in Udupi and Belekeri in Uttara Kannada districts," Coast Guard District No 3, Karnataka Commander DIG Praveen Kumar Mishra said at the sidelines of an interaction with fishermen at Coast Guard headquarters in Panambur on Saturday.

The entire 320-km-long coastline of Karnataka is under surveillance with the help of radar stations at Surathkal and Bhatkal, he said.

The radar station is ready at Belikere and the work is in progress at Kundapura. Each radar station can cover up to 30 nautical miles into the sea. The camera in radar will cover five to seven nautical miles.

The radar stations were set up under the coastal surveillance network after the Mumbai terror attack. He appealed to fishermen on having life-saving equipment on boats and availing government insurance and pension schemes.

AIS for fishing boats

The DIG said Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders on fishing vessels, that are more than 20 metres long, will help Coast Guards in reaching fishermen in distress.

There are 2,553 fishing boats in Dakshina Kannada district and 1,607 among them are mechanised boats. About 400 mechanised boats had installed AIS. The Fisheries Department, while renewing the licenses, had insisted on installing AIS on boats.

Applications from owners of fishing boats, seeking AIS installation, are sent to Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) in Kochi.

"The MMD will issue MMSI number and call sign, which needs to be activated by fishermen by visiting the agency from where transponder was purchased," Fisheries Department deputy director Sushmitha Rao said.

Fishermen leaders Nithin Kumar and Chethan Bengre accused Kerala officials of seizing fishing boats from Karnataka.

"A heavy penalty is slapped on boats fishing within a distance limit of 12 nautical miles," they charged. The fishermen also highlighted shortage of kerosene supply for traditional fishermen and failure to release subsidy amount for subsidised diesel.

Shashi Kumar Bengre, representing Purse Seine Fishing Boat Owners' Association, urged the government to upgrade the fisheries college in Mangaluru into a fisheries university.

MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, responding to complaints, said that the issue of the seizure of boats will be drawn to the notice of the Fisheries Ministry. Steps will be taken to upgrade the fisheries college into a university, he promised.

DPR ready

Commander of the Indian Coast Guard Western Region Inspector General M V Baadkar said that the detailed project report for the Indian Coast Guard Academy in Kenjar will be submitted to the government.

On Cargo ship MV Princess Miral that sunk off the Ullal coast, DIG P K Mishra said that measures were taken for the de-fueling of the vessel, and the work is in progress.

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News Network
November 11,2024

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Udupi, Nov 11: The Karkala town police in Udupi have arrested Krishna Naik, the sculptor responsible for installing a 33-foot Parashurama statue at Umikkal Hill in Bailur, Karkala taluk. 

Naik, the owner of Krish Art World and a resident of Bengaluru's Visvesvaraya Layout, was apprehended in Mahe, part of the Union Territory of Puducherry, for allegedly substituting a look-alike statue in place of a genuine bronze figure at the Parashurama Theme Park in Karkala.

Udupi Superintendent of Police Dr. Arun K confirmed the arrest, stating that Naik faces charges under Sections 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code. 

This legal action followed a complaint lodged in June by Krishna Shetty, a resident of Nallur village, Karkala. Shetty claimed that Naik had received a payment of ₹1,25,50,000 from Udupi Nirmithi Kendra for the installation of a bronze Parashurama statue. However, Naik allegedly deceived the government by installing a replica instead.

The statue was unveiled on January 27, 2023, by then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has since ordered a CID investigation to probe deeper into the alleged fraud surrounding the statue's installation at the theme park.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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News Network
November 13,2024

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court took a firm stance on ‘bulldozer justice’ today, affirming that the Executive cannot bypass the Judiciary and that the legal process must not prejudge the guilt of an accused. In a significant judgment, the bench led by Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan set new guidelines for demolition practices, responding to petitions challenging the controversial bulldozer actions taken against individuals accused of crimes.

The rise of this practice, termed 'bulldozer justice,' has seen authorities in various states demolish what they claim to be illegal structures belonging to accused individuals. However, multiple petitions questioned the legality and fairness of this approach, bringing the matter before the court.

Justice Gavai highlighted that owning a home is a cherished goal for many families, and an essential question was whether the Executive should have the authority to strip individuals of their shelter. “In a democracy, the rule of law protects citizens from arbitrary actions by the state. The criminal justice system must not assume guilt,” stated the bench, underscoring that due process is a fundamental right under the Constitution.

On the principle of separation of powers, the bench reinforced that the Judiciary alone holds adjudicatory powers and that the Executive cannot overstep these boundaries. Justice Gavai remarked, “When the state demolishes a home purely because its resident is accused of a crime, it violates the doctrine of separation of powers.”

The court issued a strong warning about accountability, stating that public officials who misuse their power or act arbitrarily must face consequences. Justice Gavai observed that selectively demolishing one property while ignoring similar cases suggests that the aim might be to penalize rather than enforce legality. “For most citizens, a house is the product of years of labor and dreams. Taking it away must be an action of last resort, thoroughly justified,” he said.

In its directives under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court established new demolition guidelines. These include:

Mandatory Show-Cause Notice: No demolition should occur without first issuing a show-cause notice. The person served has a minimum of 15 days or the duration stated in local laws to respond.

Transparency of Notice Content: The notice must include specifics about the alleged unauthorized construction, the nature of the violation, and the rationale for demolition.

Hearing and Final Order: Authorities are required to hear the response of the affected individual before issuing a final order. The homeowner will have 15 days to address the issue, with demolition proceeding only if no stay order is obtained from an appellate authority.

Contempt Proceedings: Any breach of these guidelines would lead to contempt proceedings. Officials who disregard these norms will be personally accountable for restitution, with costs deducted from their salaries.

Additionally, the court mandated that all municipal bodies establish digital portals within three months, displaying show-cause notices and final orders on unauthorized structures to ensure public transparency and accountability.

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