'Will surely look into objections': Karnataka CM positively responds to campaign against 'halal meat'

Belagavi: Women and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar said that the issue of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah resigning with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot permitting his prosecution does not arise. All ministers and MLAs of Congress were with the chief minister.

Hebbalkar told reporters here on Saturday that Siddaramaiah has not done any wrong and has been accused of the MUDA 'scam' by the BJP. "The saffron party is known to misuse the office of Governor and Raj Bhavan for political gains," the minister said.

"They are making conspiracies for dislodging governments led by opposition parties," the Congress leader further alleged.

She said Siddaramaiah was in politics for over four decades and does not have any stigma attached to him. Investigations into the MUDA 'scam' were in progress, and before the report coming out, the governor gave permission for prosecution, the minister noted, adding that it has made things clear that this move is a 'political witchunt'.

The permission to prosecute the CM will not have any bearing on the government and Siddaramaiah will complete his tenure, she added.

Udupi: The national highways traversing Udupi district have become increasingly perilous, with over 1,000 accidents recorded in 2023 alone, tragically resulting in the loss of 222 lives. In response to these sobering figures, the police department has pinpointed 21 high-risk areas, or "black spots," where accidents are recurrent, prompting the district administration to instruct the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to implement urgent safety measures.

The surge in accidents has been primarily attributed to two factors: the unscientific design of roads and junctions, and the reckless over-speeding by motorists. Of the identified black spots, four are within the jurisdiction of the Udupi traffic police station, while three fall under the Byndoor police station. The district administration has mandated that NHAI install warning signs, create zebra crossings, and deploy traffic police at these vulnerable locations to mitigate the risk of further accidents.

In total, the district recorded 1,284 accidents on its national highways in 2023. Alongside the 222 fatalities, 1,381 individuals sustained injuries ranging from minor to severe. Alarmingly, the police department reports that 90% of these incidents were caused by excessive speed.

Three years ago, a collaborative study conducted by students and experts from MAHE MIT, alongside NHAI and the district police, shed light on the dangers posed by the unscientific design of roads. The study revealed that road dividers and U-turns are often installed due to pressure from the owners of nearby establishments, such as wedding halls, petrol stations, hospitals, and shopping centers. Ideally, three lanes should be available before a U-turn is made, but this is frequently not the case, particularly in areas where local residents have influenced the placement of these turns. Additionally, driving on the wrong side of the road has been identified as another significant cause of accidents, according to Raghavendra Holla, an assistant lecturer of civil engineering at MIT Manipal.

Dr. K. Vidyakumari, the Deputy Commissioner of Udupi, emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, “Appropriate instructions have already been issued to the police department and NHAI to prevent accidents on highways. We must also implement ambulance mapping with trauma care centers on highways, and highway engineers have been advised to convene special meetings every month to address these pressing issues.”

The call for immediate action underscores the urgent need to rectify these dangerous conditions, as the community grapples with the devastating impact of these preventable tragedies.

Bengaluru: EducationUSA, the US government’s official source of information on higher education in the US, will host an education fair in Bengaluru on August 18. The fair is part of a series of eight such events planned across India.

The Bengaluru event will be held at Hotel Taj on MG Road, between 2 pm and 5 pm. Students seeking admission in undergraduate, post-graduate, and doctorate programmes will have an opportunity to meet with representatives from more than 80 accredited universities and colleges in the US. There is no participation fee. Students can register for the fair on https://bit.ly/EdUSAFair24Emb

The discussions with US universities, EducationUSA advisers, and US Embassy representatives will help the students make informed choices about US higher education and learn about the US student visa application process, an official statement said.

US Ambassador Eric Garcetti said the fairs offer the students a chance to meet representatives from a huge range of US colleges and universities and get first-hand information on admissions, scholarships, and campus life.

The fairs will be held at Hyderabad (August 16), Chennai (August 17), Bengaluru (August 18), Kolkata (August 19), Ahmedabad (August 21), Pune (August 22), Mumbai (August 24), and New Delhi (August 25).