Undeterred by attack, Shivaramu pledges to continue fight against casteist ritual

Mangaluru, Apr 7: The long-standing demand for a separate Beary Development Corporation has hit a wall — the Karnataka government has officially stated that no such proposal is currently under consideration.

Beary-speaking people, mainly settled across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and parts of Kodagu, have been urging the government to set up a dedicated body for the welfare of their community and the promotion of their unique 1,200-year-old language. But during the recent legislative session, Minority Affairs Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan confirmed that his department has not received any proposal on this matter.

The clarification came in response to a question by MLC Ivan D’Souza, who highlighted the community’s cultural richness and a population of over 25 lakh. “The community has raised this demand several times to support education and social upliftment, but the government hasn’t taken any concrete steps,” he said.

In his reply, the minister pointed out that the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation (KMDC) already runs various welfare schemes for Muslim, Christian, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh, and Parsi communities. Since Beary speakers are considered part of the Muslim community, they are eligible for benefits under these existing programs, he added.

Still, many in the Beary community feel that without a separate development body, their identity, language, and specific needs risk being overlooked.

Bengaluru: The results of the PUC 2 examination one were announced today with an over all pass percentage of 69.16 as against the 81.15% in the 2024 exam 1.

Due to several examination reforms, including installation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled CCTV cameras in the examination hall to check malpractices and webcasting of the entire process, the results seem to have dipped by 11.99% compared to the previous year.

The results will be available online after 1:30pm. Candidates can visit http://karresults.nic.in to check their results.

Amoolya M Kamath from Expert PU college Dakshina Kannada, Deeksha R from Vagdevi PU College Shivamogga have topped the state in science stream by scoring 599 for 600.

In Commerce Deepashree S from Canara PU College Dakshina Kannada emerged as topper with 599 out of 600 and in Arts LR Sanjana Bai of Indu Independent PU college Kottur in Ballari bagged the first place by scoring 597.

Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa released the results and said, "students those who have failed or those who wish to improve their marls can take exam 2 and 3. We will not be charging any fee for exam 2 and 3."

"I will not say students are failed. As the exam process will complete only after 3rd exam, we have hopes to improve the results by 3-4%," he mentioned.

"We have opportunity to improve the results. We have conducted the exams with complete vigil by preventing all the malpractices by monitoring through webcasting," said the minister.

For exams 1 total of 6,37,805 were appeared of which 468439 managed to clear the exams.

This time department has not given any grace marks, except the one which awards to push those who were in border line. "There were over 8297 students in the borderline and pushed with the grace as per scheme of evaluation," the minister added.

Udupi Leads Again

The coastal district of Udupi has emerged as the top performer once again, recording a remarkable 93.90% pass rate, as per a report on One India. Dakshina Kannada followed closely with 93.57%, while Bangalore South stood third at 85.36%. At the bottom of the list, Yadgir reported the lowest pass percentage with 48.45%.

Here are the top 10 performing districts:

Udupi – 93.90%
Dakshina Kannada – 93.57%
Bangalore South – 85.36%
Kodagu – 83.84%
Bangalore North – 83.31%
Uttara Kannada – 82.93%
Shimoga – 79.91%
Bangalore Rural – 79.70%
Chikmagalur – 79.56%
Haveri – 76.56%

Udupi: Deputy Commissioner K. Vidya Kumari has directed officials to expedite land acquisition for designated industrial zones in the district to facilitate new industries. She issued these instructions during a meeting at Rajatadri on Wednesday.

Lands have been identified across various taluks for industrial development. The DC emphasized that KIADB must acquire these lands and ensure essential infrastructure—electricity, roads, and drainage—to attract industries and generate employment.

A total of 77 acres of private land has been acquired and compensated, including 31.2 acres in Kerebettu village, Hebri taluk, and 45.7 acres in Shivapura village. However, approval for 36.5 acres of government land is still pending. She instructed the forest department to assess whether this land falls under an eco-sensitive zone.

For the Belapu Industrial Area, the DC urged officials to accelerate minor land acquisitions for road expansion and commence construction at the earliest. She also mandated rainwater harvesting systems for all units in the Miyaru Industrial Area to tackle water scarcity.

Currently, 22 export-based units operate in the district. The DC encouraged further promotion of exports and an increase in their number.

The meeting was attended by Joint Director of Industries Nagraj V. Naik, KIADB Development Officer Srinivasa Murthy, Small-Scale Industries Association District President Harish Kunder, Deputy Director of the District Industrial Center Seetharam Shetty, District Skill Development Officer Arun B., and others.