Neighbour seeks relief from noisy timber workshop

November 20, 2012

Mangalore, November 20: A resident of Ajekar village under Marne Gram Panchayat in Karkala taluk, Gabrial D'Silva, has blamed S.K. Furniture and Wood Industries, a private timber workshop adjacent to his home for disturbing the peace and ruining the health of his family members due to continuous noise and dust from the past five years.

Stating this at a press conference convened by the Dakshina Kannada district chapter of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), here on Tuesday, he said that his father, aged 85, who had been fit previously, had died after his health deteriorated three years ago due to the pollution caused by the business.

S.K. Furniture and Wood Industries, run by Keshav Acharya, engages in manufacturing wooden furniture and comprises of a cutting machine, a planing machine, a sawing machine and a drilling machine.

Mr D'Silva said that there was no peace of mind at home due to the loud racket caused by sawing machines. The dust from the sawn timber settles all over the house and is a nuisance and health hazard. Those at home suffer from breathing problems due to the sawdust. The children are unable to study owing to the noise, he said.

He alleged that the timber-workshop was operating illegally, without having obtained 'No objection' letter from him, or approval from the concerned forest department or the pollution control board.

Claiming that his complaints to the concerned police officials and the local Gram Panchayat had gone disregarded, he said that the president of Panchayat too did not take action against Keshav Acharya, owner of the timber workshop and supported him in continuing his manufacturing activity in a residential and school zone, implying that there might be some sort of backing, political or otherwise.

He said that the police was unwilling to take action against the timber workshop, in spite of the fact that the Pollution Control Board had directed the industry to be shifted.

Present at the press conference were PUCL DK district president David D'Souza, vice president Ali Hassan, secretary P F Pinto, joint secretary Augustine, and PUCL member Nirmal Kumar.

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Historic Milestone: Tulu script gains global digital recognition with inclusion in Unicode 16

News Network

September 9,2024

Mangaluru: The Unicode Consortium has announced the inclusion of Tulu script in its latest version, Unicode 16. This update adds 80 characters to the Unicode Standard, marking a significant milestone for the Tulu-speaking community.

According to officials, the journey to this achievement began in 2001 when a member of the Unicode Consortium helped fix the Kannada script in Unicode and simultaneously advocated for the inclusion of Tulu.

Despite initial misunderstandings with the Tulu Academy in Mangaluru, the groundwork was laid for future developments. Initially, three Tulu experts had worked on the subject, including S A Krishnaiah, a Tulu scholar.

"In 2014, efforts to create a Tulu Wikipedia gained momentum, leading to its launch on August 6, 2016. By 2017, the Tulu Academy recognised the need for Tulu Unicode, forming a committee to finalise the characters with technical guidance. Concurrently, another proposal for the Tilari script was submitted," Krishnaiah said.

After extensive correspondence, the script was officially added to Unicode under the name Tulu-Tigalari. While there are minor differences between the Tulu Academy's list and the finalised Unicode version, most characters have been included. Notably, Tulu digits and some diacritic marks necessary for writing Sanskrit in Tulu script were added, he said.

According to him, the inclusion of the Tulu script in Unicode will have a significant positive impact on digital communication for Tulu speakers, including enhanced digital presence. Tulu speakers can now use their native script across various digital platforms, including social media, websites, and messaging apps, fostering a stronger online presence.

The availability of Tulu in Unicode will facilitate the creation of educational materials, such as textbooks and online courses, in the Tulu script, supporting language learning and literacy, he said.

The development of Unicode-encoded fonts, keyboard software, and converters will streamline the use of Tulu in digital communication, making it easier for users to type and share information in their native script, he said.

Being part of the Unicode Standard gives Tulu global recognition, encouraging more software and application developers to support the script, thereby increasing its usability and visibility, the Tulu scholar said.

Overall, this will empower Tulu speakers to communicate more effectively and confidently in their language, both locally and globally.

It is estimated that over 1.8 million people worldwide speak Tulu. Most Tulu speakers live in the coastal areas of Karnataka and Kerala, India, in regions known as Tulu Nadu. There are also Tulu speakers in the Gulf countries and the United States, he said.

Tulu is a Dravidian language and is related to Kannada, the official language of Karnataka. Tulu has a rich oral tradition, but there isn't much written in the language. Tulu's script is similar to Malayalam and originated from the Grantha script.

A long-drawn fight is ongoing to include Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The Dravidian University at Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh has a special Tulu chair, he added.

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