KSRTC suffers Rs 58 cr loss due to employees' strike

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday did not rule out the possibility of contesting the Channapatna Assembly bypoll, as he maintained that he will have to abide by the "decision" of the party and voters of the segment.

"Channapatna is in my heart. Channapatna is also the place that gave me political birth," Shivakumar, also the state Congress chief, told reporters ahead of his visit to the town in the neighbouring Ramanagara district.

Channapatna bypoll is necessitated as the seat fell vacant following the election of its representative -- JD(S) leader and now Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy - to Lok Sabha in the recent elections.

The byelection schedule for this Assembly seat is yet to be announced by the Election Commission.

"Channapatna was also part of Sathanur earlier (the erstwhile segment represented by Shivakumar). I love Channapatna, I want to help Channapatna. I want to change Channapatna," Shivakumar said.

Asked whether his brother and former MP D K Suresh will be contesting from Channapatna, he said, "That is not decided. More or less, I'm asking the votes for myself."

Though there were talks earlier that Suresh, who lost from Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment in the recent elections, may be fielded in Channapatna, speculations are now rife in political circles, especially the grand old party, that Shivakumar may enter the fray to avenge his brother's defeat and to re-establish his clout in the region.

According to sources, if Shivakumar contests and wins from Channapatna, he may vacate the Kanakapura Assembly seat that he currently represents for Suresh.

Both Channapatna and Kanakapura are part of the Vokkaliga dominated Ramanagara district, which comes under the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha segment from where Kumaraswamy's brother-in-law and eminent cardiologist C N Manjunath won as a BJP candidate as part of arrangement between alliance partners BJP and JD(S), by defeating Suresh.

"Channapatana gave me political birth. For four times I have won in a hobli from Channapatna that came under my Assembly constituency. People there have blessed me," Shivakumar said.

"Even during the difficult times people (of Channapatna) have given us about 80,000 votes (in the recent Lok Sabha elections)," he said. "I have to repay the debt I owe to the people there by bringing in a change there. There is an opportunity to do more development there than what I have done in Kanakapura."

Stating that he is visiting temples in Channapatna to offer prayers to the gods who have blessed him, Shivakumar said he will then speak to the voters there, and listen to what voters and leaders there say. "Based on that I will decide."

On what he will do, if people want him to contest, he said: "there is no other way. I will have to listen to what my party and voters say." BJP MLC C P Yogeeshwara is said to be one of the probable candidates for Channapatna bypoll from BJP-JD(S) alliance.

Kumaraswamy's actor-turned-politician son Nikhil Kumaraswamy's name is also doing the rounds. Nikhil had lost the 2023 Assembly polls from neighbouring Ramanagara.

Kumaraswamy of JD(S) had won Channapatna in 2018 and 2023. Before that Yogeeshwara had represented the seat from BJP and Samajwadi Party. He had earlier also represented the seat both as an independent and from the Congress party.

Shivakumar has been representing the Kanakapura segment since 2008.

Mangaluru: Four members of a family died when the compound wall of a house collapsed on a neighbouring house at Kuthar Madani Nagara in Ullal police station limits on Wednesday morning.

The deceased have been as Yasir (45), his wife Mariamma (40) and their two daughters Raihana (19) and Rifaana (16) passed away in the incident. The compound wall belongs to Aboobakkar.

A large number of people gathered at the spot while bodies are being recovered from the debris.

The wall of the house collapsed in the bedroom where Yasir and his family were sleeping. Following the rain, a compound wall and two areca nut trees have fallen on Yasir's house.

Yasir was a worker in the fisheries harbour at Bunder, while his children - Rihana and Rifan - were students.

Yasir had purchased the house six years ago and had given the house for lease. He had shifted to the house only six months ago. In fact, a compound wall had collapsed on the house two years ago too, but no casualties were reported.

After a three-hour operation, all the four bodies were recovered from the debris with the help of local residents and personnel from fire and emergency services.

Yasir’s eldest daughter Rasheena is married and had returned to her husband’s house in Kerala on Tuesday, after celebrating Bakrid.

Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada has been experiencing bountiful showers since Tuesday night.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert in the district till June 27. According to the forecast, a wet spell is likely to continue over Coastal Karnataka and adjoining parts of Malnad and interior Karnataka districts with widespread light to moderate rains.

Heavy to very heavy rains may also occur at isolated areas until June 27.

Mangaluru, June 20: In a remarkable display of quick thinking, a young girl saved her classmate from electrocution in Ira village, near Mudipu, on the outskirts of Mangaluru.

Sharafiya, a fifth-grade student at the government primary school in Ira, received an electric shock while turning off a fan during lunch break. 

Her classmate, Fatimatul Ashfiya, noticed her leaning motionless against the wall and immediately took action. Fatimatul flung her lunch plate at Sharafiya's hand, breaking the electric contact and preventing further harm. Sharafiya sustained only a minor bruise on her hand.

Sonika, the school's headmistress, praised the girl’s quick response, saying, “When Sharafiya experienced an electric shock, Fatimatul Ashfiya displayed bravery and prevented a potentially fatal incident.”

Fatimatul's father, Mujib Rehman, expressed immense pride in his daughter’s courageous act, acknowledging her life-saving intervention.