Regional

Bengaluru, May 19 (IANS) The swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka to be held on Saturday in Bengaluru is causing concern among the student community, as thousands are scheduled to appear for the Common Entrance Test (CET) at 122 centres in the capital city on the same day.

However, Deputy Chief Minister designate and Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar has said that precautions have been taken to ensure that the students reach the examination centres without facing any problems. The Education Department and the Chief Secretary have been informed in this regard, he said.

"Our request: Reach the examination centre by 9.30 am; the management board has been informed to arrange lunch for the midday exam takers at the selected centres; contact the police for any assistance," Shivakumar said.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Kanteerava Stadium located in the central business district of Bengaluru at 12.30 p.m.

With Shivakumar appealing to all the party workers to attend the event, over a lakh people are expected to witness the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday.

Such a large turnout of people and vehicles will pose a challenge to the Bengaluru traffic police. This has raised concerns over the likely inconvenience the students appearing for CET might face.

In view of the oath-taking ceremony, students who are to write CET at centres located around the stadium have been advised by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) to reach their respective venues two hours before the start of scheduled examination time.

Ramya, ED, Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA), said in a press release on Friday that the authority has taken appropriate measures to ensure that students reach their designated centres without any delay. Steps have been taken anticipating traffic congestion in the surrounding areas of the stadium.

She informed that candidates taking the exam at the 11 centres located near the stadium need to be present at their respective venues by 8.30 a.m. This applies to students who are taking only mathematics test also, she clarified.

As a special arrangement, breakfast and lunch will be provided to all those writing the exam at St. Joseph Indian PU College (AR-code) on Vittal Mallya Road, which is located very close to the oath ceremony venue.

Students appearing for the mathematics exam in the second session will also be given both breakfast and lunch. After entering the centre at 8.30 a.m., the students will not be allowed to go out till the exams are over.

The KEA has also sought the assistance of police in this regard. According to Ramya, candidates can seek the help of the police to reach their respective centres by showing their admission ticket.

Students need to come early at the following centres on Saturday:

* Bishop Cotton Women's PU College (DU-code), CSI compound
* Goodwill PU College for Girls (AD-code), Promenade Road, Frazer Town
* St. Joseph's PU College (AE-code), Residency Road
* St. Joseph Indian PU College (AR-code), Vitthal Mallya Road
* St. Annes Girls PU College (BQ-code), Millers Road
* RBANMS PU College (CM-code), Annaswamy Mudaliar Road
* SJRC BIFR PU College (CL-code), Ananda Rao Circle, RC Road
* Cathedral Comp PU College (EN-code), Richmond Road
* St. Euphrasias Girls High School & Composite PU college (E2-code), Albert Street
* Stracey Memorial Composite PU college (BZ-code), St. Marks Road
* Hasanath PU College for Women (P2-code), Dickenson Road

The issue has taken a political turn as well with the BJP's national General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh taunting CM-designate Siddaramaiah over his earlier remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow causing inconvenience to students writing NEET.

Quoting Siddaramaiah's tweet, Santhosh said, "Not many days have passed after our designated CM tweeted this. Tomorrow CET exams will be held across the state and Bengaluru. What would have happened to Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar if theur oath taking was deferred by a day or two so that the students were not troubled."

Referring to the road show of Modi before the May 10 Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah had tweeted that "it is an utter irresponsible step by PM Modi to hold a road show in Bengaluru in spite of the opposition from NEET students and the people of Bengaluru".

"We don't have any objection to PM Modi's campaign. But who will be accountable for the troubles faced by the students," Siddaramaiah had asked.

--IANS
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Nanded (Maharashtra), May 19 (IANS) Continuing his focus on Maharashtra, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday announced a month-long programme to expand his party across the western state.

Inaugurating a training camp for the party leaders here, he said the party will undertake an extensive campaign from May 22 to expand in over 45,000 villages and 5,000 municipal wards in civic bodies.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, directed the party leaders to form nine committees at each place comprising farmers, youth, women, backward classes, tribals and minorities.

He asked party workers to go to five villages every day, interact with people and eat with Dalits.

He said the party was also trying to set up offices in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur.

KCR said party flags will be hoisted in every village, 'Ab ki Baar kisan sarkar' caps will be distributed, leaders will address the meetings, and books and pamphlets will be distributed in every village.

He asked BRS workers to carry the party material and educate people about the BRS development agenda.

He said 2,000 party stickers will be pasted on bikes and cars in every Assembly constituency. Artists will be roped in to prepare songs. Every month, new songs will be released.

Stating that his BRS is working to bring a qualitative change in the country, he hoped that the change will begin from Maharashtra.

"If you are all ready to fight for change in Maharashtra, I will go to Punjab , Haryana and other northern states soon. You should be active," he said.

He claimed that the Maharashtra government was already thinking about the Telangana model of development. He called up on farmers to become active. "No need for strikes and dharnas. How long farmers fight. They should also be rulers. Maharashtra will be the first place to bring a change in the country. People of Maharashtra got an opportunity to bring a change in the country," he said.

This was KCR's fifth visit to Maharashtra since he changed Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) into BRS to expand the party across the country.

"India will remain the same unless there is a qualitative change. India is blessed with abundant water resources which is double to the entire India's requirement. Water is a precious commodity which is not manufactured in any factory. We are not handling water resources in an effective manner. Farmers are struggling dueA to water shortage. They are paying a heavy price for not managing water resources," he said.

The BRS leader said that every Maharashtra town is facing a drinking water crisis. "Why is this situation prevailing in Akola, Solapur and other major towns? When will this situation change? Who will change the situation? There is no doubt the present leaders will not change the prevailing situation in Maharashtra. No party is making an effort towards bringing a change," he said.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, May 19 (IANS) With the Congress party high command reaching out to senior leaders to take up the post of the Speaker in the Karnataka Assembly, veterans, eyeing plum cabinet posts, are reluctant.

According to party sources, the seniors are evading the responsibility on one pretext or the other.

The party is contemplating to allot the post of Speaker to senior leaders like Dr. G. Parameshwara, T.B. Jayachandra, R.V. Deshapande, H.C. Mahadevappa, and Tanveer Sait.

Parameshwara is a prominent Dalit and resourceful leader, and Mahadevappa and Sait are close confidantes of Siddaramaiah. But, none of these leaders are interested in taking up the post, sources said.

Deshapande termed the post of Speaker "very high". "I don't deserve to take up such a big post. Let the high command decide on what post should be given to me. I have worked with eight CMs," he said.

But, the party is cautious and giving a serious thought to the post of Speaker to ensure smooth sailing of the party in any eventuality that might arise out of BJP's misadventures throughout the tenure of Congress government.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The Congress had sent out invites for its Karnataka government's swearing-in ceremony to 19 like-minded parties, while it has left out 10 parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) among others.

The Congress had triumphed in Karnataka by winning 135 out of 224 seats in the southern state while the ruling BJP was reduced to 66 seats.

According to party sources, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge sent invitations to 19 parties to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the party's government in Bengaluru on May 20.

The party source said that Kharge had sent invites to the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP, Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, Jayant Chaudhary-led RLD, Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal, the CPI-ML, the CPI-M, the CPI, the Trinamool Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Shiv Sena-UBT, the DMK, the MDMK, the NCP, Tamil Nadu-based VCK, Kerala Congress, the IUML, and the RSP.

The source said that the party has not invited Mayawati's BSP for the swearing in ceremony. Mayawati was present during the 2018 swearing in ceremony of the Congress-JD-S government in Bengaluru.

Besides the AAP and the BSP, the Congress has also not invited the BRS, N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party, Biju Janata Dal, the AIMIM, the AIUDF, the INLD, and the JD-S for the swearing-in ceremony.

Many leaders have already confirmed to attend the swearing in ceremony in Bengaluru on Saturday.

With the grand swearing in ceremony of the Congress government in the state, the grand old party wants to send a clear message on opposition unity to the BJP ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections next year. The Congress will also be facing the BRS in Telangana polls this year, where the party will be pitted against the BRS and the BJP.

--IANS
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Imphal, May 19 (IANS) Like other essential items and transport fuel, ethnic violence-hit Manipur is also facing an acute shortage of life-saving drugs.

The Manipur Chemists and Druggists Association (MCDA) on Friday urged the state government to take immediate steps to address this critical issue arising out of the shortage of life-saving drugs.

The MCDA had earlier raised the issue with Manipur Health Minister Sapam Ranjan, but no concrete steps have been taken thus far.

MCDA President R.K. Rakesh told the media that around 12 trucks carrying essential medicines are stranded between Mao and Senapati, while another 14 trucks are stuck in Guwahati.

He said that the situation has been exacerbated due to panic buying by a large number of people and hoarding by a section of traders.

Some pharmaceutical companies have taken steps to airlift drugs, but the volume of consignments is limited, rendering this measure insufficient to meet the demand.

Rakesh said that if this medicine crisis is not resolved by the next three to four days, a dire shortage of life-saving drugs would create dangerous problems for the ailing people in the state.

The Imphal-Dimapur (in Nagaland) and Imphal-Jiribam (along south Assam) National Highways are the two life lines of the landlocked state, but the miscreants are giving threats to the truck drivers to pay huge ransom to ply their vehicles on the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway.

Some tribal people and organisations, as part of their non-cooperation with the state government, are also occasionally blocking the National Highways, causing serious difficulties for the movement of the goods-laden trucks.

The Army and Assam Rifles are trying to provide security to Manipur-bound goods trucks to ensure continued supply of essentials to the violence-hit state.

According to a defence spokesman, since May 15, around 130 vehicles carrying essential items, including food grains, medicines etc., have entered Manipur through various highways.

In addition, the movement of vehicles is also being monitored by drones, according to the defence spokesperson.

The ethnic violence in Manipur since May 3 has claimed 73 lives besides injuring 250 others.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, May 19 (IANS) The Telangana Police on Friday launched an initiative towards making workplaces safer for women.

Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali launched the initiative called 'Sahas' in the presence of Director General of Police Anjani Kumar, Additional DGP, Women Safety Wing Shikha Goel, Femina Miss India Manasa Varanasi and senior representatives from industry.

Sahas, which in most Indian languages means "courage", is a programme that aims to strengthen the ecosystem of support for women who face workplace sexual harassment. Under the initiative, the Sahas Microsite, Sahas Sathi Chatbot, Sahas Whatsapp Number, Forum and online support facilities were launched.

Mahmood Ali stated that Telangana continues to lead the way in terms of groundbreaking initiatives involving government-industry partnerships. He lauded the efforts of the state police in working hard to reduce crime in the state, whilst striving to approach all relevant issues in a humane manner.

DGP Anjani Kumar called 'Sahas' the natural next step towards reducing vulnerabilities in workplaces.

Telangana, on a conservative estimate, will have over 3 lakh employers and over time, it will be the endeavor of Sahas team to ensure that all employers are connected and sensitised through awareness and training activities. He also asked the Sahas Steering Committee to ensure roll out of a massive awareness cum training campaign among their stakeholders, including affiliate companies, and government departments as well.

Goel noted that the state has the largest percentage of working women in the country, and this could only be possible due to the positive atmosphere employers of Telangana have created over time.

She stated that Sahas a first of its kind initiative in the country, involving a collaboration between industry bodies and a state police force.

C. Shekar Reddy, Chairman, CII & IWN stated that in his long experience as an entrepreneur and an employer, he believed that every employer in Telangana was passionate about the safety and well being of the women workforce.

Under Sahas initiative, they will be benefited by the support extended to them through legal and training experts in creation of an enabling ecosystem and strengthening of existing support channels in their organisations.

--IANS
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Chandigarh, May 19 (IANS) Punjab Police on Friday conducted simultaneous raids at premises of anti-social elements and persons involved in crimes.

Special DGP, Law and Order, Arpit Shukla said the day-long operation was conducted across the state in a synchronised manner and all the CPs and SSPs were asked to depute at least one police party per police station to check the whereabouts of these persons.

He said 450 police parties, involving over 3,000 police personnel, have conducted raids at premises of at least 4,171 persons, who have a criminal record.

The Special DGP said the purpose to carry out this operation was to know the whereabouts of such persons, besides, ensuring that they have returned to the mainstream.

He said the police teams have also questioned family members of persons involved in crimes and checked bank transactions from abroad, and Western Union and property details. Police teams have also checked the vehicles stationed at their premises and verified their registration numbers using VAHAN mobile app, he added.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, May 19 (IANS) The swearing in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister of Karnataka to be held on Saturday in Bengaluru is causing concern among the student community as thousands of students are scheduled to appear in the crucial Common Entrance Test (CET) at 122 centres in the capital city.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to be held in the premises of Kanteerava Indoor Stadium located in the central business district of Bengaluru.

Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar has appealed to all party workers to attend the event. Over a lakh people are expected to participate in the event.

Such a huge turnout of people and vehicles are going to pose a challenge to the Bengaluru traffic police. This has raised concerns over the likely inconvenience to the students appearing in the exam.

In view of the oath-taking ceremony, students who are to take CET-23 in the centres in surrounding areas on Saturday have been advised by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) to reach their venues two hours before the start of scheduled examination time.

Ramya, ED, Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) in a press release on Friday stated that the authority has taken appropriate measures to ensure that students reach designated centres without delay. The steps have been taken anticipating traffic congestion in the surrounding areas of Kanteerava stadium on May 20.

She has informed that candidates from 11 centres near Kanteerava stadium need to be present at their respective centres by 8.30 a.m. This applies to students who are taking only Mathematics exams as well, she clarified.

In a special arrangement, breakfast and lunch will be provided to all those who have their centre at St.Joseph Indian PU College (AR-code) on Vittal Mallya Road. This arrangement has been done in the centre since it is very close to the oath-taking venue.

Students who will be attending the Maths exam in the second session will also be given both breakfast and lunch. Once after having entered the centre at 8.30 a.m. students will not be allowed to go out till the end of their examination.

KEA has also sought the assistance of police authorities in this regard. According to Ramya, candidates can seek the help of nearby police to reach their centres by showing the admission ticket.

Students who need to come early are those who have their centres in any of these colleges: Bishop Cotton Women's PU College (DU- code), 19, 3rd crs, CSI compound; Goodwill PU College for girls (AD-code), No 10, Promenade Road, Frazer Town; St. Joseph's PU College (AE-code), Residency Road, PBNO 25003 (Bengaluru- 560025); St.Joseph Indian PU College (AR-code), No.2, Grant Road, Vitthal Mallya Road (Bengaluru-560001); St. Annes Girls PU College (BQ-code), Millers Road (Bengaluru- 560052); RBANMS PU College (CM-code), 12A, Annaswamy Mudaliar Road, (Bengaluru-560033); SJRC BIFR PU College (CL- code), Ananda Rao Circle, RC ROAD; Cathedral Comp PU College (EN-code) Richmond Road, NO 63, (Bengaluru -560025); St. Euphrasias Girls High School & Composite PU college (E2- code), No.6, Albert Street, Richmond Town; Stracey Memorial Composite PU college (BZ-code), No. 52, St.Marks Road; Hasanath PU College for women (P2-code), Dickenson Road, No.43, Bengaluru North.

The issue has taken a political turn as well with the National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh taunting CM designate Siddaramaiah over his remarks about PM Modi roadshow causing inconvenience to students writing NEET.

Quoting Siddaramaiah's tweet Santhosh said: "not many days have passed after our designated CM tweeted this. Tomorrow CET exams across the state and Bengaluru. What would have happened to Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar if your oath taking was deferred by a day or two so that students will not be troubled."

Referring to the road show by PM Modi, Siddaramaiah had tweeted before elections that, it is an utter irresponsible step from PM Modi to hold a road show in Bengaluru in spite of the opposition from NEET students and people of Bengaluru.

"We don't have any objection to PM Modi's campaign. But, who will be accountable for the troubles faced by the students?" Siddaramaiah had asked.


--IANS
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New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Delhi Police have arrested a 19-year-old teenager from Rajasthan for duping people on the pretext of providing high returns on crypto investments, an official said on Friday.

The arrested individual has been identified as Narendra Choudhary, a resident of Sawai Madhopur district in Rajasthan.

He used to dupe people along with a juvenile who is on the run. They contacted people through WhatsApp and Telegram.

The official said that Choudhary runs a mobile phone repair and accessories shop.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sagar Singh Kalsi said that a complaint was received at Cyber police station in which the complainant Pankaj Verma has alleged that on February 21, he had joined a telegram group called 'Nifty Prediction Telegram Channel'.

In the group, he discovered that investing in cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, and marketing and mutual funds would yield exceptionally high returns.

"A mobile phone number was shared in the group for those interested in investing. He contacted the provided number and began receiving messages on WhatsApp. The individual introducing himself as Bonesh Meena instructed the complainant to transfer Rs 10,000 to a given UPI ID. Trusting the person, the complainant made the payment accordingly," said the DCP.

Meena then messaged Verma on WhatsApp, stating that an additional Rs 6,000 was required as GST for a month and provided a new UPI ID for the payment.

"Verma transferred Rs 6,000 through Paytm as instructed. Subsequently, Bonesh called again, claiming that the profits had been booked and demanded Rs 12,000 as a commission. On February 22, Verma transferred Rs 15,000 as software withdrawal charges to Meena via Paytm. On February 23, Verma transferred Rs 2,000 to Meena as commission and was assured of receiving returns on the same day," said the official.

In total, the complainant made payments amounting to Rs 44,000 but did not receive any returns.

"Additionally, the complainant was provided with another number/UPI ID for payment and return information, and he transferred Rs 2,000 through Paytm for commission. On February 24, the complainant's phone numbers were blocked by the fraudsters, and he did not receive any returns," said the official.

It is important to note that the mentioned Telegram group is still active.

During the investigation, the police team then mounted continuous surveillance of suspect mobile numbers, which zeroed in on the location in the village Kundera near Sawai Madhopur.

"Further, the suspect Paytm account, into which the amount was transferred, belongs to Choudhary. A raid was conducted on Wednesday and he was arrested from his village," said the official.

On questioning, Choudhary disclosed that he was working with a juvenile and that they were operating from Kundera village and other adjoining villages.

"The accused also revealed that they were duping innocent people on the pretext of providing high returns on crypto investment," the police officer added.

--IANS
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Mumbai, May 19 (IANS) The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to refrain from taking any coercive action against Narcotics Control Bureau ex-Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede in the alleged Rs 25-crore bribery case pertaining to the arrest of Aryan Khan after the cruise ship drugs raid.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Sharmila Deshmukh and Justice Arif Doctor also said that prima facie, there was a legal bar under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 17A, mandating the probe to be completed within four months of the alleged offence that had occurred in 2021.

However, since the notice is issued under Section 41A, the judges restrained the CBI from any coercive action against Wankhede till Monday, May 22, when his matter would come up for hearing, according to the IRS officer's lawyer, Rizwan Merchant.

On his part, Wankhede said that he had complete faith in the country's judiciary and the Central government to give him justice in the false case in which he was being implicated.

--IANS
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