CM on seats: JD(S) not a beggar to accept Congress crumbs

TNN

February 20, 2019

Bengaluru, Feb 20: Sharing of Lok Sabha seats is unlikely to be a smooth exercise for coalition partners Congress and JD(S) with chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah taking on one another over the issue on Tuesday.

Refusing to take lightly the indications being given by state Congress leaders that they won’t give any LS seat currently held by the party to the JD(S) as part of seat-sharing pact, the CM said his party was not a beggar to accept whatever the Congress gives.

“I don’t know whether it is seven, five or three seats. But we (JDS) are not beggars (to accept whatever they give us). I will not mince words,” a visibly angry Kumaraswamy told reporters in Mysuru.

Siddaramaiah hit back by saying that neither the Congress nor JD(S) is a beggar. “It is a coalition government. Nobody is a beggar. A final decision on seat sharing is yet to be taken,” the former CM said on the sidelines of the youth Congress programme in Bengaluru.

The Congress election committee which met here on Monday has decided not to give any of the 10 LS seats held by the party to JD(S). Siddaramaiah confirmed this by saying the party feels it should not compromise on the 10 seats.

This has not gone down well with JD(S) as it has prepared to make a strong bid for Tumakuru and Chikkaballapura seats, which are held by the Congress, when both the parties sit across the table to finalise the pact.

Kumaraswamy also sought to remind the Congress how important it is for both the parties to settle the issue amicably. “It (LS election) is crucial and we need to send a message to the public as well as political opponents. So leaders of both the parties should sit together and sort out the matter,” he added.

He said it’ll be his father and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda who will hold discussions with the Congress on seat sharing, not him. “My responsibility is limited to running the coalition government successfully by ensuring good administration,” he added. He dismissed reports that Congress leaders had discussed seat sharing with him.

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Mangaluru’s ₹1,200 crore fix: Massive sewage overhaul to end city’s drainage woes

News Network

December 19,2025

Mangaluru: In a decisive move to tackle the city’s deteriorating sanitation infrastructure, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has announced a massive ₹1,200 crore action plan to overhaul its underground drainage (UGD) network.

The initiative, spearheaded by Deputy Commissioner and MCC Administrator Darshan HV, aims to bridge "missing links" in the current system that have left residents grappling with overflowing sewage and environmental hazards.

The Breaking Point

The announcement follows a high-intensity phone-in session on Thursday, where the DC was flooded with grievances from frustrated citizens. Residents, including Savithri from Yekkur, described a harrowing reality: raw sewage from apartments leaking into stormwater drains, creating a "permanent stink" and turning residential zones into mosquito breeding grounds.

"We are facing immense difficulties due to the stench and the health risks. Local officials have remained silent until now," one resident reported during the session.

The Strategy: A Six-Year Vision

DC Darshan HV confirmed that the proposed plan is not a temporary patch but a comprehensive six-year roadmap designed to accommodate Mangaluru’s projected population growth. Key highlights of the plan include:

• Infrastructure Expansion: Laying additional pipelines to connect older neighborhoods to the main grid.

• STP Crackdown: Stricter enforcement of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) regulations. While new apartments are required to have functional STPs, many older buildings lack them entirely, and several newer units are reportedly non-functional.

• Budgetary Push: The plan has already been discussed with the district in-charge minister and the Secretary of the Urban Development Department. It is slated for formal presentation in the upcoming state budget.

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