Congress workers concerned over delay in candidate selection for Karkala

coastaldigest.com news network

April 5, 2018

Karkala, Apr 5: The delay in finalization of the candidate for Karkala Assembly Constituency in Udupi district has caused anxiety among the Congress workers who intend to wrest the segment from BJP in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

A few Congress workers from the constituency on Wednesday held a press meet to publicly urge the top leaders of the party to finalize the candidate so that they can formally launch campaign.

“It is the responsibility of the party high command to clear the confusion over the candidate for the Karkala Assembly seat”, said Daniel Ranger, a Congress party worker. He was accompanied by Taranath Kotian, Sheikh Shabbir, and Valerian Pais, Ranjit C T in the press meet.

The party workers had urged the high command to select the Congress leader, Muniyal Uday Shetty, as the party candidate as he had been strengthening the party from the grassroots level for the last two years, he said.

He said that Harsha Moily, son of the former Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily, had stated that he would not contest from the seat. Gopal Bhandary, Congress leader and former MLA, too did not appear to have any inclination to contest from there.

After Mr Harsha Moily left the fray, the leaders in charge of the party in Udupi district, G.A. Bawa and Bharat Mundodi, were nowhere to be seen. “We want to fight the elections under the guidance of Mr Veerappa Moily and Mr Bhandary with Mr. Shetty as the candidate,” he said.

The Congress had not only lost the Karkala seat to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Assembly elections in 2013 but had also failed to win a single Zilla Panchayat seat in Karkala constituency in the subsequent Zilla Panchayat elections.

It had also lost all the 19 seats of the Karkala Taluk Panchayat to the BJP. As many as 26 gram panchayats in the constituency too were under BJP-supported candidates.

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Puttur's Healthcare Dream Cleared: State Finance Gives Nod for 300-Bed Hospital

News Network

December 2,2025

Puttur: The long-cherished dream of a government medical college in Puttur has moved a decisive step closer to reality, with the Karnataka State Finance Department granting its official approval for the construction of a new 300-bed hospital.

Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai announced the crucial development to reporters on Monday, confirming that the official communication from the finance department was issued on November 27. This 300-bed facility is intended to be the cornerstone for the establishment of the government medical college, a project announced in the state budget.

Fast-Track Implementation

The MLA outlined an aggressive timeline for the project:

• A Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the hospital is expected to be ready within 45 days.

• The tender process for the construction will be completed within two months.

Following the completion of the tender process, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the project.

"Setting up a medical college in Puttur is a historical decision by the Congress government in Karnataka," Rai stated. The project has an estimated budget allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for the medical college.

Focus on Medical Education Department

The MLA highlighted a key strategic move: requesting the government to implement the hospital construction through the Medical Education Department instead of the Health and Family Welfare Department. This is intended to streamline the entire process of establishing the full medical college, ensuring the facilities—including labs, operation theatres, and other necessary infrastructure—adhere to the strict guidelines set by the Medical Council of India (MCI). The proposed site for the project is in Bannur.

Rai also took the opportunity to address political criticism, stating that the government has fulfilled its promise despite "apprehensions" and "mocking and criticising" from opposition parties who had failed to take similar initiatives when they were in power. "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has kept his word," he added.

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