Fight me directly; don’t make school kids scapegoats: Kalladka Bhat to Rai

coastaldigest.com news network
August 9, 2017

Mangaluru, Aug 9: RSS veteran Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat has lashed out at Karnataka government for withdrawing financial grant, given through the Kollur Mookambika Temple, to two government-aided private schools managed by the Sri Rama Vidyakendra Trust.

Bhat, who is alpha and omega of the Trust, accused Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister B Ramanath Rai and chief minister Siddaramaiah of resorting to hate politics taking revenge against poor school children.

According to Bhat as many as 2,250 poor students including Dalits and minorities were benefiting from the government grant. The trust was getting rice and other commodities for midday meals and textbooks. The temple had started giving cash since three years and accounts had been maintained.

“If Ramanath Rai wants to harm me, let him fight me directly instead of making those poor children scapegoats,” Bhat said adding that he was ready for any sacrifice to give education to the children. 

“We will run the educational institutions at any cost. We don’t even hesitate to beg for the sake of those kids,” he claimed.

Nearly 3 crore granted

The Muzrai temple in Udupi district has granted Rs 2.83 crore to the two schools in the last decade — from 2007-08 (during the BJP-JD(S) coalition government) to 2016-17, towards midday meals, textbooks and uniforms of students.

According to the Government Order on July 31, 2017, the adoption of the two schools — Sri Rama Vidya Kendra, Kalladka, and Sri Devi Vidya Kendra, Punacha — has been cancelled. The temple had granted Rs. 2.32 crore to Sri Rama Vidya Kendra and Rs. 50.72 lakh to Sri Devi Vidya Kendra during the period.

The order said that as per the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997 (Rules 2002) no private educational institute can be adopted by any temple. Granting fund would be a burden on the temple.

C. Janardhan, executive officer of the temple, said that the two schools had been adopted by the temple as per the order of the then State government in 2007-08. Only these two schools had been adopted. The temple itself manages seven schools in Kundapur taluk in Udupi district. Of them, one is government aided and six are unaided, he said.

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News Network
November 22,2025

The Karnataka government has announced a 50% rebate on pending traffic and transport fines. The discount is available from November 21 to December 12.

The rebate applies to all traffic e-challans and violation cases booked by the RTO between 1991–92 and 2019–20. Officials clarified that the offer is not applicable to pending tax dues and is restricted only to traffic-violation fines.

Across Karnataka, more than 4 lakh RTO cases remain pending, including those involving transport vehicles. While thousands of vehicle owners have already cleared their dues, the department expects to generate substantial revenue through this limited-period rebate.

How to Pay and Avail the Discount

There are three ways to check and pay your pending fines:

1. Through Mobile Apps
Available on both Play Store and App Store:
•    Karnataka State Police (KSP) app
•    KarnatakaOne app
•    ASTraM app

Steps:
•    Enter your vehicle number in any of the above apps
•    Verify the photo/details of your vehicle
•    Pay the fine with the 50% discount applied

2. Visit a Traffic Police Station

You can pay your pending fine at any nearby traffic police station.

3. Visit the Traffic Management Centre (TMC)

•    Location: First Floor, Infantry Road, near Indian Express, Bengaluru

Transport Commissioner Yogeesh A M said, “We don't issue e-challans, so there's no online payment system.”

The department estimates ₹52 crore in pending RTO fines up to March 2020. “With the 50% rebate, we expect to collect around ₹25 crore if all dues are cleared,” he added.

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Agencies
November 22,2025

indiapak.jpg

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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coastaldigest.com news network
December 2,2025

karkala.jpg

Udupi, Dec 2: A wave of regional pride is sweeping through Udupi district as Shagun S Verma Hegde, a talented Class 9 student from Christ King English Medium High School, Karkala, has been named the captain of the Indian National Team for the Under-15 Girls’ Volleyball Championship.

Shagun holds the unique distinction of being the sole player from Karnataka selected to represent the country in the prestigious international tournament. The championship, organized by the School Games Federation, is scheduled to take place in Shangluo, China, from December 3 to 13, where Shagun will lead the national squad.

A Remarkable Journey to the Top

Shagun’s selection is a testament to her dedication and exceptional skill on the court. Her journey included several rigorous rounds of selection:

•    She was the only player from Udupi district to qualify for the state-level selection camp.

•    Out of eight players from Karnataka who advanced to the national selection camp in Pune, Maharashtra, Shagun was the only one to secure a place in the final national squad.

•    The national camp saw participation from approximately 200 players, which was shortlisted to 23. Shagun not only made the final cut but was also ranked as the second-best player overall, solidifying her leadership role.

Shagun, who is the daughter of Sandesh Verma and Shruthiraj of Kallotte, Karkala, has trained under experienced coaches Santosh D’Souza, Jeevan D’Silva, Jairaj Poojary, and Ramesh. Her selection as the team captain has brought profound honour to her family, school, the Udupi district, and the entire state of Karnataka.

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