HBCS?'violates' bylaws to allot sites to Speaker's daughters

March 20, 2017

Bengaluru, Mar 20: In has now come to light that sites were allotted to the four daughters of Legislative Assembly Speaker K?B?Koliwad by a housing cooperative society in violation of rules. Employees of the legislature secretariat had set up the “Karnataka Legislature Secretariat Employees’ House Building Cooperative Society” for allotment of sites to its members at a layout at Gasti Kampanahalli and Agrahara villages near Yelahanka. While members were waiting for sites even after paying the necessary fees, Koliwad’s daughters were allotted four sites adjacent to each other.

Speaker

Society vice-president K?Ramanna, who is also officer on special?duty to Koliwad, said the Society entered into an agreement with Jayasuriya Developers for development of the layout in 2004-05. “However, there was delay as the Bengaluru Development Authority did not clear the layout plan. After Koliwad became the Speaker, he got the plan cleared. This helped us allot 120 sites.”

Koliwad’s daughters were all dependents when they had applied for sites with the society. However, bylaws of house building cooperative societies bar any member of a family who has been allotted a site by a society or urban development authority from getting another in the name of other family members. At the time his daughters had applied for the sites, Koliwad had already been alloted a site by the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) in Yelahanka. He had initially constructed a house on the site. It was later demolished to make way for a convention hall (Prakhyathi Convention and Party Hall). The charge is Koliwad’s daughters were not eligible to apply for sites from the society, when he had already been allotted a site by KHB.

Moreover, Koliwad’s daughters were not employees of Karnataka legislature secretariat, making them ineligible to apply for sites from the society, as per rules. The four daughters of Koliwad, Sapna Patil, Prathiba N?Doddamami, Sunitha V?Mulimani and Sushma Manjunath got their sale deeds registered the same day and also got demand drafts for the site prepared from the same branch of Corporation Bank in Bengaluru. The 1,500 sq-foot sites allotted to Sapna,?Prathiba and Sunitha were bought at Rs 18.75 lakh each, while the 2,409 sq-foot site allotted to Sushma was purchased at Rs 30.1 lakh.

Documents available reveal that the activities at the society speeded up after Koliwad became Speaker. The society held its meeting on November 7 last year and a decision was taken to allot the sites. The sites were registered within the next seven days (November 14).

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Air India Express has announced that it will resume direct flight services between Mangaluru and Muscat from March 2026, restoring an important international air link for passengers from the coastal region.

Airport authorities said the service will operate twice a week—on Sundays and Tuesdays—from March 1. The initial flights are scheduled on March 3, 8 and 10, followed by March 15 and 17, with the same operating pattern to continue thereafter. The flight duration is approximately three hours and 25 minutes.

The Mangaluru–Muscat route was earlier operated under the 2025 summer schedule, with services beginning on July 14. At that time, Air India Express had operated four flights a week before suspending the service.

Officials said the summer schedule will come into effect from March 29, after which changes in flight timings and departure schedules from Mangaluru are expected. Passengers have been advised to check the latest schedules while planning their travel.

The resumption of direct flights to Muscat is expected to significantly benefit expatriates, business travellers and others, further strengthening Mangaluru’s air connectivity with the Gulf region.

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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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