Somanna not too happy with Yeddyurappa, may be eyeing Congress

January 19, 2017

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Speculation is rife in political circles that senior leader and BJP MLC V Somanna may join the Congress.

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Sources in the Congress said he is weighing the possibility of returning to the ruling party. The Congress leaders are said to be having an open mind in this regard. Somanna, who is a known party hopper, joined the BJP in 2009 when B S Yeddyurappa was the chief minister.

When contacted by media, he refused to comment. Somanna, who was once a close follower of Yeddyurappa, is said to have fallen foul of the BJP leader of late. One of the reasons is that Somanna did not stand by Yeddyurappa when the latter launched his own political party, the KJP, in 2013. Ever since Yeddyurappa became the state BJP president, Somanna has been uncomfortable in the party and does not see a bright future for himself in the party, sources explained.

Besides, the Congress, too, will stand to gain by taking Somanna back. The party lost a prominent Lingayat leader in the old Mysuru region with the death of H S Mahadeva Prasad recently. Somanna will emerge as the Lingayat face of the Congress in the region if he joins the party, the sources said.

A four-time MLA

Somanna, who is a four-time MLA, had won as the Congress candidate from Govindrajnagar Assembly constituency in 2008. He resigned as MLA to join the BJP in 2009. But he lost in the subsequent by-election against Priya Krishna, son of A Krishnappa, who is now Housing Minister. Hence, he became an MLC. Somanna again lost in the 2013 Assembly elections from Vijayanagar Assembly constituency.

Realising that winning from either Vijayanagar or Govindrajnagar, will be a tough task, he started developing a base in Hanur constituency in Chamarajnagar district. He chose Hanur as an alternative constituency as it has a sizable Lingayat population.

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News Network
March 28,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 28: A fish meal factory in the Baikampady Industrial area in Mangaluru was gutted in a fire incident on Thursday, officials said.

The factory is owned by the company 'Shihar Enterprises', they said.

According to the locals, the fire was first noticed at 4.45 am today, which was immediately reported to the fire department.

The fire engines reached the spot and tried to douse the fire, but it had already spread to other parts of the factory. After almost four hours of fire-fighting operation, the blaze was completely doused, officials.

The reason for the blaze is still being probed, the fire department officials said, adding that they suspect an electric short circuit could have triggered it.

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News Network
March 19,2024

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Mangaluru: The Mangalore International Airport (MIA) will connect to a new domestic destination with the introduction of a non-stop flight to Tiruchirappalli International Airport in Tamil Nadu. 

The non-stop service, once-a-week, will operate on Wednesday (from TIA) and Thursday (from MIA), starting April 3. Air India Express will operate the flight.

The flight is expected to help those taking up a pilgrimage to Vailankani shrine.

Sources from the AIE said that the airline carrier decided to fly non-stop between the two southern Indian cities as a flight to Jeddah, which will start from April 3, arrives from Tiruchirappalli International Airport. 

“It is a ferry or positional flight from TIA to MIA. Instead of flying empty, the management has decided to run it as a commercial flight. This will help both passengers and the airline. The airline will deploy Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a 186-seater all-economy configuration on this route. 

The same flight, after landing in MIA, will further fly to Jeddah,” a source said. 

The flight IX 1498 will depart every Thursday at 5am from MIA to TIA. The TIA-MIA flight IX 1499 departs at 12.50pm. It is a one-hour nonstop flight. The same flights will also operate nonstop between Jeddah and MIA. 

The non-stop flight IX 499 will depart MIA at 2.50pm and reach King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah at 6.25pm. The IX498, will depart from Jeddah at 7.25pm and reach MIA early at 3.40am.

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News Network
March 28,2024

An Indian expatriate, hailing from Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, who was detained in Jeddah jail in an alleged cyber case, was set free recently. He is allowed to continue his work in the same company. 

The 49-year-old Mangalurean, has been working for a Maintenance company in Jeddah for more than 13 years. He is known for his efficiency and sincerity in the company with good experience in his field of work. 

His company usually assigned him on duty in Jeddah sea port to take the delivery of the goods consigned to his company. As a part of his duty, he normally takes pictures of the goods before the transportation. He did the same in February 2023 too. 

The security personnel informed the police about his act that amounts to be a violation of the port security rule. He was unaware of the rule as he was doing it normally in the port during the release of the goods. Since then, he was detained by the police on the charge of photographing inside the port premises. After more than 6 months detention, he was released and allowed to work in the same company. 

The detainee’s brother based in Jeddah was constantly pursuing the case.

P A Hameed Padubidri, a pro-bono NRI lawyer and social worker based in Riyadh, extended his socio-humanitarian help in this case upon the request of his family and relatives. 

He actively involved trying to set him free from the jail on humanitarian grounds with the coordination and help of the Consulate General of India (CGI) Jeddah. The CGI keenly followed up the case with the concerned Saudi authorities. He was released from the jail recently and shared his happiness with his family and thanked good samaritans. 

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