It's a 'derailed' budget, says Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, Feb 27: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday slammed the railway budget for not announcing new projects for Karnataka and not reducing train fares.

Describing it as a “derailed” budget, he said people were disappointed that the fares were not reduced. The Railway Ministry has saved an estimated Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore on account of sliding oil prices in the international market. It was expected that the government would pass on the benefit to the people, he said.

‘No new projects’

The State government recently reduced the fares of public transport buses following a decrease in the fuel prices. The Centre should have done the same with the train fares, he said.

The railway minister has failed to announce new projects and trains. It is not a big achievement to say that the ongoing projects will be completed.

“It is okay to promise modernisation of stations and better services to the passengers. What will they (the Centre) achieve without sanctioning new trains and not reducing the fares?” he asked.

The State government had sought new trains between Gadag-Wadi, Davangere- Tumakuru, Hosapete- Hubballi and Tumakuru- Arsikere. Besides, about 50 per cent of the 24 new trains announced by the then Railway Minister D V Sadananda Gowda had not started functioning, Siddaramaiah said.

There is no mention of the proposed high-speed train between Bengaluru and Mysuru in the budget, he added.

State not benefited: HDK

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said the State had not benefited from the railway budget. The Narendra Modi government has failed to keep its promise of bringing in changes. The subsequent governments in the past have neglected Karnataka as far as railways is concerned and the trend has continued now, he said.

Karnataka Congress unit president G Parameshwara, who also criticised the Centre for not announcing new trains to the State, called upon the members of Parliament cutting across party affiliations to mount pressure on the Centre to allocate more funds to Karnataka.

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Post-Sabarimala pilgrimage drinking party turns fatal in Udupi; youth killed in midnight brawl

News Network

December 15,2025

Udupi, Dec 15: What was meant to be a post-pilgrimage gathering turned tragic in Padukere village of Brahmavar taluk, Udupi district, late Sunday night, when a clash among youths escalated into a fatal assault, leaving one man dead.

The victim has been identified as 30-year-old Santosh Mogaveera, a resident of Padukere.

According to preliminary information, the incident took place during a late-night drinking party involving a group of local youths who had recently returned after completing their pilgrimage to the Sabarimala shrine. An argument reportedly broke out among the group and soon escalated into a violent confrontation.

During the ensuing brawl, Santosh Mogaveera was allegedly assaulted and collapsed at the spot after sustaining serious injuries. He was rushed by local residents to a private hospital in Brahmavar, where doctors declared him dead.

On receiving information, senior police officials, including Brahmavar Circle Inspector Gopikrishna, Kota Police Sub-Inspector Praveen Kumar T, Station ASI Manthesh Jabagoudar, and head constables Pradeep and Ashok, visited the spot and conducted an inspection.

Police have taken four youths into custody in connection with the incident. A case has been registered at the Kota police station, and further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the death.

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