New K'taka bypoll schedule: Venugopal says EC acting like 'yet another govt dept'

Agencies

September 28, 2019

New Delhi: Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal on Friday alleged that the Election Commission was acting like "yet another government department" and said the new schedule for the Karnataka bypolls have been made to "facilitate the purification" of disqualified legislators.

According to a notification issued by the Election Commission on Friday, bypolls to 15 Karnataka Assembly seats, which the poll panel had decided to defer, will be held on December 5. Citing proceedings in the Supreme Court on Thursday regarding the pleas filed by 17 disqualified MLAs of the state challenging their disqualification, the EC said that after deliberations, it has decided that the nomination process will restart on November 11 as per the new schedule.

Following the EC decision, Venugopal tweeted, "The Election Commission now acts like yet another government department. Postponing elections after starting the proceedings is quite unusual. The new schedule also seems to have been made to facilitate the purification of the disqualified MLAs."

The apex court will hear the matter next on October 22 and has expressed its inclination to decide the issue. In July, then Karnataka Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar had disqualified 17 MLAs -- 13 belonging to the Congress, three JD(S) and one Independent -- which eventually led to the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government.

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Mangaluru’s ₹1,200 crore fix: Massive sewage overhaul to end city’s drainage woes

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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