Minister shocked over worker's death in septic tank; hotel owner arrested

November 9, 2011

Mangalore, November 9: Social Welfare Minister Narayanaswamy on Tuesday expressed shock over the death of a worker, who died of suffocation after falling into a septic tank while cleaning the compound belonging to a hotel in Mulki.

The minister, who paid a visit to the spot on Tuesday, regretted that though manual cleaning of septic work (carrying nightsoil) has been banned in State, he termed the incident as unfortunate.

Stressing the need to create awareness against the system, he said that there are machineries to clean the septic tank and he would speak with the department concerned.

District-in-Charge Minister Krishna J?Palemar who accompanied the minister said that he would take steps to provide maximum compensation to Kitta's kin.

One of the persons who was working with Kitta said that though they started the work at noon, they had to continue the work till night when the incident occurred.The hotel owner was arrested on Monday and produced before the court, which remanded him to judicial custody.

The deceased is Kitta Koraga, a resident of Ullanje in Kateel. Though he fell on Sunday night, his body was removed only on Monday morning.

Deputy Commissioner Dr N S Channappa Gowda, Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh and Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Dr K N Vijayprakash among others visited the spot and also met the family members of Kitta.

Meanwhile, Mulki police have arrested the owner of the hotel where a 45-year-old worker died of suffocation.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Puttamadaiah said Vincent Saldanha, owner of the Abhinandana Hotel in Kinnigoli, had been accused under Section 304 (A) (death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code and under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Prohibition of Manual Scavenging Act.

Mr. Saldanha had been remanded in judicial custody and he would be produced before the jurisdictional magistrate court on Wednesday, Mr. Puttamadaiah said.

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Why Mangaluru Could Become India’s Next Offshore Wind Energy Hub

News Network

February 3,2026

Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta has urged the Centre to give high priority to offshore wind energy generation along the Mangaluru coast, citing its strategic importance to India’s green energy and port-led development goals.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377, Chowta said studies by the National Institute of Oceanography have identified the Mangaluru coastline as part of India’s promising offshore wind ‘Zone-2’, covering nearly 6,490 sq km. He noted that the region’s relatively low exposure to cyclones and earthquakes makes it suitable for long-term offshore wind projects and called for its development as a dedicated offshore wind energy zone.

Highlighting the role of New Mangalore Port, Chowta said its modern infrastructure, multiple berths and heavy cargo-handling capacity position it well as a logistics hub for transporting and assembling large wind energy equipment.

He also pointed to the presence of major industrial units such as MRPL, OMPL, UPCL and the Mangaluru SEZ, which could serve as direct buyers of green power through power purchase agreements, improving project viability and speeding up execution.

With Karnataka’s peak power demand crossing 18,000 MW in early 2025, Chowta stressed the need to diversify renewable energy sources. He added that offshore wind projects in the Arabian Sea are strategically safer compared to the cyclone-prone Bay of Bengal.

Calling the project vital to India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, Chowta urged the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to initiate resource assessments, pilot projects and stakeholder consultations at the earliest.

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