Chief Minister puts naxals on notice

March 15, 2012

Kalasa, March 15: Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has warned stringent action against naxals operating in the Malnad region of the State.

He was speaking at a campaign meeting for the byelection to the Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituency in the town on Wednesday. The operations had been intensified against the ultras, the chief minister said.

Steps would also be taken to provide basic amenities to people in the naxal-hit areas, Gowda said. The chief minister and Home Minister R Ashoka sought votes for party candidate Sunil Kumar.

Voting will take place in 1,630 polling stations in the March 18 bypoll. As many as 251 polling booths in the naxal-affected areas have been identified as hyper-sensitive.

Crises

Sadananda Gowda, in a veiled attack on former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, said the BJP had faced embarrassments in the State on several occasions which had been overcome and the recent confusions caused by leaders would not have a big impact.

He was replying to a query by reporters in Chikmagalur, on Yeddyurappa's statement that Gowda would feel embarrassed if he campaigned for the party candidate in the byelection to the Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituency.

Yeddyurappa had made the comment in response to Gowda's remark that eight cases against Yeddyurappa were still pending inquiry.

Gowda said he would not feel embarrassed as the party had seen bigger crises earlier.

“These minor hiccups will not have any impact on the government and I have the political acumen to steer the State towards progress amid such constraints,” the chief minister 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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