G Rajashekhar rejects Sahitya Academy award citingintolerance'

[email protected] (CD Network)
January 11, 2017

Udupi, Jan 11: Renowned writer and critic G Rajasekhar's work `Bhahuvachana Bharatha' published in 2016 got him the Karnataka Sahitya Academy award. However, he refused to accept it citing “continued atmosphere of intolerance” in the country and in the State.

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The senior thinker said, "I am thankful for the award but I have decided not to accept it since many writers in 2015 had rejected awards citing growing intolerance in the country. I feel the situation is still prevailing or has worsened. Writers and intellectuals are still scared to speak their mind."

“The right wing forces are now not censoring dissent. Instead, they are seeing to it that no one voices their dissent at all. There has already been a big public discussion on the issue of intolerance in the country. Right from the Mohammad Akhlaq incident at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to the attack on persons from minority communities in the coastal district of Karnataka, the situation has not changed,” said Rajasekhar, who is recovering from ill health at a private hospital here.

On Tuesday, the Academy announced honorary awards to five writers. Lifetime Achievement Award winners include noted critics Prof O L Nagabhushanaswamy, H S Srimathi, science writer Nagesh Hegde, writers Basavaraj Kukkarahalli and Dr Balasaheb Lokapur. They will get cash prizes of Rs 50,000, a citation and a memento.

The award ceremony will be held on February 7 in Bengaluru, where Odiya poet Gaurav Haridas will present the awards. Sixteen writers have also been selected for the 2015 book awards.

They are Satyamangala Mahadeva (poetry), Lata Gutti (novel), Anupama Prasad (short story), Chidananda Sali (play), H Shantaraja Aithal (essay), B S Pranatarthiharan (travelogue), Dodda Hulluru Rukkoji (biography), H L Pushpa (literary criticism), Vijayashree Haladi (children's literature), Na Someshwara (science literature), G Rajashekar (humanities), A V Navada (research), Shylaja (translation-creative), B S Jayaprakash Narayana (translation non creative), Gopal Vajapayee (non-fiction), and Deepa Girish (debut work). Seven writers won the endowment awards for 2014.They are Siddu M Satyannanavara (poetrymanuscript), Janagere Venkataramaiah (novel), Gajanana Sharma (biograpahy), Kavitha Rai (literary criticism), Jayalalitha (translation-creative), Champa Jayaprakash (debut work of the writer), Srinath Perur (translation from Kannada to English).

Comments

zakir
 - 
Thursday, 12 Jan 2017

Great..... really he has concern on India.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor at his residence in Bengaluru last month.

Yediyurappa, 81, was booked after a woman lodged a complaint saying that she visited his residence on February 2 seeking justice in a rape case against her daughter and sought that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to look into the case.

According to the first information report (FIR), Yediyurappa allegedly took the minor to a room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged in the FIR that when she confronted Yediyurappa, he said that he was checking if the girl was raped or not. Yediyurappa later allegedly apologised and asked the woman not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a case under Section 8 (commit sexual assault) of the Pocso Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reacting to the allegations, the former CM said that around one-and-a-half months ago, they (the victim and her mother) had come to his house seeking help and he had taken them inside. 

“After listening to her, I called the city police commissioner B Dayananda over phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected that there is some health problem with her. I sent them to city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in distress. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I get for helping someone,” he added.

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News Network
March 26,2024

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has detained two suspects in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru, sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The preliminary probe has revealed that the two suspects were in direct contact with the suspected bomber.

The NIA sleuths have picked up the suspects from an area in the state capital. However, a statement is yet to be made by the NIA in this regard.

Even as the investigating agencies, both NIA and state special wing CCB teams have launched an extensive search operation in various states, the bomber has remained elusive. The authorities had obtained the bomber’s images and videos from CCTV footage on March 1, soon after the incident.

Sources said that the sleuths were suspecting that the bomber had come from Tamil Nadu and was staying in a neighbouring state for two months before carrying out the blast.

The hair samples of the accused were gathered from the hat of the accused which he abandoned in Bengaluru near a religious place. The authorities have sent the samples for the DNA testing and were hoping for a breakthrough.

The Rameshwaram Cafe bomb blast took place on March 1 on the International Technology Park Limited (ITPL) road in the Brookfield area. Low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was used to carry out the blast and nine persons were injured in the incident.

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News Network
March 18,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 18: The rising temperature has become a growing concern for residents of coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, as the issue of drinking water shortage continues to worsen in several parts. 

Though the water supply of Mangaluru city has not been affected much, nearby urban local bodies, including Ullal, Kotekar, Bajpe and other parts on the outskirts of Mangaluru have been facing an acute shortage of drinking water.

Though the water level in the Thumbe vented dam across Nethravati River has started going down in the last few days, officials have ruled out possibility of rationing the water supply in the city.

According to officials, the water level at Thumbe dam of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) stood at 5.8 m as against the maximum storage capacity of 6m height on March 16. The water level at the dam during the same period last year was 5.3 metres. The water level reduced from 5.9 m on March 15 to 5.8 m on March 16 due to the scorching heat, causing evaporation.

The MCC has been drawing 160 MLD of water from the Thumbe vented dam. According to officials, without inflow, the maximum water stored in the dam will be sufficient for only 50 days. Meanwhile, the MCC has already started pumping backwater from downstream of the Thumbe vented dam back to the dam using pumpsets. Water from Thumbe dam can be drawn only if it has more than 1.5m of water in it.

DC Mullai Muhilan MP said that the district administration is closely monitoring water levels in all the dams that supply water.

The AMR dam located upstream of Thumbe dam has 18 m of water from sea level. If the water level in the Thumbe vented dam recedes, then water from the AMR dam will be released into the Thumbe dam. There is water in a dam at Biliyoor, which is located upstream of the AMR dam, the DC said.

“Drawing water for irrigation purposes from Thumbe and AMR dams has been banned,” the deputy commissioner said, adding that an order in this regard has already been issued. Some of the pockets in rural areas too have started facing water crisis.

“We have made arrangements to supply water through tankers in Ullal, Kotekar and Bajpe areas. We will not introduce water supply rationing in MCC limits for the time being,” he said and appealed to citizens to use water judiciously.

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