Bengaluru, May 10: Justice Abhay Srinivas Oka today took over as the Karnataka High Court Chief Justice
Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the Oath to him at a simple ceremony held in Raj Bhavan.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Chief Secretary Vijaya Bhaskar were among others who were present.
Mangaluru: The Bengaluru-Mangaluru air route has recently surpassed the Mumbai route to become the busiest for Mangaluru International Airport.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s city pairing data for March this year, 51,734 passengers travelled between Mangaluru and Bengaluru, while 50,340 passengers flew on the Mangaluru-Mumbai route.
In January and February, the Mumbai air route had the highest passenger flow with 60,306 and 52,732 passengers, respectively, compared to 53,509 and 47,530 for Bengaluru during the same months. However, the trend shifted in March, with the Bengaluru-Mangaluru route surpassing Mumbai.
An official from MIA explained, “The first reason for Bengaluru taking over Mumbai is that flights that almost fly full to Mumbai were reduced from March, after the ministry of civil aviation suggested easing air traffic congestion at Mumbai airport. The air carrier IndiGo, which used to operate four flights a day from MIA, reduced it to three. Air India Express, which operates two flights a day, has made no changes. As a result of this, Bengaluru has taken over Mumbai. A total seven flights operates per day to Bengaluru.”
The official added that despite the reduction in flights, the Mumbai route still experiences high demand. DGCA data for 2023 shows that the Mumbai and Bengaluru sectors have experienced growth of 11.9% and 19.3%, respectively.
The Mangaluru-Mumbai sector has seen a total of 5,52,767 passengers, followed by Bengaluru with 5,52,500 passengers in the same calendar year.
Campaigning for 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka going to polls in the first phase on April 26 will come to an end on Wednesday evening.
A total of 247 candidates -- 226 men and 21 women -- are in the fray for this round of voting in most of the southern and coastal districts.
It is a straight electoral contest between the ruling Congress and the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) combine in the State.
While the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11, and its alliance partner JD(S) in three -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar.
Besides the three, the segments where elections will be held on Friday are: Udupi-Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South and Chikkballapur.
The intense campaigning for the past about a month saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah leading from the front for the BJP, holding rallies and roadshows. BJP President J P Nadda, some Union Ministers and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant too pitched in.
Veteran BJP leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and the party's state president B Y Vijayendra also campaigned extensively.
Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy were among the prominent names who led the charge for the party.
And for the JD(S), it was the 90-year-old party patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who led the campaign.
Chikkaballapur has a maximum number of 29 candidates, followed by 24 in Bangalore Central and Dakshina Kannada has the least number - nine.
Kumaraswamy from Mandya, his brother-in-law and noted cardiologist C N Manjunath from Bangalore Rural on a BJP ticket, erstwhile Mysuru royal family scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar from Mysore, also from the BJP, and state Congress President Shivakumar's brother and MP D K Suresh from Bangalore Rural, are among the prominent candidates in the fray in the first phase.
The state has a total of 28 Lok Sabha segments. The remaining 14 constituencies, mostly in the northern districts, will go to polls on May seven.
With the Karnataka transport department extending the deadline for the installation of High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) twice--- in November last year and February, it is no longer planning to extend the same. The department ordered for the installation of HSRP before May 31.
The transport department through a notification in August last year, had mandated the installation on all the vehicles that were registered in the state prior to April 1, 2019. According to transport officials, there are nearly two crore vehicles that are supposed to get HSRP for their vehicles.
“As of now, the state has registered only 34 lakh HSRP installations, despite extending the deadline twice. From nearly 18 lakh installations since February, the numbers have almost doubled. However, there are still a large number of vehicles that have to opt for HSRP,” said C Mallikarjuna, Additional Commissioner for Transport (Enforcement).
“We will wait till May 31 to check for the total number of vehicles that fall in line. We are expecting HSRP installations to touch 75 lakh, after which we will consider an extension as the numbers indicate that people are falling in line and if some more time is given everyone will get it done. However, if we do not reach that number before the deadline, we will request the government not to extend the deadline but urge for an enforcement,” he said.
He also stated that a fine of Rs 500 will be imposed for the first time and if vehicle owners do not fall in line, it will be Rs 1,000 later until they have installed HSRP. “We will wait till the Model Code of Conduct ends and take the government’s opinion. We are going to request the government for strict enforcement if the HSRP installations are not satisfactory,” he added.
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