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Now, dist, taluk officials too must return phone calls of ministers

[email protected] (DHNS)
January 29, 2016

Bengaluru, Jan 29: Bengaluru Development Minister K J George might have asserted that he was not a telephone operator to take phone calls of people who try to reach him. But his government appears to have rendered heads of departments, district and taluk-level officials exactly that.

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The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) has recently made it mandatory for district and taluk-level officials, including Deputy Commissioners, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), executive officers of taluk panchayats and district police officials to return the phone calls of ministers, legislators and VIPs if they fail to attend them. The officials have been asked to follow the direction strictly.

Calls to be returned soon

The officials have been asked to ensure that their personal secretaries or personal assistants jot down details of the caller if they are in an important meeting or attending any other important official work.

They have to return the calls made by ministers, legislators, including MLAs, MLCs and MPs, and VIPs soon after their meeting or any official engagements.

What has added to the officials’ problem is that the circular has not defined people who fall in the bracket of VIPs. This has left them fuming as they have been forced to return all missed and unattended calls of late.

Returning phone calls has in reality become a big headache for the officials. A deputy commissioner, it is learnt, spends an average of one and a half hour looking at his cell phone and returning the calls every day.

The district and taluk-level officials are, as a result, finding it difficult to find time to meet the public, official sources in the government said.

Inviting trouble

Non-compliance means inviting trouble, and there is a likelihood of such officials getting transferred – the way Anupama Shenoy, the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Kudligi taluk in Ballari district, was recently shunted out for putting Labour Minister and Ballari district in-charge Minister P T Parameshwara Naik’s phone call on hold.

Earlier, returning phone call was mandatory for only senior officials at the State secretariat – secretaries, principal secretaries and heads of department. It has now been extended to the district and taluk-level officials.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Udupi, Dec 15: What was meant to be a post-pilgrimage gathering turned tragic in Padukere village of Brahmavar taluk, Udupi district, late Sunday night, when a clash among youths escalated into a fatal assault, leaving one man dead.

The victim has been identified as 30-year-old Santosh Mogaveera, a resident of Padukere.

According to preliminary information, the incident took place during a late-night drinking party involving a group of local youths who had recently returned after completing their pilgrimage to the Sabarimala shrine. An argument reportedly broke out among the group and soon escalated into a violent confrontation.

During the ensuing brawl, Santosh Mogaveera was allegedly assaulted and collapsed at the spot after sustaining serious injuries. He was rushed by local residents to a private hospital in Brahmavar, where doctors declared him dead.

On receiving information, senior police officials, including Brahmavar Circle Inspector Gopikrishna, Kota Police Sub-Inspector Praveen Kumar T, Station ASI Manthesh Jabagoudar, and head constables Pradeep and Ashok, visited the spot and conducted an inspection.

Police have taken four youths into custody in connection with the incident. A case has been registered at the Kota police station, and further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the death.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 20,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 20: The Mangaluru City Police have issued a detailed traffic advisory ahead of the inaugural ceremony of Karavali Utsava, which will be held at the Karavali Utsava Ground on Saturday.

The festival will be inaugurated at 6:00 pm by Dakshina Kannada District Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao. Cultural and public programmes will be held at the venue every evening and will continue until January 2.

According to City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy, parking of vehicles is strictly prohibited on both sides of the road from Lalbagh to Karavali Utsava Ground. Visitors are requested to park their vehicles only at designated parking areas.

To help the public, traffic signboards and parking guidance flex boards have been installed along the routes leading to the venue. The police have urged commuters and visitors to follow these instructions to ensure smooth traffic movement.

Designated Parking Locations

•    Urwa Market Ground – Cars
•    Gandhinagar Government School (near Press Club) – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Ladyhill Church parking area – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Canara School Ground, Mannagudda – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Thimmappa Hotel premises – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Scout and Guide Bhavana premises (behind Karavali Utsava Grounds) – Two-wheelers
•    Urwa Market Road – Two-wheelers
•    Hat Hill Road – Two-wheelers

The police have appealed to the public to cooperate by following traffic rules and parking guidelines to avoid inconvenience during the festival.

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