Rahul Gandhi pushes CM for more sops to farmers

October 10, 2015

Bengaluru,Oct 9: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is already walking a tight financial rope, came under severe pressure on Friday from party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to extend more relief to farmers.

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Left with no choice, the government is likely to announce waiver on long-standing interest on loan raised by farmers from co-operative institutions and also a hike in compensation to farmers who committed suicide.

At present, Rs 2 lakh is being given as compensation.

The announcement is likely to be made in Haveri, when Rahul will visit the district on Saturday.

Cooperation Minister H S?Mahadev Prasad said the measure will cost the exchequer an additional Rs 220 crore.

Interest, which is long overdue on short, medium and long-term loans taken by farmers from cooperative institutions, would be waived. This also means that the government would have to pay the interest component to banks on behalf of the farmer.

The government’s move has come following a direction by Rahul to Siddaramaiah to announce certain sops to the farmers. Rahul is in Karnataka on a two-day visit to console select family members of farmers who committed suicide recently.

He visited some family members of farmers in Mandya on Friday. “Farmers, who had taken loan but have not paid even interest would get relief. The cut off date for consideration will be August 31, 2015. Nearly 2.25 lakh farmers will be benefited. The principle amount is nearly Rs 536 crore, which the government will not waive,” said Prasad.

To a question by the media whether Rahul has directed the chief minister to waive the loan amount, the minister replied in the negative. “The direction is only to help farmers who are in distress. One way of helping is by clearing the long-standing interest,” he said.

There are about 78 lakh farmers in the State, and of these, 21 lakh farmers have raised loans from co-operative banks. As many as 14 lakh farmers have taken loans from commercial banks and the rest hand loans.

Only one-third of the farmers are dependent on co-operative banks. The principal amount is about Rs 12,000 crore, he pointed out.

Prasad said now the plan is to waive interest which has accumulated over the year up to August this year. And this benefit will be offered to those farmers who pay the principle amount before March 2016.

Another announcement likely to be made by the Siddaramaiah government is that revised norms for giving compensation to the family of farmers who have committed suicide.

The rules allow compensation to be paid provided agricultural land-holding is in the name of the farmer. This could be relaxed to help the family members, Prasad said.

It is estimated that 596 farmers have committed suicide in the State due to drought and financial distress. But compensation is given only after the government ascertains the reasons for death.

Addressing gram panchayat members in Bengaluru, Rahul said he has discussed about the farmers’ woes with the chief minister and his colleagues.

The chief minister will be announcing certain new initiatives for the welfare of farmers at a public meeting on Saturday, he added.

Rahul also said he has asked the chief minister to take steps to implement the Ramesh Kumar committee report on brining reforms in panchayat bodies.

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News Network
May 8,2024

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Mangaluru: Congress leader and five-time Belthangady MLA K Vasanth Bangera, passed away on Wednesday, at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Wednesday. He was 79.

His health condition had worsened recently, and he was shifted to Bengaluru for treatment. His body is likely to be brought to Belthangady on May 9 and will be kept for public homage, family sources said.

He has the credit of contesting from all three parties - BJP, Janata Dal and Congress. Since 1983, he had contested nine assembly elections and won five times.

Bangera had entered the Legislative Assembly by winning Belthangady constituency as a BJP candidate in 1983 against Gangadhar Gowda of the Congress.

He won had the elections again in 1985 and later joined the Janata Dal. However, he lost the election against Gangadhar Gowda of Congress in 1989.

He became an MLA once again for the third time in 1994. In the 1999 election, Bangera lost to his brother Prabhakar Bangera who contested from BJP.

In 2008, Bangera joined the Congress and won the elections for the fourth time. In 2013, he had once again won the elections against Ranjan Gowda of the BJP, but he also lost the elections to sitting MLA Harish Poonja of the BJP in 2018.

He was born to Kede Subba Poojary and Devaki. He is survived by his wife Sujitha V Bangera, and two daughters Preethitha and Binutha.
 

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May 17,2024

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Hubballi, May 17: Karnataka Police have arrested the killer, Vishwa, also known as Girish, in the sensational Anjali Ambigera murder case, police said on Friday.

Preliminary investigations reveal that Vishwa was a habitual thief who exploited innocent young women. The accused is also a drunkard and was caught while attempting to commit theft. He was also part of a gang which stole bikes.

The accused targeted gullible young women, enacting a drama of love and playing the emotional card to forcefully extort gold, silver, and cash from them. When Anjali did not agree to any of his attempts to rob her and outrightly rejected his offer to go with him to Mysuru city, he brutally killed her.

The police had formed two teams to hunt down the killer. One of the teams was searching in the south Karnataka region, and another team, which launched a hunt in Davanagere, nabbed him. The accused was arrested by the police on Thursday.

The police could not catch him sooner as the killer did not carry a mobile phone and did not use his phone for 15 days, before murdering Anjali. The jurisdictional Bendigeri Police were aware of the killer's history, but even after the complaint by the girl’s family, they showed "utter negligence".

The 24-year-old Vishwa entered Anjali Ambigera's (20) residence at 5.30 A.M. on Wednesday and stabbed the young woman multiple times before she could react. Vishwa dragged Anjali Ambigera all over the house, kicking and stabbing her. Later, he pushed her into the kitchen where he stabbed her repeatedly.

Despite efforts by Anjali’s grandmother and two sisters to stop the attacker, he killed her and managed to flee. The incident occurred in the Veerapura Oni area within the jurisdiction of the Bendigeri Police Station.

Vishwa had been blackmailing Anjali and pressurising her to accompany him to Mysuru without informing her parents. The incident which took place close on the heels of MCA student Neha Hiremath’s brutal murder by the jilted lover has raised concern over the safety of women all across the state.

The BJP had demanded the resignation of Home Minister G. Parameshwara while the Congress leaders have also demanded that the Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar should be transferred for failing to sensitise the police force regarding issues of women’s safety.

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News Network
May 12,2024

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In an intriguing turn of events, authorities have levied a fine against an actress for breaching traffic regulations depicted within a television serial.

In the 14th episode of the popular serial ‘Seetha Raama’ a Kannada language drama series airing on Zee Kannada, a scene featuring two individuals riding a scooter caught the attention of viewers. While the rider adhered to safety protocols by wearing a helmet, the actress on the pillion did not.

Jayaprakash Yekkur, a vigilant resident of Mangaluru, took swift notice of this discrepancy and promptly lodged a complaint with the Mangaluru City Police Commissioner. Yekkur underscored the concern that such portrayals of traffic violations by actors and actresses could potentially convey misleading messages to viewers, particularly those who are impressionable. He urged authorities to take decisive legal action against the actress, the serial’s director, and the broadcasting channel.

In response to Yekkur’s complaint, the Commissioner of Police forwarded the matter to the Mangaluru Traffic Police station. Subsequently, notices were issued to the owner of the two-wheeler featured in the scene and the serial’s director. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the scene had been filmed in Nandini Layout, Bengaluru, and was referred to the Rajajinagar police station for further scrutiny.

On May 10, after thorough inquiries, the Rajajinagar police station imposed a fine of Rs 500 on both the actress and the owner of the two-wheeler. Furthermore, the production manager of the serial committed to adhering strictly to traffic regulations in future episodes.

Expressing his contentment with the resolution, Jayaprakash Yekkur commented that the prompt response from the police, coupled with the imposition of a fine, serves as a valuable lesson and contributes significantly to enhancing public awareness.

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