Siddu govt offers salt at Rs 2, oil Rs 25 per kg to the poor

Bengaluru, Mar 1: After Re one per kg rice, the government on Monday came up with one kg of iodised salt at Rs two and palm oil at Rs 25 per litre to below poverty line (BPL) and Anthodaya (poorest of the poor) families.

Barring this announcement, governor Vajubhai Vala's address to the joint session of both Houses of the legislature was nothing but a recap of schemes and achievements of the government. Apart from the policy to waive loan interest of farmers in the drought year of 2015-2016, the address did not spell out in detail on what the Siddaramaiah regime intends to focus on in 2016-17.

The monthly pension for widows of farmers who have committed suicide in the last year will be increased from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000. Also, the compensation for families of farmers who have ended lives will be hiked from Rs two lakh to Rs five lakh. The government will take care of their children's education up to post graduation by providing hostel facilities. There are plans to set up 10 women police stations, two police sub-divisions, 145 courts and e-courts in the Karnataka High Court and Dharwad and Kalaburgi benches.

For increasing the power generation capacity, Vala reiterated the 'possible' commissioning of the first plant of the 800MW Yermarus thermal power unit and the third unit of the 700MW Bellary thermal power plant. Vala said the government has been successful in adding 495MW of power from renewable energy and give more emphasis to the LED bulb scheme.

No new announcements were made on industries, except for stating the achievement of the government at the Invest Karnataka 2016 event and setting up of a Vision Group for industrial development. The Centre was blamed for reducing funding to the state under central schemes, despite having increased the funds with the devolution of revenue under the 14th Finance Commission.

For Bengaluru, Vala said Rs 1,000 crore is being spent on improving roads and 114 ward-level roads are being developed at a cost of Rs 800 crore.

CM prompted to stand up for Vande Mataram

Chief minister Siddaramaiah, who seemed to have lost in thoughts, was caught off guard when everyone stood up for the national song. As soon as the Speaker walked in, the band played the song, but Siddaramaiah was not aware. Law minister TB Jayachandra and others alerted the CM, only then he stood up.

Congratulatory messages

While the governor's address is supposed to set the government's agenda for the upcoming year, the Congress government congratulated the winners of the zilla and taluk panchayat elections and Mysuru, the CM's constituency, for being selected as the cleanest city in the country second time in a row.

New MLAs: The first session saw newly elected MLAs from Hebbal and Bidar taking oath. While BJP Hebbal MLA YA Naraynswamy took oath in the name of 'Bhagwan', Bidar Congress MLA Rahim Khan took oath in the name of 'Allah'.

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Major facelift for Mangaluru's sporting heart: Mangala Stadium set for 2-month closure to upgrade synthetic track

News Network

December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Educational institutions in Mangaluru that rely on the popular Mangala Stadium for their annual sports events are bracing for an inconvenience as the city's key sporting venue is set to close its gates for a significant upgrade. The stadium is expected to be unavailable for approximately two months starting from January 15, 2026.

The closure is necessitated by a proposed overhaul of the stadium's facilities, with a special focus on upgrading the synthetic track. Pradeep Dsouza, Assistant Director of the District of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES), Dakshina Kannada, confirmed the development.

"Experts have visited the stadium, conducted a thorough inspection, and have given the go-ahead for a complete makeover," Dsouza stated. "Funds have been allocated for the project, and we are currently awaiting the final green signal from state officials to commence the work. We anticipate that the work will likely begin in the second week of January. Consequently, we have stopped renting out the stadium to colleges and other organizations in preparation for the upgrade."

The timing presents a logistical challenge for colleges, as many schools have already concluded their sports meets.

"Colleges will now be organizing their events and will need to find alternative locations to host their sports meets," Dsouza added. He suggested a few potential venues, including the Dakshina Kannada police ground, University College grounds, Panambur grounds, Swaraj Maidan in Moodbidri, and the Mangalore University sports grounds in Konaje.

However, many institutions note that finding a comparable venue will be difficult. While the DK police ground and University College grounds are closer to the city center, they do not possess the extensive facilities and infrastructure offered by Mangala Stadium.

Dr. P Dayananda Pai - P Satisha Govt First Grade College, Carstreet, is one such institution dependent on the stadium. Principal Jayakar Bhandary expressed hope for a swift completion of the work. "We expect the work to be completed at the earliest. If not, we will be forced to look for other venues to host the sports day for our students," Bhandary said, highlighting the pressing need for the city's main sporting facility.

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