What’s wrong in having own flag for state, asks Karnataka CM

News Network
July 19, 2017

Bengaluru, Jul 19: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday defended the state government’s decision to constitute a panel to look into the demand to accord official status to the Kannada flag, saying that there is nothing wrong in having a separate state flag.

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Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said, “We have a Nadageethe (state song), what is wrong in having an official state flag? There has been a demand from various quarters that official status be accorded to the Kannada flag.

The panel will look into all aspects. The government will take a call on its next step of action only after the panel submits its report,” Siddaramaiah added.

He said the Constitution of India does not restrict states from having their own official flags.

To a query, he sought to know whether there is any specific provision in the Constitution that prohibits the state from having its own flag. “Has the BJP come across such a provision?” he asked.

He dared the BJP leaders to make a public statement that the party is not in favour of a flag for Karnataka.

On the BJP’s charge that the flag issue is being raised with an eye on the Assembly polls, Siddaramaiah said, “Elections are still a long way to go.... It will be held in April-May next year and not tomorrow. The BJP is indulging in a disinformation campaign,” he remarked.

Siddaramaiah said that having a state flag will not come in the way of national integrity and unity. “The national flag comes first. State flag is not an alternative to the national flag,” he added.

The state government recently set up a nine-member committee of officials to look into the demand for according official status to the Kannada flag.

The committee is headed by Kannada and Culture department principal secretary. Heads of Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Finance and Law departments and PWD are the members of the panel, which will hold consultation with experts and Kannada writers in this regard.

The committee has been directed to submit its report, recommending steps to be taken for granting official status to the Kannada flag, sources in the Kannada and Culture department said.

The committee is likely to recommend to the government to enact a legislation to accord the official status to the flag, the sources added.

Kannada flag – rectangular in shape, with a strip of yellow (top half) and red in equal measure – has so far remained only an idea. The flag was first conceived by Kannada activist Ma Ramamurthy, who used it as a flag for ‘Kannada Paksha,’ a party founded by him in 1965. In 1998, the Kannada Development Authority had recommended to the government to give the flag an official status. However, the Law department turned down the proposal citing legal hurdles, the sources said.

In 2012, the then BJP government had issued a circular making it compulsory for government offices, schools and colleges to hoist the Kannada flag on November 1.

However, a division bench of the High Court of Karnataka questioned the government’s move to hoist any flag other than the national flag. The circular was subsequently withdrawn.

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News Network
May 10,2024

Mangaluru: A teenage boy from a remote village in Dakshina Kannada district, who was undergoing treatment for stomach pain for past few days, breathed his last after hospitalization. 

The deceased has been identified as Nithin Kumar, 19, who had completed PUC and was attending computer classes. 

According to police, on May 4, when he informed his family that he had been suffering from a stomach-ache for the past 4-5 days, his family members took him to a clinic in Kaniyoor.

The doctors who examined him advised him to undergo scanning. He was informed about a kidney stone and later, they returned home. That same night, he suffered from stomach-ache again and was rushed to a private hospital in Puttur.

On May 7, as per doctors’ advice, he was discharged around 12:45pm. However, when he came home around 2:30pm, he again suffered from stomach-ache and was taken to another private hospital in Puttur, where doctors conducted a surgery.

On Wednesday, as per doctors’ advice, he was asked to be shifted to Mangaluru for better treatment.

He visited a private hospital in Derakatte, where doctors suggested that he be shifted to government Wenlock Hospital.

The doctors who examined him at the Wenlock Hospital declared him dead. A case has been registered at the Bellare police station, and an investigation is on.

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News Network
May 14,2024

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Mangaluru, May 14: The Met department has sounded a yellow alert in 13 districts of Karnataka including the three coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada for next four days. 

The other districts are Belagavi, Dharwad, Haveri, Chikkamagalur, Chitradurga, Hassan, Kodagu, Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamogga. These districts are expected to received 6-11 cm of rain, the department said.

On Monday Dakshina Kannada and Udupi experienced a monsoon-like atmosphere. Rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, began in most parts on Sunday evening. In Udupi, rain showered in the early hours of Monday. While Kundapur and Udupi received moderate rains, Karkala experienced a heavy downpour.

The showers lowered the daytime temperature in both districts. Light rain fell in Mangaluru and its outskirts early Monday morning. Mangaluru city recorded a maximum temperature of 33.4°C and a minimum of 23.2°C on Monday. This is expected to decrease by two to four degrees in the next four days, according to the weather department. 

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News Network
May 12,2024

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Mangaluru: A native of Kerala was arrested on charge of misbehaving with crew on an Air India Express flight while travelling from Dubai to Mangaluru International Airport. The man even threatened to jump from the aircraft, according to officials. 

Siddartha Das, the security coordinator for Air India Express, lodged a complaint against the passenger, identified as Muhammad BC from Kannur, Kerala, after which he was caught by the airport security once the flight landed at Mangaluru. He was later handed over to the police.

DCP (Law and Order) Sidharth Goyal said the incident occurred on Flight IX814 on May 8.

When the flight was above the sea, Muhammad reportedly said he wanted to get off the plane, posing a threat to all on board. The unruly flyer was detained by airport security once the flight landed at Mangaluru International Airport and he was handed over to Bajpe police station officials.

Sources added once the flight took off from Dubai, the accused went to the lavatory and thereafter started inquiring with the cabin crew about a person named Krishna who was not on the flight. Muhammad kept on pressing the bell for in-flight assistance, even though the cabin crew members were near at hand. He then picked up a life jacket, gave it to a crew member, and said he wanted to use it upon landing.

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