ZP/TP polls: Both Cong, BJP hopeful of winning majority in DK, Udupi

[email protected] (CD Network)
February 22, 2016

Mangaluru/Udupi, Feb 22: The fate of 116 candidates in 36 zilla panchayat constituencies and 361 candidates in 136 taluk panchayat constituencies in Dakshina Kannada district will be decided on Tuesday.

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In Mangaluru, the counting of votes will be held at Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Higher Primary School, Bondel, Infant Jesus English/Kannada Medium School, Modankaup, SDM PU College, Ujire, Vivekananda English Medium School, Tenkila and Nehru Memorial College, Sullia.

The results are expected to be announced by noon.

While Congress hopes to reverse last time's results in zilla panchayat and five taluk panchayats in the district, BJP hopes to better its last term's results. Meanwhile, it is said that the results will have a far-reaching impact on both the major parties.

In zilla panchayat, the BJP had won 24 seats and Congress only 11 seats in the previous election. In Mangaluru taluk panchayat, the BJP had won 19 seats and Congress 18. The number of seats won on other taluk panchayats are as follows: Bantwal— BJP-17 and Congress-16; Belthangady — BJP-19 and Congress-5; Puttur — BJP-16 and Congress 5 and Sullia — BJP-7 and Congress-6.

District Congress Committee President and District In-Charge B Minister B Ramanath Rai expressed confidence that Congress will come to power in the zilla panchayat. The party will also have an upper hand in most of th taluk panchayats, he added.

Dakshina Kannada district BJP unit President Prathapsimha Nayak said the party will come to power with majority in zilla panchayat and five taluk panchayats in the district. The BJP will win more than 25 seats in the zilla panchayat, he stated.

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In Udupi

Elaborate arrangements have been made for a smooth counting of votes in the temple town.

The fate of seventy-seven candidates who have contested in 26 zilla panchayat constituencies and 233 candidates in 98 taluk panchayat constituencies in Udupi district will be decided by noon.

The counting of votes will begin at three centres at 8 am. St Cecily's School, Ajjarkadu, Udupi taluk and Manjunath Pai Memorial Government First Grade College, Karkala and Bhandarkar's Arts and Science College, Kundapur, are the counting centres in the district.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Vishal R?told Deccan Herald that the results are expected by 10.30 or 11 am. The counting of postal ballots will begin at 8 am and the actual counting of the vostes cast through electronic voting machines (EVMs) will begin by 8.30 am, he added.

In Udupi taluk, there are 33 tables for counting the votes of 11 zilla panchayat seats. Two staffers have been deployed (counting supervisor and counting assistant) for each table. There are more than 256 postal ballots in Udupi. The postal ballot in Udupi will be counted in RO table, Udupi RO Yogeshwar said.

The number of agents, who will be present at the centres, will be decided based on the number of candidates. There are 41 tables for taluk panchayat constituencies. The counting will begin with postal ballots.The counting of votes is expected to be completed within 15 rounds. However, one extra round is expected as only Perdur zilla panchayat constituency will be pending in the last round. Each round may take maximum 10-12 minutes for counting. Counting of all constituencies will begin at a time, he added.

Kundapur Assistant Commissioner Ashwathi S said there are 15 tables each for two rooms for the counting of the zilla panchayat election votes. There are a total of 30 tables for 10 zilla panchayat constituencies. Three EVMs have been earmarked for each table. For taluk panchayat, three rooms are arranged for the purpose, with 12 tables each in two rooms and 13 tables in another room, the assistant commissioner said.

Karkala RO Prasanna said 15 tables have been arranged for counting purpose for five zilla panchayat constituencies and each constituency has been given three tables. As many as 20 tables have been arranged for the counting of votes in 20 taluk panchayat seats --- one table for each constituency. Two staffers will be deployed for vote counting purpose, he added.

Superintendent of Police Annamalai said adequate security arrangements have been made and IPC Section 144 has been clamped in and around the counting centres. Police, one each platoon of KSRP and DARP have been allotted in each centre for security. The victory celebrations have been banned in the district, he added.

Out of the 77 candidates in zilla panchayat election, 26 each are from Congress and BJP, six from JD(S), four each from BSP and CPI(M) and 11 are independents. There are 26 zilla panchayat seats (Kundapur 10, Udupi 11 and Karkala five) in the district. As many as 233 nominees are in the race for the taluk panchayat seats. Among them, 98 each are from Congress and BJP, 10 from JD(S), 12 from CPI (M), one from SDPI and 14 are independents.There are 98 taluk panchayat constituencies in the district. Among them, 37 constituencies are in Kundapur, 41 in Udupi and 20 in Karkala taluks.

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News Network
December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

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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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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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