PDO?suspended in manual scavenging case

Bengaluru, Jun 9: The state government on Thursday suspended a Panchayat?Development Officer (PDO) who reportedly forced two municipal workers to enter a manhole in Mysuru district.

Quoting a preliminary enquiry, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister H?K?Patil admitted in the Assembly that the incident had occurred in Chamundi Hills panchayat limits in Mysuru district on Tuesday.

The enquiry revealed that PDO Anand, along with Chamundi Hills Gram Panchayat?president Geetha, forced two municipal workers — Chaluva and Ganesh — to enter and clean a blocked manhole in front of Geetha's residence.

An FIR?has been filed (No 164/2017) against Anand and Geetha at Krishnaraja Police Station. Patil said action will be initiated against Geetha as per Section 43(A)?(removal of members for misconduct)?of the Karnataka Gram?Swaraj and Panchayat?Raj Rules.

He was replying to a matter raised in this regard by the BJP. Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar said the manual scavenging case in the home district of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is unpardonable. The government must punish officials responsible for such an inhuman act.

Patil said Geetha had called Anand and complained about the blocked manhole. Anand told her that it was the duty of municipal workers to clean manholes and that they were appointed for that purpose. The media soon broke the story along with a video showing the two workers entering the manhole.

Manual scavenging has been banned and forcing municipal workers to clean manholes is a crime under Section 8 and 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual?Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, the minister said.

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Heading to Karavali Utsava? Check traffic changes and parking rules in Mangaluru

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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