Belgaum Water tariff hike Update

The proposal to hike water tariff for those getting 24x7 supply under the Karnataka Urban Water Sector Improvement Project is expected to come up for consideration in the next council meeting of Belgaum City Corporation (BCC).


Official sources in the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board said here on Saturday that the Government had directed the local municipalities to fix fresh tariff for drinking water wherever the 24/7 project had been implemented.

This blog was the first put this tariff hike problem. The same has been explained in this story of The Hindu. I had posted this story as the pamphlets were being distributed all over those areas 24x7 supply exists. The proposal still needs Corporations approval & then why is that the Water board is distributing the pamphlets was a question raised by a few residents.
See Original Story on The Hindu

Water Prices increase by a whopping 42%

KUWASIP, the agency in charge of supplying water to Belgaum has increased the water prices for all uses by 42%.

This increase will be effective from August 2008 in the ward where there is 24-hour water supply. The wards where there is 24-hour water supply are ward no.3, 4,5,6,44,45 (full) & 7,8,46,48 (part).

The old rate was Minimum of Rs.83 for usage up to 15000 liters & Rs.5.60 per thousand liters later on.

Now in the new rates, a new slab has been created of 8000 liters.




Liters
New Rate per/1000 Liters
Amount Payable
Net payableNew Rates
Old Rate
0 to 8000
6
48(Minimum)


8001 to 15000
10
70
Rs.118
Rs.83
150001 to 25000
15
100

5.60 per/1000 Liters

Therefore, if your usage is of 15000 liters now you will have to shell Rs.118 versus the Rs.83 you were paying earlier, that is a whopping increase of 42%.

The minimum earlier was Rs.83 and now it is Rs.48 but first it was for 15000 liters and now it for 8000 liters.
When I spoke to a few residents in those areas, all were complaining that this increase is too much.

The water supplied to Belgaum and in some parts of Karnataka is managed by www.veoliawater.com, under the supervision of the water board.

The image is of the pamphlets the water board is giving to all. It was given in both Kannad & Marathi, I chose the marathi one as it was clear & I could understand the matter in it. (I want no confusion or comments on why I selected the marathi pamphlet)

This kind of increase is untold to I believe. In this time of high inflation, this kind of an increase will create more holes in the pockets.
This page may not be correctly visible so see here
Your comments on the increase of prices are welcome.Thanks to Shashidhar Mahendrakar our Netizen Journalist for providing all the info.

Give your old taste buds a new ZAIKA: A new multi cuisine restaurant

Zaika, a multi cuisine restaurant will make its debut in Belgaum on 31 August 2008 at Church Street Belgaum. Zaika intends to offer amenities any typical multi cuisine restaurant does, like a relaxed atmosphere and setting that would indulge many but in an unorthodox fashion.
Zaika, is conceptualized and developed by Ahson Bandukwala. Zaika is a fine dining 70-cover restaurant. Cuisines of all over the world are severed at Zaika and taste here is complimented by unmatched ambience.
The food served at Zaika is authentic Indian food, which draws its tastes from the multi-cuisines of the various Indian states. The mouth-watering food served at Zaika includes peas pulao freshly cooked and simmered with our green masala for vegetarian food freaks.
For Chinese buffs, our master chefs suggest sweet corn soup as a delicable start - it isn’t quite the usual sweet corn soup that you’ve had oh-so-regularly. We have brought in authentic Chinese chefs to give you a taste of real China.
The curries in the restaurant come in the vegetarian as well as the non-vegetarian varieties. The chicken varieties served in the restaurant bring innovation in terms of food to Belgaum by serving never before tasted kebabs like strawberry kebabs - cooked in tandoor.
The salads served in the restaurant work as the digestives. Zaika also intends to cater to the taste buds of spicy food lovers with the lip smacking Mexican snacks.
Chilgoza murg chicken is prepared with pine nuts in a creamy mint sauce - chef’s specialty.
Zaika, Belgaum offers highly sophisticated and intimate settings. The interior of the place has been set with immense window bay windows that overlook the shimmering Church Street, bathed in the mysterious moonlight or the blazing gold of the sun.
The sheer location of the place makes it a great venue for candlelight dinner. In Belgaum, often finding an airy and free space is difficult but at Zaika it is not just airy but you will also feel fresh.
Bottom line, at any hour, if you want the best food, best place and best atmosphere Zaika will surely be an ideal place to visit and give you taste buds a new ZAIKA.

Zaika 97, Church Street,
Camp, Belgaum. Phone: 98455-50695

Belgaum Suvarna Soudha at Halga:Suspense over

A Legislature Committee headed by Speaker Jagadish Shettar has identified a site near Halaga Bastawad near Belgaum to construct the proposed Suvarna Soudha.

Shettar said the site near Halga Bastawad off NH-4 is ideal location in all aspects, including safety and connectivity. Farmers in the area too have agreed to hand over their land for the purpose, he stated.

Shettar said, as Vaccine Depot is located in the heart of the city; construction of Suvarna Soudha will lead to congestion & people in and around the area the depot would have been badly affected by this project. Hence, a new place was identified on the city outskirts, he pointed out.

At last, the suspense over the Site of the Suvarna soudha is over and we could now expect the construction work to begin in a couple of months. 150 acres is required for the soudha and they have identified the entire area.

See original story in Deccan Herald
Belgaum,news,suvarna soudha,halga,vidhan soudha,

Environmental Concern during Festive season

Yes, it is the beginning of the festive season and a cause for Environmental Concern. The Lord Ganesha will come on the third and with it will bring a host of concerns.
Restrictions imposed in Belgaum in connection with Ganesh Chaturthi.
“Ganesh mandals” have been asked to obtain permission from the nearest police station to set up “pandals,” and avoid collecting entry fee or run lotteries. Sound systems should not be used between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The district administration is concerned over maintenance of law and order and communal harmony even as devotees are gearing up for the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations from September 3 to 14. The environmental hazards posed by the festivities are an added worry.
The use of plaster of Paris for making Ganesh idols and use of varnish and chemical paints containing mercury and cadmium are a cause for concern. Only a few traditional sculptors use earthen material for making the idols.
The uses of materials like clay symbolize the natural cycle of creation and dissolution. So why damage nature. Creating awareness on the issue much before the sculpting of idols begins is very necessary.
Due to inflation prices of these idols have, sky rocketed by 15 to 20% from last year. The artists making these idols say they don’t make much profit out of this and slowly the new generation is not very interested in coming in this field, although they help in the family business. The use of plaster of paris, thermocol mantaps and then the Nirmalya created after the puja needs to be properly dealt with. We as responsible citizens should do our bit by going in for clay idols and Paper decoration material rather than plastic. The issue of nirmalya (flowers etc used while Puja) has a religious belief behind it, even then we should not dispose it in rivers as it will cause pollution.
Ganpati Bappa Morya !See original story on The Hindu

Ad board is OFF

I had posted here about the new ad board on the Nucleus Mall; you could take this a Belgaumblog EFFECT (if somebody ahs read this) that the said board is switched off for 3 days now for reasons unknown.
I have no clue why it OFF, I will try and get u more details.

New Sign Board: Where is this Kotekere

College student dies in accident: He could have been saved, IF?

Srinivas Ashok Dharoli (16), a student of the Jain College here, was killed in a road accident near Shagun Garden Khadarwadi Cross on Belgaum-Khanapur Road on Tuesday. He fell off the motorcycle he was riding after it skidded when he tried to avoid a cyclist. He suffered head injuries and died on the way to hospital. He survived by his father, two brothers, and one sister.

The worst part of this accident is that when he fell down on lookers did not have the humanity to pick him up and send to the hospital; instead, all were just seeing him die. His head had hit the handle and due to this, there was internal bleeding and heavy bleeding from his nose and mouth. When a group of Jain college students saw him then he was picked up and on his way to the hospital he died.

He was a very good student and a very good cricketer. Now that he no more, his parents and friends must be asking this question "IF HE WAS IMMEDIATELY TAKEN TO HOSPITAL HE COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED"

This is a rather similar scene all over India, whenever there is an accident no one tries to take the victim to hospital fearing the Police enquiries. This is some what true but this could happen to anyone and if at that time also no one comes up to Save Then What?

Right to Emergency care

The Supreme Court has ruled (Case No: Appeal (Civil) 919of 2007 Date of Judgment: 23-02-2007) that all injured persons especially in the case of road traffic accidents when brought to a Hospital have to be offered First Aid, stabilized & shifted to a Government center if required. It is only after this that the Hospital can demand for payment or complete police formalities. Incase you are a bystander and wish to help someone in an accident, please go ahead and do so. Your responsibility ends as soon as you leave the person at the hospital. The hospital bears the responsibility of informing the police etc.
An accident could happen to any one. It could be you one day. Lets make a promise "We will help anyone in a road accident by getting him to hospital and we will not be a bystander alone."

See original Story on Tarun Bharat here
See original story on The Hindu here

Aniket Chindak nominated for the Pogo Amazing Kids Award

Three people from Belgaum die in Bus accident in Sira

Three people died and 20 were seriously injured, when a private bus fell from a bridge on NH-4 at Manangi gate near Sira on Sunday morning. The deceased were identified as Jyothi (40) her father Ningappa (65) of Belgaum and Ravikumar (30) of Gangavati, an Mtech student all from Kore Galli Shahpur.

The bus was of Suguma Travels.
Normally, long route buses have two drivers, but the ill-fated vehicle had only one driver, who dozed off, police said.

See Original Story here (This NewINd Exprees Site has bad pop ups)

Belgaum lad Aniket Halgekar winner in Reality MTV Roadies show

ATM Theft attempt in Kadolkar Galli

There was an ATM theft attempt made at the Union Bank of India, Kadolkar Galli branch. No loss of money is reported as still the matter is being investigated. There is no security guard for this aTM.

Abu Basher visited Belgaum

Liyakath Ali, a Students Islamic Movement of India activist arrested in Belgaum a month back, has revealed during interrogation that Abu Basher, who has been arrested by the Gujarat police, masterminded both the Bangalore and Ahmedabad serial blasts. He also told interrogators that the main intention was to disrupt peace in both places.

Ali said that Basher had visited Hubli, Belgaum, and Bengaluru in 2007. Here he imparted training to several youth including Riazzuddin Nasir on using arms and making bombs.
Bashir during his stay at Belgaum was in touch with all the seven arrested by the police and presently undergoing Narco Analysis test at Bangalore
When Ali was picked up by the Belgaum police he was found in possession of video clips of the 9/11 attack in the US and some material regarding terrorism in Kashmir.

See original story on Deccan Herald here
See original story on Rediff

Belgaum mapped by all Real Estate developers & Retail giants

Westside, the Tata group based Retail giant plans to set up its store in Belgaum. A ad was published in the Tarun Bharat regarding the same. They are in look out of franchises with a capacity to invest Rs.2 crores and a suitable place on the main road with 8000 to 10000 Sq.feet area.

So any one with big pockets go in and jump into the Retail boom, if anyone reading this does jump in do let me know, I will make another post.
Golden Gate Properties of Bangalore builders of some properties like Golden Grand, Yeshwantpur will enter into the Belgaum market. They plan to set up residential complexes in the next 18 months.

Perception needs to be changed: Bussinessline says Belgaum is in Maharashtra

Before reading, this post read this DISCLAIMER: I am posting news from all media regarding Belgaum. My sole aim is to just make all Belgaumites aware of how the Media treats Belgaum and how the media as a whole make assumptions. Earlier I had quoted another similar story of a IIM A alumnus and this time this story is from Businessline & Businessline says source PTI(Pres Trust of India)

"NRCB scientists were evolving a method by which banana stem juice could be made to powder form, which has curative properties in treating diseases like kidney stones. Once perfected, the technology would be transferred to pharmaceutical industries, he sa id. The centre has also developed a patent technology to extract wine from banana skin and had joined hands with a group in Belgaum in Maharashtra to commercially produce banana wine. A pilot plant would soon be set up, pending approval from the union g overnment. - PTI "

See original Story on Businessline here

My earlier post had received about 12 comments, so if you go to see such posts get the maximum response, but I am not here like the TV media who can stick on to a single news bit for a whole day, let it be Bindras Gold or a boy in the well, for them all is part of the business, but its not mine.

We as responsible citizens of Belgaum should come up and fight against such nuances (Pro Marathi's, reading this will now call me Pro Kannada) a fact is a fact. Today it self Ratan Tata at last has decided to get out of West Bengal after the politics over Singur land. Similar things are happening here also. Come one now cheer up, I know your blood is boiling but Cool it, think over, will it make any difference at all.

Belgaum City Corporations online Public Grievance Redressal System

Belgaum City Corporations online Public Grievance Redressal System

The Belgaum city corporation website http://www.belgaumcity.gov.in/ has a Grievance section.
You can file an online complaint and you get a complaint number & you can check the status of the complaint online.

Mr.Gangadhar Patil, this blogs RTI editor had filed a complaint about the AD board on the Nucleus mall in Bogarves. He is supposed to get an answer by today.

Snapshot of complaint made

Only the file online complaint link is working. View Complaint Reports links does not open.

Hope the complaint made online are heard to or it will just another way to complain.

Tumhare college mein bomb hai, ho sake tho students ko bacha lo

A few miscreants are creating panic and scare in the city. “Tumhare college mein bomb hai, ho sake tho students ko bacha lo” This was a hoax bomb call which given to KLE Society’s R.L. Science Institute on College Road, Belgaum.

In the end, it was found to be hoax. St.Pauls School and R.N.Shetty polytechnic in the week received similar calls with almost the same nature of wordings and ascent.

The number of such calls has grown during the last one year.

New AD board driving attention: Can cause accidents

In the video is seen the New Ad Board display on the Nucleus Mall. This is visible in Dharamveer Sambhaji Chowk (Bogarves).



The contrast is very high and is very clearly visible in the day light also. A nice way to attract attention, DRIVING ATTENTION, which might cause a few minor accidents regularly. To be frank enough, I missed hitting other cars on a couple of occasions seeing at that board.

Infact a few people told me the same.
Kisika Fayda Kisi ka Nuksaan! Ye he reet hai Zindagi ke.

CPI strike Pictures

The protestors gathered at Samyukta Maharashtra Chowk Belgaum, where the protest eneded in a meeting. This picture was taken by UkMaD at 1.15pm The shops are all closed in the main market as of this protest. All should be normal by the evening.

Belgaum city map of 1894

I have just found a Belgaum city map of 1894 from the Bombay Gazetteer.

The image was in a pdf file & of low resolution and is not very clear.

Thanks, Mr.Vilas Patil has made the present version on the image much viewable a Belgaumite, now working in Pune.

Belgaum in 1894 and now has changed. I request all the readers to send in their comments as to what changes they have found in that map and the current Belgaum.
See large size image here

Nation wide Strike affects Belgaum

The nation wide strike call by the LEFT has affected Belgaum in some respects. Autos are off the road; tough a few are seen on the road. The city buses are still plying normally. The shops in the main market have pulled down their shutters and cleaning the shops.

As Banks, BSNL, Insurance employees are part of the strike all work in the offices on a stand still. A procession is planned at 11 am.

Bapu and biddu

This is a series, where Mr.Biddu converses regularly with BAPU regarding politics, just one more of those conversations.

Bapu!
Yeah Biddu,
Heard Umesh V.Katti too joined BJP?
That is true.
So, the JD(S) in Belgaum district has no MLA?
That is it after Balachandar L. Jarkiholi also quit JD (S).
Since there is no JD (S) left in the district, will it now be the turn of Congress MLAs Bapu?
I do not know Biddu. But quite possible. Siyasaat mein Kuch bhi ho sakta hai.

-Biddu.The author can be contacted at: biddu@belgaumblog.com

Aniket Halgekar has reached the 1st ever Orkut and MTV Rodies battleground

'Karnataka 2020' Vision: Belgaum may benefit

For all-round development of the State Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said the Government is preparing a vision document 'Karnataka 2020'.

A session of the State legislature would be convened in Belgaum in September-October.
The foundation stone would be laid for Suvarna Vidhana Soudha building in Belgaum and work on the Kalasa-Banduri nala scheme, a drinking water project, would be expedited.A world Kannada conference would be organized in Belgaum in November, he said.

The plans of the CM are commendable, but when will the Suvarna Soudha be built and Infact where is biggest question. The allotment made in the budget for the Vidhan Soudha is there since two state budgets. What has happened in reality ZERO?

Even say if the work on the Vidhan Soudha starts when there is a assembly session in Belgaum (and where will that be, again KLE Auditorium) for the whole building will require 3-4 years to be built so by then elections would come up and suppose there is another govt. This soudha will wait for an opening. :)

Rohan Kokane of Belgaum makes a record in skating

The seven-year-old limbo skater from Belgaum city, Rohan Kokane, has staked claim to world record by comfortably skating under a bar with a clearance height of 6.5” in backward direction and 5.7” in forward direction in an auditorium in the city on Friday.

Rohan’s coach Suryakant Hindalgekar at Belgaum Roller Skating Academy claimed that Rohan created new world records indeed. All the evidences such as videos and other data about the event recorded would be sent to the Guinness World Records, the Limca Book of Records, and the World Records Academy.

I had posted a story earlier about the said event.
And the young lad has done it and makes us proud of such young kids breaking records. Keep it up Young guns….

See original story on The Hindu here

Stars of Belgaum: Narendra Madhusudhan Murkumbi: MD Shree Renuka Sugars

Businessworld in a cover story on India's 'new billionaires' has featured Narendra Madhusudhan Murkumbi of Belgaum, MD Shree Renuka Sugars. He has been a Director of ICICI Bank Ltd since January 20, 2006.

While estimating Narendra's net worth to be 17 billion rupees (Rs 1698 crores). The mother and son duo of Vidya and Narendra Murkumbi have built their billions together with 9,900 cane farmers, who are also shareholders in Shree Renuka Sugars, with registered office at Havelock Road, Camp Belgaum. This is a rags-to-riches story with a twist. Narendra Murkumbi became a billionaire all right. However, he also created wealth for thousands of cane farmers.

Vidya (mother) and Narendra Murkumbi, first-time entrepreneurs, experimented with an asset-light, capital-light business model. They chose to buy old units rather than set up new ones. They chose to lease out factories rather than invest in new facilities. Result: with little capital, Shree Renuka Sugars has become India's eighth largest sugar company. More importantly, it earns a 46 per cent return on capital employed, the highest in the industry and almost double the industry average of 20-25 per cent. Narendra also spotted a global opportunity when Europe stopped exporting refined sugar and is setting up India's largest sugar refinery in Haldia.

Shindogi, in the Belgaum district of Karnataka, is like any other Indian village. Most of the inhabitants are farmers. Here they grow sugarcane and their incomes rise and fall with crop prices. It is the last place one would expect people to track stock prices. However, they do. They keep a close watch on the fortunes of Shree Renuka Sugars (SRS). After all, 9,900 farmers in the region own the stock and their combined shareholding is worth around Rs 350 crores.
Take Raiappa Mallappa Kalti. In 2000, he used to ride a bicycle, grow maize on his 40 acres, and make about Rs 1 lakh a year, which barely covered his farm and family expenses. After the SRS plant came up, he switched to sugarcane. He sells his crop to SRS and paid within 15 days. Says Kalti: "I drive a Tata Indica now, have increased my holdings to 100 acres, and make Rs 20 lakh-30 lakh an acre."
Narendra was born in Belgaum. His father, Madhusudhan was a distributor for Tata Tea and Tata Chemicals. With him, Mr.Narendra travelled a lot. He saw the tea gardens of Assam and the wheat fields of Punjab. In 1994, when he graduated from IIM, Ahmedabad, he wanted to start his own agri-business. He dabbled in bio-pesticides, but soon his interest shifted to sugar.

Mr. Narendra M. Murkumbi, has done his graduation in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Gogte Institute of Technology, Belgaum.He completed Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) with specialization in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 1994.
Having lived in Belgaum for most of his life, (now he stays in Mumbai) Murkumbi was familiar with the business. He did not have the Rs 100 crores needed to set up a mill. At that time, the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government was selling a sugar unit for Rs 55 crores. He wanted to buy it and bring it to Belgaum, which grew lots of high-yield cane. But he did not have the cash to do even that.
There was oversupply of sugarcane in the district. Farmers were traveling 60-70 km to sell their produce in Raibag. There were payment delays and defaults. By setting up a plant in Belgaum, SRS would step up cane off take and make prompt payments. In return, each farmer would have to buy at least 500 SRS shares at Rs 10 each. Not everyone was convinced. Most invested only after they saw the mill coming up. In the end, 9,900 farmers bought the story and the stock — the latter, in many cases, with borrowed money. That was SRS' defining moment.
Since then, Murkumbi has turned the company into a fully integrated sugar maker with power generation and refining capacities. It has also become a major merchant exporter of sugar and is setting up a 2,000 tonnes per day sugar refinery in Haldia — the largest in India — primarily for exports.
He has also been a member of Government of India's committee for promotion of sugar exports. SRS has set up a subsidiary company, Shree Renuka Energy Ltd for further investments in the power generation business.
The company has strong expertise and track record in implementing power cogeneration plants in sugar mills and plans to tap additional potential. Shree Renuka Sugars, together with its subsidiaries, manufactur es sugar, ethanol, and bio-fertilizers.

Another Star of Belgaum making us Proud.

With inputs from Businessworld, www.iimaalumni.org, Shree Renuka Sugars RHP with SEBI, Shree Renuka Sugars website, Forbes.com,Dubai Sugar Conclave,

False ceiling Kumar Gandharva Ranga Mandir collapsed

The false ceiling of the Kumar Gandharva Ranga Mandir in the city collapsed on Friday. However, nobody was inside the auditorium when the incident occurred about 9 a.m. after flag hoisting by employees of the Department of Kannada and Culture, which functions from the same building.
The metallic ceiling collapsed from a height of about 40 ft. The auditorium can accommodate 585 people. The department was supposed to organise cultural programmes by school and college students as part of the Independence Day celebrations at the auditorium in the evening.
Deputy Commissioner G. Ravishankar said that an inspection would be held to ascertain the reasons for the incident.
Deputy Director of Kannada and Culture Nirmala Mathapathi said that the committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner had taken up renovation work on the mandir following announcement by the then Government to hold the World Kannada Meet in the city. The ceiling work was given to Nirmiti Kendra by the committee headed by the then Deputy Commissioner Shalini Rajneesh.
She said the work on the ceiling was completed in December 2006. The Public Works Department had certified that the work on ceiling was as per specifications. She said that she had submitted a report to the Deputy Commissioner in this regard.
Source The Hindu

Khadim’s Footwear store on Kirloskar Road, Belgaum

Stamp paper fraud mastermind is highest taxpayer

ABDUL KARIM Telgi reportedly paid Rs 6.5 crores in income tax this year.
Telgi, the prime accused in the Rs 3,000 crore fake stamp paper scam, paid more income tax this year than business magnates like Reliance Industries chairman and India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, Wipro chairman Azim Premji and Infosys chairman Narayana Murthy.

Telgi paid Rs 6.5 crores in income tax this year, according to reports in Economic Times and Mid-Day, far more than what the bosses of Infosys or Wipro did.

The income tax department has seized all of Telgi’s property, as he still owes Rs 224 crore in taxes. Telgi’s wife is living with their relatives as she is unwell and does not have money to buy medicines.
So, who is India’s highest taxpayer? It is none other than Abdul Karim ‘Lala’ Telgi.

See Original story on EconomicTimes here

Gujarat police to grill SIMI man in Belgaum

A team of the Gujarat police has reached Belgaum in Karnataka and will interrogate Tanvir Mulla, another SIMI activist who was arrested recently.
Based on the inputs provided by the Intelligence Bureau, the investigating agencies believe that both Mulla and Mansuri shared close ties and had even discussed the serial blasts.

Mulla is crucial to the investigation, as they believe that the duo had knowledge of the blasts.
Mansuri is alleged to have held several meetings at Gujarat and Rajasthan in which the focus was to indoctrinate youth into the banned outfit. He is also said to have kept in touch with Tanvir Mulla in Belgaum and the suspicion that the two could have jointly planned the blasts in their respective states
See original story on rediff.com here

Gujarat police to grill SIMI man in Belgaum

A team of the Gujarat police has reached Belgaum in Karnataka and will interrogate Tanvir Mulla, another SIMI activist who was arrested recently.

Based on the inputs provided by the Intelligence Bureau, the investigating agencies believe that both Mulla and Mansuri shared close ties and had even discussed the serial blasts.
Mulla is crucial to the investigation, as they believe that the duo had knowledge of the blasts.
Mansuri is alleged to have held several meetings at Gujarat and Rajasthan in which the focus was to indoctrinate youth into the banned outfit. He is also said to have kept in touch with Tanvir Mulla in Belgaum and the suspicion that the two could have jointly planned the blasts in their respective states
See original story on rediff.com here

HIV on the rise in Belgaum

The report prepared by the district health department shows that a large number of persons have tested positive for HIV in the district and the prevalence rate was on the rise in an alarming manner. The number of people who have tested positive since January 2002 until July 2008 is 13,548. Of this, 10,601 tested positive from 2002 to 2007. During this year until the end of July, 2,947 persons have tested positive to the dreaded disease.

There is a phenomenal increase in the number of people afflicted by HIV/AIDS since 2002 when only 75 persons were tested positive among the 593 counselled and 477 taking up the tests. In 2003, 4,011 persons were counselled, of whom 2,946 were tested and 644 were found positive. Similarly in 2004, 13,609 were counselled, 12,030 underwent the test of which 1,105 were found positive. The figure shot up further in 2005 when 20,862 persons were counseled, 18,156 were tested and 1,728 were found positive.

In 2006, 29,112 persons were counselled and 23,377 were tested of which 2,059 were found positive. In 2007, the figures inflated as 40,105 persons were counseled, 35,353 were tested and 3,990 were found positive.

See original story on The Hindu here

Belgaum is in Maharashtra: Alumnus of IIM-A

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on Sunday released a book that deals with stories of 25 of its alumni who chose the less trodden path to make their mark as successful entrepreneurs.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish", written by Rashmi Bansal -- herself an alumnus of IIM-A -- describes how 25 students of the premier B-school chose the path less trodden and successfully built new business and organisations.

Another interesting story included in the book is about a student who chose to set up sugar factories in his native place Belgum in Maharashtra instead of working with some multi-national company.

Narendra Murkumbi, who graduated from IIM-A in 1994, shut down his first company manufacturing bio-pesticides that he started after graduating from IIM-A. The reason for closure, according to Murkumbi, was its turnover of Rs 5 crore (in 1998) was "not large enough".

His second venture -- manufacturing and refining sugar -- earned him a place in a leading business magazine as one of the "new billionaires" of the country.

Shree Renuka Sugars, which the 38-year-old started, today has a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore and has changed lives of over 10,000 framers.

Moreover, five per cent of the company's earnings go to Shree Renuka Sugar Development Foundation, which runs schools for children of laborers who harvest the sugarcane, besides health centre and hospital in the factory.

To all the readers: By no means, I am trying to be pro Marathi or Pro Kannada. I am just sharing things written by learned people. They alumnus of IIM-A, the leading management institute, they should know geography a bit well I guess.

See original NDTV story here

Rains still rocking Belgaum

In view of incessant rain since the past 3 days today, holiday has been declared for all schools in the city.

All the fields near the Bellary Nala have been submerged in the water and by one sight it looks like a river. Water logging has been reported in some parts of Vadgaon, Kapileshwar Colony,Mahaveer Nagar.
As I am posting this, the Sun is out, Oh No! Its back behind the dark clouds again.

Finding a New Boss: Made Easy

Talent Onions, (Belgaum Based) aiming to be India's leading provider of Internet recruitment and job search solutions company will post its requirements on this blog. A dedicated separate page has been made, namely Talent Onion Jobs. I hope by the endeavor of mine many of you can take advantage of this and scale greater heights.
A couple of jobs in Belgaum are there also, so go ahead and find yourself a new BOSS.

Rains playing Fear Factor in Belgaum

The rains are causing fear in the minds of people. Until last week, all were praying the rains to come and now that rains are pouring, people are praying otherwise.

The whole of Sunday it rained heavily, rainfall recorded was 37.5 mm. All the gutters and drains were over flowing. Water had inundated a few low lying areas like Shastri nagar etc. Even water had entered a few houses.

In the morning, parts of maratha Colony were under water but after an hour the water receded. When I spoke to a few persons in Maratha Colony they all had kept their Cars on Congress Road, some at their friends place somewhere else. I was one amongst them all to keep my car and scooters on congress road away from my house so that they do not swim. (My car and scooters have swimed for two occasions in the past) I saw a few houses in Chennama Nasgar 1st stage where water had entered the compounds, as the drains had nowhere to go.

Heavy rains have now taken a toll on the roads also. Some of the few good roads that were remaining have now some big potholes. Fear Factor is on the roads now. Skidding of bikers on the top loose khadi is common on almost all roads. Commuters try to skip some potholes and ride the wrong way causing trouble for other commuters. The scene is the same all over the city. I had planned to write on the bad roads, instead I should only mention the good roads, that would be easy and a small list.
I will get you some pictures of the wonderful potholes in a day's time. In the mean time if you have some send them, I will post them here.

Heavy rains lash city

Heavy rains are lashing Belgaum since the past week, yesterday night they were the heaviest.
Some low-lying areas are experiencing water logging. Water logging was seen in Ganeshpur, some parts of Maratha Colony.

While I am writing this the rains have taken a breather, nice for us I believe.

Khanapur Road, Civil Hospital Road hot cakes: Belgaum real Estate update

I had mentioned this earlier on this blog also, the incoming of big real estate developers in Belgaum have sky rocketed the prices of real estate. The same trend continues in town even when the real estate market is not doing so well with the hike in interest rates by the banks.

Civil Hospital Road (Dr.Ambedkar Road) the rate has touched Rs.35 lakhs per guntha, that’s a whopping 3215 per Sq.Feet on the other hand its rival competitive Khanapur Road which boasts of Ambani, Tata, Birla & Biyani on the same road now costs Rs.30 lakhs per guntha, that is Rs.2755 per Sq.Feet.

Now to me, that is a lot of money. Lease rentals are between Rs.50-65 per Sq.Feet. Due to the price rise on Khanapur road, the prices in the internal roads have also increased to about 12 lakhs per guntha.

Heard the Nucleus mall is asking for Rs.10,000 per Sq.feet for out right purchase.
The increase in the price has been very rapid. In the past year, it has risen by 25 to 50%. Is this good or a bubble which will burst nobody knows, at least I do not know.

I request you readers to put in your views on this.

With inputs from Tarun Bharat.

RPD the Most Happening Corner: Parking dilemma

RPD corner is the junction of RPD college road Deshmukh Road & Khanapur Road.

On any given day, corner (I would not call it a circle as it does not really have sufficient place) is buzzing with activity all day round. Young Turks keep on zooming up and down the Deshmukh Road for some sights. These young ones sometimes go zip zap zoom causing more trouble. There is heavy traffic on the main Khanapur Road. The signals installed never work, the day they worked all cursed it as the line went up to Govaves circle and Angol Cross.

This corner houses financial institutions (plenty of them), couple of banks, Grocery outlets like More, Reliance Fresh is coming up, Café Coffee day is there. (Sources have told me Axis Bank is planning to shift here somewhere).

There is no sufficient parking place in front of the said commercial complexes as all the basements are crammed up with generators and other stuff. One complex also holds residential houses so the parking is taken up the residents and the same building has More, CCD, HDFC life insurance, Airtel, Fortune Financial etc. So where do the visitors park. No doubt, there has been some parking space made available when the corporation removed the unauthorized compound walls all along the street. Nevertheless, that has not helped much.

City busses have a stop there at the corner only, which again causes many problems for easy movement of traffic. People waiting for the bus have their own dilemma as there is no proper bus stop and the buses halt at any place sometimes near the corner and some other while near ICICI bank. The biggest problem I have found here, is the Entrance to the RPD college road is small as there are those tea stalls and shops round the corner and the road is hardly 20 feet wide there nor can it be made a one way also as there is no alternative road. In a month's time, a Sarvajanik Ganpati Pandal will be set up at this site, which will add more spice to this problem.

So what should be done? Any suggestions. Do leave your comments.

Nucleus Mall:Update Belgaum

No Parking is the best place for Parking

This picture is of the Kirloskar Road & Ramling Khind Galli Corner, the most happening corner in the times to come as the First Mall (Nuclesus) is just next to this corner. Parking in the no parking space is safer these people must be saying until Mr.Narayanswamy(Traffic PSI) eyes them.

Did you Know This? India's first Olympic marathon runner is from Belgaum

Phadeppa (Pavananjey) Dareppa Chaugule is India's first Olympic marathon runner. He represented India in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium and finished 19th with a timing of 2 hours 50 minutes 45.2 seconds. He hails from the town of Belgaum in Karnataka.
He was born in 1902 in to a Jain farmer family from Sheri Galli. He used to practice for the marathon by running bare footed from Belgaum to Khanapur. He expired in 1952.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.tarunbharat.com/EditionsNews.asp?daten=8/6/2008&id=5628

Govt plans park for IT majors:Belgaum miffed

Govt plans park for IT majors

"The IT and BT Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu said that the government is setting up a sprawling IT park on 2,000 acres around the City to create the much-needed space for IT firms to expand their activities. The government has plans to develop IT parks in Tier-II cities like Belgaum. In Belgaum, the IT park will be developed on 200 acres of land."

To the Minister with all respect: For the past 2 years nothing has been done at the Desur IT park. There are no takers for it also. Then why is that in all your press conferences it is mentioned that Tier II cities will get IT parks. All the ministers and the govt say this but nothing seems to happen on the ground.

See original story here

Belgaumblog in The Hindu

Your Blog has been mentioned in The Hindu here.

A BIG THANK YOU: Belgaumblog.com

To all my readers "A BIG THANK YOU" for supporting me all over this previous year.

This blog started its journey on August 7, 2007 as http://belgaumblog.blogspot.com and now it is http://belgaumblog.com. It has been a learning experience for me trying to collect information from various sources and putting it in on the blog. More than 26500+ visitors and 135+ RSS feed readers in one year for a city specific blog with a niche readership, I guess are very good.

On many occasions I have tried and covered events almost live and have given updates as they happened. It will be by endeavor to improve on it.

Some of you respond and leave comments, some of only read and some of you mailed me telling where I was going wrong and what I should be doing. I just hope I have made it to your expectations if not 100% at least near it.

I will keep trying my best to provide you information about our city Belgaum.

Reliacne Fresh: one @ Khanapur Road & second @ Hotel Hanuman

Reliance Fresh will open its stores in Belgaum in two places. One at Khanapur Road, next to Kamat Hardwares, Opp.IOC office. The furniture work is in progress and we could expect the opening in a very short while.

The second will open at Hotel Hanuman, Nehru Nagar Belgaum.
Belgaumblog.com was the first site to break this news on March 18, 2008 the story is here.

So when you need to know it, may be it was first told on Belgaumblog.com

Raichur to Belgaum in 2 hours

Ashok Kheny of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises has proposed the 2600-km road project, Karnataka First, includes a corridor linking Bidar and Bangalore. The other three highways are: Karwar-Bellary, Mangalore- Bangalore, and Raichur-Belgaum.

Travel Time after the highway is built. Bidar- Bangalore (6 hours) Now it tales around 16 hoursKarwar- Bellary (2 hours)Mangalore- Bangalore (2.5 hours)

Raichur- Belgaum (2 hours) It now takes around 9 to 10 hours. This would be very good for the people as it will save a lot of time. What is the route etc, I dont know, if anyone of you find it let me know. 10 hours to 2 hours Amazing stuff.

See original story in the MidDay here

Jakati was a good organizer

Vijayshree Gudadkai has been selected as a pilot in Jet Airways. She completed her degree from KLE Eng.college, also worked as an airhostess for a while, and then took the commercial pilot training in Manila.

So, the next time you are on a Jet Airways flight do ask the airhostess who is the pilot? May be Vijayshree would be there.

See original Story here

Rohan Ajit Kokane Skating to glory

At seven, this boy is looking forward to create a world record in limbo skating.
Rohan, son of Ajit Kokane of Belgaum, is working hard to create a history on Independence Day by skating under bars with a clearance height of 6 inches, not only in the forward direction but also in reverse skating.

If this happens, Rohan will be the second roller skater in the world after Zoey Beda of the U.S., who has earned nickname "Roller Limbo Princess" when she created a history by skating in reverse direction under 11 inches clearing height. But, Rohan will be setting a new world record by reverse skating under bars with 6 inches of clearing height.Suryakant Hindalgekar, Shashidhar Pol and Umesh Kalghatagi at the Belgaum Roller Skating Academy are training Rohan, a Class II student of St. Xavier’s School in the city.

See original story on The Hindu here

One more Arrest in terror scare

Iqbal Ahmed Shauqat Ali Jakati, who was absconding since May 15, was detained at Sahar Airport in Mumbai on his arrival from Sharjah on August 2 as the police had issued “Lookout circular” to all airports in the country. He was wanted in connection with terrorist plots hatched allegedly by SIMI activists Munroz and Liyaquat Ali.

See image from TarunBharat here
See original story on The Hindu here

Bomb Scare near KLE

Two small “gift boxes” caused a flutter in Belgaum on Monday when members of the public panicked suspecting them to be bombs. However, the bomb detection squad and the dog squad established that the material inside the boxes contained any explosive.

Even as the police and the people heaved a sigh of relief, a suitcase was found abandoned on a roadside near Third Railway gate on Belgaum-Goa Road later in the afternoon. The bomb squad rushed to the spot, carried out inspection, and ruled that it was not a bomb. The Tilakwadi Police has seized the suitcase.

See original story on The Hindu here

SIMI activist arrested in Belgaum:ON TERROR MAP

SIMI activist arrested in Belgaum

The Anti-Terrorist Squad arrested Tanveer Mulla (31), an alleged activist of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), near the district stadium here on Saturday.

The police seized from him CDs and VCDs carrying information on Jehadi groups, provocative speeches vis-À-vis anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat, incidents of violence against Muslims in other parts of the country, and techniques to prepare bombs, along with visuals and diagrams.
Read original story on The Hindu here

The Tarun Bharat has reported that the Hidkal dam and Rakaskop reservoir were on the terror map to be blasted off. Read original story on Tarun Bharat Here (its with a specific Marathi font you will need to download it to view the site)
The paper also says that terror plans were made to blast a Car bomb. A cylinder blast was planned in Tilakwadi and they had made up a special cylinder for the same ffrom Bhendi Bazaar. All this info was got from the arrested Tanveer Mulla whose mother is an Anganwadi teacher and his father is a photographer who stays in Chavat Galli Belgaum.

Ye kya ho raha hai! Dear Belgaumites We should all come forward on this terror issue and come together and fight it out. First it was the metros and now these terrorists are targeting smaller towns. We need to be firm and fight this out. Your comments on this please.

Members inspect three sites along Pune-Bangalore highway near Belgaum for Vidhan Soudha

The high-powered committee headed by Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar will soon take a final decision on the site for construction of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belgaum. The team inspected three sites along Pune-Bangalore Express Highway near Halaga, Kamkaratti and Bhootaramanatti.
Read orignal story on The Hindu here
There was no outcome of the visit tough, where it was decided that another meeting will be held to finalise the issue. “Sarkari Kaam” The farmers of Halga are opposing the land acquisition for the said Soudha, God knows WHEN & WHERE this will be built. Your thoughts on this are welcome.

Royston Memorial Inter state tournament begins

Royston Memorial Inter state tournament began.
Royston Memorial Inter state tournament began yesterday here and on the first day the guests won it.
St.Britos beat St.Xaviers and St.Stainslos Mumbai beat Rashtriya Miliraty school.

Shortage in rainfall this year:Belgaum

As against the normal rainfall of 4179.5 mm, the district received 3975.3 mm in the first seven months of the year. The actual rainfall for the period was 397.5 mm as against 418.0 mm

Where do you want the Vidhan Soudha in Belgaum: Poll Results

Belgaum up at 77th Place in Deposit base & 70th in Credit: RBI report