100 crore grant in fiasco

1:35 PM Posted by ukmad

100 crore grant in fiasco

The Belgaum Corporation had got a special Rs.100 crore grant for the development of the city. Other cities which had got similar grants have completed most of the projects under the grant where as in Belgaum not even a penny has been spent and only discussions are on.

People close to the corporation say that this delay is thanks to the TWO elected MLA’s of the city who are trying to take credit for the grant. The duo has not taken into confidence the locals and decided on the plan and also the work was given to a Andhra Pradesh company leaving the local contractors.

The corporation has to approve the various works in a special meet of the city corporation but the same has not been taken yet and the MLA duo has decided the proposals on their own.

The opposition group in the corporation has asked for a special meeting to discuss the 100 crore grants issue. It is also heard that CM BSY is unhappy with all this.

The festivity over in Belgaum

7:05 PM Posted by ukmad

Should I say the party (festivity) is over or at last it’s over, leave it to you?

Party I am talking about is the Assembly session; it was a party for the MLA’s and MLC’s. They came they ate, they spoke about everything other than what was meant and they went back.

Now that the party is over (assembly session) all the hype of the session is over. A few roads were made over which was a good thing for the city, some high mast street lamps another good sign. Some pavements remade which if last for a while can see commuters walk over them.

There were no power cuts in the city for the past 10 days or so. It was a welcome relief but even before we could breathe the power minister has already stated that the scheduled power cuts of 4 hours will begin from Tuesday.

The fate of the plants (rather I say tress) in the divider of various roads is not known. They were watered till yesterday and from now on who is their god father is to be seen. Similar trees planted during the 2006 session were removed as they never grew and new plants were put in the same holes and we could expect the same to happen the next year, as I won’t think the new Suvarna soudha would be ready by next year.

The Hoteliers will feel awful as they were working to full occupancy for these 10 days, even the smallest of smallest hotel was fully occupied. The sweet shops must have minted a few more rupees when everyone going back home must have taken some sweet from here, normally Kunda or Kardant. A few who knew about Belgaum sarees were seen in Shahpur buying the same.

The government will say that the session was highly successful and this was the first step towards the development of north Karnataka, the opposition otherwise. But we have to think over what really happened. A few bills were passed in which nothing was there for Belgaum or north Karnataka. The assembly session was held to have discussion about the development of North Karnataka but in reality nothing converged. The whole session was superseded by the illegal mining issue and that issue too was left half way saying it will be discussed in detail at the budget session in Bangalore.

Various memorandums were presented to the CM and he readily accepted it. The Belgaum corporation new building was opened in a hurry and such other things were done in a hurry.

The finances of the state govt are in dire state. There is huge under recovery of taxes as it was mentioned in the assembly session due to the economic slowdown, but nothing encouraging was discussed about it either.

The BJP government took a politically immature decision under pressure from Kannada organizations. The MES has lost its base and far away from any immediate recovery. But, K-organizations want to encash only to boost its bargaining power with political parties in the elections. Raj Thakery is suffering from identity crisis and in hurry to do something in a highly fanatic manner, even though some of the issues raised by him are genuine which are not restricted to Maharashtra alone but also in other states of India, including Karnataka. But his style of thinking is political aimed at vote bank.

This time the border issue also saw a rebirth and violence after many years. This time the timing for the border issue was right I guess. Elections are due in next couple of months and all parties want to have one issue. Raj Thakrey’s MNS has stealed the Marathi Manoos issue from the Shiv Sena and hence this time The Shiv sena caught up with the Border issue. Other parties were not be left behind like the NCP and the Congress and the BJP stating that Belgaum should be made into a union territory.

Here in Karnataka there was violence all over and agitations against the MES. But thank fully nothing turned out bad in Belgaum. It was far from Belgaum. But the after effects are still being seen as the interstate bus services are still affected after a few of them were burnt by both sides.

Now you might say what all rubbish this Uday is writing all negative only. But I began to write this post with some positives of this session for Belgaum, didn’t I. Good roads, No power cuts, some basic infrastructure development on a small scale.

It’s all up to you the common man to rethink what has been achieved, I am not against the assembly session being held here, I am for it, but the purpose for which it had been called for has not been achieved and that is my only blubber.

 This is what is promised for Belgaum:

Development of a botanical park at the Vaccine Depot at a cost of Rs. 5 crore for which a master plan would be prepared, improving and extending the sewerage system at a cost of Rs. 120 crore, a 35-km ring road at a cost of Rs. 150 crore and a sum of Rs. 5 crore to be released for land acquisition

The KIADB would establish a foundry cluster on 500 acres of land near Machche village. A 3-km road linking National Highway No. 4 to the Kanabargi Auto Park would be laid by the KIADB.

Yearning for “Old Belgaum”: By Shobhan Bantwal

10:35 AM Posted by ukmad

Yearning for “Old Belgaum”



By Shobhan Bantwal


The author was showcased as Stars of Belgaum earlier on this blog.



As an ex-Belgaum resident, it is both heartening and heartrending to see how my hometown has changed from a sleepy, rural town to a teeming city over the past three decades. When I pay those rare visits from my United States home to Belgaum, I no longer recognize the old Ramdev Galli, Khade Bazar, Tilakwadi, and Bogarves neighborhoods. I do not see some of the beloved old landmarks that were an integral part of my childhood of the 1950s and 60s. Even the old homestead, where I grew up in the Cantonment area, looks rather decrepit. But my deceased parents’ souls still seem to linger there.



The ever-growing businesses and multiplicity of educational institutions and healthcare facilities are no doubt assets to the local economy and the shift towards globalization. Apparently businesses in every sector are booming, providing a healthy income for many. There are posh, eye-popping mansions lining the suburbs that were non-existent back then. All this glory to a former Belgaumite is indeed uplifting. Needless to say I want my hometown to prosper and flourish.

However, the special flavor that was Belgaum seems to be lost forever in the economic and political shuffle. The town used to be an unexpectedly quaint mix of pleasant weather, bucolic vistas, cultural pursuits like music, dance and drama, upscale social venues like Belgaum Club, the golf course, the military party circuits, and unparalleled varieties of dew-fresh produce. Today it looks like any other medium-sized metropolis filled with innumerable commercial ventures, smoke-belching automobiles, schools and colleges, hotels and restaurants, and movie theaters. Even the citizens appear more aloof.



When I was a schoolgirl at St. Josephs School, there was a small circulating library called Oliver’s Library, which lent out books for a monthly membership fee. It disappeared a long time ago. Outside the Military Mahadev Temple, the dhoti-clad man who sold Arlipaakh, a spicy and crunchy combination of churmure, shev, and a secret-recipe lump of spices, was an institution by himself. Is someone carrying on that tradition today? I sincerely hope so.



One of the special delights from my childhood was visiting the neighboring sugarcane farms to drink fresh sugarcane juice and buy a fresh mound of gool – incredibly sweet and bursting with flavor when used in cooking and laddus. I am not sure if that particular simple pleasure is available to Belgaumites anymore.



While I yearn for the pastoral Belgaum of my girlhood, I applaud the Belgaum it has become today. My heart swells with pride when I observe how far it has come and made a place for itself on India’s map. I eagerly envision my next visit to Belgaum and sampling some new pleasures it has to offer even as I reminisce about the old times with my family. No matter what, Belgaum is still my home.



As another New Year approaches, I hope and pray that 2009 will be an even richer and more productive year for all my fellow Belgaumites, both previous and the present. I send them all cyber-blessings and good wishes from my humble home in New Jersey. Long Live Belgaum!



Bio: Shobhan Bantwal was born and raised in Belgaum -- a pukka Belgaumite. Marriage in 1973 to a man who lived in the United States took her to New Jersey, where she continues to reside with her family. Shobhan is a published novelist with two novels to date, THE DOWRY BRIDE and THE FORBIDDEN DAUGHTER. Two more novels are slated for publication in 2009. Her primary job is working for the New Jersey State government.


Website: http://www.shobhanbantwal.com/