Stars of Belgaum: Lakshmi Rai in Tamil, Kannada & Malyalam Films

Lakshmi Rai was born in Bangalore and was brought up at Belgaum, Her dad was into business her mother is a homemaker. she was the youngest of the three daughters to her parents. she did her studies at Belgaum and was indulged in either modeling, dancing right from my high school days. She tried hard and got the ‘Miss Belgaum’ title for 2 years from 2002 to 2004 .

Dr.Shrinivas Thanedar: CEO Chemir Analytical Services Inc. USA.: Star of Belgaum

Dr.Shrinivas Thanedar tests his way to $16 million. Chief executive, Chemir Analytical Services Inc. USA.
Another Belgaum Star for you.

Thanedar, 51, is chief executive of Chemir Analytical Services Inc., a Maryland Heights company that provides chemical testing and analysis services. He bought the company in 1999 for about $75,000 when it had only two employees and annual revenue of about $150,000. Today, Chemir Analytical employs about 120 people and projects revenue of about $16 million this year.

History: Founded in 1959, Chemir was purchased in 1990 by Dr. Shri Thanedar or who developed it into an independent testing laboratory. Having since developed a national reputation as experts in deformulation, Chemir scientists have helped over 6,000 clients solve challenging industrial problems with chemical analysis, consulting and litigation support. Distinction: Chemir is committed to the betterment of the St. Louis community. It has been an annual sponsor of the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation, is a long-time supporter of the Salvation Army and, this year, through an internal fund-raising drive, Chemir and its employees, donated almost $2,000 to emergency hurricane relief. It also sponsors various activities and athletics at several local school districts.

About Shrinivas Thanedar: Dr.Thanedar has never forgotten the poverty he endured while growing up in India. Those memories, he said, propelled him to become a successful entrepreneur in America.

Thanedar grew up in Belgaum, a small town in southern India, the firstborn in a family with six children. "We were very, very poor. We struggled a lot."
Thanedar's parents encouraged him to study hard and made sure he enrolled in India's public elementary school, high school and universities -- where he earned a bachelor's and a master's in chemistry.

He scored a meagre 55% marks in his SSLC. He had got a job at the age of 18 itslef in the state bank of India in Bijapur. He wanted to do his MSc. but the princiapl of the Dharwad did not allow him to do so. He had to go upto the Vice Chancellor for the same and atlast he got the permission. But the bank denied him leave for his exams for 15 days and he dedcided to leave from Bijapur and came to Dharwad for his exams. He slept for only one hour for 8 days and finished his studies. Even before his exams got over he got to know that he had been fired out of his job from the bank.

But the pains he took paid off, he got a first class in M.Sc and he got an intyerview call from the Bhaba Atomic research centre Mumbai. On the way to the interview he fell in dicth and all his clothes were dirty. He went to the interview in the same way and as a cartoon he gave his interview and got selcted. All his relatives and frineds said, see this mad man; he his leaving his bank job for this hardship.

He had to finish his M.Sc but the first year done in Dharwad was not to be counted in BARC. SO he did the 2 years of M.Sc without anybodys knoweldge as his Principal there Mr.Soman did not give him permission.
After finishing his MSc he applied for higher studies in America. But Mr.Soman denied to sign on his passport. The American consulate denied him visa for 6 times, he got the visa when Mrs.Virginia from the consulate had been on leave and thus he stood on the soil of America.

Thanedar came to the United States in 1979 to study for a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Akron in Ohio. He also did post-doctoral work at the University of Michigan before coming to St. Louis in 1984, to take a job as a researcher at the former Petrolite Corp. in Webster Groves.

But he wanted to work for himself and not for others. He strived hard to buy the loss making J Chemir company. Atlast he bought it and took it out of loss and now has similar 6 other companies which were making loss and now are making huge profits.

He says “I am not in th Business, I am on the Business.”
Thanedar said his late mother, Sulochana Thanedar, was his greatest inspiration and pushed him to use education as a means to escape the brutal life of poverty. "She taught me how to deal with problems." Thanedar said he considered coming to the United States as the biggest opportunity he ever got to better his life. He wasn't quite sure how he would achieve that goal, but he said he had big dreams and was determined to start his own business. "Because I had suffered so much (in India), I always said to myself that one day I will be very successful." The opportunity for Thanedar arose in 1990 when Clara Craver, a scientist and founder of what was then known as Chemir/Polytech Laboratories Inc., offered to sell him the company for $75,000. He financed the acquisition by taking a loan from a local bank. Since 1990, Chemir has grown tremendously, mainly by acquisitions that Thanedar engineered. The company's latest purchase was 2004 when the company bought PRA Laboratories of Ypsilanti, Mich., which provided research and development services to the paints and coatings industry. Bill Chionio, president of Business Owners International, a local business consulting organization, said one of Thanedar's biggest strengths as an entrepreneur is his ability to learn new things quickly and his willingness to delegate authority to his managers. "I consider him one of the finest business people I've ever met, but he has always remained humble. When one has money, when one has power, they have a way of inflating their egos. Shri has never done that." Thanedar lives in Ladue with his sons, Neil and Samir, and his wife, Shashi.

'No' to merger with M'rashtra

Source: Deccan Herald
Ever since the reorganisation of Indian states in 1956, Karnataka's border dispute with Maharashtra over parts of Belgaum district, has been rearing its head at regular frequency. How do voters in the state respond to this issue?

Respondents to a survey were asked if they had heard about the dispute. Those who replied in the affirmative were further asked whether the demand to merge the areas claimed to be Marathi-speaking with Maharashtra was in any way justified or was unjustified. Across the state, less than half the respondents had heard about the border dispute with Maharashtra. The level of awareness about this dispute was expectedly much higher in the Mumbai-Karnataka region. Respondents in the Coastal Karnataka region too were more aware of the existence of a border row. In the Hyderabad-Karnataka region there was greater awareness of the issue as compared to those in Central Karnataka, Southern Karnataka and Bangalore. The survey was conducted in six of the 18 constituencies in Belgaum district. Not surprisingly, the level of awareness about the border dispute was much higher in Belgaum district with nearly two-thirds of the respondents claiming to be aware of the issue.

It was noted that more than two-thirds of those who took a stand on the issue felt that it was unjustified to demand for the merger of what is termed as the Marathi-speaking regions with Maharashtra Among those who said that the demand was not correct, an overwhelmingly large percentage of them said that the demand was totally unjustified. It is important to record that in the Belgaum district too, nearly 60 per cent of those who took a stand on the issue said that the demand was unjustified. Here too, a significantly large proportion opined that merging the so-called Marathi regions with Maharashtra was unjustified.

Fierce contest likely in Belgaum North

Source: The Hindu
Congress has fielded Feroz Sait Khimjibhai
Ramesh Kudachi is JD(S) candidate
MES, which is facing the problem of rebel candidates, is trying to win back the seat

The electoral battle lines have become clear in Belgaum North constituency with the Congress naming Feroz Sait Khimjibhai as its candidate on Friday.
There is jubilation among the Muslim community members in the constituency as the Congress has conceded their demand. The Congress has considered the candidature of a Muslim leader for the first time from the constituency which was called Belgaum City before delimitation. However, this decision has cost the party dearly, as the two-time MLA Ramesh L. Kudachi quit the Congress and is in the fray as the Janata Dal (Secular) candidate.

Muslims in general and the Minority Cell of the Belgaum District Congress Committee have been demanding the party ticket to a Muslim candidate. They argued that Muslims had been traditionally supporting the Congress but the party had never done “justice” to the community or its leaders.
The contest is likely to be fierce in the constituency as there are a large number of Muslims in the segment and the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) is trying to win back the seat which it had lost in 1999 and 2004. The MES has fielded the former mayor Vijay Pandurang More for the constituency.
Mr. Kudachi, who belongs to Kuruba community, which has a sizeable presence in the constituency, had defeated the MES candidates in the last two elections with the support of Kannada-speaking electorate and a large section of Muslim voters. He is, however, confident that his “vote bank” is intact.
Senior leader of the MES Deepak Dalvi has filed his nomination papers as a rebel to “teach a lesson” to the samithi’s leader Kiran Thakur. Problems in the MES have further compounded with Ramesh Paule, a follower of Mr. Dalvi, filing his nomination papers on Saturday.
Though none of the MES candidates in the previous elections enjoyed any sympathy of Kannada-speaking voters, Mr. More, who belongs to the Scheduled Castes, is popular among all sections of society. People have seen him as a social worker who is available to the common man round the clock.
The Bharatitya Janata Party’s bet with the former Chairman of Belgaum Urban Development Authority Shankargouda Patil, a Lingayat, is not being taken well within the party itself. The only criterion for his candidature is stated to be his close association with the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
Though the Shiv Sena has fielded the former corporator Prakash Shirolkar, who recently raised the banner of revolt against the MES, his presence in the fray is likely to affect the prospects of the MES. However, the MES is trying to convince rebels to withdraw from the fray to avoid a split in the Marathi votes.

MES Splits

The unhappy faction of the MES(Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti) has filed in papers of R Pawale as their candidate for the Belgaum North. The MES had officially declared Vijay More as its candidate from North. In my earlier post the report of attacking the Kiran Thakur by the same group was also published.

More’s nomination angers MES workers in Belgaum

Dalvi’s supporters throw stones at residence of Kiran Thakur
MES appears to have gone by ‘good image’ of More
More was attacked by Kanada activists in 2005 in Bangalore

The decision of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) to field the former Mayor of Belgaum Vijay Pandurang More in Belgaum North Assembly Constituency for the May 22 elections has sparked angry protests against its leadership.

A group of MES workers, believed to be supporters of senior MES leader Deepak Dalvi, on Friday morning threw stones at the house of Kiran Thakur, who is a senior MES leader and editor of popular Marathi daily newspaper Tarun Bharat.
Miscreants threw stones at Lokmanya Credit Co-operative Society in Bhagyanagar locality. Mr. Thakur is the founder-director of the society. Sources in the MES told The Hindu that the Dalvi camp was given a raw deal by MES leadership and rejected the claim of Mr. Dalvi to contest from Belgaum North.

It may be recalled here that Mr. Dalvi was arrested by the police in connection with violence against Kannada workers and was in Hindalga Jail for more than two months.
He had lost the elections in 1989 and 2004 as an independent.
But, the MES seems to have gone by the “good image” of Mr. More not only among the Marathi-speaking people but also among the Kannada-speaking and other lingustic communities cutting across religious and caste barriers.
Mr. More, who was elected as Mayor in 2005 when the post was reserved for Scheduled Caste, had faced the wrath of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike following a controversial resolution on “boundary dispute” between Karnataka and Maharashtra on the question of Belgaum and other areas.
The vedike activists had attacked Mr. More, the former mayor Shivaji Sunthakar and former MLA B.I. Patil near Vidhana Soudha and daubed their faces with black paint on November 11, 2005.

Kore may quit active politics

Senior Congress leader and former MP Prabhakar B. Kore, who belongs to the dominant Lingayat community, is “seriously” considering saying “goodbye” to active politics to devote his time to “social service,” thanks to Congress’s denial of party ticket to him.

Mr. Kore’s decision comes even as State Janata Dal (Secular) vice-president Umesh V. Katti claimed on Wednesday that the former was about to join his party.
Mr. Koreappears to be not just upset but “hurt” after allegedly getting a raw deal at the hands of party leadership.

He was in New Delhi for a few days recently and did everything possible to get party ticket to contest from Chikkodi-Sadalga. But, the party favoured his arch rival Prakash B. Hukkeri. Mr. Hukkeri filed his nomination papers as Congress candidate on Wednesday.
Mr. Kore was keen to contest from Chikkodi-Sadalga in the light of the constituency being left open for “General” category. Hitherto, Chikkodi was reserved for Scheduled Castes. Following redrawing of areas under the latest delimitation exercise, areas of Chikkodi and Sadalga have been merged to form new Chikkodi-Sadalga constituency.
In a brief chat with The Hindu here on Wednesday, Mr. Kore said he was disgusted with the present order of politics. When his attention was drawn to the claims of Mr. Katti and reports in the media, he said: “I want to quit politics, leave alone joining the Janata Dal (Secular), the BJP or any other party.”

AICC leader responsible for Kudachi being denied ticket?

Source The Hindu:
Vijaykumar Patil
Kudachi defeated MES candidates in 1999 and 2004
He has joined JD(S) and is contesting in the same segment

Even as some tend to point figures at senior Congress leader and former Minister A.B. Patil for the Congress having denied ticket to two-time MLA Ramesh L. Kudachi to contest from Belgaum North, there is none to unravel the hidden faces behind the development.

Sources close to Mr. Kudachi told The Hindu here on Wednesday that a senior leader in the All India Congress Committee (AICC) from Maharashtra had deliberately denied ticket to the former to help the MES in Belgaum North. The sources said that the AICC leader had personally told Mr. Kudachi not to insist on ticket this time.
The MES, which was defeated twice by Mr. Kudachi in the 1999 and 2004 Assembly elections, is trying hard to re-capture its lost bastion. But, it would have been difficult for the MES to have its candidate elected as long as Mr. Kudachi continued to contest as Congress candidate. Therefore, the MES was keen to see that Mr. Kudachi did not get party ticket and therefore, took the help of the AICC leader from Maharashtra.

Mr. Kudachi, who quit the Congress after being denied ticket and joined the Janata Dal(S) on Wednesday, is all set to contest from Belgaum North as the latter’s candidate. He took the decision not in a haste but after being convinced that there was no justice in the Congress, which was not prepared to honour his services and contribution. He said it was under his leadership that the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi was shown the door for the first time in the 1999 Assembly elections and again in 2004. This was history in its own right as Belgaum city had been an impregnable fortress of the MES or the Marathi-speaking community since the 1957 elections.

He was also confident of being elected for the third time, which meant a precious seat for Congress which is hoping to form the government on its own in the State. But the leaders in the party were not prepared to do justice to his services, he alleged.
He, however, also maintained that the AICC leader from Maharashtra was fully responsible for denying him ticket only to please the MES. But in the process he [AICC leader] did not realise that the Congress could lose one precious seat, he said.

Patils' file nomination for Belgaum,north,south & rural

Three Patils' of BJP filed their nomination papers yesterday. Namely, Belgaum North: Shivangouda Patil.
Belgaum South: Abhay Kumar Patil






Belgaum Rural: Sanjay Patil (head Gomatesh Vidyapeeth)

Still major candidates have to file in the papers and will do so in last 3 days.

Ramesh Kudachi quits to join JD(S)

Source: The Hindu
Beleaguered by the growing rebellion over refusal of ticket to aspirants, the Congress was served another jolt by its two-time MLA Ramesh L. Kudachi on Wednesday.

Mr. Kudachi, who was denied ticket to contest from Belgaum North, quit the Congress and joined the Janata Dal(S) today. The Janata Dal(S) lost no moment to project him as its official candidate from Belgaum North. The Janata Dal(S) will shortly organise a party workers meeting to admit “hundreds of Congress workers loyal to Mr. Kudachi”.

The decision was announced at a crowded press conference addressed by the vice-president of the State Janata Dal(S) and former Minister, Umesh V. Katti, and district unit president Ashok Pujari. Along with Mr. Kudachi, Dalit youth leader Mallesh Chougale also joined the party.
Mr. Kudachi, who quit Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) and contested as a Congress candidate in the 1999 Assembly elections, created history by winning against the MES from the erstwhile Belgaum City then. With his election was broken the electoral hegemony of the MES, the pro-Maharashtra outfit surviving on the single-point issue of “boundary dispute” (demanding transfer of Belgaum, Nippani, Khanapur, Bidar, Karwar and other boundary areas to Maharashtra for over five decades).

He was again elected in the 2004 elections. Earlier, he had served as Mayor of the Belgaum City Corporation when he was an active leader in the MES.
Asked about the reasons for his decision to quit the Congress, he said a section of the top leaders of the party ensured that he did not get ticket much against the party’s guidelines on allotment of ticket.

The party had decided to give ticket to all its members of the previous Assembly, while it could consider for alternative candidates in constituencies whose constitution, after delimitation, had been affected by more than 50 per cent. But the party leaders showed disregard to this guideline and refused him the ticket even when 85 per cent of the areas in the erstwhile Belgaum City constituency have remained “intact” in the new Belgaum North Assembly constituency.

Election Photo ID Card Belgaum North Schedule

The Election Photo ID card program is being implemented for Belgaum North as of now. CLikc the link below to find out the place you have to go, to get your photo taken.
http://mahiuk.googlepages.com/epicnorth.htm

I dont have info about Belgaum south as yet, as I get it I will upload the same.
All those who dont have Voter ID cards kindly go and come as these programs are done once in three to four years.

Ye nahi Woh Sahi:Magar Kursi Chaiye

Source: The New Indian Express

TWO-TIME Congress MLA Ramesh Kudachi, whom the party denied a ticket to contest from Belgaum North segment, is likely to quit the party and is planning to contest from other party.

Kudachi,who arrived from Bangalore this morning told The New Indian Express, that he would take a final decision after consulting the party workers, in a day or two. He also told that Janata Dal (Secular), Bahujan Samaj Party and his former party Janata Dal (United) have contacted him and have assured him ticket from Belgaum North segment.

He said that he rejected the offer of Congress, which had asked him to contest from Belgaum South as only a 20 per cent area of his old segment was included in South segment after delimitation. 'I had asked the party to retain me in Belgaum North, as 80 per cent area of my old segment remains in the North constituency,'.

He, will now contest from other party. I want to ask all these candidates" Do they have any ethics in place? or is that its all for the people, not for themselves."

This is seen in all parties these days. You dont get a ticket from one party leave that join another get a ticket, next time they dont give you so you go back to the first party you left. Wow this is opportunism and nothing else. If you are so sure that you can win the election stand as an independent without any political party support and win. People will definitely vote for a person who is good.

Kya hoga is Desh ka.

No seats this weekend:Private bus: Difficult to come home

I had posted this story earlier.
http://belgaumblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/private-buses-will-have-no-pick-up.html
It was about no pick up points in the city after the traffic police issued new orders.

To add to this story: This week and also the weekend is the highest demand for these operators and hence all have increased their fares by Rs.50 to 100. Above that getting to Hotel Ramdev you will need to spend more & if you are coming back home then getting down at Ramdev and then bargaining early morning with the auto to take you home, be prepared to spend a lot of money.
Altough all the pvt. buses have stopped the pick up after they were fined, I found that the police were "Prassanna" on a bus operator as it said its office was located in Tilakwadi. Now this is unfair. All the bus operators have said that the Will meet the SP today and give their memorandum. I don't understand, in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore there are pick up points and in Belgaum no pick up.
Many friends of mine planning a weekend here in Belgaum have cancelled their trip seeing all this.
For the previous post i have received a comment which i would like to share with you:
"It is kind a fair that private buses not be allowed into busy streets. It's safe. One way, these private operators should handle this is by providing smaller pickup vehicles like vans, mini buses etc. On the other hand, the other private mini-bus operators are a big nonsense and the autos in Belgaum are a worth less piece to so called "Services". Never ever have they operated on meters and never have they charged sensibly. Only thing you hear from their mouth is "we dont get return trip" so we have to pay for their incompetence/stupid logic.Hope I had enough money to run my own local transport is Belgaum on meters"

Belgaum's Aniket Chindak makes Limbo Skating record:81 cars this time

Nomination process begins in Belgaum today

Source The Hindu
Last date for submitting papers is May 3
Counting of votes will take place on May 25

A notification announcing calendar of events for elections to the State Assembly from 18 segments in the district will be issued on Saturday. Polling will be held on May 22.
The Deputy Commissioner and Chief Electoral Officer for Belgaum district, M.E. Shivalingamurthy, said here on Friday that the nomination process would begin on April 26 at designated centres between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The last date for submitting nomination papers is May 3. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on May 5. The last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is May 7. Counting of votes will take place on May 25 at K.B. Kore Polytechnic for Nippani, Chikkodi-Sadalga, Athani, Kagwad; and B.K. Arts, Science and Commerce College for Hukkeri, Kudachi (SC), Yamkanmardi (ST), and Raybag segments in Chikkodi town. Counting of votes of Gokak, Arabhavi, Belgaum North, Belgaum South, Belgaum Rural, Kittur, Bailhongal, Soudatti-Yallamma, Ramdurg and Khanapur segments will take place at Gogte Institute of Technology at Udyambag in Belgaum.