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K'taka: Cong MLAs worth Rs 256 crore; BJP 203 crore

Source Rediff.com
The special Legislative session in Karnataka gets underway on Wednesday. The Congress, which will sit in opposition, leads the table with candidates with very high assets while the ruling BJP comes second, indicates statistics available with Karnataka Election Watch.

The Congress has 35 MLAs with very high assets (Rs 20 crore and above) and their total worth is Rs 256.6 crore. In 2004, the party after the election was worth just Rs 54.2 crore which would mean that the party has seen a 373 per cent jump in the last four years.
The Congress, incidentally, has the richest two MLAs in the 224-member House.

M Krishnappa, from the Vijay Nagar constituency in Bengaluru, is worth Rs 147.88 crore. His liabilities are estimated at Rs 69.85 crore.

Second on the list is Feroz Nurrudin Sait (Congress) from the Belgaum Uttar constituency with assets and liabilities estimated at Rs 58.55 crore and Rs 0 respectively.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has 40 MLAs with very high assets and their total worth is Rs 203.8 crore as against the Rs 51.4 crore in the 2004 elections. The party has seen a jump of 296 per cent in the past four years.
Anand Singh from the Vijayanagara constituency is the richest BJP MLA with assets worth Rs 57. 34 crore. The liabilities of Singh who is also the third richest MLA are estimated at Rs 7.37 crore.
The JD(S), which came third in the election with just 28 seats, has 16 MLAs with very high assets and are worth Rs 112.9 crore. The richest MLA from the JD(S) is H D Kumaraswamy, the former chief minister of the state. Kumaraswamy who won from the Ramanagar constituency, 50 km from Bangalore is worth Rs 30.20 crore, thus making him the ninth richest MLA in the House. His liabilities are estimated at Rs 23.12 crore.

Shortage of textbooks haunts children again

Source The Hindu
Though the academic year has commenced, non-availability of textbooks is haunting schoolchildren again.

This problem has been confronting students every year, particularly since 2003. However, the education authorities have failed to respond to the problem by ensuring that all textbooks are made available on time, said M.V. Chavan, president, the Belgaum Association of Parents, while submitting a memorandum to the Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) here on Wednesday.

He said the association filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court on May 29 in this regard. The court has asked the Government to submit its position in the matter.

Thus, the association has urged the DDPI, Belgaum, to declare to the public the exact position of the availability of textbooks and when they would be made available to students

Belgaum skater for Dhaka meet

Source The Hindu

'Suspected terrorist is a jihadi activist'

Dear Belgaumites, I am really filled with sorrow to post such posts on my blog. Such a wonderful and peaceful city is now the hub of terrorist activities. Kindly post your comments on this issue on this blog.
Come lets make Belgaum a safer and better place.

Source The New Indian Express
Suspected Islamic terrorist Liyakatali Sayeed, who was arrested on May 14 from his house at Kusru Nagar in Malmaruti extension, is a dedicated Jihad activist.

Sources close to the this website’s newspaper said that Liyakatali was involved in Jihadi activities and tried his best to misguide and motivate educated Muslim youths in Belgaum to join the cause.

Liyakatali, who had returned to Belgaum from London nine months ago, had succeeded in influencing a few Muslim youth. After striking up a friendship with them, he would show them CDs of atrocities on Muslims across the world, telling them to adopt 'tit for tat' methods.

According to sources, a few young Muslims responded positively to Liyakatali. It is said that he provoked the youth to take revenge for the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. He also took part in the protest rally against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at Rani Channamma Circle on October 30, 2007. He had covered his face to shield his identity. The video clippings, which are in police possession, have confirmed Liyakatali's participation in the agitation. He was seen shouting slogans to hang Modi, according to sources.Sources said that Liyakatali identified a few images when the police showed him the video clippings.
From Deccan Herald
Liyakat had produced an LPG bomb at a house in Azam Nagar before carrying it to Shindholli for the `ignition test.'
However, the police are unable to find since how long Liyakat has been engaged in these activities. He was in London for many years running his security agency before coming to Belgaum to attend his sister's marriage, which was held recently. The top police officials have declined to comment on whether Liyakat had been involved in such activities even before he landed in India.

Meanwhile, Nasir Patel, another arrested was produced to Court in Belgaum on Saturday. After being in police custody for sometime, he has not been remanded to the judicial custody. A resident of Azam Nagar, Nasir Patel had stored objectionable information and literature in his PC.
Involvement:
President of Rashtriya Hindustan Sena Pramod Mutalik has alleged that at least three police officials in Belgaum are involved in abetting the suspected terrorists. He said his association had already informed the names of the three officials to the higher authorities.Mr Mutalik also said several areas in Belgaum were housing muslims of Bangladesh origin. These areas, he alleged had become a haven for terror activities and called upon authorities concerned to drive all residents staying illegally in Belgaum.
Spare innocents:
Several muslim leaders of Belgaum led by the Belgaum (North) MLA, Feroz Sait met Superintendent of Police Hemant Nimbalkar on Saturday to ensure that none of the innocent youth were affected in the process of investigation

MES rebel, his supporters face wrath of Marathi people

Terror suspect planned to attack Belgaum city: police

Source The HinduProvocative literature, hard disk, laptop seized
He planned to strike in Tilakwadi locality
Three other suspects arrested

The district police on Friday said they had arrested a suspected terrorist who allegedly planned attacks in Belgaum city on May 22.

Inspector-General of Police (Northern Range) Raghavendra Auradkar and Superintendent of Police Hemant Nimbalkar told presspersons here on Friday that the suspected terrorist Liyaquat Ali, son of Syed Abdul Gani, was arrested on May 15.

During interrogation, it was found that he had planned to strike in the busy Tilakwadi locality in the heart of the city on the day of polling, May 22, they said.
The police arrested Imtiyaz Abdul Ijaz Dalayat (21) and Nadeem Syed (20) on Thursday in this connection. The police seized several objectionable materials and provocative literature ascribed to Osama bin Laden, a computer hard disk and laptop containing picture clippings on post-Godhra violence in Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir from Liyaquat Ali and Nasir, another suspect.
Documents having information related to manufacture of explosive devices using LPG cylinders, glycerol, nitric acid and sulphuric acid were seized from Imtiyaz and Nadeem, the police said. All the four suspected terrorists were from Belgaum city, the police said and added that they had links with one “Dr. Munroz”, an activist of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
Liyaquat Ali, who was serving in a London-based security agency, had returned to his home in Khusro Colony on March 18, the police said.
Liyaquat Ali has been sent to judicial custody.
Nasir, a resident of Azam Nagar, Imtiyaz and Nadeem, both residents of Ashok Nagar, have been sent to police custody.

A special squad led by Additional Superintendent of Police Raman Gupta and Deputy Superintendent of Police Muttuswamy Naidu is carrying out investigations.

Belgaum foundry cluster to open

Source Business Standard
Belgaum, a backbone for automobile industry and nerve centre for foundries in Karnataka, will soon have a foundry cluster. The work on the Belgaum Foundry Cluster (BFC) project started three years ago at an investment of close to Rs 25 crore, is nearing completion and is expected to be operational in August this year.

The project once completed will benefit 135 foundries and over 1,000 machine shops in and around Belgaum and hundreds of other units in the neighbouring towns of Hubli-Dharwad, Shimoga, Harihar and even Kolhapur, and Shinoli in Maharashtra, according to Manoj Kulkarni, chief executive officer, BFC.

The foundries from Belgaum are currently dependent on Bangalore and Pune for some of the high-end machining work. With the opening of this cluster they will make substantial savings in their production costs.
According to Kulkarni, foundry units at BFC are expected to produce 1.6 lakh tonnes of castings during the present fiscal, a growth of 60 per cent over 2007-08 and generate a combined revenue in excess of Rs 700 crore per annum, a growth of 75 per cent. The exports are expected to touch Rs 350 crore per annum, a growth of 700 per cent.

The foundry cluster is likely to generate employment to 12,000 persons, a growth of 50 per cent.

Belgaum, in north Karnataka is known for its foundry industry for decades. One third of the state's foundry units are located in six industrial estates of Belgaum. They produce 110,000 tonnes of castings per annum. However, the units were hit by the infrastructure bottlenecks and a lack of common facilities.

The project was sanctioned by the Union ministry of commerce under the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) in 2003 for Rs 24.78 crore. While, the Centre sanctioned Rs 18.58 crore, the Karnataka government put in another Rs 2.49 crore while the balance is contributed by the user industries.

The objective is to strengthen the existing infrastructure and to create additional infrastructure with a view to enhance efficiency, competitiveness, raise export capabilities and make the industry environment-friendly by reducing pollution.

Under this project, a 34,000 sq ft building has been constructed at Udyambag Industrial Estate, which houses common tool room, testing laboratory, training centre, modern communication and information centre and a library. A convention centre has also been established. A new vertical machining centre for making patterns, spectrometer for conducting metal analysis and coordinate measuring machine have been installed.

The BFC has acquired five acres land on the outskirts of the city to build the common effluent treatment plant (ETP). The work on which is nearing completion. The sand reclamation plant is the first of its kind in the country as it will help reclaim 10,000 tonnes of waste sand per month. A modern sand reclamation machine has been imported from England and is being installed presently.

The cluster will also have modern software for 3D modelling, simulation and ERP for foundries will be made available to foundries. The foundry cluster will not only help improve the quality standards of material produced here but also protect ecological balance and conserve natural resources apart from growing exports, Kulkarni said.

"Our vision is to make Belgaum Foundry industry a global sourcing hub for castings and machined components by the year 2010. Despite slowdown in manufacturing sector and rising prices of steel and metal scrap we anticipate foundry units will register a healthy growth of 15-20 per cent during the current financial year," he said.

As part of the project, nearly 23 kms of road is being rebuilt in Udyambag industrial estate.
Foundry units in and around Belgaum are serving the automobile industry, general engineering and agriculture sectors. Automobile majors like Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland, TAFE, Caterpillar and engineering companies like Kiroskar Oil Engines Ltd, Alfa Laval, Simpsons are some of the companies sourcing castings from Belgaum. The Belgaum foundries also export to countries like the US, Germany, Belgium and West Asia.

Two more terror suspects arrested

Source The Hindu
The APMC police Thursday arrested two more youths, Imtiaz Dalayat (21) and Nadeem Syed (20), suspected to have links with Nasir Liyaquat Ali Patel, a terror suspect who was arrested by the special squad on Tuesday.
With the arrest of Imtiaz and Nadeem, residents of Malmaruti Extension here, the total number of terror suspects arrested by the Belgaum police has gone up to four.
Nadeem and Imtiaz were produced before the JMFC IV Court and remanded in police custody till June 2.

Will there be two Ministers from Belgaum?

Source The Hindu
Five former MLAs are eyeing ministerial berths this time

People as well as workers of various political parties are eager to know whether Belgaum district will get two ministerial berths as in the previous Janata Dal (Secular)-BJP coalition Government.
Owing to coalition arithmetic and the obligation to ensure representation to all major caste groups, the district could get two Cabinet berths, one each for the BJP and the Janata Dal (S).
While Shashikant A. Naik was made Minister for Horticulture, Balachandra L. Jarkiholi was given the Social Welfare portfolio considered.Apprehensions
Under the present situation in which the BJP has reportedly promised to accommodate three independent MLAs in lieu of their support to form the Government, there are apprehensions whether the district comprising 18 Assembly seats and two parliamentary constituencies will continue to have two Ministers, or will have to be content with just one berth. The BJP has been able to get nine of the 18 seats in the district as against eight in the previous assembly. The BJP MLAs from the district are Laxman Sangappa Savadi (Athani); Bharamgouda Algouda Kage (Kagwad); Abhay Kumar Patil (Belgaum Dakshin); Metgud Virupakshi (Jagdish) Channappa (Bailhongal); Marihal Suresh Shivarudrappa (Kittur); Mamni Vishwanath Chandrashakher (Saundatti Yellamma); Aihole Duryodhan Mahalingappa (Raibag- SC), Sanjay B. Patil (Belgaum Uttar) and Prahalad Reman (Khanapur).
Those in the forefront for making ministerial claims are the two-time MLAs — Mr. Savadi, Mr. Kage, Mr. Patil, Mr. Metgud and Mr. Marihal.
While Mr.Patil belongs to the minority Jain community, the four others are Lingayats. Mr. Savadi, who lost the opportunity owing to caste arithmetic during the formation of the previous government, is leaving no stone unturned to make it to the Cabinet this time.

High Court dismisses petition for Building of SUVARNA VIDHANA SOUDHA at Vaccine depot

The High Court on Tuesday dismissed the writ petition filed by S B Hundre, vicepresident of the Social Justice Forum, asking for the construction of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha to be stopped at the proposed site.

The government has been planning to construct Suvarna Vidhana Soudha on the premises of Vaccine Depot at Tilakwadi in Belgaum district after a committee consisting of the Legislative Assembly Speaker, Legislative Council Chairman and the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister visited the site and approved the proposal.
The proposed site is a thick forest that hosts several rare plants, reptiles and wild animals. Hundre filed a writ petition requesting the HC to stop the construction of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha at the proposed site.

This blog has been a forerunner in spreading awareness about saving the Vaccine Depot. Various posts were made to know about earlier posts read the following:
http://belgaumblog.com/2008/04/pil-against-suvarna-soudha-being-built-in-vaccine-depot/
http://belgaumblog.com/2007/11/let-the-government-seek-a-public-mandate-on-suvarna-vidhana-soudha/
http://belgaumblog.com/2007/11/vaccine-depot-bachao/
http://belgaumblog.com/2007/08/suvarna-soudha-at-last-foundation-done/
http://belgaumblog.com/2007/08/the-beginning-of-the-end/
http://belgaumblog.com/2007/08/what-we-will-loose-video/
http://belgaumblog.com/2007/08/vaccine-depot-no-more%e2%80%a6/

I am retreating a fact again that we are not against building of the Suvarna Soudha, we want it to be built in Belgaum but not in Vaccine Depot, Thats our only stand.

UniverCell in Belgaum

The Chennai based UniverCell Telecommunications is opening its branch in Belgaum at Shanbag chambers, Kirloskar Road Belgaum.
UniverCell having the first mover advantage has pioneered its way through the mobile industry.

• The first mobile retailer to provide Bill & warranty on every purchase


• The first mobile retailer to implement "Touch & Feel" concept


• Exchange offers


• Easy Installments-0% interest, quick loan approvals


• Knowledgeable staff-groomed in customer service and soft skills


• Best After Sales Service


• Quality Management process – ISO 9000-2001 certified


• One stop shop for mobile needs


• Mobile e-shop, www.univercell.in


• Short code service

So the next time you plan to buy a mobile you know where you have to go first. The sad thing I cannot go, as I am on Reliance.

Traffic signals await inauguration

On this blog a story was posted on March 11,2008 Belgaum getting many Traffic Signals:Khanapur Road widened.

It is the end of May now and still this traffic signal awaits inauguration. The newly installed signals at Globe circle and RPD cross are still not working. Belgaumites thought that riding on roads would become a bit easier, but to their despair, still they await inauguration. Now that the new BJP govt is there in Belgaum and we have two BJP MLAs we should expect someone to inaugurate them.

Party will have to tread carefully on Belgaum

Source: Hindustan Times
It is a win they were desperate for. But the victory in Karnataka is likely to bring some discomfort to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra.

The party will now have to be very careful about the stand it takes on the dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra over the Marathi-dominated border district of Belgaum. “Linguistc identity has, in recent times, become a dominant flavour of Maharashtra politics,” said political scientist B. Venkatesh Kumar. “With the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, one needs to look at the positioning of the Maharashtra BJP, especially when its ally, the Shiv Sena, is very vocal about Belgaum.”

The BJP has won seven of the 10 seats in Belgaum, even affecting the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, which has been fighting for Belgaum to be included in Maharashtra.
The Sena has been very aggressive about the Marathi-speaking population in Belgaum with party chief Bal Thackeray threatening in 2005 to attack Kannadigas in Maharashtra if a single Marathi-speaking person was harmed in Belgaum. Nearly half the population in Belgaum is Marathi-speaking. Despite this, the district was included in Karnataka.

Sena leader Subhash Desai said, “The Sena will try to pursue this issue. With the BJP in power there (Karnataka), we will appeal to them.”
Maharashtra BJP’s state general secretary Madhu Chavan said the party’s central leadership would try its best to evolve a solution. “As far as Maharashtra BJP is concerned we are with Shiv Sena and the people of Belgaum. If Marathi-speaking people in the area want to live in Maharashtra then their demand must be met.”

Kumar said the issue could create some tension between the allies. “It will require a lot of political maneuvering at a senior level on both sides,” he said.