It’s a long wait for passport applicants in Belgaum

Source The Hindu
There has been an increase in the number people applying for passport
Open more counters to meet the growing demand of local people

The two counters for receiving passport applications in Belgaum are not in a position to meet the growing demands of the local people.

One can see a large number of people waiting for several hours to submit their applications at the counters housed at the Head Post Office and the office of the Superintendent of Police here, on any given day.

Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the number people applying for passport. Among them are students from the city and other parts of the district who look forward to pursue higher education in the United States or the United Kingdom.
According to B.R. Patil, marketing executive of the Regional Passport Office, about 4,000 applications were received at the counter located in the post office in 2007. As many as 3,000 applications were submitted at the counter in 2006.

In 2008, 2,830 applications have been received at the counter till Friday and the figure is expected to cross 5,000-mark by the year-end, according to Mr. Patil.
According to a private agent, service provided at the two counters is “satisfactory”. However, they are not in a position to attend to even 50 per cent of the applicants on any given day. Applications are received at the two counters only between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. As a result, many people return home without submitting their application after waiting for several hours.
The delay is not due to any lethargic attitude on the part of the officials managing these counters but because of the time spent on verifying each application in presence of the applicant.
The officials assist the applicants if the applications are not filled properly to ensure that they are not rejected. They also enter the data online in the presence of the applicant and despatch the applications to the Regional Passport Office in Bangalore in the evening.

It is difficult for one or two persons to handle so many applications every day, said an applicant and added that more counters should be opened in other localities so that their work load was evenly distributed.

L.N. Lengde, a businessman, who spent over six hours along with his children to submit the applications on Friday, said he lost almost a day’s business waiting in the queue. Much time could be saved if there was a separate officer to verify the applications, he said. Another applicant, who was in the queue from 7 a.m. and submitted his application at 11 a.m., said that the authorities concerned should open more counters to meet the growing demand of local people.

Thank God! I had got my passport done 6 years back at that time I had to wait for 70 minutes to submit my form. So it seems many many have travelled aborad from Belgaum, A good sign of prosperity, may be.

Puranic Associations of Belgaum

Many places in the Belgaum district have been associated with mythological traditions. There are as many 5 Ramteerths namely 1)in the Parasgad Fort 2)at Mullur in Ramdurg 3)Near Kanbargi 4) Ramteertha in Athani & 5) in Halashi in Khanapur Taluk which are described as visited by Rama who installed Ramlinags at these places. Ramdurg fort is the place ascribed to the place where Shabri had met Rama.Sogal is the place where Sugolmuni performed penance.The Yellama Gudda is called the site where Jamadgani had lived and the dramatic evenrts of his son Prashurama beheading his mother Renuka at his fathers bidding having taken place.Jamboti is associated with Jambavati, lord Krishna's consort & Jambvant's daughter.

Source: The Karnataka State Gazetteer
Contributed by MAHANTESH VAKKUND, Bangalore

Royston memorial update

Bensons School, Rashtriya Military school & Oriental school won their matches and entered the next round.

Today's matches: Vanita Vidyalaya Vs G G Chitnis
Dyan Prabhodhan Vs M V HerwadkarMarathi Vidya Vs St.Xaviers

Belgaum Pune railway line

There was a severe famine in 1876-78 and this was responsible for laying of the Railway line connecting Belgaum with Pune.

The highway connecting Belgaum with Satara was constructed a bit a later during the same period.

Source: The Karnataka State Gazetteer
Contributed by MAHANTESH VAKKUND, Bangalore

Shaniwar Khoot breathes fresh air

All the vegetable street vendors and fruit vendors from the Shaniwar Khoot road were removed by the traffic police yesterday till the Shaniwar khoot circle.

The road has heavy traffic and these vendors were causing a lot of trouble for the traffic and hence the police after a long time removed them and relocated them.

Pangul Galli to be widened

The Belgaum Corporation now plans to widen the road of Pangul Galli. It is link to the main market from Ganpat galli and as now most of the street has new buildings the widening should be done easily, it is said.

There are old buildings also and how they are dealt with will have to be seen.

Royston Memorial updates

Royston Memorial updates:


M V Herwadkar, St.Xaviers & G G Chitnis schools won their respective matches and entered the knock out rouand starting from today.

Today Matches:

Rashtriya Military School Vs Sant mira

Bensons School Vs Mahila Vidyalaya

Oriental Vs Cantonment School

Sardars High School first English school in Belgaum district

Royoston memorial knock out round

Today will be the last match in the league round of the Royston memorial tournament.
Today evening the lots of the matches of the knock out round will be done. 14 schools have made their place to this round.
The knock out round will begin from tomorrow.

POWER & SPEED create big holes in pockets

In the past few days, 'Singh has become the King', the share market is now again ready to take a leap upwards and Crude oil prices are heading only southwards. All these things are very nice for the common man. Today crude is trading at about 124.24$ which is of its high of almost 150$.

At the time when, oil prices were rising upwards the oil companies in India adopted a nice way to "LOOT" the public by selling only PREMIUM petrol & diesel. Since then prices have increased and the local fuel sellers who were only selling branded fuel again went back to regular fuel.

However, since the past couple of days again the "LOOT" has begun. You are compelled to buy branded fuel like Power & Speed and to add to that when I fueled my car today morning for Rs.500 the vendor said this is the last time he will be filling for Rs.500 and henceforward the max fueling will be only Rs.200, the person fueling said.

Now, I have a point to make here. The fuel prices have come down all is normal then why is that we are compelled to buy this costly branded fuel when we do not want it.
Many of you must have faced this problem, kindly leave your comments so that others also know about it. I had raised this issue earlier on this very blog and the local newspapers have done it. Nevertheless, who will bell the cat is the question?

Until then, just see POWER & SPEED create big holes in your pockets.

Farmers oppose move to acquire farmland

Farmers of Kamkaratti, six km from here on the Pune-Bangalore Express Highway (NH4), on Wednesday marched to the office of the Deputy Commissioner to re-assert their stand against handing over their agricultural land to the government, either for the establishment of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha or any other industrial purpose.
Source The Hindu
I dont understand why the govt. does not go in for Non Farm land. Otherwise this issue will crop up all the time at any location.

Cruel Humans: Calf pays for man’s superstition

Source The Hindu
abandoned: The calf which was found with its ears and tail cut in Belgaum on Tuesday.

The animal was found with its ears and
tail cut

On Tuesday morning, passers-by on Belgaum-Ganeshpur Road in front of Benon Smith School here were shocked to see an abandoned calf bleeding. The animal was in pain after someone had cut its ears and tail.
With no help coming from anybody, the calf collapsed on the ground and people, who watched the animal suffer, did not inform the veterinary hospital or the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Belgaum unit.
When this correspondent reached the spot, the calf was lying on the ground with very little energy to stand on its own. However, the bleeding had stopped.
Street vendors present at the spot since morning said that it was not a case of accident. They alleged that it was a deliberate act of violence. Efforts to trace the owner of the animal went in vain. Some people tried to feed the animal with bananas, but it could not take them.
On being informed, the staff of the veterinary hospital rushed to the spot and administered first aid and anti-septic medicine to the calf. But, efforts to trace the SPCA activists failed. Though the SPCA had opened an office on the premises of the veterinary hospital, it does not function from there anymore.
A senior official in the hospital feared it to be a case of superstition. He said many people, including farmers and cattle owners in villages, cut ears and tails of cattle as mark of sacrifice in the hope of getting divine blessings.

Red Ribbon Express in Belgaum on August 14

The ‘Red Ribbon Express’ is an exhibition on rail to create HIV awareness and the Railways ministry has introduced this train at the request of the health ministry.

It will reach Belgaum at 5 am on August 14 and depart Belgaum at 1 am on August 15.

Alipaak it happens only in Belgaum

Royesten memorial

Bensons School beat Bhatkande School 9-0
Islamiya beat hartesh by 1-0
Cantonment School beat Maratha Mandal 2-0