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.

Pre Monsoon showers get down temperature

Pre monsoon showers have been hitting the city for the past couple of days and due to which the temperature in the evening has gone down. This time we could expect the monsoon to hit the city in the first week of June as normal. Last year the monsoon hit Belgaum by 15 June this year it might be on time. So get all your rainwear ready.

ABHAY PATIL,SANJAY B PATIL & FEROZ NURUDDIN SAIT win

ABHAY PATIL(BJP) Belgaum South ,SANJAY B PATIL(BJP)Belgaum Rural & FEROZ NURUDDIN SAIT(INC) Belgaum North

To see detailed votes for each candidate click here

north See Saw

a tough fight on in Rural

rural

Abhay Patil BJP wins in South

north

rural MES