1. Nearly 18% of Lake Area in Bengaluru Encroached
A multinational soft-drinks major and two tech parks are among the 73 encroachers named by the legislature committee constituted to study and ascertain the extent of lake encroachments in and around Bengaluru. The committee has stated 10,785 acres - or, nearly 18% - of lake area has been encroached in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts.
The committee, headed by speaker KB Koliwad and was constituted three years ago, tabled its 247-page report in the assembly on Tuesday. The report, based on studies pertaining to 1,547 lakes in and around Bengaluru, has emphasised the need for an effective plan to contain encroachments. "Encroachment (is) on such a massive scale that it is difficult to reclaim the (lost) land," the committee has stated, attributing the loss of lakes to the greed of land developers and official apathy.
Of the total of 57,932 acres of lake area in Bengaluru City and Bengaluru Rural, 10,785 acres have been encroached, leaving 46,289 acres intact.
(Source: Times of India)
2. People Should Watch 'Padmavati' Before Objecting: Shivarajkumar
Deepika Padukone, lead actor of the controversial period drama Padmavati, who's been facing threats to her life and honour, has found support from members of the Kannada film industry, where she began her career. The actor, along with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is in the eye of the storm after the Rajasthan unit of Shri Rajput Karni Sena and senior BJP leaders issued threats against Deepika for her depiction of the Rajput queen of Chittor.
Indrajit Lankesh, journalist and filmmaker who happened to direct Deepika in her debut movie Aishwarya in 2006, feels Deepika is bearing the brunt of threats due to her stature.
"While I feel proud to have introduced Deepika and watched her become a big name, I condemn the attacks on her. It is the director who should take responsibility and defend his vision. Deepika is the biggest name in the movie, which is why she's being targeted. Freedom of speech and expression that we are granted (under the Constitution) should not be taken for granted and used to hurt any community. As a creative person, the writer or the director has the freedom to present a vision, but he should be responsible for his work," said Lankesh.
(Source: Times of India)
3. Many Inconvenienced Due to Vodafone Network Disruption
Vodafone users in Bengaluru were inconvenienced for more than two hours on Wednesday evening following a total blackout for about 30 minutes. The problem continued until 7 pm for several others. The problem began with the suspension of data connection followed by the total blackout.
"At about 4.30 pm, I noticed the 'emergency calls only' message on my mobile phone. However, I switched from 3G to 2G and the network was fine. Around 5 pm, even that was gone. It was frustrating," Praveen Shetty, a Vodafone user told DH. Shetty had come to the Vodafone Store on the Church Street.
However, the staff at the store did not have any clue about the reason behind the blackout. Many tried to find out more about the problems through social media with many tagging Vodafone to ask about the blackout. Vodafone replied on Twitter: "HI, There is a temporary network outage in your area due to which you are facing an issue. The same will be resolved."
(Source: Deccan Herald)
4. After Spending B'day With Parents, Techie Falls to Death From Her Office
A day after her birthday, Geethanjali U, a 27-year-old software engineer, fell to her death from the terrace of the 10-storey Umiya Business Bay-2 building at the Cessna Business Park, Kadubeesanahalli, near Marathahalli, southeast Bengaluru.
She had returned to the city on Wednesday morning after celebrating her birthday with her parents in Baina, Goa. She was a resident of Bellandur and a native of Goa. Marathahalli police said the incident happened around 12.30 pm and the reason for her death is not yet clear.
Abdul Ahad, deputy commissioner of police (Whitefield division), said she was a networking engineer with ADVA Optical Networking. The building security staff said they heard a thud and saw the woman on the ground.
(Source: Times of India)
5. Three-Year-Old 'Adopted' Boy Allegedly Tortured
A three-year-old boy, allegedly tortured by a couple who had illegally adopted, him was rescued by the Child Welfare Committee with the help of the Vidyaranyapura police on Tuesday. When the authorities rescued him on the basis of a tip-off from neighbours, they found the child had multiple burn injuries on his back and hands.
He is currently being treated at Victoria Hospital. The police have booked Rahman, who had allegedly bought him from a ragpicker three years ago, and his wife for attempt to murder and other sections of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Rahman has three children, including a one-year-old daughter. According to the police, his wife did not like the boy, and would torture him and deny food. Neighbours told the police that they would see the boy crying all day as soon as Rahman, a construction labourer, left the house for work.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. After Regulating the Private Healthcare Setup, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Has Agreed to Take Up the Fees Issue
After a series of complaints from parents and education experts that private schools are collecting excess fee year on year, the state government has decided to fix fees for all private schools and ensure there is a uniform admission fee structure in schools throughout the state.
Recently, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah agreed to introduce a Bill to bring uniformity in the private school fee structure in the same way that the state government regulated the private healthcare sector by tabling the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2017.
However, school managements say this is just a political gimmick at this point in time.
(Source: Bangalore Mirror)
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