Karnataka news live: Bengaluru helpline to halt digital fraud

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government will build the "best cycling tracks in all four directions of the city" to encourage the cycling enthusiasts. (IANS)

With a long list of ministerial aspirants, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has a mammoth task cut out when he takes up the cabinet expansion next week. He will have to weigh all options—caste, regional and factional equations.

Bus services between Dakshina Kannada district and Kasaragod (Kerala) have been suspended for one week because of a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases. The district administration has also banned all types of gatherings, including political and religious ones, till August 10. The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Dakshina Kannada District Disaster Management Authority on Saturday. Local MP Nalin Kumar Kateel chaired this meeting.

In a national first, Bengaluru police and banks have come up with a helpline to freeze fraudulent digital transactions. The Cybercrime Incident Report will address high-frequency, low-value cyber crimes such as phishing and fake messages, and use the existing 112 response number

A citizens’ group has demanded that the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019, should not be passed in Parliament. More than 180 citizens signed a statement opposing the bill that proposes to regulate the use of DNA and has a stated purpose of establishing the identity of victims, suspects, undertrials, offenders, missing persons, unknown deceased persons (and their relatives) in criminal and civil cases.

Alleging that the spying software ‘Pegasus’ was used by the BJP-led central government to dislodge from power governments headed by opposition parties, including the JD(S)-Congress coalition dispensation in Karnataka, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday alleged that the BJP was keeping everyone under surveillance. Read more

The growing demand for Udupi saris in the last three years has led students from fashion designing institutes across India to reach out to the Kadike Trust, to understand and document the Udupi sari design. Read more

With Covid-19 cases climbing in some neighbouring states again, triggering concerns of a potential third wave, citizen groups and civic officials are in favour of activating ‘DETER’ committees in all city wards. The acronym stands for Decentralised Triage and Emergency Response. Read more

Congress on Saturday slammed the Centre over the Pegasus snooping row. AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged the spyware was used in toppling various governments, including the previous JD(S)-Congress government. He claimed that everyone was under the BJP’s surveillance. “The party is trying to enter the bathroom and bedroom of people,” he alleged.

Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri on Saturday blamed the state government and the bureaucratic system for the delay in having a paperless legislature in Karnataka. Kageri was speaking to reporters highlighting the achievements of the Karnataka legislative assembly in the last two years. The process of rolling out e-Vidhan started in 2014 when a team from Karnataka visited Himachal Pradesh to study the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 69 crore. It missed several deadlines since then. He urged the government to take measures to implement the project soon. The Speaker also said in the last two years, five sessions were held for 54 days and transacted business for 272 hours.

The Mangalore University Syndicate has decided to write to the department of higher education to conduct a probe into various anomalies regarding the rooftop solar system. The varsity spent a whopping Rs 2.1 crore on the project, which is now non-operational. Read more

Four years after India’s first public bicycle sharing system TrinTrin was launched in Mysuru city, the city is piloting another project “cycle4change” to encourage bicycle users by providing them dedicated bicycles lanes/cycle track on the thoroughfares of the city. Read more

A 47-year-old computer operator, whose complicity was suspected in a case where a gram panchayat office was set on fire and several incriminating documents were destroyed, had embarked on a pilgrimage to avoid coming under police radar. However, the law caught up with her on July 27 when city police picked her up from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Read more

A 30-year-old woman, who brought her ailing mother-in-law to Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma & Orthopaedics Centre, Bengaluru, on Thursday morning for treatment from Mandya, was shell-shocked when she realised she had left behind medical reports and Rs 50,000 in a KSRTC bus. However, timely help from an autorickshaw driver and officials at Satellite bus stand on Mysuru Road helped her get back her money and documents which were in the bus that had already left for Mysuru.

The Karnataka high court on Saturday declined to entertain as Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by social activist TJ Abraham as it felt he had a personal interest in it. Read more

The number of centenarians who contracted Covid-19 in Karnataka has increased from 67 in mid-April to 212 (as of July 29). Of these, 61 tested positive in July, the highest for any month since the pandemic began. Read more

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike on Saturday threatened to initiate action against companies illegally drawing cables through trees and over pavements. The crackdown comes in the backdrop of directives from the high court and Karnataka State Human Rights Commission. Dangling overhead cables not only spoil the aesthetics of a place but also pose a great risk to pedestrians and motorists, they said.

Traders at Yeshwantpur APMC are opposing the state government’s move to shift those selling onion, potato and garlic to Dasanapura market, 20km away, arguing it would affect their business. K Lokesh, president, Bangalore Potato and Onion Traders’ Association, said: “In 2020, they shifted us to Dasanapura but we later returned to Yeshwantpur after political intervention. But APMC officials are not allowing onion, potato and garlic traders to do business since March 23, 2021. They are pressuring us to give in writing that we’ll shift to Dasanapura, which is on the city’s outskirts, in one year.” Swamy Ayyanar, a trader, said thousands of families rely on this (Yeshwantpur) market for their livelihood and they are facing a big crisis since March.

A 30-year-old woman, who brought her ailing mother-in-law to Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Trauma & Orthopaedics Centre, Bengaluru, on Thursday morning for treatment from Mandya, was shell-shocked when she realised she had left behind medical reports and Rs 50,000 in a KSRTC bus. Read more