Lokayukta appointment soon
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai confirmed that the process of appointing the new Lokayukta is in the final stages. Bommai’s confirmation comes a day after the High Court, during a hearing, indicated that the appointment process had begun.
The panel formed to choose the Lokayukta comprises Bommai, High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Chairman of the Legislative Council, and opposition leaders in both Houses. The position of Lokayukta has been vacant since January.
Source: The Indian Express
Idgah Maidan row
The row over the ownership of the Chamarajpet Idgah Maidan has heated up, with documents showing conflicting information. Controversy had risen when some Hindu right wing organisations sought clarification from BBMP about ownership of the land and why Muslims were given exclusive access to hold festivals there.
BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath said that BBMP is the owner of the playground, and that any organisation could claim ownership of the 2.10-acre property by showing proof.
Source: Deccan Herald, The New Indian Express
Protests against textbook revision
Congress leaders staged a protest against the government over the textbook controversy, at Gandhi statue, Vidhana Soudha, on Thursday.
On Wednesday, writers and academicians under the AISEC (All India Save Education Committee) met to demand scrapping of the new textbooks. Authors who had revoked permission to use their works in the books, slammed the “distorted content” introduced by the Rohith Chakrathirtha-led textbook revision committee.
It’s been pointed out that content on the State’s Bhakti and Sufi movement icons, such as Akka Mahadevi and Purandaradasa, are also missing from textbooks now.
Source: Deccan Herald, The Indian Express, The Hindu
Read more: Caste pervades every aspect of life in Bengaluru: Panel discussion
IISc highest-ranked Indian institute
The IISc (Indian Institute of Science) rose 31 places and emerged as the highest-ranked Indian institute in the 2023 edition of the QS World University rankings, followed by IIT-Bombay and IIT-Delhi. QS (Quacquarelli Symonds), the London-based global higher education analyst, released the 19th edition of the international university rankings on Thursday.
IISc now ranks 155th in the list, whereas IIT-B ranks 172nd, and IIT-D 174th. These are the only Indian institutes in the global top 200, in continuation of a trend since 2017. The total number of Indian institutes among the global top 1,000 rose from 22 to 27.
Source: Indian Express, The Hindu
Beware of fake messages: Bescom
Bescom (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited) on Wednesday said that consumers were getting fraudulent texts on disconnection of power supply for non-payment of bills. Fearing disconnection, consumers were making online payments and getting cheated.
The utility explained that it does not insist on bill payment through text messages. Once the bill is generated, consumers get a 30-day grace period for payment. Bescom officials said they have reported the events to the cyber police.
Source: Indian Express
Read more: Study: BESCOM transformers poorly maintained, can disrupt power supply
Visveswaraya terminal starts operations
The SMVB (Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal Baiyyappanahalli) began commercial operations on Monday as the Ernakulam tri-weekly Express chugged out of its platform. Construction of SMVB, the first air-conditioned railway terminal of South India, had been completed at the start of last year. Officially, the Railways had cited the lack of connectivity as reason for the delay in inauguration.
Source: Deccan Herald
[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]
