He explained that the October 3 notification mentioned that the number of wards can be increased to anywhere between 225 and 250.
Bengaluru :
Three days after the government issued a gazette notification on the amendments to the Karnataka Municipalities Act, setting the stage for delimitation of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) wards, it has been decided that the civic body will now have 243 wards based on the population, against the present 198.
The chairman of the joint legislature committee on restructuring of BBMP, MLA S Raghu, told The New Indian Express that the decision was taken at a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department Additional Chief Secretary and the BBMP Commissioner on Tuesday.
He explained that the October 3 notification mentioned that the number of wards can be increased to anywhere between 225 and 250. “With the population size of each ward at 35,000, we arrived at the number 241. But, since the size of families can vary, it was decided that there will be 243 wards,” he said.
Separate Act for Bengaluru in the works
The government will issue final orders soon and the first meeting on the delimitation exercise will be held immediately after, he said. “It will be held mostly by Friday, and after this, the delimitation will be done by the BBMP on the basis of the population. The older order of ward reservation will also cease to exist and a revised list will be announced,” Raghu added.
Amendments to the KMC Act, to create a separate Bengaluru Municipal Act, is also under progress, he explained. The committee members are keen on completing the delimitation exercise and preparation of voters’ list by November 30, the time set by the High Court and the Election Commission, he pointed out.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Bosky Khanna / Express News Service / October 07th, 2020
Janopakari Doddanna worked selflessly and tirelessly for Bengaluru
K. H. Ramaiah, a prominent personality of yesteryear Bangalore, often referred Gubbi Thotadappa as a fatherly figure (appa), Janopakari Doddanna as (Anna), elder brother. The services they rendered encompassed a very large strata of the city irrespective of class, cast and creed.
A vivid description of the life and contribution of Doddanna to Bengaluru is found Prof. V Krishna Setty’s book (1997), who had a long association with the institution founded by Doddanna.
Doddanna Shetty was born on February 3, 1840 to a pious couple Nanjundappa and Siddamma. They belonging to a vegetable oil extracting and trading community. They lived in Commercial Street in Cantonment area during 1830s. In addition to being god fearing and spiritual, the couple were also widely known for their charity and hospitality. Nanjundappa was the head of the community and was referred to as ‘Yajaman’.
Doddanna, got the education required for the family business, and after the death of his father assumed the post of Yajaman, and continued the family trade. He had also inherited the parents’ trait of charity and hospitality and without any bias, helped the downtrodden to live with dignity.
He used to go during night with a few of his associates to distribute good food and blankets to help the destitute and vagabonds on the streets and also the wandering monks who took shelter at Poornaiah Choultry which was located next to Tulasi Thota near Dharmambudi Tank, the present day Kempegowda Central Bus stand.
Paramount Theatre
He renovated the Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple, his family deity, on Old Poor House Road in Cantonment and liberally donated for such work undertaken by other temples in Bengaluru. He had also given away a portion of his land near Bangalore East Railway station for the use of Buddha Centre. Because of these liberal contributions he used to be even referred to as ‘Daanashoora Karna’, a prominent character known for such charitable acts in the epic, Mahabharata. In spite of being benevolent to the society, as if to test his inner strength to face the adversities, he lost three wives, one after the other. Though two sons were born to the fourth wife she too died soon.
Yet, he recovered from these onslaughts of the fate and continued to serve his city. During 1898, there was severe plague attack in Bengaluru and the first son Lakshminarayana fell a victim for the pandemic. Realising that isolation is the sole solution to prevent the spread of the disease, Doddanna got about two hundred shelters built in a village Venkatapura for the benefit of the members of his community. The plague had also deprived the education to many downtrodden children. To groom the future generation on proper moral and ethical grounds, he took some space near the present day KR Market in 1900 and started a lower secondary school to impart free education especially for poor children. He treated these kids as his own and took personal care even in giving them oil bath, food and clothing.
Pouring a major chunk of his wealth he also started to construct a huge building to run the school. He wanted this structure to represent the culture and ethics of the land and should also be big enough to serve the purpose of a school, choultry, theatre and assembly hall. Later, his building became a landmark in the city as Doddanna hall and also as Paramount theatre.
Around the year 1900, the Mysore Government had started the construction of the building of Revenue Survey Office in Cubbon Park, near KR circle. The contractor, Tatayaa had given the responsibility of the construction to Rangappa. Everyday, while walking from Cantonment to his school in the City Market area, Doddanna used to pause a little and observe the construction and used to discussthe details with Rangappa. Finally, when the building was completed, he liked the elegant front elevation of the structure and the excellent quality of work. He wanted his building also to represent the native culture and tradition. He engage d Rangappa to give his dream a realistic shape.
Inspiration for Doddanna Hall
The construction work under his personal supervision was going on. At this juncture, fate shot another major blow by taking away the life of his second and the only surviving son, Lakshminarasimha. Since the son died at the beginning of the construction, some elders advised him not to continue the work as his planetary positions were not in his favour. But, he accepted the adversities as challenges and proceeded with the work.
Doddanna’s philanthropic activities and his persisting efforts for the welfare of the downtrodden in spite of stumbling blocks, were known to the elite of the city.
Some other elders told him that his walking all the way from Cantonment to the City Market area was strenuous, Doddanna did not agree. “I can afford to have a personal coach for my movement. But, I feel, the money I spend for the same can be used to get few more cups of milk or oil to give bath to the poor little ones in my school…”
To continue…
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source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by Suresh Moona / October 01st, 2020
The letter in English, dated March 6, 1930, with a personal letterhead of ‘Gandhi Niwas , Rajkot, India’, is written in blue ink.
A handwritten letter of Mahatma Gandhi to the secretary of Congress, a week before he started the Dandi March to defy the salt tax from Sabarmati Ashram, are among three of his memorabilia that are going under the hammer in Bengaluru on Gandhi Jayanti on Friday.
While a physical auction is taking place in the city, bids are being invited online too.
The letter in English, dated March 6, 1930, with a personal letterhead of ‘Gandhi Niwas , Rajkot, India’, is written in blue ink.
The letter just says: “I will go next Sunday. All the member should present in the meeting. The meeting is very important for us.” The Mahatma signed the letter as ‘MK Gandhi’.
He commenced the 240-mile, 24-day Dandi March on March 12 as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement and tax resistance. While the letter was written on a Thursday, the “next Sunday” was March 9. The important meeting that he was referring to could be a meeting ahead of the Dandi march.
Rajender Maru of Marudhar Arts, one of the few ASI-licenced auction houses in India, which is auctioning the memorabilia, said that the other handwritten letter of the Mahatma is in Gujarati. The letter received by Kumar Ranjit Singhji, the ruler of Nawanagar, on April 12, 1939, is written in blue ink on handmade paper, which is still in good condition.
The third item is a rare black-and-white photograph of the Mahatma with an undated signature in Hindi in black ink as ‘M.K. Gandhi’.
“Handwritten and signed letters of Mahatma Gandhi are unequivocally rare and are amongst the most sought after collectibles in the Indian autographs category. This is important due to its rarity,” Mr. Maru told The Hindu.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Sharath S Srivatsava / Bengaluru – October 01st, 2020
Recognition has come to him over his contribution to the field of biological sciences and development of science, says K.S. Rangappa
Former Vice-Chancellor and scientist K.S. Rangappa has been nominated to the top advisory body of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has chosen him as a member of AIIMS PGIMER in Chandigarh and AIIMS in Bhubaneswar, Bathinda, Guwahati and Srinagar.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Prof. Rangappa said the nomination for a period of five years had been made in recognition of his contribution to the field of biological sciences and development of science in the country.
“Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has appreciated my research work and publications, particularly on cancer drug research, in various journals and my work as the chairman of the Indian Science Congress. The AIIMS is a prestigious central institution and I have been nominated to offer my opinion on research and other areas of science,” he said.
The former V-C of University of Mysore said he has been selected as CSIR-Emeritus Scientist (ES) by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi. “The CSIR-ES scheme was launched to recognise and encourage meritorious scientists who are above the age of 62. I believe it’s an honour for the University of Mysore to have a CSIR-Emeritus Scientist on its campus.”
COVID-19 vaccine race
On the COVID-19 vaccine race, Prof. Rangappa, who is into cancer research, said several vaccine candidates are in various clinical evaluation stages and some are undergoing clinical trials in India, China and Europe.
Usually, a vaccine takes at least two years to be available considering the evaluation processes involved in its development. In the case of COVID-19, which is spreading rapidly with a high transmission rate, many top-rated universities and research institutions have expedited their vaccine development and some are said to be close to achieving a breakthrough, the scientist explained.
A time-frame for availability of the vaccine cannot be fixed as it has to go through various trials before it is made available, he said, adding that the vaccine development has not been slowed down as seeming as researchers are moving thoughtfully to ensure no side-effects of the vaccine are felt on normal human health.
On cancer research with China
About his research collaboration with China, the former VC said he had entered into an understanding with a Chinese University which wanted to conduct clinical trials on six of his patents pertaining to cancer research. The mega research project had been kept in abeyance after the COVID-19 outbreak despite more than 10 video conference sessions between scientists from India and China on the project so far.
To a question on whether he would pursue the project in the wake of strained relations between India and China, he said, “The project has not taken off yet. It is in a deferment mode. It will be pursued only if the relations are good since my country is my priority and I will comply with what the laws say.”
‘Wake-up call’
The COVID-19 pandemic has come as a wake-up call for India to step up its funding to research, especially in science, as United States, China, South Korea and others set aside huge research grants in field of research and development.
Mr. Rangappa, while welcoming the National Education Policy (NEP), said India spends 0.69 per cent of its GDP on research while it is 4 per cent in Israel, 3 per cent in United States, and 4.5 percent in South Korea. “The allocation is very less for a thickly populated country like ours. The NEP has laid emphasis on research but there is no clarity on the extent of funding the area should get. As a scientist, I suggest India spends more on research like others since the pandemic has come as a lesson for all us,” he opined.
He said the NEP will help to erase discrepancies in the education sector and provide ample opportunities to the people from the deprived sections of the society for accessing quality education.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – October 03rd, 2020
This will help with loading and unloading activities at the yard and also boost gypsum trade from Chennai Port to Bidadi, nearly 30 km from Bengaluru.
The goods shed surface improvement was planned for 600mx15 m area. In the first phase, 390m x 15 m areas has been made ready.
Bengaluru :
A total of 8,000 disposable railway sleepers have been put to efficient use by the Bengaluru Railway Division by building a goods shed at Bidadi from scratch within a month.
This will help with loading and unloading activities at the yard and also boost gypsum trade from Chennai Port to Bidadi, nearly 30 km from Bengaluru.
Thousands of railway sleepers are released by the Railways annually as new sleepers are laid when tracks are renewed.
This is the third such goods shed made in the Division with the previous ones made at Nelamangala and Penekonda.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Divisional Railway Manager A K Verma said, “The Pre-Stressed Concrete (PSC) sleepers have been utilised to develop a 360 metre unloading platform. This has been done on the request of the Chennai Division of Southern Railway.”
The three goods sheds have been developed from scratch by utilizing 30,000 released sleepers, he added.
Sleepers are sturdy and can withstand a great load which makes them excellent material to develop roads or any surface which is likely to carry much weight.
Saint Gobain has a huge manufacturing facility at Bidadi.
“Gypsum from Chennai Port can be transported here. There is a potential of loading 2,00,000 Metric Tonnes per year,” he said.
“We got rich dividends in the form of substantial increase in NMG loading and first ever Roll On–Roll Off service of South Western Railway,” Verma added.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager A N Krishna Reddy said, “Usage of sleepers is cost effective. Being M55 PSC, the surface can withstand movement of heavy machinery and loaded lorries. It has saved us much transportation cost.”
The goods shed surface improvement was planned for 600mx15 m area. In the first phase, 390m x 15 m areas has been made ready.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by S. Lalitha / Express News Service / September 30th, 2020
Continuing its CSR initiatives, HAL on Tuesday donated one ambulance each to the State-run Institute of Nephro Urology situated on the Victoria Hospital campus and Sir C.V. Raman General Hospital.
“Considering the pandemic, we are doing whatever we can to strengthen the health infrastructure,” said R. Madhavan, CMD, HAL.
The ambulances are equipped with facilities like air conditioning, basic life support system, analog oxygen delivery system, auto loader stretcher trolley with floor mounting mechanism, and a doctor’s seat. They are particularly useful for patients who require medical monitoring in transit and non-invasive airway management.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – September 30th, 2020
Dakshayini Sharanbasavappa Appa, chairperson of the Sharanabasaveshwar Vidya Vardak Sangha and member of the Board of Governors of Sharnbasva University, has been selected by the Davangere University for a honorary doctorate this year.
The honorary doctorate will be conferred on Ms. Dakshayini Appa at the university convocation to be held on the main campus, Shivagangotri, on the outskirts of Davangere on Wednesday.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / Kalaburagi – September 30th, 2020
The facility will work with over 50 students and three faculty members of IISc.
File Photo of Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in Bengaluru. (Photo | Express Photo Services)
Bengaluru :
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Wipro GE Healthcare on Thursday announced the inauguration of an advanced centre for innovation and research — WIPRO GE Healthcare – Computational and Data Sciences Collaborative Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence in Medical and Healthcare Imaging — at the IISc campus here on Thursday.
The facility, located at the Department of Computational and Data Sciences (CDS), will work on next-level healthcare diagnostics with deep learning technology, artificial intelligence and future-ready digital interfaces, to provide highly sophisticated diagnostic and medical image-reconstruction techniques and protocols for faster and better imaging.
The facility will work with over 50 students and three faculty members of IISc. Some of the use cases that the collaboration will explore are lightweight deep learning models for classification and segmentation of Covid-19 lesions in lung ultrasound and CT images, deep learning models for improving as well as classifying spectral domain optical coherence tomography images in ophthalmology, deep learning-based medical image reconstruction methods and, exploiting the structure of 3D volume data that necessitates fewer annotations.
The infrastructural requirements, including finished interiors, power backup, internet connectivity, and air conditioning, among others will be met by IISc. Wipro GE Healthcare is supporting the centre with a one-time grant, as part of its CSR efforts.
source: http://www.nieindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / September 25th, 2020
The facade of the Museum of Art and Photography on Kasturba Road now sports a large, colourful mural
There is a new addition to the Bengaluru cityscape. The façade of the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) on Kasturba Road, which is under construction, has been transformed into a large, colourful mural.
The project was brought to life over 10 days by Aravani Art Project, a city-based cis and transwomen art collective. The artwork titled Story of Bangalore or Bengaluru Kathegalu, featuresthe myriad people that make the bustling metropolis: from the morning walker and the pourakarmika to the traffic policeman, complete with orange reflector jacket.
Says Kamini Sawhney, director of MAP, “We are a museum that is located in Bengaluru, and it is so important to connect with the community. We have been doing this over the last two years with education programmes, talks and so on. Once COVID-19 happened, things came to a standstill but we decided that this artwork was a good way to tell Bengaluru that we are here. I also think that the two important pillars of MAP are inclusion and accessibility and this project conveys that message.”
Stating that the concept was decided after brainstorming with the Aravani team, she says, “The important points that came up were that this is essentially a garden city that still has beautiful trees and flowers, despite all the development. So, the mural has trees and flowers. Then we decided to have a building that identifies with Bengaluru so you have the High Court in Cubbon Park.”
“Then you have walkers, children and dogs. The building has been designed in such a way that it is accessible to all. So, there is a child in the corner in a wheelchair, almost at the MAP entrance. COVID-19 has affected our societies tremendously, so you can see masks and frontline workers too. Everyone has included something that they felt was important to the story of Bengaluru.”
The people in the mural remain faceless, painted in different shades of brown. The idea being, “it could be you”.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by Aparna Narain / Bengaluru – September 22nd, 2020
Aadi Swaroopa displaying her writing skills. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Swaroopa toys with nine other forms too, including simultaneously writing in Kannada and English
15-year-old Aadi Swaroopa can write with ease using both the hands in unidirectional way. She has also mastered writing in nine different ways including speed writing with right and left hand, reverse running writing and mirror image writing.
Daughter of Gopadkar and Sumadkar, Ms. Swaroopa recently secured a certificate from Uttar Pradesh-based Barelia Lata Foundation for writing 45 words in a minute in an unidirectional way.
Ms. Swaroopa, who is writing the SSLC examination this year as a private candidate, picked up writing with left hand two years ago during a summer camp conducted by her parents, who manage Swaroopa Adhyayana Kendra – a centre that promotes self-learning.
It’s during the lockdown, when there were not much children at the Kendra, that Ms. Swaroopa started practising different forms of writing using both hands. “It’s continuous practice that helped me to improve my speed,” said Ms. Swaroopa, who started writing at the age of three. “I keep on adding new forms of writing.”
On Monday, Ms. Swaroopa demonstrated her skill before reporters by writing the line “See the line where the sky meets the sea ..” unidirectionally. She then wrote the same sentence in the opposite direction, followed by speed writing with right and left hand separately and also writing the mirror image of the sentence. She also showed her heterotopic style of writing, and the hetero linguistic style that involved simultaneously writing in Kannada and English. She showed dancing form, exchange form and her blindfolded writing skill too.
Ms. Swaroopa, who has already come out with a short story book in Kannada and a fiction book in English, said writing with both hands has had positive effect on her creativity. “I am now writing my second novel,” said Ms. Swaroopa, who is a voracious reader, an Yakshagana artiste, a Hindustani classical singer and an artist. She loves mimicry and performs beatbox.
Gopadkar and Sumadkar said they have liberated their daughter from the pressure of learning in a classroom. “She has all the skills to become a good writer,” said Sumadkar.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – September 23rd, 2020
