KARNATAKA

Centre’s Rs 48-crore development plans for Karnataka’s Chamundi Hills draw greens’ ire

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The Union tourism ministry is proposing to invest Rs 48 crore under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) and Rs 100 crore under Swadesh scheme to give a major facelift to the tourism in the city.

In 2019, it was first proposed to develop Chamundi Hills under the Prasad Scheme at the total estimated cost of Rs 60 crore.However, the proposal was changed following opposition.Green activists are opposing any development works which affect the sacred and sensitive temple area.

According to available documents, development activities are proposed in six sites atop Chamundi Hills under the PRASAD scheme.This includes works worth Rs 20.65 crore in the Chamundi Temple premises.Rs 5.37 crore will be spent on pilgrimage facilities and Mahishasura plaza, Rs 1.51 crore for the development of Devikere, Rs 4.34 crore for the Nandi statue pavilion development, Rs 4.16 crore for redevelopment of foothills and Rs 1.34 crore for the development of viewpoints.

Ather Energy to set up 1,000 EV charging stations across Karnataka

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Ather Energy signed an MoU withEscoms(electricity supply companies) to establish fast-charging stations for two-wheelers at 1,000 locations across the state.

The collaboration aims to create a favourable ecosystem for electric vehicles in the state… All government agencies will coordinate with Escoms to share their available spaces for charging stations, said a press release from Ather Energy.

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommais maiden budget looks to double GSDP by 2025

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Chief minister BasavarajBommaihas set an ambitious target of doubling the statesGSDP(gross state domestic product) from the present Rs 17 lakh crore to Rs 34 lakh crore by 2025. He is likely to propose new policies to that effect in his maiden budget to be presented in March.

Experts, while seeing the potential in the states economy, have warned the government that the target cannot be achieved unless the chief minister brings much-needed reforms in terms of revenue mobilisation, Growth-oriented policies and plugging loopholes in the administration.

Prasad said the government is looking at policies to improve the contribution of all three sectors Services, manufacturing and Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture to the GSDP. The focus is on the service sector and plans are afoot to ensure its contribution is enhanced from 54% to 66% in three years, he added.

Residential rents soared in 2022: NoBroker report

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Residential rents in Bengaluru increased on Average by 12% in 2022, significantly higher than that in recent preceding years, according to data on property portal NoBroker. Rentals for properties near offices and in gated communities went up by 25%.NoBrokerco-founderSaurabh Gargtold TOI that the rent increase in recent years had been around 3-5%. The platform uses data from rental agreements made on the portal to assess the increase in rent.

The steep increase in rent is motivating people to buy houses, NoBroker said in its report for 2022. In a survey, 32% of tenants mentioned rent increase as the major factor in buying houses, an increase from 18% in 2021.

On the NoBroker platform, Garg said, most properties in 2022 were rented out within 24 hours, compared to 15-16 days before Covid. Around 35-40% houses in gated communities were rented out within just six hours. The platforms analysis shows that 73% of landlords feel it is easier to rent out their properties now. This is a substantial jump from 41% in 2021.

Karnataka: 100 police stations to get their own buildings

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The government of Karnataka has approved the construction of 100 buildings for Police stations in various parts of Karnataka at a cost of Rs 200 crore.

The government intended to complete the establishment of police stations in their own buildings in two years. Of 1,054 police stations in the state, 60 are functioning in rented buildings, 83 stations are in government buildings of various departments, and 76 police stations are in buildings which are in a dilapidated state.

MA Saleem, additional director general of police (administration), said on priority, in the first phase, the police stations functioning in rented buildings will be taken up for under initiative, and a new building constructed for them, where they have adequate land.

According sources, since many years, the police department was submitting proposals for the construction of new buildings for police stations across the state. In many districts, police stations are working from rented buildings and also dilapidated buildings, because of which the department didnt have adequate space to accommodate personnel, park seized vehicles, to conduct investigations, and interrogate accused as well as for other purposes.

KIMS adopts tech to provide all medical reports online

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KarnatakaInstitute of Medical Sciences (KIMS)Hubballiwill provide X-ray, scanning, and bloodtestreports online for the convenience of patients and doctors. Patients need not visit the X-ray lab, doppler, USG, CT, MRI scans, reports or blood tests for various diseases. All the reports will be provided online.

This new system has been started and has benefited many patients. However, this online service will save up to Rs 1 crore, for which an Environment free of paper, x-ray films and plastic will be created.
KIMS Hubballihas introduced Picture Archiving Communication System (Pacs) to store and view patients HISTORY. This system will help KIMS go paperless as doctors will get all the information at their fingertips when they enter the patients unique ID number.

Karnataka: Of cases in past month, 47% in 15-45 yrs bracket

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Experts say the government should ideally begin vaccinating the moving Population, which largely comprises those above the 18 years of age, since figures show that 47% or 38,256 of the total 67,298 people who tested positive for Covid-19 between March 5 and April 5 this year in Karnataka are in the 15 to 45 years age group.

The Karnataka government apprised the central government of these statistics during a video conference meeting on Tuesday to discuss measures to curb the spread of the virus. During the meeting,state Health department officialsprovided age-wise distribution ofCovid cases in Karnatakain the past one month.

As per the state health and family welfare department data, there are 4,172 children in the age group 0-14 years who tested positive between March 5 and April 5 this year. The highest number of infections 19,378 were seen among those aged between 15 and 29 years, a majority of whom were students, while 18,853 people in the age group of 30-44 years had also tested positive during the same period.

There were 14,978 cases in the age group 45 to 59 years, and 9,917 people above 60 years of age who tested positive.

Of the total 67,298 patients, 307 died of which 214 (or 70%) of them were aged 60 years and above. While 75 people in the age group of 45-59 years succumbed to Covid-19, the number was four for the 15-30 years age group and 13 for the 30-45 years group.

Karnataka is third in LSD cattle deaths

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Karnataka has recorded the third highest number of cattle deaths caused by lumpy skin disease (LSD) in the country afterRajasthanand Maharashtra, with largely unaffected southern regions like Bengaluru and Mysuru reporting more cases by the day.

The Karnataka toll stands at 21,908, behind Maharashtra (28,227) and Rajasthan (75,820). Punjab has counted 17,932 cattle deaths so far.

Experts claimed that vaccination and awareness programmes have helped control the spread of the disease in northern Karnataka, but the south seems to be the new nerve centre, which has farmers worried.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle and buffalo. Infection typically includes symptoms like fever, 2-5cm-sized skin nodules, abortion in pregnant animals, depression and reduction in milk yield. The disease can result in animal welfare issues and significant production losses.

It is spread by movement of affected animals, by insects or parasites such as flies, mosquitoes and ticks, by contaminated equipment and directly from animal to animal in some cases.

Karnataka: International tourism expo slated for February shelved

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In September, the government had announced thatKarnatakawill host the state tourism international expo in February 2022. This was after it assessed that international flights would resume normal operations by November 15.

However, now with the onset ofOmicron, Karnataka has been forced to postpone the mega event, which was aimed at reviving the struggling tourism .

The Karnataka International Travellers Expo (KITE), scheduled to be held from February 23 to 25, 2022 has been postponed to April, said tourism secretary.

Though ranked eighth on Indias list of states dependent on international travellers, Karnataka has a high footfall of foreign tourists.KIA, as per State Government data, was ranked fifth in footfall between January 2019-January 2020.

Karnataka to get $76-m space taxi, propulsion systems facility

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A research and development (R&D) centre and manufacturing factory for space taxis (orbital transfer vehicles or OTVs) and propulsion systems for rockets and satellites is expected to begin first-phase operations on a five-acre facility at the aerospace park near Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) by late 2023.

The new facility, expected to be worth $76 million (around Rs 630 crore) once fully operational, will be established by space tech firm Bellatrix Aerospace, a Bengaluru-headquartered company specialising in in-orbit propulsion systems and OTVs/space taxis.