Nor'westers affect normal life in Odisha
Bhubaneswar, May 23: Normal life in several parts of Odisha was affected due to Nor'westers accompanied by rain and thunderstorms on Wednesday.
Bhubaneswar Met Director Sarat Chandra Sahu said: "A cloud mass that had formed near Odisha-West Bengal border is moving towards the south triggering heavy rains in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is likely to move towards Puri first and then to the Bay of Bengal."
Many people were seen stranded at railway stations and different bus stops due to waterlogging.
The East Coast Railway (ECoR) cancelled four trains, partially cancelled three and controlled more than 10 trains at several places due to the inclement weather.
Overhead wires of the railways were damaged at several places, including near Retang in Bhubaneswar, while signalling system has also been affected due to the squalls, said an official.
Services of Angul-Puri Passenger, Tata-Kacheguda Special, Talcher-Puri Passenger, Bhadrak-Bhubaneswar Passenger, Puri-Cuttack Passenger, Palasa-Cuttack Passenger, Secunderabad-Howrah Falaknuma Express, Bangalore Cant-Bhubaneswar Express, Puri-Santragachhi Passenger, Puri-New Delhi Nandankanan Express were in waiting at different stations.
The Cuttack-Paradeep-Cuttack Passenger and Cuttack-Bhadrak-Cuttack Passenger were cancelled.
The Cuttack-Puri Passenger will originate from Mancheswar instead of Cuttack while Bhubaneswar-Brahmapur Passenger will run up to Balugaon and will return to Bhubaneswar as Brahmapur-Bhubaneswar Passenger from Balugaon to Bhubaneswar, said the official.
Services of Bhubaneswar-Brahmapur-Bhubaneswar Passenger will remain cancelled between Balugaon and Brahmapur from both the directions.
Palasa-Cuttack Passenger and Cuttack-Puri Passenger will remain cancelled between Mancheswar and Cuttack.
Meanwhile, a Bhubaneswar-bound flight from New Delhi was diverted to Kolkata on Wednesday due to bad weather in the city.
The Vistara UK 785 Delhi-Bhubaneswar flight, which left Delhi at 7 a.m. and was scheduled to reach Bhubaneswar at 9.05 am, was diverted to Kolkata due to bad weather here, the airline sources said.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
