Day robbery in the name of toll fee: Kota Srinivasa Poojary
Dharna near Sastana toll-gate protesting national highway problem
Kundapura, September 20: Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Kota Srinivasa Poojary alleged that though the Navayug Company which got the contract of the maintenance of the national highway, has failed to provide facilities, it has been looting the people in the name of toll fee.
Addressing the agitators who staged a dharna near Sastana Toll-Gate, led by National Highway Awareness Committee, On Thursday Poojary said that the company should have constructed all service roads and put up street lights and completed the fly-over at Kundapura, Karavali and national highway work. But without doing it, it has been collecting toll fee and thus looting the people.
The national highway work has been posing many problems. Without giving priority for safety of the people, the company has taken up unscientific work. People would not tolerate such works, he warned.
District Lorry Owners Association President Rajesh Kaveri said that they were suspecting the existence of the democracy in the district. Though the people have been fighting against the National Highway problems for the last four years, the district administration has turned blind eyes towards the problem, he said.
National Highway Awareness Committee President Pratap Shetty, Advocates Shamsundar Nayari, Bannadi Somanath Hegde, ZP Member Raghavendra Barikere, TP Member Jyothi, Sathish Poojary of JayaKarnataka organization and others were present.
Call meeting by Sept 30
Kota Srinivasa Poojary said that the National Highway Authority officials who would agree the decisions in the meetings held by the district administration on National Highway problems, were exploiting the people. So, the deputy commissioner should convene a meeting of all leaders and representatives by September 30 and take a decision. Till then, local vehicles should be allowed freely in the toll-gate, he demanded.
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Karnataka Governor gives assent to legislation against ‘honour killing’ in inter-caste marriages
Bengaluru: The government has brought into force the Karnataka Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prevention and Prohibition of Crimes in the name of honour and tradition (Eva Nammava Eva Nammava) Act, 2026, intended to restrict ‘honour killings’ in inter-caste marriages.
According to The Indian Express, the legislation received assent from Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot on April 9 and was officially notified in the state gazette on April 10. The law had been passed unanimously by the state legislature last month.
The Bill was proposed by the Congress government in the wake of caste-linked ‘honour killings’ in the state, including the December 21, 2025, murder near Hubli of a 20-year-old Lingayat woman by her father for marrying a man from another caste.
The phrase ‘Eva Nammava Eva Nammava’ in the title is in reference to the message of universal humanity that the Lingayat saint Basavanna espoused. Basavanna, who rebelled against the caste system to lay the foundation of the Lingayat faith system, an amalgamation of all castes, used the words meaning ‘he is a part of me’ to say all people are one.
Under the new law, crimes committed in the name of ‘honour’, including murder, assault, threats, and social boycott, are specifically addressed with stringent punishments. ‘Honour killing’ offences carry a minimum imprisonment of five years, while serious assaults attract at least three years in jail.
The new law defines the social boycott of inter-caste couples as forcible eviction to remote corners of villages, refusal to provide services, refusal to provide work, refusal to conduct business, denial of loans and admissions to schools, and makes it punishable.
In the case of ‘honour killings’ per se, the new law prescribes a minimum imprisonment of five years, and in the case of assaults, a prison term that is not less than three years for serious injury and two years for minor injuries.
The offences under the proposed law are cognisable and non-bailable, which means police can carry out arrests without court permissions after taking up a case.
The legislation follows several reported inter-caste relationship-related killings in Karnataka in 2025, including cases in Raichur and another involving 18-year-old Kavita.
The law to protect the freedom of choice in marriages is among several social bills that the Congress government has brought out in line with its policies for the backward and downtrodden communities in the state.
