Karnataka: Authorities to regulate vehicle flow to Mullayanagiri hill station to prevent landslides
Chikkamagaluru (Karnataka), Jul 16 (PTI): In a bid to manage weekend traffic congestion and mitigate environmental risks, the Chikkamagaluru district administration on Wednesday announced a new slot-based vehicular entry system to the hill station of Mullayanagiri, the highest peak in Karnataka.
Deputy Commissioner C N Meena Nagaraj, addressing the media, said soon vehicles will be allowed uphill in two time slots daily--from 6 am to noon, and again from 1 pm to 6 pm--with a cap of 600 vehicles per slot. A one-hour buffer between slots will enable vehicles already at the summit to descend without added traffic pressure.
To further streamline operations, parking will be provided at Seethalayyanagiri, and tourists will be encouraged to trek or use permitted departmental jeeps and Tata Tempos.
According to the DC, an online pre-booking system for vehicles is being introduced. However, during red alert, weather warnings or religious events such as temple fairs at Seethalayyanagiri and tourist bookings will be suspended. Local devotees will be granted free access during such periods.
Over the past six months, approximately 2.5 lakh vehicles have used the narrow ghat road to reach the peak.
The official cited a recent study by geologists warning of landslide risks due to high vehicular movement, particularly during long weekends when mini-buses and TT vehicles dominate the route.
According to officials, the Seethalayyanagiri public restrooms will be fully renovated, and efforts are underway to develop a food court model for vendors. Licences had earlier been granted to 35 shops in the region by the local panchayat, and the tourism department will now regulate them under a unified plan funded by a recently sanctioned grant.
Local residents will be provided with special passes after submitting required documentation to the tourism department, ensuring their access is not hindered.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bangladesh court sentences Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in corruption cases
Dhaka (PTI): A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in two separate corruption cases related to alleged irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project.
Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-4 Judge Rabiul Alam handed down the verdicts, sentencing Hasina to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment — five years in each case, state-run BSS news agency reported.
The court sentenced 78-year-old Hasina, her nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq, and her nieces, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq, and others in the cases over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol.
The judgment was pronounced at around 12.30 pm.
Tulip Siddiq was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment — two years in each case — while Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq were each sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in both cases.
Rajuk member Mohammad Khurshid Alam, the only accused to surrender before the court, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in each case, totalling two years.
The court also fined all convicted persons Tk1 lakh each and ordered them to serve an additional six months in prison in default of payment.
Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court.
The cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over alleged abuse of power in the allocation of two 10-katha plots.
According to the prosecution, the accused manipulated the allocation process and violated existing rules and regulations of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
