Karnataka CM inaugurates Kalaburagi airport
Bengaluru, Nov 22: Kalaburagi, a backward district of Karnataka, found a spot in the country's aviation map on Friday with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa inaugurating a greenfield airport.
Spread over 740 acres, the airport has been built at a cost of Rs 230 crore.
It is aimed at catering to other neighbouring districts in North Karnataka.
Yediyurappa recalled how his previous government in 2008 had planned an airport in Kalaburagi but was delayed by 11 years.
The intention behind opening the airport in this part of Karnataka is to attract investments in Tier-2 and Tier 3 cities like Bidar, Hubballi, Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Ballari, Bagalkote, Belagavi, Bijapur, Gadag and Haveri, he said.
The chief minister said he was pretty sure that the infrastructure would improve the living standards of people as it will give thrust to trade, industrial and tourism activities and generate job for the residents.
The Kalyana Karnataka region (previously Hyderabad-Karnataka region) is among the most arid regions of India. Development of this region had become a mirage due to frequent droughts.
Of the 114 backward taluks of the state, 29 are in Kalyana Karnataka, Yediyurappa told the gathering.
The chief minister highlighted the various measures taken by his government to develop the region.
The three deputy chief ministers-- Govind Karjol, C N Ashwath Narayan and Laxman Savadi, besides state home minister Basavaraj Bommai and large and medium scale industries minister Jagadish Shettar were present.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
