Bengaluru, Aug 14: The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti on Wednesday demanded that the Tipu Express running between Bengaluru and Mysuru be renamed after Krishnaraja Wodeyar and Sir M Visvesvaraya.

The outfit's members led by state convenor Mohan Gowda met Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and urged him to take steps for renaming the train.

The plea comes in the backdrop of the BJP government in Karnataka dropping the annual state celebration of Tipu Jayanti after Yediyurappa took over as the chief minister last month.

The samiti said renaming the train would be a tribute to Wodeyar and Visvesvaraya, who had contributed in spreading irrigation and electricity networks in the state.

The BJP government in Karnataka last month scrapped the birth anniversary celebrations of the controversial 18th century ruler of the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom, Tipu Sultan.

The government issued an order cancelling the "Tipu Jayanti" celebrations, initiated by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government as an annual affair on November 10 in 2015.

The celebrations were continued by the Congress-JD(S)coalition government led by H D Kumaraswamy, which collapsed on July 23, losing a vote of confidence in the assembly, paving the way for the installation of the BJP ministry.

Kodagu district was marred by widespread protests and violence during the first official celebration in 2015, during which Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) worker Kuttappa had died.

BJP and right wing organisations have been strongly opposing, Tipu Jayanti, calling the erstwhile Mysore king a "religious bigot".

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Srinagar (PTI): Property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to a notorious drug peddler was on Saturday attached in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar, police said.

A double-storey house on eight marlas of land situated at Wantpora Eidgah, belonging to Basit Bilal Dar, a notorious drug peddler, valued at approximately Rs 1 crore, a police spokesperson said.

He said Dar is involved in two cases registered under various sections of the NDPS Act.

During investigation, it was established that the accused had acquired the said property through illicit proceeds generated from drug trafficking activities, the spokesperson said.

Consequently, the property was attached under the provisions of the NDPS Act. The attachment proceedings were conducted in the presence of the two independent witnesses, strictly in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures, he said.

As per the attachment order, the owner has been restrained from selling, leasing, transferring, altering, or creating any third-party interest in the property till further orders, the spokesperson added.