Karnataka winter legislature session in Bengaluru, not in flood-hit Belagavi
Bengaluru, Sep 18: The Karnataka cabinet on Wednesday decided to hold the winter session of the state legislature from October 14 to 26 at the 'Vidhana Soudha', the state secretariat here and not in Belagavi, as is the practice, as most parts of the district have been ravaged by floods.
"We have called for the legislature session from next month (October) 14th to 26th in Bengaluru," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhusway told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
He said the Deputy Commissioner of Belagavi has expressed his inability to host it there this time as people in the district were in distress after the recent floods.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa too on Tuesday had said that the Belagavi Deputy Commissioner and the district administration had informed him that they were not in a position to hold the session in the city as the region has been ravaged by floods and people are undergoing great suffering and hence the session would be held in Bengaluru.
It has been a practice to hold the winter session of the state legislature at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in the border district of Belagavi.
Belagavi in north Karnataka has been hosting the legislature session once a year since 2006.
The move was initiated by the then JD(S)-BJP coalition government, with H D Kumaraswamy as its Chief Minister.
This was followed by construction of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, modeled on the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat, by the then BJP government as an "assertion" that Belagavi is an integral part of Karnataka.
Maharashtra claims Belagavi should belong to it.
Belagavi is one among the most affected districts in Karnataka, where as many as 103 taluks of 22 districts were affected by the recent floods.
Madhuswamy said "Ninety per cent we will pass the old budget during the session, along with some supplementaries, as there is more spending towards flood hit areas and other things this time."
The BJP government may opt for presenting a supplementary budget rather than a new full-fledged one, top government sources had indicated recently.
Soon after proving his government's majority on the floor of the assembly on July 29, Yediyurappa, who also holds the Finance portfolio, had sought a vote on account to spend for the next three months - from August 1 till October 31.
H D Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister and Finance Minister of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government had presented the full budget in February.
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Tribal man brings dead sister's skeleton to bank to withdraw money from her account
Keonjhar (PTI): A tribal man in Odisha's Keonjhar district on Monday brought the skeleton of his dead sister to a bank to withdraw the money deposited in her name, police said.
The incident occurred at Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank located at Patana block of Keonjhar district. The man was identified as Jeetu Munda (50) of Dianali village. He was seeking to withdraw Rs 20,000 from the bank account of his elder sister, Kalra Munda (56), who died on January 26, 2026.
"I have run several times to the bank, and the people there told me to bring the account holder to withdraw money deposited in her name. Though I told them that she had died, they did not listen to me and insisted on bringing her to the bank. Therefore, out of frustration, I dug the grave and brought out her skeleton as proof of her death," an illiterate Jeetu Munda told reporters.
Patana Police Station Inspector in charge (IIC) Kiran Prasad Sahu, who reached the bank after getting information, said, "Jeetu is an illiterate tribal man. He does not know what the legal heir or nominee is. The bank officials have failed to make him understand the procedure to withdraw money from the dead person's account."
However, after the incident, the police assured Jeetu Munda that they would facilitate the withdrawal of money from the bank account of his dead sister. Later, the skeleton was again buried at the graveyard in presence of police.
Meanwhile, local Block Development Officer (BDO) Manas Dandpat said that he was not approached by anyone for the legal heir of late Kalra Munda. "Today only, I came to know about it. We will see what can be done to resolve the issue," the BDO said.
Meanwhile, bank sources said that the nominee in Kalra Munda's bank account was also dead. Therefore, Jeetu Munda was the lone claimant over the money deposited in her name.
The local administration has directed the bank officers to make arrangements and ensure that Jeetu Munda, who is the only claimant as per the rules, gets the money as soon as possible.
