18 fishermen from Bhatkal arrested in Iran released
Bhatkal, Jan 09: Fifteen fishermen from Uttara Kannada district have been released by Iranian authorities after they had illegally entered their country five months ago, according to a top district official.
"We are happy that fifteen fishermen from Uttara Kannada were released on Tuesday. Karnataka Chief Minister and the district administration had written to the Union government. Thereafter, a lot of effort has transpired," Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner S S Nakul told PTI over phone.
All the fishermen are enroute to UAE on their boats and later, based on their convenience, they would return to India, Nakul said.
Initially, the boat owners made efforts to get the fishermen released, but it was only after the intervention of the Indian Foreign Affairs Ministry that the Iranian government agreed to release them.
The fishermen were detained since July 27 by the Iranian government after they had illegally entered Kish island in Iran, he said.
They were working on three boats owned by a UAE businessman, he added.
Soon after fifteen Indian fishermen were detained along with three other fishermen from Dubai, they had posted a video through WhatsApp to Karwar district administration, Nakul said.
The district administration then wrote a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs and requested Sushma Swaraj to take up the matter, he said.
Nakul said the release of the fishermen was delayed because one of the three Dubai-based fishermen in the Iranian authorities detention escaped from the boat.
"As a punishment, the Iranian authorities, sent the other two Dubai-based fishermen to jail and Indian fishermen were detained in the boats," he said.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
