Campus Bird Count: MU stands 1st in state, 2nd in Country
Konaje: The Mangalore University has secured second position in the country In the Campus Bird Count (CBC), Mangalore University is among the top five bird-rich campuses and secured second position in the country, followed by Kerala Agricultural University.
Birders from Mangalore University were able to record 110 species of birds during the Campus Bird Counting (CBC), an initiative taken up under Great Backyard Bird Count of Bird Count India, during the three-day bird-counting exercise between February 16 and 19 at the university’s Mangalagangothri campus in Konaje near here.
The University topped the campuses in Karnataka in both species numbers and total checklists. This time, the event had over 50 participants.
This year, the CBC concluded with a record-breaking 110 bird species on Mangalore University campus. Some of the highlights are the Tickell's Leaf Warbler (probably the 2nd record for Coastal Karnataka), and winter migratory birds like Indian Pitta, Brown Shrike, Booted Eagle, Ashy Drongo, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Eurasian Blackbird, Gray wagtail and Blyth's Pipit and Srilankan Frogmouth.
The team was led by Vineeth Kumar K (research scholar), with Jagdish Paithankar (research scholar), Bhagya U J (MSc student) and Donald Preetam Henry (MSc student) of Department of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University.
The enthusiasts students and research scholars from various PG Departments “ Applied Zoology, Applied Botany, Biosciences, Chemistry, Commerce, Geoinformatics, Material science, Physics and Yogic Science – along with some staff of P A College of Engineering, Ambika Vidyalaya and Govinda Dasa College, students and research scholars from other institutions and some independent birdwatchers from Mangaluru had taken part.
The success of the event is mainly due to involvement of enthusiastic participants and also covering of more unexplored areas of the campus in this year's survey.
The CBC is a sub-event of the larger 'Great Backyard Bird Count' (GBBC), organised by the annual Bird Count India. This is a collaborative effort to document the bird-life in campuses across India, with information about the diversity, distribution and frequency of bird species outside the protected areas.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
