Cong candidates from DK district miss Ministerial berth in the first phase of swearing-in ceremony
Mangaluru: The Dakshina Kannada district Congress MLAs were left out of the initial phase of ministerial appointments in the cabinet led by newly appointed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Among those who missed out on the opportunity were former minister and Mangaluru MLA U.T. Khader, MLC B.K. Hariprasad, and Dr. Manjunath Bhandari.
Out of the 8 ministers who were sworn in, none represented Dakshina Kannada district, despite expectations that the district would secure a position. U.T. Khader, who had been widely anticipated to receive a ministerial berth, was not sworn in alongside CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar. There will be 28 new ministers taking oaths in total.
In the state assembly elections, the Congress managed to win only two out of the eight seats in Dakshina Kannada district, one more seat than in the previous election. However, as per reports the defeat of former minister Ramanath Rai resulted in the loss of a potential ministerial post for the district.
Despite missing out initially, U.T. Khader is expected to secure a ministerial position, and there is a possibility of another position being granted. There had been speculation that the MLC from the neighboring Udupi district, where the Congress failed to win any seats, could be appointed as the minister in charge. However, further developments are awaited in the coming days.
During Siddaramaiah's previous cabinet, B Ramanath Rai, Abhayachandra Jain, and U.T. Khader served as a minister.
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Death toll in Mundathikode fireworks explosion rises to 16
Thrissur (Kerala) (PTI): One more person who had been hospitalised following the Mundathikode fireworks explosion died at Thrissur Medical College on Sunday, police said.
With this, the death toll in the incident has risen to 16.
According to Thrissur Medical College police, the deceased has been identified as Unnikrishnan from Edappal, who was among the 38 persons present at the fireworks manufacturing unit in Mundathikode where the explosions occurred on April 21.
Police said Unnikrishnan had suffered over 80 per cent burns and had remained in critical condition.
The condition of the two other injured persons remains critical, police said.
Of the 38 persons present at the site, 16 have died, while four remain missing.
The fireworks were being manufactured for Thiruvambady Devaswom as part of the Thrissur Pooram festivities.
The licensee of the unit had also suffered burn injuries and had died earlier.
