Cong to hold Padayatra from Nelyadi to BC Road from Jan 14-16: Ramanath Rai
Demand for resuming NH works from Addahole-BC Road
Mangaluru, Jan 3: Former minister Ramanath Rai said that the District Congress would take out a padayatra from January 14 to 16 demanding the government to resume the works of national highway from Addahole to BC Road on Bengaluru-Mangaluru road.
Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, Rai said that party senior leaders would participate in the padayatre. On January 14, the padayatre would start from Nelyadi and reach Uppinangady where it would stay. The next day, it would resume its journey and conclude at Mani and on January 16, it would converge at BC Road. In all the three places, public rallies would be conducted, he said.
Bengaluru-Mangaluru national highway was like a lifeline. It would connect the two cities. Then UPA government had approved the works from Hassan to BC Road and then union minister Oscar Fernandes had sanctioned for the 63 km road from Hassan to Marenahalli-Gundya. After first round of works, NLT Company had taken up the second phase work. As the company was bankrupt, the work was suspended, he said suspecting that the company might have bankrupted due to wrong economic policies of the Narendra Modi government.
The NHAI had to clear dues worth crores to the company which stopped the works due to paucity of funds. The incomplete work has been causing inconvenience to the people. So, the road works should be completed before rainy season. In order to draw the attention of the central government, the Congress has organized the padayatre, he said.
The district had seen lot of development works during the tenure of Srinivas Malya. But during the BJP government at the centre, the development works have come to grinding halt in the district. Airport and the port were facing the threat of privatization, he said.
MLC Harish Kumar, former MLA JR Lobo, Mayor Bhaskar K, Party leaders Shashidhar Hegde, Shalet Pinto, Naveen D’Souza, Venkappa Gowda, Dhananjay Addangaya, Shahul Hameed and others were present.
‘I won’t politicize Sabarimala issue’
Responding to a question Sabarimala issue, Rai said that he would not comment on the Supreme Court order and its pros and cons. When he was young, he had visited Sabarimala for more than 18 times. He had visited the temple with devotion, confidence, belief and harmony.
But now, he would not speak about the issue and its impact. He would not politicize the Sabarimala issue, Rai clarified.
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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.
