Mangaluru: With the recent renaming of Ramanagara as Bengaluru South and growing calls to rename Tumakuru as Bengaluru North, a similar push is now underway in coastal Karnataka.

The Dakshina Kannada district administration is preparing to submit a proposal to the Karnataka government to rename the district as Mangaluru, The New Indian Express quoted Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan as saying.

The decision to put forth a proposal was initiated during the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting, after Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja urged the administration to pass a resolution in favour of the name change. MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta and other stakeholders backed the suggestion, with officials reportedly stating that the proposal would be forwarded to the government shortly.

Supporters of the move argue that “Dakshina Kannada” lacks recognition beyond the state, while “Mangaluru” enjoys wider visibility as a centre for education, healthcare, banking, and industry, both nationally and internationally.

Meanwhile, Dayanand Kathalsar, of the Mangaluru District Tulu Movement Committee and former chairman of the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, also demanded the renaming. "Though we are freed from the rule of the Portuguese and the British, names like 'South Canara' or the Dakshina Kannada given during their period are still used, which need to be changed," TNIE quoted him as saying.

KPCC general secretary Rakshit Shivaram also voiced support for the renaming. Drawing parallels to the "Brand Bengaluru" initiative launched during S.M. Krishna’s tenure as chief minister, he said a similar push is needed for "Brand Mangaluru." He stated that they will soon meet the chief minister, deputy chief minister, home minister, and district in-charge minister to submit a memorandum.

“The present name is 'Dakshina Kannada' but we are not in the southern part of the state, instead we are in the Western part of the state. The highways, airport, port and the railway stations here are named after Mangaluru, hence, the district should also get the same name," he added.

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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.