Kavita annual Konkani Fest to be held in Bela on January 8
Kasaragod: Bela, a place known as the capital of the Konkani-speaking community in Kerala is all set to host Kavita Fest, the annual poetry festival hosted by Kavita Trust.
The day-long event includes poetry-related activities scheduled to be held in the courtyard of Stany Bela here on Sunday, January 8. Poets and poetry lovers from Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Kerala will take part in the event.
The programme will begin at 9 am with a procession accompanied by bands. The final round of Nelson and Lavina Rodrics, Cha Fra D Costa Memorial Poetry Recitation Competition will be held after the inaugural event.
Eminent Konkani author and journalist Austine D'Souza Prabhu will inaugurate the festival. Stany Bela, Konkani author, and Anwesha Singbal, president, KBM Goa, will attend as guests of honours.
Santhosh Perla, a renowned leader and a writer from the Konkani-speaking community in Kerala, will participate in an interactive session in the afternoon. Trustee of Kavita Trust and author William Pais will chair the session.
A collection of poems titled 'Chiturleche Acche Din' by Wilson Kateel will be released on the occasion.
Prashanth Naik, president, Nirakar Education Society and former president, KBM, Goa, will be the chief guest for the valedictory session.
Rathnamala Divakar, author, lyricist and former vice-president, KBM, and Gokulnath Prabhu, NRI entrepreneur, will be the guests of honour.
Poet Indu Ashok Gerusoppe will be honoured with Mathias Family Poetry Award. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a memento and a certificate.
Bela is a village situated in Kerala and represents the highest number of Konkani-speaking people in Kerala. Although Malayalam is the state language, Konkani still has a strong influence over the village art and culture like in coastal Karnataka and Goa.
It is said that more than 25,000 Konkani-speaking people reside in various parts of Kasargod district, which has a major share compared to other districts of Kerala.
Christians, Gowda Saraswatha Brahmins and Rama Saraswatha Brahmins are the major religion-based communities who speak Konkani as mother tongue in Kerala, especially in Kasargod district.
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ED raids in case against former Punjab Police DIG Bhullar, linked entities
Chandigarh (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted searches at multiple locations in Punjab as part of a money laundering probe against former state police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar and entities linked to him, officials said.
They said about 11 premises in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Patiala, Nabha and Jalandhar linked to the accused, his associates and suspected benamidars (the owner in whose name a benami property is held) are being covered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case registered against Bhullar on allegations that he sought illegal gratification through a middleman for settlement of a criminal case, along with detection of assets disproportionate to known sources of income.
The searches aim to trace further proceeds of the alleged crime, identify benami assets and gather evidence related to money laundering, ED officials said.
Bhullar, who was serving as the deputy inspector general (DIG) of police (Ropar Range), was arrested by the CBI in October 2025 after a scrap dealer alleged that bribe was demanded from him through an intermediary to settle a case.
