Mangaluru, September 19: International athlete M.R Poovamma, who won the gold medal in the Asian Games, was felicitated by the Canara High School Association at its high school here on Wednesday.

M.R Poovamma is the alumni of Canara High School of Urva. She was felicitated for winning the gold medal in the international games. She was taken in a procession from Mangala Stadium to the Canara High School and was felicitated at Mizar Govinda Pai Auditorium of the school. The Canara High School Association felicitated her with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.

Speaking on the occasion, Poovamma said that cocurricular activities could also support a person to build his/her career. But the schools and colleges should ensure a conducive atmosphere to it, she added.

Association vice president Annappa Pai, honorary secretary Ranganath Bhat, president S.S Kamath, School convener Panchamal Gopalkrishna Shenoy, Management Board Members Kochikar Sudhakar Pai, Basti Purushottam Shenoy, K Suresh Kamath, M Ganesh Kamath, Srikanth Pai, Head mistress Aruna Kumari and Lalana J Shenoy, Canara higher primary school Dongarakeri convener Basti Purushottam Shenoy and teacher Ravindranath Shetty were present at the programme.


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Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.

According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.

Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.

Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.

Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.

The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.

Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.