With Karnataka HC permission, pregnant advocate writes Civil Judge exam in Mangaluru
Mangaluru: With the Karnataka High Court granting special permission, a candidate who was eight and a half months pregnant wrote the Civil Judge mains exams in Mangaluru instead of the exam centre in Bengaluru on Saturday and Sunday.
The candidate, advocate Nethravathi, is writing the two-day exam in a building on the city court complex. The exam is being held in Bengaluru, but as Nethravathi was unable to travel to the state capital, she had appealed for special permission from the High Court to answer the exam in Mangaluru itself.
The High Court Committee for Direct Recruitment of Civil Judges, after considering her application, granted Nethravathi permission to answer the exam in Mangaluru, with Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale too approving the Committee decision. In addition, the Chief Justice as well as the HC Committee had directed the Registrar to depute a lady judicial officer to conduct the exam for the single candidate in Mangaluru.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
