Bengaluru set to record wettest May in history: Report
Bengaluru: Bengaluru is reportedly on track to make history this May, with rainfall expected to surpass last year's record of 30.5 cm, making it the wettest May ever recorded in the city.
The capital city has already received 24.6 cm of rain as of May 19, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and with more than 10 days remaining and additional rainfall forecasted, meteorologists predict the city will break the 2023 record. "In another two days, we might cross the 30-cm mark. This May could become the wettest ever," Deccan Herald quoted N. Puviarasan, Head of the Bengaluru Meteorological Centre, as saying.
Last year, Bengaluru set a new record of 30.5 cm in May, surpassing the previous 66-year-old record of 28.7 cm from 1957. The city's rainfall this May is already well above the monthly average of 128.7 mm recorded since 2015. Prior to 2023, Bengaluru’s May rainfall had averaged 18.5 cm, with the lowest in 2020 and 2021 at 13 cm.
From March 1 to May 19, the Bengaluru City observatory recorded 290 mm (29 cm) of rain—172 mm above normal. The city's total annual rainfall so far has reached 30 cm, nearly one-third of the usual 98 cm expected for the entire year, added the report.
Puviarasan attributed the intense rains to a system over the Bay of Bengal. "Usually, we get this kind of rain after the monsoon onset. But this year, monsoon-like circulations arrived early," he explained.
The maximum temperature in Bengaluru is expected to range between 27°C and 28°C, while the minimum will hover around 20°C, until Wednesday.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
