Deputy CM DK Shivakumar asks Vokkaliga Sangha office-bearers to postpone caste census meeting
Bengaluru, Jan 12: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said that he has asked the Vokkaliga Sangha office-bearers to postpone the meeting on the caste census.
He also warned them to stop squabbling or else he would appoint an administrator in the Sangha.
"A team of our new office-bearers came to meet me. They all came together after reconciliation. I have warned them that if the squabbling continues then I will appoint an administrator in the Sangha. They have agreed that they will work together," Shivakumar said.
Asked whether he held a meeting with the Sangha office-bearers, the Deputy CM said he neither conducted any meeting nor felt the need for it.
"The Sangha office-bearers had decided to hold a meeting regarding the caste census. I have told them to postpone the meeting as it would create unnecessary confusion. I also told them that I would talk to the seer of Adi Chunchanagiri Math Nirmananandanatha Swami about it," he told reporters here.
Vokkaliga is one of the major dominant communities of agrarians in Karnataka which Shivakumar belongs to.
The Chairperson of the Commission for Backward Classes, K Jayaprakash Hegde, submitted the socio-economic and education survey report, commonly known as the caste census report, to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on February 29, 2024.
It has triggered a debate among various backward communities as some have opposed it.
State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said on January 2 during the cabinet briefing that the cabinet would discuss the caste census in its next meeting.
Asked about Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti’s letter to the Home Minister about transferring the case pertaining to C T Ravi, the Deputy CM said the Home Minister would respond to it.
Ravi, a BJP MLC, is accused of using foul words against Minister for Woman and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar on the last day of the Legislative Council session in Belagavi on December 19, 2024.
A case has been registered against Ravi in this regard.
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Mathura boat capsize tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13
Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.
Search for three more missing persons is underway.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.
However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.
Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.
The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.
Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.
Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.
SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.
He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.
Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.
Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.
According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.
Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.
Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.
Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.
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