Bengaluru, June 6: Karnataka Cabinet Thursday decided to declare fourth Saturdays a holiday for state government employees in addition to second Saturdays.

The in principle decision was taken based on a recommendation of the state Pay Commission, Rural Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said.

The cabinet also decided to bring down the number of casual leaves from the existing 15 days to ten for the government employees, he told reporters here.

He said that in 2011 the Pay Commission had recommended five-day week and the recent paypanel also stuck to it.

Though the Cabinet discussed about reducing festival and other holidays such as on the occasion of 'jayantis', it felt such a move might hurt sentiments of certain sections.

It was decided to reduce the number of days of casual leave, he added.

He said whether the changes will be implemented immediately or from next year will be decided after discussions with the Chief Minister.

The cabinet also decided to go for counselling through computerised system for transfer of group C and D government employees to bring in transparency. A draft Bill to this effect was approved.

Among the other decisions, it resolved to outsource the maintenance of pure drinking water units by calling for tender.

As many as 16,000 pure drinking water units out of the 18,000 approved by the Rural Development department had been installed across the state at taluk levels, Gowda said adding there was no clear policy on their maintenance.

The cabinet asked the Chief Secretary to implement an ordinance promulgated to protect the interests of gazetted officers in 1998 in a way that it does not affect the promotions of officers recruited in subsequent years.

On whether the cabinet discussed about the opposition to its last week decision on sale of 3,667 acres of land to JSW Steel, Gowda said, the issue did not come up.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Mangaluru: The Mangaluru CCB police have successfully tracked down a Nigerian national residing in Goa, who was supplying cocaine from Goa to Mangaluru city, and seized 30 grams of cocaine.

The arrested accused has been identified as Michael Okfar Odikpo (44), a Nigerian national.

In March 2024, the Mangaluru CCB police arrested Sadaqat Shan Nawaz and Ashfaq, residents of Amblamogaru, who were illegally selling cocaine on a two-wheeler near Yeliarpadav Maidan in Amblamogaru village, Ullal. It was revealed that they had procured the cocaine from Goa. 34 grams of cocaine and other items worth ₹2,72,000 were seized from the duo, and a case was registered at the CEN Crime Police Station.

In connection with this case, the Mangaluru CCB police gathered information about the Goan drug supplier and successfully arrested him from Calangute in North Goa.

From the possession of the accused, the police seized 30 grams of cocaine, a car used for transportation, two mobile phones, ₹4,500 in cash, and a digital weighing scale. The total value of the seized items is estimated at ₹11,25,000. The accused has been handed over to the CEN Crime Police Station for further action.

The investigation revealed that the accused came to India in 2012 on a business visa and stayed in Mumbai for about one and a half years before moving to Goa, where he was allegedly involved in drug trafficking. A total of three cases of drug trafficking have been registered against him in Goa.

The operation was led by ACP Manoj Kumar Naik, with the team comprising Police Inspector Shyam Sundar HM, PSI Sharanappa Bhandary, and CCB personnel.

Get all the latest, breaking news from Mangaluru and Dakshina Kannada in a single click. CLICK HERE to get all the latest news from Mangaluru.