Karnataka assembly bypolls: 39.15 percent polling at RR Nagar
Bengaluru: Polling for the Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Sira assembly by-elections in Karnataka held under the shadow of coronavirus concluded peacefully without any major glitches on Tuesday.
Poor voter turnout marked the Rajarajeshwari Nagar bypoll with a polling percentage of only 39.15, whereas in Sira 77.34 percent voting took place till 5 pm, according to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar.
The death of Sira JD(S) MLA B Satyanarayana in August and the resignation of RR Nagar Congress MLA Munirathna from the assembly last year led to the bypolls.
Till 9 am the voting did not pick up in both the constituencies as about 8 percent voting took place.
It picked up in Sira at 11 am with 23.63 percent but there was a slight increase in RR Nagar with 14.44 percent polling.
By 3 pm, the voting percentage was 62.1 in Sira and 32.41 in RR Nagar.
According to information received from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, polling started at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm in the two constituencies with a voting population of 6,78,012, including 3,26,114 women.
There are 1,008 polling stations, comprising 678 in RR Nagar and 330 in Sira, Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said in a statement.
In view of the pandemic, standard protocol of face masks was made mandatory for the voters as well as the polling staff.
Arrangements were made for thermal screening and hand sanitisers made available at the polling stations.
Security was beefed up around the polling stations.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (city corporation) had made separate arrangements for coronavirus- infected people to cast their votes in RR Nagar.
There are 31 candidates in the fray in the bypolls -- 15 in Sira and 16 in RR Nagar, including those from the Congress, BJP and the JD(S).
In RR Nagar, the BJP has fielded former Congress MLA Munirathna as its candidate whereas the Congress has given ticket to H Kusuma, wife of former IAS officer late D K Ravi in the seat traditionally held by the party.
The JD(S) has fielded V Krishnamurthy.
In Sira, the BJP, Congress and JD(S) have fielded radiologist Dr Rakesh Gowda, former minister T B Jayachandra and former (JD-S) MLA B Satyanarayana's wife Ammajamma respectively.
In the 224-seat assembly, BJP has 116 MLAs minus the speaker, Congress 67 and JD(S) 33, BSP one and there are two independents.
There is also a nominated member.
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Chhattisgarh govt enforces austerity measures, restricts foreign travel and cuts convoy vehicles
Raipur (PTI): The Chhattisgarh government on Saturday rolled out a set of austerity measures, including restricted use of convoy vehicles for the chief minister, ministers and heads of state-run bodies, besides curbs on foreign travel at government expense.
The state has decided to implement the cost-saving steps with immediate effect to ensure efficient management of financial resources and discipline in public spending, said a directive issued by Finance Secretary Rohit Yadav.
The move follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for austerity amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The order said that only essential vehicles should be used in the convoys of the CM, ministers and office-bearers of corporations, boards and commissions, while ensuring restrained use of other government resources.
It also directed departments to take steps for a phased conversion of all official vehicles into electric vehicles in order to promote the use of EVs.
As part of fuel-saving measures, expenditure on petrol and diesel for government vehicles should be kept to a minimum, the directive said.
Vehicle pooling arrangements should also be implemented for officials of departments travelling to the same destination, it added.
The order further stated that foreign travel of government employees at state expenses will be completely prohibited except under extremely unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, prior approval of the CM will be mandatory.
To reduce administrative expenditure, departments have been instructed to hold physical meetings preferably only once a month and encourage virtual and online meetings. Regular departmental review meetings should compulsorily be conducted through video conferencing, it said.
The government also stressed the need for energy conservation in its offices, directing that all electrical equipment, including lights, fans, air-conditioners and computers, must be switched off after office hours.
The directive will remain effective till September 30 this year.
Amid the war involving the US, Israel and Iran, Modi has suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increased use of EVs, utilising railway services for parcel movement and working from home to conserve foreign exchange.
