Karnataka's water warrior Kame Gowda honoured with lifetime free bus pass after PM's praise
Bengaluru: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the lake-man of Karnataka Kame Gowda, the Karnataka government on Thursday honoured him with a lifetime free bus pass to travel in all classes of state road transport buses.
Sharing the information in a string of tweets along with the photograph of the bus pass, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has issued Kame Gowda lifetime free bus pass.
A shepherd from Dasanadoddi village in Mandya district, the 82-year-old hit Gowda hit the limelight for digging about 16 ponds for providing water for the cattle he used to take to barren hillocks to graze in his village.
While the animals used to graze, he would dig the ponds.
Due to the ponds, the greenery in these hillocks too increased substantially as the water table increased.
Recognizing his work, the then Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had honoured him with the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in November 2018.
The Chief Minister said the decision regarding a lifetime bus pass was taken as Kame Gowda had expressed his desire in an interview to a newspaper.
While emphasizing on water conservation in his radio talk, Mann Ki Baat, on Sunday, Modi narrated Gowda's story to highlight how the shepherd solved the problem of water scarcity in his village.
He even referred to him as a 'water warrior'.
The Chief Minister too recalled that Modi had mentioned Gowda's name in his Mann Ki Baat.
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Two held at Bengaluru airport with hydroponic ganja worth Rs 5.79 cr
Bengaluru (PTI): Two people were arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport here for attempting to smuggle hydroponic ganja valued at Rs 5.79 crore, upon their arrival from Bangkok on Wednesday, officials said
They seized 16.54 kg of hydroponic ganja, which was concealed in the checked-in baggage, the Bengaluru Customs said in a post on 'X'.
Both the accused were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, it said.
Meanwhile, the Customs officials at the Bengaluru Airport also disposed of 287.5 kg of Ganja (Hydroponic Weed) and 1.17 kg of Cocaine seized under the NDPS Act, 1985, in accordance with CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs) Disposal Manual on March 17, it said in another post.
