K'taka ecology Min. orders stern action against illegal establishments in Western Ghat region
Bengaluru: Amid rising public calls for protecting ecologically sensitive zones in the Shayadri Ranges, and frequent landslides, Karnataka Forest, Environment and Ecology Minister Eshwar Khandre on Friday issued orders taking stringent actions against illegal establishments including homestays and resorts in the Western Ghat regions of the state within a month.
The Minister directed stern measures against illegal layouts, plantations, homestays, and resorts encroaching on forest areas in Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Belagavi, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, and Hassan. He suggested immediate action to clear all forest encroachments since 2015.
The recent landslide near the Shiroor in Ankola district claimed 11 lives, while a landslide in Wayanad, Kerala, resulted in 250 deaths and over 200 missing persons. "Experts attribute these disasters to unscientific deforestation and construction, the government is taking this issue seriously," read the order.
Heavy vehicular traffic and weekend travel and trekking in ranges and Ghat areas also pose dangers, according to the minister.
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FIR against BJP activists for trying to burn an effigy of CM Siddaramaiah in Manipal
Manipal (PTI): The Manipal police have filed an FIR against BJP activists for allegedly trying to burn an effigy of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here, officials said on Monday.
According to the FIR, a few BJP activists gathered at the Syndicate Circle here on September 6 and wanted to take out a procession to the Deputy Commissioner's office to submit a memorandum against withdrawing a state award to a teacher in Kundapur.
Later, the workers brought an effigy and a portrait and wanted to beat the portrait of the Chief Minister with footwear and burn the effigy; at this point, the police intervened and stopped the workers from carrying out their protest. However, the workers carried on with the event, following which the police filed an FIR, a senior police officer said.
The BJP workers did not have police permission to organise a big gathering in the town, or take out a procession, police said, adding party workers Girish Anchan and Prithviraj Shetty Billadi have been named in the FIR as accused for carrying out the act in public.
