Minister V Sunil Kumar flays move to collect combined toll at Hejamadi
Mangaluru, Dec 3: The move to collect the combined user fee at Hejamadi including the toll from the closed Surathkal toll plaza is unscientific, Karnataka Minister for Energy, Kannada and Culture V Sunil Kumar said on Saturday.
Addressing reporters in Udupi after a meeting of elected representatives and officials, he said efforts are being made to reverse the decision taken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at the central level.
He said the shifting of the burden from one toll gate to another is unscientific. Discussions will be held with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also to find a solution to the issue, he said.
The meeting held today decided to suggest to the NHAI to exempt vehicles from Udupi district from paying additional toll by creating a separate lane for them, the minister said.
The meeting was attended online by Udupi district in-charge Minister S Angara. Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat, Kaup MLA Lalaji Mendon, Deputy Commissioner M Kurma Rao and District Superintendent of Police Akshay Machhindra were present.
The action committee against Surathkal toll gate, which had wound up its month-long agitation against toll collection earlier this week, will be joining the protest against increased toll collection at the Hejamadi toll gate.
With the closure of the Surathkal toll gate by Wednesday, NHAI has decided to collect the same toll collected at Surathkal from Hejamadi toll plaza in addition to the existing rates at the gate.
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Vartha Bharati launches Kalyana Karnataka edition, releases 23rd annual special issue in Kalaburagi
Kalaburagi: The Kalyana Karnataka edition of the Kannada daily Vartha Bharati was formally launched on Saturday at a programme held at Dr S M Pandit Rangamandir in Kalaburagi. The event also marked the release of the newspaper’s twenty-third annual special issue, a compilation of selected editorials, and the Kalyana Karnataka special supplement.
The programme was inaugurated by Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader. The Kalyana Karnataka edition of Vartha Bharati was unveiled by Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor-in-Chief of The Wire.
The twenty-third annual special issue was released by multilingual actor Prakash Raj. The book compiling selected editorials of Vartha Bharati was released by B R Patil, Vice-Chairperson of the State Policy and Planning Commission and MLA from Aland. The Kalyana Karnataka special supplement was released by Rahim Khan, Minister for Municipal Administration and Haj.
ALSO READ: Kalaburagi: ‘Vartha Bharati’ Kalyana Karnataka edition launched
Chairperson of the State Waqf Board and Sajjada Nashin of the Khwaja Bande Nawaz Dargah, Hazrat Syed Mohammed Ali Al Husseini, and Kalaburagi South MLA Allamaprabhu Patil were present as chief guests.
Among the special invitees on the dais were Koraneshwara Mahaswamiji of the Tontadarya Anubhava Mantapa, Aland; Bishop Rev Fr Robert Miranda of Kalaburagi; Bhante Varajyothi of Anandur; social activist K Neela; farmers’ leader Chamarasa Mali Patil; DSS state convenor D G Sagar; and activist and singer Ambanna Arolikar.
Speaking on the occasion, Assembly Speaker U T Khader said Vartha Bharati had emerged as the voice of the weak and the voiceless in society and had earned the love, trust and confidence of people across the state. He said the newspaper had carved out a distinct identity in the media landscape and expressed happiness that it was now reaching the Kalyana Karnataka region. He added that Vartha Bharati had remained free from political pressures and inducements and expressed hope that it would continue to stand as a support system for the distressed.
B R Patil said running a newspaper in the present times was not easy, as the media sector had increasingly turned into an industry driven by profit. Amidst such challenges, he said, Vartha Bharati had maintained integrity, honesty and commitment throughout its twenty-three-year journey. He expressed confidence that the newspaper would continue on the same path. Referring to Kalaburagi, he noted that the region frequently witnessed agitations due to the large number of unresolved issues, and said Vartha Bharati should continue to bring the problems and suffering of the people to the attention of the government and contribute to finding solutions.
