Minister Umesh Katti death: Karnataka govt announces one-day state mourning
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government declared one-day state mourning across the state on Wednesday as a mark of respect on the passing away of Minister Umesh Katti, who died last night due to heart attack.
The state government in its official notification said that the last rites of the minister, who held the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, and forest portfolios, will be performed with full state honours.
It has also declared a holiday to all schools and colleges, along with government offices in Belagavi district on Wednesday.
Katti had died due to heart attack at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday night. He was 61.
According to sources, Katti collapsed in the bathroom of his Dollar's Colony residence here and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors there said Katti had no pulse when he was brought in.
His mortal remains will be taken by an air ambulance to his home district of Belagavi, from where it will be taken to Hira Sugar Factory in Sankeshwar for public to pay their last respects.
The body will be later shifted to Katti's native village of Belladbagewadi in Hukkeri taluk, where the last rites will be performed in the evening.
Katti is survived by his wife, son and daughter.
During the day-long state mourning, no official entertainment programmes will be conducted and the national flag will be flown at half mast in all official buildings and places, the notification said.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had on Tuesday night broke down remembering his long association with Katti, calling him a "close friend and brother".
Katti was an eight-time MLA from Hukkeri assembly constituency. He entered politics following the demise of his father Vishwanath Katti in 1985.
Before joining the BJP in 2008, Katti was with the Janata Party, Janata Dal, JD(U) and JD(S). He had earlier served as a minister in the Cabinet headed by J H Patel, B S Yediyurappa, D V Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar.
Katti was often in news for his statements demanding statehood for the north Karnataka region and also openly expressing his chief ministerial ambitions.
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ISRO's analogue space mission kicks off at Leh
Bengaluru, Nov 1: ISRO on Friday said its analogue space mission has taken off at Leh in Ladakh, where it will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat as India prepares to send a human to the moon.
The initiative is a collaborative effort of the Human Spaceflight Centre, ISRO, AAKA Space Studio, University of Ladakh, IIT Bombay, and supported by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
The month-long mission, kicked off mid-October, comes in the wake of India's plans to set up lunar habitats, which could provide a base to launch inter-planetary missions.
The geographical features of Ladakh are considered to closely resemble Martian and lunar landscapes and are an ideal training ground for scientific missions aimed at exploring planets "India's first analog space mission kicks off in Leh...this mission will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat to tackle the challenges of a base station beyond Earth," ISRO said in a post on X.
The team of AAKA Space Studio is testing environment suits and conducting geological studies in Leh's low-oxygen environment, simulating space-like conditions, studies that could be crucial for future space missions.
The team is also studying how the human body adapts to the harsh weather conditions in Ladakh that could be useful in understanding how astronauts could get used to space like conditions.
🚀 India’s first analog space mission kicks off in Leh! 🇮🇳✨ A collaborative effort by Human Spaceflight Centre, ISRO, AAKA Space Studio, University of Ladakh, IIT Bombay, and supported by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, this mission will simulate life in an… pic.twitter.com/LoDTHzWNq8
— ISRO (@isro) November 1, 2024
