My chair not vacant, says CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Jan 12: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that his chair is not vacant but yet journalists are reporting that a change of guard in the state is in the offing.
Referring to the media reports that his deputy D K Shivakumar would replace him anytime soon, Siddaramaiah took a swipe at the "speculative journalism".
Speaking at the Press Club of Bangalore (PCB) Award-2024, the CM said, "We don’t have any confusion amongst us but journalists are still writing that ‘CM will be changed’. My chair is not vacant but they still say that the CM will be changed."
He said reports are made based on assumptions, though no such things would have happened.
"If people gather for dinner, then it becomes news based on speculation that such discussions would have happened, though we would have discussed something else and not what is reported there," Siddaramaiah said.
He was referring to the dinner meetings hosted by ministers which became a major talking point in the corridors of power.
The CM asked journalists to keep society and conscience in their mind while reporting.
"These days, speculative journalism is taking centrestage. It’s a dangerous trend. You should verify whether it is true or false. At least your reports should be closer to truth," he said.
Siddaramaiah emphasised upon healthy criticism, saying that it helps people to improve and take corrective measures.
Noting that journalism is a sacred profession, he called upon journalists to become voice of people instead of promoting superstition.
In this regard, he recalled an incident which had happened during his first term as CM from 2013 to 2018. A news channel in 2016 had a panel discussion of astrologers about the possible fallout after a crow sat on the glass of his car.
"Two astrologers were brought to the TV studio for panel discussion. One of them said I would not be able to present budget, while the other said I, would resign soon after presenting the budget but, I continued despite it. Such superstitions should not be encouraged," he said.
He wondered whether promoting such superstitions would bring a change in society or increase the credibility of journalists.
"People have lots of faith in you, which you should retain. You are the fourth pillar of democracy. People look up to you to see how the three pillars of democracy are working," Siddaramaiah said.
Karnataka Commerce and Industries Minister M B Patil received the PBC Man of the Year Award, while Woman and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, Energy Minister K J George and Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa were given the PCB Special Award.
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Mathura boat capsize tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13
Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.
Search for three more missing persons is underway.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.
However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.
Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.
The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.
Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.
Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.
SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.
He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.
Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.
Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.
According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.
Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.
Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.
Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.
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