Popular Mangaluru Buns introduced in Indira Canteen’s new menu
Bengaluru: In a significant move to support the working class and provide affordable meals, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed officials to revamp the popular Indira canteens across the state. As part of the revamp, new food items have been added to the menu, including Mangaluru buns, bread with jam, and others.
The Indira canteens, initially set up during Siddaramaiah's first tenure as Chief Minister in 2017, have gained popularity for offering subsidised breakfast, lunch, and dinner to the people of Karnataka. In addition, after coming to power in 2023, CM Siddaramaiah recently announced the opening of 250 new Indira canteens in Bengaluru.
To improve the quality and variety of meals served at these state-run canteens, the Chief Minister instructed officials to introduce new dishes. Joining the existing menu, which already includes popular items such as idli with chutney and sambar, pulav, tomato bath, khara pongal, bisi bele bath, and more, the new menu now features the delectable Mangaluru buns.
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Additionally, the menu now includes bread with jam, providing a simple option. Ragi mudde, a traditional dish made from finger millet, with soppu saru, a nutritious mixed greens curry.
The price of breakfast at the canteen is Rs. 5, while both lunch and dinner are priced at Rs. 10.
Alongside these changes, the funding pattern to operaten the Indira canteens has also been revised. Both the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the state government will now equally share 50% of the costs. Moreover, for Indira Canteens located outside of Bengaluru, the government will cover up to 70% of the expenses, with the remaining 30% falling under the responsibility of the respective city municipalities.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
