Will place proposal before Centre to name Bangalore Metro after Basavanna: K'taka CM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that he will place a proposal before the Centre to name the Bangalore Metro Rail project, popularly referred to as "Namma Metro", after the 12th century social reformer Basavanna.
The CM was speaking at the closing ceremony of the 'Basava Culture Campaign-2025' organised to mark the anniversary of "Vishwaguru Basavanna" being declared as the "Karnataka Cultural Leader" in the presence of seers and gurus of various Lingayat maths.
"Metro project is by both the state and central government. Our (state) share may be more at 87 per cent, 13 per cent by the Centre, but still, without central government's approval, we cannot do anything. I will place this proposal before the central government," Siddaramaiah said, responding to the demand from the crowd.
Addressing the gathering, he said, "You need not demand us to do things about Basavanna...if the project was entirely by our government, I would have given my approval now itself, but as it is the project jointly both by the state and the central government, I cannot give approval here. I will have to write to the Centre and seek their approval. Our government will look into it."
Siddaramaiah also announced that the government has agreed to the request seeking establishment of "Vachana University", and steps will be taken to set up the university next year.
'Vachana' is a prosaic form well known in Kannada literature. This style of writing was used by Basavanna and others associated with Vachana or Sharana movement for spreading social awareness and bringing equality in the society in the 12th century.
The CM also said that the ongoing project on the replica of 'Anubhava Mantapa' -- which is said to be the first religious parliament in the world, where mystics, saints and philosophers of the Lingayat movement, including Basavanna converged and held discourse in 12th century -- at Basavakalyan in Bidar district, will be completed by next year.
Stating that he is a fan of Basavanna and has faith and loyalty in Basavanna's philosophy, the CM said, "Basavanna preached coexistence and tolerance throughout his life. I too will also follow this."
No one is superior because of caste. Similarly, talent and knowledge are not the property of any one caste, he said.
Basavanna's dream was to build a human society without caste and class. "We are all human beings first, then Indians. Therefore, we should not tolerate or practice man-made discrimination of caste, religion, and inequality," the CM said.
Freedom, equality, and fraternity are the aspirations of the Constitution. "Basavanna also took the initiative to build a society of casteless, classless fraternity. Therefore, Basavanna is always relevant," he said.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
