Former India pacer Praveen Kumar and his son survive car crash in Meerut
Meerut, Jul 5: Former India pacer Praveen Kumar and his son had a narrow escape when his SUV collided with a trailer truck in Meerut on Tuesday night.
The accident brought back memories of Rishabh Pant's horrific car crash last year.
Kumar, a resident of Multan Nagar on Baghpat Road, was coming from Pandav Nagar in his car with his son when the incident took place, Circle officer (Civil Lines) Arvind Chaurasia said.
As soon as his car reached near the Commissioner's residence, a speeding truck rammed into his car from behind.
A case has been registered against the truck driver and he has been arrested, added Chaurasia.
The 36-year-old Kumar, who played six Tests, 68 ODIs and 10 T20s for India in a career that promised a lot more, told PTI that he and his son are doing fine.
"It could have been a lot worse. By the grace of god we are okay and I am talking to you. I had gone to drop my nephew but a massive truck hit my car from behind around 9:30pm. Thank God it was a big car, else there could have been injuries," Kumar, who lives in Meerut with his family, told PTI.
"I initially thought just the bumper would be broken but the car is badly damaged."
In December last year, stumper-batter Pant also had a miraculous escape when he dozed off at the wheel on the Delhi-Dehradun highway. His luxury car had crashed into the road divider and caught fire, leaving him with severe injuries. He is now rehabilitating.
Kumar, best known for his rare ability to swing the ball massively, had a roller coaster international career lasting just five years.
In 2020, the wily bowler had revealed his battle with depression but he is now in good shape.
Last week, Kumar had showed up at a promotional event in the national capital where West Indies star Chris Gayle also made an appearance.
Kumar has often spoken about his desire to give back to the game but he confirmed that he is not involved in any sort of coaching at the moment.
He runs a real estate business and restaurant back home.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
