London: Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna, hailing from Karnataka, brought double joy to Kannadigas as he secured a victory in the Wimbledon Men's Doubles match. Adding to the jubilation, Wimbledon itself extended congratulations to Bopanna in Kannada, the native language of the Karnataka region.

Bopanna, partnering with Matthew Ebden from Australia, advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Men's Doubles by defeating Johannus Monday and Jacob Fearnley in their match on Monday.

The official Twitter account of Wimbledon shared a congratulatory message, referring to Rohan Bopanna as "India's superstar." The inclusion of a message in Kannada by the prestigious tennis tournament thrilled Kannadigas, who rejoiced at seeing their language represented on the global stage. Bopanna himself expressed his gratitude to Wimbledon in Kannada.

The achievement of Rohan Bopanna, alongside his Australian partner, has garnered praise and celebration from tennis enthusiasts, particularly those from Karnataka who take pride in their local hero's success. The recognition by Wimbledon in the native language of the player's home state further adds to the significance of this accomplishment.

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Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.

As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.

The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.

"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.

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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.

According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.

The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.

Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.

Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.

At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.

The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.