STATE’S

Bengaluru: A training workshop for officials appointed under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act was held in Bengaluru on November 6 to strengthen their understanding of child protection laws and adoption procedures. The programme was organised jointly by the Directorate of Child Protection, district administration, Zilla Panchayat, Department of Women and Child Development and Bengaluru Urban (Central) District Child Protection Unit. It was conducted as part of the ‘Child Marriage-Free India’ campaign and International Adoption Month.The workshop, held at the Dr B V Govindaswamy Centre Seminar Hall on the CIT campus, was inaugurated by N Janardhan, head of the Department of Psychiatry at NIMHANS, and Leena Kallammanavar, District Child Protection Officer. Janardhan stressed the need f...

Chitradurga: District in-charge minister T. Raghumurthy has directed officials to resolve applications received under the Praja Seva Andolana within the stipulated timeframe, stressing that the objective should be to provide genuine solutions rather than merely dispose of petitions. Inaugurating the campaign at Ashoka Rangamandira in Hosadurga, he said applications involving legal complications could be treated separately, while all other cases should be settled without delay. Around 770 applications have been received across six taluks so far, of which 759 have been resolved. Hiriyur has settled 282 of its 287 applications, while Holalkere has disposed of 64 of the 66 petitions received. Pending cases will be reviewed at district- and taluk-level Karnataka Development Programme meetings, ...

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Traffic Police are planning a new one-way system at Lakdi-ka-Pul to ease congestion, with Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar inspecting key stretches on a motorcycle on Friday. Accompanied by senior traffic officials, Sajjanar assessed road conditions and traffic movement around Dwaraka Hotel, the old Saifabad Police Station, Iqbal Minar, Ravindra Bharathi and the Old Control Room junction. Under the proposed plan, vehicles travelling from the Old Control Room towards Secunderabad will be diverted through HDFC, the old Saifabad Police Station, Iqbal Minar and the Secretariat junction. Other routes from Nirankari Junction and the Secretariat area will also be modified.Sajjanar said a coordination meeting would be held with GHMC, the water board, electricity department a...

Chikkamagaluru: Thousands of devotees are expected to visit Bindiga Deviramma Hill on November 7 and 8 for the annual Deviramma Jatre, held on the occasion of Naraka Chaturdashi. The hilltop temple, located in the Chandradrona mountain range in Chikkamagaluru district, opens its doors to devotees only once a year. Pilgrims trek up the steep hill to seek the blessings of the deity during the annual festival.Special pujas will be performed from 6am to 10am on November 7. Public darshan and permission to climb the hill will be available from 10.30am to 5pm. On November 8, darshan will begin at 6am.Considering the steep and hazardous terrain, authorities have strictly prohibited devotees from climbing the hill at night. Devotees have been advised to plan their visit within the permitted ho...

New Delhi: Karnataka Pradesh Congress leader B K Hariprasad attended a Diwali gathering hosted by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at his residence on Sunahari Bagh Road in New Delhi. Hariprasad said he exchanged Diwali greetings with Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi during the event.Several senior Congress leaders, MPs and prominent figures from different states attended the gathering. Hariprasad also interacted with party leaders and exchanged views on the latest political developments.In a social media post, he said the ‘Diwali Milan’ provided an opportunity for leaders to strengthen cordial relations and engage in discussions.

Bengaluru: The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has conducted a pilot test of a robotic machine designed to remove silt from stormwater drains, as part of efforts to modernise urban infrastructure management. GBA Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao inspected the operation of the ‘Super Suction’ machine in HSR Layout, under the Bengaluru South City Corporation. During a six-hour operation, the machine removed more than two feet of silt from a drain measuring around six feet wide and 30 feet long. Operated through a wireless remote, it can clean enclosed drains up to 30 metres long and has a silt storage capacity of 6,000 litres, along with a 2,000-litre water tank.Officials have been asked to identify and clear vulnerable stretches, including the area near 17th Cross in HSR Layout’s 7th Sec...

Ghaziabad: A powerful explosion rocked the Vasundhara police outpost in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad late Friday night, shattering windowpanes and damaging air-conditioning units. A 20-year-old food delivery worker was injured in the incident. The blast occurred within the jurisdiction of Indirapuram police station. Its impact was reportedly heard in nearby areas. No police personnel were inside the outpost when the explosion took place.The injured worker, identified as Vishal, was on a delivery assignment when glass fragments struck him. He was rushed to a private hospital in Delhi's Surya Nagar for treatment. Police teams reached the spot soon after receiving information about the explosion. A forensic team and bomb disposal squad were also deployed to examine the site and collect evidenc...

Navsari: A fire broke out at a plastic wholesale shop opposite an ITI in Bilimora town of Gujarat’s Navsari district late Friday night, destroying goods estimated to be worth ₹8 lakh to ₹10 lakh. Local residents initially attempted to douse the fire before fire personnel from the Bilimora and Gandevi municipal bodies arrived and launched firefighting operations.An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire and assess the damage.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Forest, Environment and Ecology Minister Ramalinga Reddy has urged people to celebrate Diwali 2026 responsibly, directing them to use only certified green crackers and limit firecracker use to reduce air and noise pollution. The minister said firecrackers pose health risks, particularly to children, senior citizens, people with existing ailments and animals. He also raised concerns over accidents caused by unsafe storage and handling of crackers. Citing Supreme Court directions, Reddy said firecrackers could be burst only between 8pm and 10pm. The manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of banned crackers are prohibited across the state.He urged consumers to purchase green crackers only from authorised dealers and check for the prescribed green ma...

Mysuru: BJP MLC C T Ravi has challenged the Congress to produce evidence of alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing the party of targeting the Election Commission through a smear campaign following its electoral defeats. Addressing a BJP padayatra titled 'Save Democracy, Eliminate Anarchy' in Mysuru, Ravi questioned the Congress's opposition to removing fake, deceased and duplicate voters from electoral rolls. He said revisions had been carried out during previous Congress governments as well, and asked why the party was raising objections now. Referring to the identification of 99.32 lakh voters in Karnataka under the Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate (ASD) category, Ravi said government schoolteachers and Revenue Department officials ...