Internet World 2010 begins in Bijapur

Source: The Hindu

Deputy Commissioner S.S. Pattanshetty has urged students to expand the horizons of their knowledge by making use of advanced technologies.

Speaking after inaugurating Internet World 2010 for students of rural areas at SB Arts and KCP Science College here on Thursday, he said realising the need for creating awareness among the students of rural areas about the Internet and its uses, the district administration has been organising the programme since five years.

Good response

It has received overwhelming response from the students also.

Today, the students can avail themselves of any information in a fraction of seconds through the Internet.

It has also become essential for students to know about the Internet to cope with a competitive world.

As many as 2,400 students studying between 7 {+t} {+h} to 10 {+t} {+h} standards would be trained at the three-day programme.

The students have been divided into batches and every batch has 800 students making use of the programme.

Bus facility has been arranged from every village in the district to help students make use of the programme.

They would be provided free food and other facilities, according to the organisers.

Bellary corporation gives nod to Rs. 2.55-cr. plan

Source: The Hindu

The general body of the Bharatiya Janata Party-controlled city corporation, which met here on Saturday, gave its unanimous approval for the action plan for utilising the Rs. 2.55 crore released under the 13th State Finance Commission. Mayor Noorjahan presided over the meeting.

The action plan has accorded top priority to solid waste management and cleanliness by allocating Rs. 63.81 lakh, including Rs. 30 lakh for purchase of 10 auto tippers for collection and transportation of garbage from the city to the compost yard, Rs. 20 lakh for purchase of 40 containers and Rs. 13.81 lakh for a tractor-mounted road sweeping machine.

Another Rs. 63.81 lakh has been earmarked for the construction of storm-water drains at various places. Of this, Rs. 38.28 lakh will be used for the installation of streetlights and Rs. 25.53 lakh for development of parks and afforestation.

The action plan envisages improvement of drinking water supply by way of constructing overhead tanks and ground-level reservoirs in a few places and laying of water pipelines in various wards at a cost of Rs. 25.53 lakh.

The plan has earmarked Rs. 25.53 lakh to extend the underground drainage system to the area near the APMC here and the municipal workers colony. Another Rs. 25.53 lakh has been set aside for development of park and planting of trees in Beechi Nagar, Havambavi area and improvement of the Dr. Rajkumar park and the ones in municipal employees colony and Gopalgoud Nagar second stage.

The civic body plans to spend Rs. 12.76 lakh on furnishing the municipal offices and the meeting hall.

MLA and chairman of the Karnataka Milk Federation G. Somashekar Reddy and MP J. Shanta were present.

Cultural extravaganza marks first day of Kittur Utsav

Source: The Hindu



Ministers perform puja, garland Rani Chennamma's statue

Colourful: Thousands of people took part in the ‘Janapada Kalavahini' , which was taken out from Rani Chennamma Circle to Kittur Fort on Saturday.

The skies over the historic Kittur town, the headquarter of the erstwhile princely state reigned by Rani Chennamma, echoed with deafening drum beats, even as thousands of enthusiastic revellers kept cheering thus heralding the commencement of three-day State-level Kittur Utsav-2010, here on Saturday.

The event also marks the celebration as “Vijay Utsav” – Rani Chennamma's historic revolt against the British Empire in 1824.

A large number of artistes and people from across the district and adjoining areas swarmed to the town to take part and witness the cultural extravaganza, which began with a ceremonial puja at the samadhi of Rani Chennamma in Bailhongal town.

Neelkanth Swami of Durdundeshwar Math – Murgod, Mahantesh Kaujalgi, MLC, and Jagadish Metgud, MLA, performed the ceremonial puja at the samadhi at 7.30 a.m. and also flagged off the “Veer Rani Kittur Chennamma Jyoti”.

At Kakti, the birthplace of Rani Chennamma near Belgaum city, Rachaiah Swami of Shivpuja Math, Satish L. Jarkiholi, MLA, Belgaum District Freedom Fighters' Centenary Celebrations Committee president S.A. Malgali and Uday Hiremath, resident of Kakti, offered puja to Rani Chennamma's statue in the village.

Ceremonial reception

Minister for Agriculture and district in-charge Umesh V. Katti, Minister for Minor Irrigation, and Kannada and Culture Govind Karjol, Suresh C. Angadi and Ramesh V. Katti, both MPs, and Deputy Commissioner Ekroop Caur accorded a ceremonial reception to the jyoti at Rani Chennamma Circle at the entrance of Kittur town in the afternoon.

Mr. Katti and Minister for Cooperation Laxman S. Savadi, prominent persons from Kittur town and senior officials of the district garlanded the statue of the queen.

Subsequently, Anantkumar Hegde, MP, flagged off the colourful “Janapada Kalavahini” – a cultural rally of different thematic tableaux depicting different socio-economic, historical and cultural facets of Karnataka in general and the erstwhile princely State of Kittur, folk troupes, bullock-cart chariots, puppets, dance troupes, singers, instrumentalists and folk dancers.

Khanapur forest area to be declared elephant reserve

Source: Times of India

 

BELGAUM: As many as 64,643 hectares of forest area, covering 161 villages in Khanapur taluk in the district, will be declared as an elephant corridor and notified as Elephant Reserve, where there is a regular movements of elephants. This corridor will come under Dandeli Elephant Reserve, which covers Belgaum, Karwar, Dharwad and Haveri districts.

The move has come up to conserve elephants and avert human-elephant conflicts in these districts. Once the corridor area is notified, all forest area covering the corridor will be upgraded to reserve forest from the present protected forest. Besides this, the forest area will get additional importance on the forests map. Elephants will get maximum protection from the department and farmers will be compensated for damage of their crops.

Recently, the principle chief conservator of forest wildlife, B K Singh visited Khanapur and inspected the elephants' route. He instructed the conservators of forests of Belgaum, Dharwad and Canara circles to send a comprehensive proposal to the Union ministry of environment and forests regarding the matter.

Following his instructions, the forest department has identified an elephant corridor, based on studies done during the last 10 years. They took into account the number of crop damage incidents and elephant attacks on humans, while identifying the corridor.

Speaking to `The Times of India' deputy conservator of forests of Belgaum division, Girish Hosur said: "Generally, elephants appear in the Belgaum forest division during October and November, as they have plenty of paddy and sugarcane crops, during these harvesting months."

Hosur said elephants have a good memory and never forget their routes for at least 12 years after passing thorough a place with good amount of food. He said the Belgaum division has the fixed a migratory path for the elephants. The herd of elephants, which arrive from Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and Haliyal forest divisions will enter into the Chandagad forests of Maharashtra via Khanapur forests.

Bijapur gets fisheries centre

Source: The Hindu

It will conduct research and also find ways to make fisheries lucrative

Profitable for all: The staff at the Fisheries Research and Information Centre displaying fish bred at the centre in Bijapur on Sunday.

A Fisheries Research and Information Centre has been set up beside the Buthnal tank in Bijapur city.

The centre has been constructed with the aim to take up research, find new ways of making fishing profitable for people, provide technical advice on construction of fish ponds, provide a market to sell fish and conduct training programmes for farmers to better their financial condition and prevent their migration.

Although the Cabinet approval for the project was given in 2008, the project was delayed as the KBJNL at Almatti refused to handover the land proposed by the officers.

Later, the Bijapur Zilla Panchayat came forward to provide land for the project beside Buthnal tank and allotted one hectare.

In the last few months, the centre has bred more than five lakh fishes out of which two lakh have already been given away to farmers.

Speaking to The Hindu, Fisheries Research and Information Centre Assistant professor Sharangouda Biradar said the centre aims to create awareness among farmers on how to earn additional income by taking up the activity in their fields, conduct research on fishes and disseminate the outcome of the research to farmers in the region.

The total cost of the project is Rs. 2.6 crore, which will be released in phases in the next five years for construction of an administrative building, a fishing pond, a laboratory, a training centre and staff quarters.

The amount for this project will be released under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.

For full-fledged development of the centre, it requires three more hectares of land and the proposal in this regard has already been submitted to the authorities concerned, he said.

Ornamental fish

Mr. Biradar said the centre also plans to launch a project to breed ornamental fishes with the help of the Karnataka State Women's University. Under the project, self-help groups in the district would be trained to breed such fishes.

[DHARWAD] Job fair on Friday & Saturday

Source: The Hindu


A job fair for recruitment to Wipro BPO will be held at Oxford College here on Friday and Saturday. Candidates who have passed PUC, BA, B.Com., BBA, B.Sc., M.Sc. or M.Com. are eligible attend. For details, call 8892726815. — Staff Correspondent

[Bellary] ‘Kannada Naada Habba' begins on Friday

Source: The Hindu

For the second year in a row, the Bellary Naada Habba Committee, in association with Lohiya Prakashan, Bellary, will hold a three-day ‘Kannada Naada Habba' as part of the Dasara festivities from Friday.

Renowned litterateur G.S. Siddalingaiah will inaugurate the programme, which will be held at the Raghava Kala Mandir.

In addition to literary activities, a variety of cultural programmes will also be held. On October 8, Janni and Chintana troupes from Mysore will render folk and light music.

On October 9, a discussion will be held on ‘Values-then and now'. Soolibele Chakravarthi, Y. Gundurao, C. Jayasimha, Padma Vittal, Sinchana and Sanskar Bharati Chakravarti will participate.

On the concluding day, Vice-Chancellor of Karnataka Central University, Gulbarga, S. Chandrashekar, will deliver the valedictory address. It will be followed by staging of Sri Krishna Parijat by a troupe from Bailhongal in Belgaum district.