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Karnataka Hotels Association seeks GST cut on commercial LPG cylinders to 5pc

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Bengaluru: The KSHA on Saturday, May 2, urged the government to immediately reduce GST on 19-kg commercial LPG cylinders from 18 to 5 per cent. Meanwhile, the Bangalore Hotels Association (BHA) has separately written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting his intervention to roll back or reduce the recent LPG price hike, rationalise GST rates on commercial LPG to bring them on par with domestic LPG at 5 per cent, and ensure uninterrupted and adequate supply of LPG to the hospitality sector. The demand comes in the wake of a steep hike of Rs 993 per 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder on Friday, marking the third consecutive monthly increase due to rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict. G K Shetty, President of Karnataka State Hotels Association, said in a statement that the total increase of Rs 1,308 in the past 60 days, announced by oil marketing companies, is among the sharpest in recent times. He said prices have risen from the Rs 1,800–Rs 2,000...

Karnataka: Six get death penalty in BJP Yuva Morcha leader murder case

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​ Koppal: A local court in Gangavathi town in Koppal district of North Karnataka on Thursday, April 30, awarded the death penalty to six persons in connection with the murder of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader Venkatesh Kurubara 34.​ The convicted persons have been identified as Ravi, Vijay, Dhanraj, Bharat, Saleem Mohammad Rafeeq, and Gangadhara Gouli. ​The court also imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on each of them. ​The verdict was delivered by Judge Sadananda Nagappa Naik. ​ Venkatesh Kurubara was murdered on October 7, 2025, in Gangavathi town due to personal enmity. ​The incident created a major stir in political circles. ​The assailants had allegedly conspired and carried out the killing in a highly brutal manner. The police had arrested 12 accused in connection with the case and later filed a 927-page chargesheet before the court. ​ The court had earlier acquitted the accused Karthik, Dadapeer, Mohammad Altaf, Mallikarjuna, Akkirotti Sharana, and Chaitra...

Protect vulnerable from heatwaves: NHRC to Telangana, 20 states, UT 

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New Delhi: Pointing to the disproportionate impact of rise in heatwave frequency and intensity on the marginalised sections, the NHRC on Tuesday, April 28, asked 21 states and Delhi to take advance action to protect the vulnerable population. The elderly, children, infants and newborns are especially susceptible to the health impacts of extreme heat. Additionally, heatwaves can lead to the loss of livelihoods and an increased risk of fire accidents, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said in a statement. Mercury levels have soared in various states in the country over the past few days and in Telangana, temperature readings have breached the 45 degrees Celsius mark at many places. In this context, the NHRC asked 21 states and Delhi to take advance action and implement relief measures to protect the vulnerable population during heatwaves. The states are Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam , Bihar, Chhattisgarh , Gujarat, Haryana , Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka , Ker...

Show restraint, disruption of standup show unacceptable: TDP to cadre

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Hyderabad: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Monday, April 27, said that the disruption of comedian Sarat Uday’s show by its cadre was “unacceptable” and “inconsistent with democratic conduct”. The statement was issued by TDP Andhra Pradesh (AP) chief Palla Srinivas Rao two days after the incident transpired in Bengaluru’s Koramangla. On April 25, Angry supporters of the TDP disrupted Sarat Uday’s Bengaluru show and verbally abused the Hyderabad-based artist in the middle of his performance over jokes cracked on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu over two years ago. Despite Sarat apologising earlier for it, the miscreants still forced him to issue another apology in front of the audience. According to UNI, addressing the issue, Palla Srinivas Rao said that objections to any form of expression must be addressed “strictly” through due process. “In a democracy, dissent must operate within the framework of law. Taking matters into one’s own hands is unaccep...

Bengaluru’s TCS World 10K draws over 36,000 runners

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Bengaluru: Over 36,000 runners participated in the TCS World 10K Bengaluru, the city’s distance running event described as its most prestigious, in its 18th edition here on Sunday, organisers said. Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot flagged off the run, along with Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and other dignitaries. At the flag-off, the event’s global appeal was evident, with running enthusiasts from various countries lining up. The 56-year-old Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, also took to the start line along with his sons, Zahid and Zamir, a release said. VIDEO | Bengaluru, Karnataka: J&K CM Omar Abdullah participates in the TCS World 10K Marathon. (Full video available on PTI Videos- https://t.co/dv5TRAShcC ) pic.twitter.com/5pT9rJV96G — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 26, 2026 Interestingly, Abdullah finished ahead of his sons, clocking an impressive 50 minutes, while Zahid and Zamir finished six minutes later, it said. “It...

Bengaluru: Naidu, TDP supporters disrupt standup show over 2-year-old joke

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Hyderabad: Angry supporters of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) disrupted a show of standup comidian Sarat Uday in Bengaluru and verbally abused the Hyderabad-based artist in the middle of his performance over jokes cracked on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu over two years ago. Despite Sarat apologising earlier, the miscreants still forced him to issue another apology in front of the audience. The incident took place at Koramangala in Bengaluru on Saturday, April 25, around 7 pm and the entire incident was captured in a video. According to Sarat, the miscreants disrupted his show almost immediately after he began. This is the third incident to standup comedians being threatened or arrested for jokes on politicians from the ruling parties in Andhra Pradesh. Prior to this, comedians Anudeep Katikala and Rafiq Muhammed were booked and arrested by the AP Police for similar jokes. While Anudeep was picked up by the police from Prayagraj and taken to Kakinada, Rafiq was ar...

Affordable home sales down 23 pc in Q1 2026 in top 8 cities, including Hyderabad

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Hyderabad:  Sales of affordable homes, costing less than Rs 50 lakh each, fell 23 per cent on-year in January-March to 16,273 units across eight major cities, including Hyderabad, mainly due to lower fresh supply in this price bracket, according to Knight Frank. All eight cities of Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata reported a fall in sales in the affordable segment, making it the steepest decline across all price categories during the period. Post-COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for luxury homes has surged. Builders are attributing the lower launches in the affordable housing segment to the high cost of inputs, especially land. Also Read Telangana to implement revised land market values from May: Deputy CM As per the data, even the Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore category witnessed a decline of 12 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter of the 2026 calendar year to 23,567 units across the eight major cities. However, the housing sa...