bangalore news times

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G Parameshwara has sought immediate central assistance for drought-affected areas, urging Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to speed up the relief process. In separate letters, Parameshwara said the worsening drought had severely affected farmers and rural livelihoods and called for close coordination between the Centre and state government to ensure timely assistance. Karnataka has so far declared 177 taluks drought-hit. The first phase covered 101 taluks, for which the state sought Rs 3,705.30 crore. A second assessment resulted in another 76 taluks being declared drought-affected. Ground-truthing is under way in 40 additional taluks, and the number of affected taluks could rise beyond 220. The latest assessment in 76 taluks has found agricultural crop damage over 26.08 lakh hectares and horticultural crop damage over 1.49 lakh hectares. Major affected crops include...

Bengaluru: Several Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) in Karnataka’s Belagavi North Assembly constituency have claimed they were pressured into signing bulk Form 7 applications, The Hindu reported . According to the report, BLOs were receiving “already printed” Form 7s seeking deletion of Muslim names in large numbers. This incident was flagged in at least six polling stations in the constituency — two at the Government Kannada Higher Primary School in Shettigali and four in Veerabhadra Nagar. Pose as officials, men seek Muslim name deletion BLOs stationed at these polling booths told The Hindu that they were approached posing as Belagavi City Corporation with bulk Form 7 applications seeking removal of Muslim names only. While the voters’ names and information were pre-printed, the objectors’ details were either written by hand or left completely blank. The men allegedly pressured the BLOs to sign and return the forms immediately. The BLOs re...

Bengaluru : The Customs Department has imposed a penalty of Rs 89 crore on Kannada actress Ranya Rao in connection with the alleged gold smuggling case involving the illegal transportation of gold from Dubai to India. The action follows a detailed investigation into the network in which Rao was allegedly involved along with three other accused. Customs Joint Director Sandeep has issued a 399-page detailed adjudication order and directed Ranya Rao to pay the penalty under the Customs Act. The department has also imposed penalties of more than Rs 244 crore collectively on Rao and the three other accused in the case. According to the order, the alleged illegal transactions took place between March 7, 2024 and February 18, 2025. The investigation found that around 113 kg of gold was allegedly brought into India from Dubai through an organised network involving Rao and her associates. The other accused named in the case are Tarun Konduru Raju, Sahil Jain and Bharat Kumar Ja...

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday, September 30, said every genuine voter’s right to vote must be protected and sought constituency-wise details of objections filed through Form 7 during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. In a statement posted on social media, Shivakumar said he had asked the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to provide details of Form 7 objections, including the number of bulk objections and those filed without specifying the prescribed reasons or providing the mandatory particulars required for seeking the deletion of voters. He expressed concern that bulk objections could be used to target voters belonging to minority communities, Dalits, tribals and other backward communities. The Chief Minister also raised concerns over objections submitted with pre-printed voter details, saying such instances raised questions about a possible systematic attempt to undermine the SIR process. Shivakumar said he had ...

Hyderabad: Atleast 210 kilogram of Nandini milk powder were seized in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana , in the early hours of Wednesday, September 30. Based on a tip off, police searched a private transport office in Aler town, where the milk powder was discovered. Atleast 210 kilogram of Nandini milk powder were seized in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana, in the early hours of Wednesday, September 30. Based on a tip off, police searched a private transport office in Aler town, where the milk powder was discovered. The milk powder… pic.twitter.com/xZouTb0p0m — The Siasat Daily (@TheSiasatDaily) September 30, 2026 The milk powder was allegedly being transported from Karnataka to Hyderabad and was in transit when it was seized. The transport operator was detained for questioning. Police are probing the alleged illegal trade involving a Hyderabad-based person identified as Daya. Nandini Milk is a popular dairy brand owned by the state-owned Ka...

Mangaluru: A massive “explosion” occurred at the MRPL oil refinery near Jokatte in Mangaluru on Wednesday, September 30, local residents claimed, with houses shaking and people reporting “tremor-like” sensations. Reports said a loud explosion was followed by a large plume of thick black smoke that was apparently visible from far away. The explosion reportedly occurred in the Jokatte area, where the refinery’s third plant is located. A large fire and thick smoke were seen emerging from the facility. However, there was no official word from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) regarding the incident. A massive "explosion" occurred at the MRPL oil refinery in Mangaluru on Wednesday, local residents claimed, with houses shaking and people reporting "tremor-like" sensations. Reports said a loud explosion was followed by a large plume of thick black smoke that was apparently… pic.twitter.com/bJ4hOTJKfF — Th...

Bengaluru : The Karnataka government has initiated steps to introduce Shakti smart cards for women beneficiaries of its flagship Shakti scheme, aimed at preventing alleged misuse of the free bus travel facility. The Shakti scheme was launched on June 11, 2023, providing free bus travel to women across the four state-run transport corporations. However, complaints have emerged alleging that women from other states are using fake or fraudulent Aadhaar cards to avail themselves of the benefit, resulting in financial losses to the transport corporations. To address the issue, the government has floated a tender at an estimated cost of Rs 250 crore to provide smart cards to around one crore women beneficiaries across Karnataka. The cards are expected to be introduced first for women passengers of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), before being extended to the remaining transport corporations. Officials have proposed issuing the cards based on identity ...