1. Karnataka to begin crediting ₹2,000 as partial drought relief to bank accounts of farmers
Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda told the Legislative Council on December 6 that the Karnataka government would begin crediting ₹2,000 as partial drought compensation to bank accounts of farmers from next week, in accordance with a temporary relief announced by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earlier.
The total loss due to crop damage in Karnataka because of drought has been estimated to be ₹35,162.05 crore. The State Government has sought ₹18,171.44 crore from the Union Government from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to provide relief to farmers.
2. Siddaramaiah orders setting up special courts for trial in killings of M.M. Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh
Karnataka government has ordered setting up of special courts to hear the case pertaining to the murder of writer M.M. Kalaburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh. On December 2, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued directions to take urgent action in this regard, and cited the requests from the respective families for the same.
While senior writer and a doyen of Kannada research M.M. Kalburgi was killed on August 30, 2015, at his residence in Dharwad, police filed a chargesheet in 2018-19. With respect to the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh on September 5, 2017, the special investigation team has arrested 18 accused, collected 1,200 items of evidence, and 500 various evidences of proof and testimonies. While the court started the hearing in the case in July 2022, it is progressing at a slow pace due to other pending cases.
3. Panchamasali leaders seek CM Siddaramaiah’s appointment to discuss 2A reservation issue
The leaders of Panchamasali community, including legislators of both Congress and BJP as well as Ministers, met in Belagavi on December 6, to chalk out plans to take the demand of the community to be included in 2A category for reservation to backward classes to CM Siddaramaiah.
It is learnt that the community leaders, especially in the Congress, are anxious about meeting with the chief minister to send a message across to the community ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Reservation for Panchamasalis, a land-owning community, has remained a vexed issue for a while now. Besides the 2A category status, the community is also seeking entry into the central OBC list.
4. Cyclone Michaung disrupts train services between Mysuru and Chennai
Train services on the Mysuru-Bengaluru-Chennai section continued to be affected due to cyclone Michaung with eight trains cancelled on December 6 and five other trains were partially cancelled or diverted.
