Trupti Murgunde
| Photo Credit: File Photo

The 38th All-India Postal Badminton Tournament will be held at Chamundi Vihar Stadium in Mysuru from November 10 to 14.

Chief Postmaster General of Karnataka Circle Rajendra Kumar told presspersons in Mysuru on Saturday that the 38th All-India Postal Badminton Tournament hosted by Karnataka Postal Circle will feature 194 players from 20 postal circles across the country. The participants include 134 male and 60 female officials, who will compete in singles, doubles, veterans, mixed doubles and veterans’ doubles categories.

Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar will be the chief guest for the inaugural function at 10 a.m. on November 10 while international badminton player and Dhyan Chand awardee Trupti Murgunde will be the guest of honour.

The valedictory ceremony to be held at 2 p.m. on November 14 will be attended by Member (Co-ordination), Postal Services Board, Ashish Kumar, and Olympian and Dhyan Chand awardee Ashwini Akkunji Chidananda. Rajendra Kumar will preside over the inaugural and valedictory functions.

Over the years, Karnataka circle has consistently been a strong contender, frequently reaching the finals and securing multiple titles, particularly in the women’s singles and doubles categories with R. Leela Lakshmi emerging as a prominent player, said a press statement.

To prepare for the tournament this year, selection trials were conducted on October 16 at Nova Sports, Bengaluru, where 11 participants including 7 men and 4 women were selected to represent Karnataka Postal Circle.

The Department of Posts not only looks forward to a successful tournament and extends its best wishes to all the participants, guests and officials, but also invites all sports enthusiasts and people of Mysuru to attend and support the players in their pursuit of excellence, added the statement.

A seaplane like this will operate a trial service from the Kochi International Marina, located next to Bolghatty Palace, to the Mattupetty dam in Munnar on Monday.

Blessed with ample number of waterbodies and the Centre sponsoring the fare for nine seats in seaplanes for a three-year period, Kerala has immense potential to woo high-budget tourists if these amphibious aircraft link tourism locales in the State, Biju Prabhakar, Aviation Secretary and Chairman of KSEB, said here on Saturday.

The State could even compete with the Maldives where over 100 seaplanes link tourism locales within that country. Apart from tourists, these aircraft could even be deployed to transport critically ill patients from remote places , he told mediapersons while announcing the details of a trial seaplane service.

It would take off from the backwaters near the Kochi International Marina, located next to the KTDC-run Bolghatty Palace and Island Resort here, to the Mattupetty dam in Munnar on Monday morning. The 20-minute trip would be flagged-off by Minister for Public Works and Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas.

To a question on seaplane services not taking off in Kerala despite being launched twice in the past decade, Mr. Prabhakar said this could be due to inadequate government support back then. By relying on seaplanes that needed clearance of less than a km for landing and take off, the government could save on the approximately ₹100 crore needed to build an airstrip. This would also lessen reliance on road trave.

“The trial run is aimed at demonstrating to tour operators and the public the potential of seaplanes in Kerala, as part of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, which will come in handy to augment connectivity between airports and waterbodies in Kerala,” he said.

Apart from Bolgatty and Mattupetty, the government was planning to construct waterdromes at Kovalam, Ashtamudi, Punnamada, Kumarakom, Vembanad, Malampuzha, and Bekal to host seaplanes, he said.

A seaplane that can carry nine people will touch down near the marina at around 2.30 p.m. on Sunday.

A total of 15 agencies, including Indian Navy, Cochin Port Trust, Cochin International Airport Ltd, Hydrographic Survey Wing, and the KTDC, are coordinating the trial run. The depth of waterbodies and water flow during high and low tides were monitored during the past month, to ensure safe landing of seaplanes.

V. Gopinathan, principal of Oisca Vidhyavikas International School here, has won the National Education Brilliance Award given by Hypedge Network India. He has been chosen for the award considering his overall contributions to education, especially in rural areas.

Mr. Gopinathan received the award from Raaj Kumar Anand, former Delhi Minister, at a function held in New Delhi the other day.

Hypedge Network India chief executive officer Gaurav Gautam praised Mr. Gopinathan’s efforts among minority and marginalised sections in rural areas.

Workers weigh and pack paddy bags at a grain market.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Amid complaints and protests by farmers’ organisations in Punjab that paddy procurement from the State has been delayed, the Centre said on Saturday (November 9, 2024) that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the State agencies have procured 120.67 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) paddy from the State.

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The Centre said so far 6.58 lakh farmers in the State have received the benefits of procurement with minimum support price (MSP) worth ₹27,995 crore. “As such paddy procurement is going on smoothly,” the Union government said.

“A total quantity of 126.67 LMT of paddy has arrived in the Punjab mandis as of November 8, 2024, out of which 120.67 LMT has been procured by State agencies and the FCI,” the Food Ministry said in a statement. ‘A’ Grade paddy is being purchased at MSP at the rate of ₹2,320 per quintal and the total paddy purchased till date in the ongoing kharif marketing season (KMS) amounts to ₹27,995 crore. “Further, 4,839 millers have applied for shelling of paddy and 4,743 millers have already been allotted work by Punjab State Government,” the Centre said.

Earlier, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) had protested against the delay in paddy procurement. The SKM had alleged that with the FCI delaying procurement of milled rice of last season, rice mills are unable to keep and process the fresh stock of paddy.

“The procurement of paddy for KMS 2024-25 has commenced in Punjab from October 1, 2024 and 2,927 designated mandis and temporary yards are operational throughout the State for smooth procurement from the farmers of Punjab. The Central government has fixed an estimated target of 185 LMT for paddy procurement for the ongoing KMS 2024-25 which shall continue up to November 30, 2024,” the Centre said and added that the paddy procured from the mandis is in full swing and the paddy being lifted is more than the quantity arriving daily.

A district consumer commission dismissed a complaint against Google Payment India Private Limited on the ground that a complainant was unable to prove his case, and for the lack of cogent evidence.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Rangareddy was dealing with a complaint filed by Anand Babu Salike.

The complainant said that in January 2023, he paid ₹50,000 via Google Pay to one Srinivasulu using a certain phone number he had previously been paid. However, the money was credited to a different person with a similar name but a different number.

This person’s Google Pay account was linked to ICIC Bank. He alleged that despite attempts to resolve the issue with Google Pay’s customer service, the company did not provide adequate support.

In the order, the commission noted that the complainant had failed to submit crucial documentary evidence to substantiate his claims of negligence by the payment platform. He did not include ICICI Bank or the unintended recipient as parties to the case.

In an ex-parte order, the commission cited a judgment of the apex court in SGS India Ltd. vs Dolphin International Limited. The burden of proving deficiency of service, the commission stated, was on the complainant. The commission dismissed the case, stating the no cogent evidence was placed on record.

The Karnataka government will do everything in its power to address the night traffic ban on the Kozhikode-Kollegal National Highway 766 Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has said.

Addressing a public meeting at Padinjarethara in the district, in connection with the electoral campaign of UDF candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday, Mr. Shivakumar said Ms. Vadra had called him two days ago and said that she would visit Karnataka to discuss the issue of the night travel ban soon.

Mr. Shivakumar said the government would take all necessary steps to lift the night travel restrictions. He said the ban was causing distress for thousands of passengers and students studying in Karnataka.

The Amritha Heritage hotel

A 120-year old mansion in the city, which used to be a favourite haunt of film stars in the 1970s and 80s, has now got a makeover as a heritage hotel. The Essenden Bungalow, which was originally the home of Portuguese citizen Eunice Gomez and her husband T. Shivaramasethu Pillai, was in the 1950s turned into Hotel Amritha, where film stars used to get together when the capital was the hub of the film industry.

The building has now been turned into Amritha Heritage with tastefully done landscaping complementing the eave-roofed heritage building. The single storey building located in Thycaud features both Portuguese and Travancore design elements. Union Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi will inaugurate the heritage hotel at a function at 10.30 a.m. on November 11.

A man allegedly murdered his wife when she refused to serve him food at Ambligola village in Shikaripur taluk on Saturday.

Manu wanted his wife Gowaramma, 28, to serve him food. As she was on the phone, Gowramma asked him to serve himself. This led to an argument and he allegedly assaulted and murdered her.

Gowramma’s father has filed the complaint with Shikaripur Rural Police. The police have taken the accused into custody.

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu at a press conference in Mumbai on November 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Saturday (November 9, 2024) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not believe in the idea of unity in diversity.

“It is our differences that bind us together,” Mr. Sukhu said in Mumbai, a day after Mr. Modi made the ‘Ek hai to safe hain’ [We are safe, if we are together] remark in poll-bound Maharashtra.

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Mr. Sukhu was speaking at a press conference along with Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

The Ministers from the Congress-ruled States gathered in Mumbai to respond to the allegations by Mr. Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, that the Congress failed to fulfil its poll promises. They claimed that every Congress-ruled State in this country had implemented the schemes and projects the party promised.

“The BJP made false claims yesterday, so today we have come here to show what we have delivered. I have come here to invite all the three parties from the Mahayuti [Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar’s NCP] to visit Karnataka and see what we have promised, delivered, and how people of Karnataka are benefitted. Rahul Gandhi walked the streets of this country and saw how the people were suffering, with price rise of every commodity,” Mr. Shivakumar said.

‘Culture of unity’

“Our differences bind us together because we come from different cultures, regions and traditions. People who speak such things, it is they who do not believe in the unity of this country. Our culture is to keep our country united. Our government’s decision to restore the Old Pension Scheme had a positive impact. People of Maharashtra have to decide whether toppling the government with the use of money is democracy,” Mr. Sukhu said. “Any person who was getting ₹5,000 per month under the new pension scheme is getting ₹50,000 under the Old Pension Scheme. Our government successfully countered ‘Operation Lotus’ of the BJP,” added Mr. Sukhu.

Mr. Shivakumar said, “Whenever the Congress comes to power, it will surely implement one or the other scheme for each section of society. None of the schemes, which have been in operation since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh, have been withdrawn. We are not looking at votes but development of the State.”

Mr. Reddy accused Mr. Modi of spreading lies about the Congress. “In 10 months, our government gave 50,000 jobs to the youth in the State. The BJP does not have any success story to boast of in Maharashtra. The BJP is transferring all the big-ticket investment projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat. We are systematically implementing the guarantees. Farm loans of 22,22,067 farmers were waived, which cost the government ₹17,869 crore. I urge people to defeat the BJP.”

Ajay Kumar, a 23-year-old student of English Literature at the University of Hyderabad (UoH), has been named winner of the Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize, 2024, jointly administered by Srinivas Rayaprol Literary Trust and the Department of English, UoH.

Mr. Kumar was selected from among 66 competitors by a jury comprising Mumbai-based poet Menka Shivdasani and two faculty members of UoH. Other finalists who will receive a special mention include Neethu Krishnan, Aparna Chivukula and Nikita Parikh.

A Chennai-based poet, Mr. Kumar is the author of the e-chapbook Balancing Acts and published his poems on various platforms, including the Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English and The Bombay Literary Magazine.

The Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize was instituted by the Hyderabad-based Srinivas Rayaprol Literary Trust to recognise excellence in poetry written in English by poets in the age group of 20-40 years. The prize carries a cash prize of ₹15,000 and a citation and will be presented at the Hyderabad Literary Festival in January 2025.