Plans afoot to develop Bidar’s ‘karez’

Source:The Hindu :_

Engineers taking measurements of the karez system at Naubad in Bidar.— photo: by special arrangement


The State government will take up comprehensive development of the ‘karez’ or ‘surang bavi’ system, the medieval era underground aqueduct, to transform them into an international tourist attraction.

The area above the surang in Naubad will become a no-construction zone and a boulevard will be built over it. Also, interpretation boards will be put up along the way and visitors will be able to descend into the mouth of the duct and walk up some distance.

“The Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN), the consulting agency, has proposed an action plan of development in four stages. The first stage is getting the go ahead,” Anurag Tewari, Deputy Commissioner, told The Hindu .

Each stage entails an expenditure of around Rs. 1 crore. The first phase will focus on purifying water that flows under the vents, strengthening the laterite rock structure for safety and security, and clearing of encroachments around the structure. Construction of new buildings and roads will not be allowed over the structure. The existing structures will be asked to follow some guidelines to make sure they don’t damage the heritage structure, Mr. Tewari said.

Illegal structures in the no-construction zone will be removed, he said.

Kishore Raykar, chief executive officer of IHCN, said strengthening the structure will be of utmost importance.

“We have requested experts from IIT-Hyderabad to examine the structure. Some of them have already had an exposure visit to Bidar. Once we have them on board, it will be a long term association. We have urged the government to let us use the services of the experts. The Deputy Commissioner has assured us that he would provide all cooperation,” Mr. Raykar said. According to him, water sampling of all the wells along the Surang Bavi will begin soon.

source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/plans-afoot-to-develop-bidars-karez/article8379071.ece




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TCAS undergoing trials

Source: TheHindu:-

Field trials of Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) providing real-time display of signalling information inside the locomotive cab to help drivers run the trains at higher speeds was tested by the South Central Railway (SCR) on Monday.

TCAS has been introduced on 250 km stretch of Lingampalli – Vikarabad – Wadi Section and on Vikarabad – Bidar section of SCR for extensive field trials.

SCR General Manager Ravindra Gupta inspected the system being tested on the Lingampalli-Vikarabad section of Secunderabad division. Mr. Gupta extensively reviewed TCAS implementation on the run and wanted field trials be completed at the earliest by addressing the teething problems.

TCAS is an indigenously developed system of Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), Lucknow, as well as the SCR.



TCAS is an indigenously developed system of RDSO, Lucknow, as well as the SCR


Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/tcas-undergoing-trials/article8383376.ece


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Train Engine Damaged in 'Sabotage'

Source:NewindianExpress :-

Fishplates left near the track by the Constructions department were put on the tracks by miscreants in a suspected sabotage attempt on the railway track near Yelahanka; The punctured tank of the engine

 The Yeshwantpur-Bidar Express with over 600 passengers on board escaped from a suspected sabotage attempt on the tracks on Saturday night, say railway officials.

As the train approached Yelahanka at 7.23 pm, the wheels of the train hit four fish plates and a rail piece found scattered on the track, said a top RPF official. The engine was damaged and the train was stopped immediately. The role of miscreants is suspected, he added.

Fishplates play a crucial role in keeping the tracks intact. Rail tracks come in pieces and are welded together to make them a single line. After the welding is done, a bar with many bolts in it is used on both sides of the track to secure the welded portion as an additional safety measure, explained Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (SDCM) Bengaluru Division, N R Sridhara Murthy.

“This figures among the rarest of rare incidents and probably takes place once or twice a year in our Division. We are suspecting it to be an act of sabotage. The Government Railway Police is now carrying out an inquiry into it,” he said.

On the danger to lives of passengers, he said, “There is always the possibility of a derailment taking place due to the obstructions and endangering passenger lives. Thankfully, only the tank of the engine was damaged in this incident.”

Another engine was brought from Yelahanka and the train was taken to the station at 8.25 pm, said an RPF official.

Elaborating on the damage to the engine, a GRP police official said the air tanks in the engine suffered holes. “If a train runs in this condition, the air pressure becomes low and the train will invariably come to a halt. So, the train was not run.”

Meanwhile, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner of RPF, M Suresh, conducted inspections along the track on Sunday night to identify suspects who could have indulged in the act.

“A group of young boys was found late at night on the tracks. We have arrested two people found drunk on charges on consumption of alcohol while on railway tracks,” he said

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Train-Engine-Damaged-in-Sabotage/2016/03/22/article3339540.ece


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‘Govt. taking steps to make Bidar drought-proof’

Source: The HIndu:-


The State government is taking steps to ensure that Bidar becomes drought-proof in the future, Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari said here on Sunday.

“The district administration has begun the process of land acquisition for the construction of 78 new tanks in the district. These will be spread across the five taluks. Around 400 ‘kalyanis’ are being cleaned and dredged. We have taken up the cleaning, dredging and protection of 55 minor irrigation tanks and 170 open wells across the district. More than half of these wells are yielding water,’’ he said. He was speaking at the World Water Day celebrations at the Rang Mandir.

“The most important gift of the Bahamani Kings to Bidar was the underground drinking water ducts called ‘karez’ or ‘surang bavis’. The State government has allotted Rs. 8 crore to clean, excavate and dredge the seven ‘karez’ systems in and around Bidar. We have begun cleaning the first one and have completed dredging and excavating to an extent of nearly 2 km of the total 3.3 km of the ‘karez’. Once this is complete, we will take up the other lines. This will ensure that Bidar has two sets of drinking water systems, one above the ground and the other below the ground,” he said.


Mr. Tewari said that the district administration would dredge not only public wells, but also private open wells too to help residents get water.

“The district administration will open a web page to show the progress of such works. Citizens can give suggestions and indicate the location of wells and tanks that needed to be cleaned,” he said. He also announced a scheme to be taken up along with the Forest Department where each family would be encouraged to grow 10 saplings in the name of each of their daughters.

Hanchate Sanjiv Kumar, Principal District and Sessions Judge and chairman, District Legal Service Authority, said that water conservation was the responsibility of every citizen.

Praveen Kumar Naikodi, natural resources management specialist from the College of Horticulture, spoke in detail about rain water harvesting.

He said that a house with a rooftop area of 100 sq. m could get 85,000 litres of rain in Bidar and one hectare could get over 85 lakh litres in one year.

Vishwanath Patil Koutha, raitha sangha leader, asked farmers and NGOs to take up the cause of Godavari water that remain unutilised. Bidar should get 22 tmcft of Godavari waters as per the Bachawat award. But they were not fully utilised yet, he said.



source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/govt-taking-steps-to-make-bidar-droughtproof/article8379419.ece



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Health scheme saves life of poor farmer in Bidar

source: the Hindu:-


Vajpayee Arogyashree Health Scheme saved the life of a poor farmer who was suffering from a serious heart ailment.

Mohammad Ghousuddin (58) went to the taluk hospital after he developed chest pain. The doctors advised him to see a cardiologist and he came to the Sai Preet Bhalke Vaidehi hospital in Bidar.

A team led by interventional cardiologist Dhabaleshwar Sahoo conducted a few tests like Two-Dimensional Echocardiogram (2D Echo) and found that Mr. Ghousuddin was suffering from 90 per cent block in one of the arteries that had to be removed immediately.

"There was no time for paper work and we had to go act immediately. We sought approval of the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust of the health department over telephone and treated the patient," said Somashekar Bhalke, head of the hospital.

Dr. Bhalke said that Dr. Sahoo cleared the block through angioplasty wherein a stent was inserted to clear the blockage in the artery. The procedure was conducted free of cost. "If not for coverage under the health scheme, the patient would have had to pay nearly Rs. 1.5 lakh, which is the cost of the procedure," he added.



Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/health-scheme-saves-life-of-poor-farmer-in-bidar/article8381469.ece




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State Govt allotted funds to develop Bidar dist as a model tourist destination.

Source: Newindianexpress

Many of the facilities and services which were otherwise designed for upper class tourists will be now made available for the middle class. The Chief Minister announced `507 crore for the Tourism Department.

Siddaramaiah announced affordable packages to attract domestic tourists to the expensive Golden Chariot luxury train. Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd will launch budget-class accommodation in the name of Jungle Camps and Trails. He also announced the launch of ‘Kuteera’, a new scheme for providing high-quality basic amenities at a reasonable price on national highways for tourists.



After the success of ‘Open Street’ initiative in Bengaluru, government plans to upgrade it into an international event to attract more domestic as well as international tourists. The same will be extended to other places.

He also announced `10 crore to develop Karwar, Bidar and Chikballapur districts as model tourist destinations. The government will also organise Karnataka Travel Mart once in every two years. Air and heli taxi services will be introduced to promote important tourist destinations.

Ashok S J, joint secretary, State Guide Association, welcomed the focus on middle class. “Jungle Lodges and Golden Chariot were not affordable for common people. Now they too can enjoy the premium services,” he said. He, however, felt a greater emphasis should have been given on promotion of lesser-known tourist places. “We lag behind in this regard when compared to neighbouring states. There are hundreds of places which are worth visiting, but the government needs to give basic facilities like toilets and road connectivity. Our state also needs a tourism ambassador like Gujarat,” he said.


Source:http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Luxury-Tourism-Wont-Pinch-Pockets/2016/03/19/article3334653.ece


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Stop encroachment drive in Bidar: Umashree

Source:The Hindu

Umashree, district in-charge Minister, has instructed officials to stop the drive to clear the encroachment of commercial complexes which lacked parking spaces in Bidar.

At a meeting with officials on Wednesday, the Minister sought a detailed report on the issue from Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari.

“I will study the issue and discuss it with you. Till then, you should not carry out demolition of any building. You should not move even a single brick till then,” she said.

The Minister was reacting to Rahim Khan, MLA, who demanded that the drive be stopped. He said that the drive had created a wave of fear among the people. He said that the government had to come to an understanding with the traders and regularise the building violations with a one-time settlement scheme. Mr. Khan said that if the drive was continued, it could lead to law-and-order problems. Ms. Umashree said that she would ensure that it ended immediately.

Cong. complaint
Earlier, Congress leaders in the district complained to Ms. Umashree against the drive.

They asked her to instruct the officials to stop the drive immediately. The Minister said that she would inform the Chief Minister about their concerns.

At a meeting at the Congress office, Mr. Khan made an emotional speech saying he did not want to continue as MLA in a city where traders and owners of commercial complexes were suffering.

He said that he would resign if the drive was not stopped.

Mohammad Saleemoddin , party leader, sought the transfer of Mr. Tewari and City Municipal Council commissioner Gurudatt Hegde. Ms. Umashree said that officials had to follow established procedure if they were to clear encroachments.

District Congress president Khaji Arshed Ali, and Vijay Singh, MLC, were present.

The exercise has created fear among people,says MLA


Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/stop-encroachment-drive-in-bidar-umashree/article8363170.ece


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Movement to clear the air about Madrassas

Source: The Hindu :

Students Islamic Organisation of India has launched a nation-wide movement to “clear the common misconceptions about Madrassas” and to help improve the education standards in these institutions.

Special teams have been formed to visit each State and interact with the stakeholders. As part of the strategy, resource persons will visit Madrassas and list out the infrastructure facilities that are not available in these religious schools.

Teachers in Madrassas will be exposed to modern teaching methods and soft skills. Teachers or students of Madrassas who achieve excellence in Calligraphy will be presented with Kala Pratibha Puraskar awards.

Bengaluru, Bhatkal, Raichur and Bidar have been chosen in the State.

The first of such meetings was held in Bidar on Tuesday. Resource persons interacted with students, teachers and managing committees of various Madrassas in the city. A public meeting was held at Basava Kalyan in the evening.

Misinformation
“A lot of misinformation campaign is going on against Madrassas. Some people brand them as terrorist training centres. Some people think of Madrassas as opaque institutions that are trying to divide society. These are all false allegations. We want to speak out against such conspiracy theories,” Naziri-ul-Hassan Falahi, SIO national secretary, told presspersons.

“Efforts will be made to remove misconceptions about Madrassas that they are breeding grounds for terrorists and anti-national activities. Pamphlets and books will be released that speak about the kind of education given in the Madrassas. Lectures will be organised and efforts will be made to introduce the good work done by most of these bodies,” Mr. Falahi said.

He said that a nation-wide study had revealed that a majority of such institutions were teaching science, geography, Hindi and other Indian languages, apart from religious education. SIO has usually been associated with students in the formal education system.

“We want to expand our activities to non-formal educational institutions such as the Madrassas,” he said.

Most of the Madrassas lack basic facilities, Talha Ismail, coordinator, Deeni Madaris Committee of Karnataka, said. According to them, there were 960 Madrassas in the State and most of them did not have enough facilities. Around 90 per cent of them do not have physical education teachers and over 70 per cent of them do not have libraries.

“We found that a Madrassa in Ramnagaram had cordial relations with people in its neighbourhood. We want to spread word about such institutions,” Mr. Ismail said.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/movement-to-clear-the-air-about-madrassas/article8368198.ece

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More medical seats this year

Source: the Hindu :-


BENGALURU: There is a windfall of sorts for medical seat aspirants. One new medical college at Bengaluru’s Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital will open, offering 150 undergraduate seats.

In addition, a year after government medical colleges opened in Koppal, Gadag and Kalaburagi, three more in Karwar, Chamarajanagar and Madikeri will come up in the 2016-17 academic year. All these colleges were announced in the 2013-14 budget.

Adding further to the government medical seat tally, there are plans to increase intake for MBBS courses from 100 to 150 each in the medical colleges in Mandya, Hassan, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Raichur and Bidar.

Bengaluru will also get a gastroenterology institute at the SDS Tuberculosis Institute at a cost of Rs. 10 crore.

Higher education

The higher education sector, which saw an increase of Rs. 755 crore in allocation from the previous budget, includes ‘Centres for Excellence’ at Bengaluru and Tumakuru universities and Visvesvaraya Technological University, and the introduction of courses in IT, telecom, cyber security etc. in five government engineering colleges. A new government engineering college has been announced in Bidar.

The budget made no mention of the trifurcation of Bangalore University.


Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/more-medical-seats-this-year/article8373916.ece

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Govt. ticks most boxes in Bidar’s wish list

Source:The Hindu:-


Except for a government agriculture college, it seems Bidar has got most of its wishes fulfilled in the State budget.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s 11th budget will be remembered for a long time by the people of this backward district as the one that brought a government engineering college. Bidar was the only Assembly seat where the ruling Congress won in the recent bypolls. The Chief Minister has announced a “gift of gratitude” to them, is what political observers are saying.

A team of Congress leaders including N. Dharam Singh, former CM, MLAs Rahim Khan, Eshwar Khandre and Rajshekar Patil, MLC Vijay Singh and party leaders Khaji Arshed Ali and Aravind Arali, had met the Mr. Siddaramaiah with a list of demands recently.

The other game changing announcement is tourism promotion in this heritage city recognised by the World Monuments Fund and placed in the provisional list of UNESCO heritage sites. Bidar, along with some other cities, will be developed as a model tourist destination with an initial fund of Rs. 10 crore. The historical water supply systems Karez or Surang Bavi in Bidar and Vijayapura will be preserved, protected and developed as tourist attractions. A museum will come up at the cost of Rs .1 crore to help these efforts.

The Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board will launch a drinking water and sewage project in Bidar this year. The Rs. 140 crore project of 24x7 water supply system with over 100 overhead tanks and a mega sewage treatment plant has been taken up with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank.

Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS) will set up an incubator for IT start-ups and other allied industries in Bidar. This is expected to help the city in the long run, given the fact that it is within 150 km. of Hyderabad, counted among the biggest IT hubs in the world.


Another interesting proposal is to set up a research centre in memory of Mahamud Gawan, a civil servant in the service of the medieval era Behmani kings.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/govt-ticks-most-boxes-in-bidars-wish-list/article8371078.ece


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Mahamud Gawan to get his due

Source: the Hindu:



Madrassa of Mahamud Gawan, founded by Mahamud Gawan, a Persian scholar who settled in Bidar and served as a wazir to the Bahamani kings, in medieval era. The multi-disciplinary university functioned from 1460 to 1656.

A pleasant surprise for heritage lovers in Bidar in the budget was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah talking about Mahamud Gawan, the illustrious ruler of the Deccan in the 15th century. The Chief Minister announced an ambitious project to establish a library and a research centre in honour of Gawan, who introduced administrative reforms and set up a world class, multi-disciplinary university in Bidar in 1460.

Officials are excited about the project. “This is one way the grateful city remembers the builder of Bidar,” Anurag Tewari, Deputy Commissioner, said.

“Mahamud Gawan is the true icon of the country’s multi-culturalism and administrative foresight. Historians like H.K. Sherwani have told us that Gawan started the first scientific land measurement and survey, set up a university spending his personal funds and invited scholars from around the world to come and teach astronomy, poetry and a mathematics. He curated a library that had 3,000 hand written books in 15th century. Such works needs to be recognised, even after five centuries,” Mr. Tewari said.

“We will start a Sufi festival in his memory, apart from the research centre and library,” Mr. Tewari said. The centre, according to him, will take up systematic research on Gawan’s works like Manazur Ul Insha , translate his works and document the administrative reforms that he introduced. A separate set of scholars will study the evolution of the Mahamud Gawan Madrassa as an international university. Apart from increasing our understanding of the medieval scholar, this will help cement India -Iran relationship and promote understanding and tourism.

Khaja Imaduddin Gilani, or Mahamud Gawan, was a Persian mathematician who was trained under greats like Ulugh Beg in Samarkhand University, came to Bidar when he was around 40 years. He joined the Behmani Kingdom as a statistician and rose to be the Wazir or Prime Minister for three Kings.

In a letter to Gawan, Persian poet Jami credited him with making Bidar so beautiful that Rome was envious of it.

According to the book Bidar: Its History and Monuments by Ghulam Yazdani, Mahamud Gawan’s reign spanned from the port of Machilipattanam in Andhra to the port of Dhabol in Maharahstra.

However, few books have been written about him. The first book in Kannada was by M.S. Puttanna in 1924. L.R. Kulkarni from Karnataka University, Dharwad, followed it up in 1960. Karnataka Sahitya Academy commissioned a book on Behamani and Persian cultural relations. The only authentic biography in English is by Haroon Khan Sherwani. There are three booklets in Urdu about the Wazir, but thesis, research papers and seminar speeches about him are countless.


Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/mahamud-gawan-to-get-his-due/article8373075.ece


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Bidar to get government engineering college

Source: The Hindu:-

One of the surprises in the State Budget was the proposal to set up a government engineering college in Bidar, which has among the lowest tertiary enrolment ratios in the country.

It will be the 12th government engineering college in the State. Bidar also becomes the only district in Hyderabad Karnataka to have government colleges in veterinary, medicine, horticulture and engineering disciplines.

The district that boasts of being the home of the Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries University and a College of Horticulture, has few higher education institutions in the public sector. It has only one government residential PU college, and of the 170 PU colleges in the five taluks, only 16 are run by the government.

The district of 17 lakh people has 22 first grade colleges, of which seven are in government sector. Till 2007, the district had only one government degree college.

An officer in the Directorate of Collegiate Education said that while Karnataka’s tertiary enrolment ratio — the percentage of children who join higher education courses from among the eligible age group — was around 17 for the country and 20 for the State, while Bidar was struggling to achieve 11 per cent.

The budget announcement has been largely welcomed, though some are sceptical. Bodies such as the Bidar Chamber of Commerce and Industry have thanked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the gesture.

B.G. Shetkar, chamber president, said that this would change the culture of the city as highly qualified teachers would settle here. Some others, however, see no purpose in having an additional engineering college in the district while some seats in the other colleges remained unfilled for the last few years.

Official sources indicated that the government was likely to start the proposed government engineering college on the 30-acre campus of the government polytechnic.

The college might be upgraded as it was done in some districts, or a separate campus might be chosen.




Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/bidar-to-get-government-engineering-college/article8373073.ece




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Heatwave roasts HK, Bombay Karnataka regions

Source: the Hindu

A boy cutting a watermelon at a fruit shop in Kalaburagi on Saturday. Fruit vendors are making brisk business with the mercury shooting to new heights in the district.— PHOTO: Arun Kulkarni

Dry weather continues; Kalaburagi sizzles at 42 degrees Celsius

Hyderabad Karnataka and parts of Bombay Karnataka regions continued to experience severe heatwave conditions with the mercury touching new heights.

According to the data recorded by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) as on 8.30 a.m. on Saturday, Kalaburagi recorded the season’s highest maximum temperature of 42 degrees Celsius — three degrees more than what was recorded on the same day last year— also the highest temperature recorded anywhere in the State.

IMD sources said that Hyderabad Karnataka and Bombay Karnataka regions continued to experience dry weather conditions and the day and night temperatures rose appreciably at many places.

Raichur and Bidar continued to sizzle with the temperatures rising sharply. Both the cities recorded a maximum temperature of 41 degrees Celsius.

The temperature of 41 degrees Celsius recorded in Bidar and Raichur was five and three notches respectively more than what was recorded on the same day last year.

Koppal, Vijayapura, and Bagalkot recording a maximum temperature of 39 degrees Celsius and Dharwad, Gadag, and Haveri recorded an identical maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius. Belagavi Airport recorded a maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. The night temperatures also roles sharply throughout Hyderabad Karnataka and parts of Bombay Karnataka regions.

Kalaburagi, Bidar and Koppal recorded a minimum of 27 degrees Celsius— which was also the highest in the State.

While, Raichur and Gadag recorded a minimum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius, Vijaypura recorded 25 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature in Kalaburagi, Gadag and Bidar was four degrees Celsius more than what was recorded on the same day last year.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/heatwave-roasts-hk-bombay-karnataka-regions/article8376477.ece

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Budget: Bidar’s wish list

Source: The Hindu -:

Like all other districts, Bidar too has prepared a wish list on the eve of the State Budget. While some people want big-bang projects like a government engineering college, others want special focus on and funds for projects already under way.

A recent request from the DCC included setting up government engineering and agriculture colleges, adding diploma courses in veterinary and allied sciences, and a fertiliser factory in the district. The committee has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to consider setting up a research centre in the name of Mahamud Gawan, the adviser to the 14th-century Behmani rulers who introduced administrative reforms like land survey and annual revision of employee wages, and set up an anti-corruption mechanism.

The main demand from trade bodies like the Bidar Chamber of Commerce and Industry are tourism promotion and setting up a National Industrial and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) here.

Meanwhile, over 12,000 hectares of land has been identified for the NIMZ in Bidar and Bhalki taluks but the Union government is yet to sanction a zone to the district.

Better education
Low level of education remains an issue across Hyderabad-Karnataka, especially Bidar. The district has a population of 17 lakh, but it has only 1,350 primary schools and 150 high schools. The demand list submitted to the government by the district administration last year includes more secondary schools, Marathi- and Urdu-medium high schools in the border areas, a block institute for teacher training and girls hostels. The district administration has also sought a community college to train school dropouts in vocational skills.

Increasing the number of departments and courses offered at the postgraduate centre of Gulbarga University in Halahalli is another long-pending demand.

Irrigation needs
Irrigation is another long-neglected issue. Only around 60,000 hectares of the total cultivable land of four lakh hectares is canal irrigated in Bidar. The windfall of 21 tmcft of water granted by the Bachwat award on inter-state river water sharing in 1970 remains unutilised to this day. Healthcare too needs immediate attention. Taluk hospitals lack specialists and proper equipment; just three of the 30 hobli centres have full-fledged hospitals.

All of Aurad taluk has two MBBS doctors and no gynaecologists. Despite the establishment of the Hyderabad-Karnataka Regional Development Board and schemes like Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, roads in Bidar remain bad. A special project to connect unreachable hamlets and settlements is needed.


Source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/budget-bidars-wish-list/article8368207.ece







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Congress leaders against encroachment clearance drive in Bidar

Source: the Hindu :-

Congress leaders from Bidar on Wednesday complained against the ongoing encroachment clearance drive to District in-charge minister Umasree.

At a meeting in the Congress office, MLA Rahim Khan made an emotional speech saying he did not want to continue as the MLA, "when traders and owners of commercial complexes were suffering." Demanding that the drive should be immediately stopped, Mr. Khan threatened to resign.

Mohammad Saleemoddin, party leader, sought the transfer of Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari and City Municipal Council Commissioner Gurudatt Hegde.

Ms. Umasree said officials had to follow established procedure if they were to clear encroachments. She also said she would carry their concerns to the Chief Minister.


District Congress president Khaji Arshed Ali , MLC Vijay Singh and others were present.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/congress-leaders-against-encroachment-clearance-drive-in-bidar/article8360476.ece

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Steps to draw more tourists

Source: THe HIndu :-

Sound and light, audio guides, guide books and skill training for guides are among the steps the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will take to increase the number of people visiting places of historical significance.

A.M.V. Subrahmanya, Superintending Archaeologist (North Karnataka), told The Hindu here that the central agency will take up these tasks along with its primary duty of conserving and protecting monuments.

The first thing would be to bring out information brochures, publish booklets and prepare content for audio guides that can provide all necessary information to tourists, he said.

Facilities for regular light and sound shows will be created in select monuments, Mr. Subrahmanya said. “A proposal for a light and sound show has been approved for Bidar. Multi-media content will be created for this. Hardware and software tools will be installed inside the Bidar fort. Background music and commentary will be recorded,” he said.

He said that museums, information centres and interpretation centres will be developed in all major centres. Information centres such as those in Bidar will be upgraded. While museums and information centres will have posters and pictures on display, an interpretation centre will screen films and documentaries, he added.


“The ASI had kept a few sections of the fort closed for visitors as there were not enough security personnel. Now that security guards and Tourist Mitra personnel are being deputed, efforts will be made to throw open the entire fort to the tourists,” he said. “We will consider issuing a single ticket for all the monuments in the city,” Mr. Subrahmanya said.


Source : http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/steps-to-draw-more-tourists/article8311835.ece




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Pilot project to reform milk societies

Source: The Hindu   : 

As many as 50 villages in Bidar will be taken up in the first phase of the project.— File Photo


Computerised procurement, online payment will be introduced in villages

The district administration and the Kalaburgi-Bidar Milk Producers’ Societies Union Ltd. will start a pilot project to reform milk societies in villages by introducing computerised milk procurement and online payment.

Tasks like measuring the volume and quality testing of milk and keeping a daily count of the milk procured in the village by evening will be automated.

Society secretaries will be trained in handling them and milk producers and farm workers will undergo an orientation session.

As many as 50 villages in the eight taluks will be taken up in the first phase. The district administration will fund the project.

“These units are being set up in villages that did not have milk producers cooperative societies. We have completed formation of societies in 27 villages. We will install the procurement machines here soon,” Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari said.

“A study by the Animal Husbandry Department has shown that regular payment is the most important motivator for farmers. Other factors were transparency in the procurement process that measured milk properly and money was paid according to the quality submitted. We clubbed these three things and decided to change the way a society functions,” Mr Tewari said.

Money will be transferred electronically into the bank accounts of farmers. “Our focus will be to encourage women farmers open bank accounts, keep animals and supply milk to the societies,” the DC said.

Farmers and societies will get incentives to perform. Farmers who produce the most will be rewarded with loans to buy cows and buffaloes and technical assistance. Societies that collect the highest amount of milk will get regular technology upgrades and awards. Schemes and funds of various departments will be dovetailed to provide incentives to farmers and societies, according to him.

Union president Revanasiddappa Patil said that this was the first step towards making Bidar a milk surplus district.

This will not only help poor families fight malnutrition by feeding their children with milk produced at home, but also help them get a regular source of income by selling their produce, he said.

“We want to exploit our proximity to large markets like Hyderabad and Secunderabad. We are entering into a phase where we will supply quality milk to such large markets,” Mr. Patil said.

Kalaburgi-Bidar Milk Producers’ Societies Union Ltd. gets around 60,000 litres per day, out of which 70 per cent is procured is from Bidar alone.

However the potential yield of Bidar, home to the native Deoni breed cattle, is estimated to be at least three lakh litres per day.

The milk shed scheme introduced by the State government aims at doubling procurement in the next few years and help farmers by setting up milk processing and by product making plants in the district.







Source : http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/pilot-project-to-reform-milk-societies/article8316438.ece


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