Now, govt extends ESI scheme to whole of Karnataka

Source: TimeOfIndia


BENGALURU: Ministry of Labour and Employment under Government of India has extended the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Corporation scheme to the entire Karnataka state with effect from September 1, 2016. Bidar, Chikkaballapura, Chikkamagalur and Kodagu have been recently included under ESI coverage as per the newly issued notification.



This extension is a part of series of 2nd Generation Reforms Agenda, known as ESIC 2.0, reported the Employees' State Insurance Corporation Regional Office, Karnataka. The scheme earlier covered 26 districts of Karnataka with effect from May 1, 2016, but with the extension of this scheme to the remaining four districts, the whole of Karnataka has been included under ESI coverage now.


An official statement from ESIC Regional Office Karnataka said, the extension of ESI scheme to the entire state will benefit thousands of industrial workers and their family members to avail various benefits provided under the scheme.


Latest CommentSuccessive governments are least bothered about the welfare of the crores of workers in the private sector and in the unorganised sector and it is hugely concerned about the workers in the organised ... Read MoreRammohan


All the employers have to get themselves registered online and the employees shall become eligible for certain benefits from the first day of the coverage. The employers need to visit www.esic.in for registrations. For further details, employers can visit the nearest ESIC offices or contact them on toll free number 1800-425-0626.


The statement reported that in the extended areas, medical arrangement for the time being is provided through state government primary health centres, community health centres and district hospitals.




source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Now-govt-extends-ESI-scheme-to-whole-of-Karnataka/articleshow/54365540.cms



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Bloodied village wants its place in history

Source:New Indianexpress





BIDAR (KARNATAKA): As the state commemorated the Hyderabad-Karnataka Liberation Day on Saturday, a tiny village in Bidar stands out as a symbol of the movement. Gorta witnessed one of the bloodiest struggles against the Nizam’s rule, 68 years ago. On September 17, 1948, over a year after Independence, Hyderabad was liberated from the Nizam’s rule and was annexed to the Indian state. Three months before the liberation, the people of Gorta village were massacred by the Nizam’s army.

Nizam of Hyderabad Osman Ali Khan with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 

The massacre
The village in Basavakalyan taluk has a population of around 3,000. But Gorta (B) remains unknown to many.

On May 8, 1948, at least 200 people were killed when Razakars, a private militia organised by Kasim Razvi, attacked the village for the Nizam of Hyderabad. After 1947, Hyderabad state comprising Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Hyderabad-Karnataka (which includes Bidar and undivided Kalaburagi and Raichur districts) and Vidarbha region of Maharastra were under the rule of Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam decided to keep Hyderabad independent, but the residents of the erstwhile Hyderabad state began opposing the Nizam’s rule. But he suppressed the opposition with his army, Razakars. At this time, Gorta was one of the villages that resisted strongly against the Nizam’s rule. On May 8, 1948, the Razakars entered the village on horses, armed with rifles and other weapons and killed around 200 people. The Razakars took the bodies to the Lakshmi temple and burned them.

K M Munshi’s book In his book End of an Era,

K M Munshi, food minister in PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet and Agent General in Hyderabad, writes about his visit to Gorta after the massacre. They concluded that over 200 people were killed. He writes that though the massacre took place for two days on May 9 and 10, bodies were still lying around the village and panchanama (documentation of evidence) was not conducted till his visit. Munshi estimated a loss of `70 lakh.



Witness accounts
Almost 68 years after the incident, Gorta is trying to hold on to its place in history. When this correspondent visited the village, he found four people who survived the 1948 massacre.

Maruti Parit, 91, who was involved in the liberation movement, Veerupakshayya, 89, also involved in the liberation movement, Manikappa, and Basamma Ambesingi are the four people in the village who witnessed the incident. Parit recollects that over 500 people, including Razakars and their followers, ransacked the village and killed over 200 people. Parit expressed his unhappiness about successive governments not constructing a ‘Martyrs Memorial’ nor felicitating those who fought the Razakars.

Not yet a model village
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana where MPs were encouraged to develop one village in their constituency as a model village. Bidar MP Bhagavant Khuba adopted Gorta to make it a model village, but the situation remains the same.


source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/Bloodied-village-wants-its-place-in-history/2016/09/18/article3623524.ece


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Pilot project to sell grains online in Bidar

Source: The Hindu :-


The government will start a pilot project to help farmers sell grains through online platforms such as the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange in two Gram Panchayats in Bidar district. The district administration has achieved significant success with its experiment to sell sugar seized from factories at a price higher than the market price.

The Gram Panchayats of Mannalli in Bidar and Telgaon in Bhalki taluk will be registered as sellers on online platforms. They will encourage farmers to store their produce in village godowns, and sell when they feel the price is right.

As a first step, the zilla panchayat will collect the details of types and quantities of crops grown in each hobli, or a group of gram panchayats. Officials will also study the market trends of the crop and its varieties, since market records have been maintained in the district.

The second step would involve construction of godowns or storage units in each of the 186 Gram Panchayats. Work on building 145 godowns, each of 60-tonne capacity, under MNREGA, is under progress. These will be built according to international parameters with pest- and snake-resistant platforms and minimal ventilation to contain moisture variations and fungus attacks. They will also be provided with a computer and an internet connection.

Modern silos to store grains scientifically will be built in each of the 30 hobli headquarters, using funds available under Backward Region Grant Fund. These will have larger capacity to store grains, compared to village-level godowns.


Two workshops on how to sell foodgrains on NCDEX will be held for Panchayat Development Officers, and officers of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee and Agriculture Department and farmers in the select GPs.

Red gram

Some of the grains will also be procured locally, says Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari. Red gram was sown on around 50,000 hectares in the district and the yield is expected to cross 77,000 tonnes this year. The district administration plans to buy all the red gram needed in anganwadis and primary schools, locally. This would be processed in the mills in the district and supplied through the mid-day meal scheme, according to the DC.

Around three lakh tonnes of green gram has been harvested in the district, but the farmers have not got a fair price. Around 25,000 tonnes of black gram and around 3 lakh tonnes of soya is expected to be grown this Kharif. "If the online sales system starts functioning properly in one month, we can provide competitive prices to all these crops," the DC said.

At a meeting on Monday, Mr. Anurag Tewari said the project would be extended to the whole district if it succeeds. Pawan Kumar Malpati, ZP chief executive officer, said the panchayats will create awareness among farmers about online sale of farm produce. This will empower them and help escape from the clutches of middlemen, he said.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/pilot-project-to-sell-grains-online-in-bidar/article9104162.ece


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Bidar Utsav to be held in January

Source: The Hindu :-


Hyderabad Karnataka Liberation Day was celebrated across the district on Saturday.

District in-charge Minister Eshwar Khandre unfurled the national flag and received a guard of honour from the police.

He announced that Bidar Utsav, aimed at promoting tourism, would be held in January and Basava Utsav and Jana Para Utsav would be held next month.

A Rs. 50-crore proposal had been sent to the Union government for heritage conservation. Development of Basavakalyan and Bhalki Fort; setting up of a Bidri works cluster unit, and Bidar Haat; and the development of a Royal Deccan Tourist Circuit were part of it. A detailed audio guide was being developed, he said.

Mr. Khandre promised to promote tourism and develop urban local bodies in the district.

He said that the government had approved a Rs. 27-crore action plan for the development of municipalities in the district. “We are fast tracking works that include roads, drains, drinking water and waste management. Six urban local bodies are getting Rs. 35 crore in the next phase of the Nagarothana scheme,” he said.

Of the 31,000 vacancies in government departments, efforts were on to fill 11,000, Mr. Khandre said.


“There are plans to irrigate 11 lakh hectares in the district in five years at the cost of Rs. 3,700 crore. Temporary teachers will be appointed to vacancies in schools in a month. Construction of Morarji Desai schools at the cost of Rs. 50 crore is on. There is a proposal to start at least one residential school in each of the 30 hoblis.”

Over 1,000 km of roads in the district would be repaired at the cost of Rs. 12 crore before March.



Bhagwant Khuba, MP; MLAs, and MLCs, Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari, Superintendent of Police Prakash Nikam, Bidar Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Offocer Pavan Kumar Malpati, Assistant Commissioner Venkat Raja were present.



Rs. 50-crore proposal sent to the Union government for heritage conservation, says Khandre


source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/bidar-utsav-to-be-held-in-january/article9120177.ece

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Union government keen on setting up armed forces training centre in Bidar

Source: The Hindu : -

BSF IG PV Sandhu, AC Venkat Raja, MP Bhagwant Khuba and others inspect a site in Hedgapur village in Aurad taluk on Monday.



The Union government has expressed interest in setting up a Central Armed Forces training centre in Bidar district, MP Bhagwant Khuba said in Bidar on Monday.

The centre will set it up by investing Rs. 800 crore, if the State government were to give it around 400 acres of land, Mr. Khuba told The Hindu. It will create a lot of direct and indirect opportunities.

A team led by Pavanjeet Singh Sandhu, Inspector General of special operations, Border Security Force, visited Bidar and held a meeting with Assistant Commissioner Venkat Raja and SP Prakash Nikam.

The officers showed Mr. Sandhu and Mr. Khuba, around 300 acres of land near Hedgapur in Aurad taluk. Mr. Raja described the details of the location to Mr. Sandhu.


Mr. Khuba’s said he had approached the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) requesting it to set up a training centre in the backward district. I met Rajnath Singh during his Vikas Parva rally in Bidar on June 3, and had got an assurance from him, Mr. Khuba said.

The MP’s office released copies of a letter by Mr. Sandhu to the State government expressing interest in setting up the centre. The Ministry of Home Affairs plans to set up Reserve Battalion Key Location Points / training centres in some select districts.

In a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary (home), Bengaluru, Mr. Sandhu has said that if the district administration were to identify suitable land, he would inform the MHA to take further action.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/union-government-wants-to-set-up-armed-forces-training-centre-in-bidar/article9124522.ece

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Rain causes crop damage in Bidar

Source : The Hindu :-



Heavy rain has caused considerable damage to crops and disrupted life in some parts of Bidar district. Rains began on September 13 and gained intensity till September 16 and then subsided on Friday.

The district has received a total 644 mm of rain this monsoon, compared to the average 591 mm. In September alone, the district got 225 mm of rain, in place of the average 168 mm for the same period.

The highest was in Bhalki, that got 342 mm as against 177 mm. Humnabad got 224 against 168, Aurad 212 against 154, and Basavakalyan 211 against 190. Bidar, though, received 147 mm while the average for the period is 183 mm.

Connection between Khed and Sangam villages in Aurad taluk has been cut off as water began flowing over the Sangam bridge over Manjra river.

Water has entered fields in Sonal, Sonal Wadi, Horandi and Kalagapur, damaging soya, black gram, and red gram crops. “The quality of crops I got this year was the best in recent years. But a large part of my field has been damaged by excess rain and water inflow,” said Ankush Hanumashetty, a farmer in Sonal.

Tank breaches

A breach in the tank in Kalasadal village is said to have damaged crops on over 500 acres in Bhalki taluk. Water is flowing over the old bridge in Saigaon in Bhalki taluk and people are using the new bridge.

District in-charge Minister Eshwar Khandre has asked officials to begin a crop loss survey and send a crop loss compensation claim to the State government. He inspected flooded areas in Bidar city on Saturday. He instructed Public Works department officers to repair roads and city municipal council officers to repair drains.

Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari has asked officials to conduct a detailed survey of damage to roads, bridges, buildings and other public assets. Preliminary reports indicate increase in the number of potholes, and damage to some small bridges across streams, he said.

Rail traffic hit

South Central railway stopped traffic on the Bidar-Hyderabad line after the earth caved in below the tracks near Sadashivpet in Telangana.

Trains plying from Bidar and arriving at the station were cancelled or diverted for a day. Several trains were delayed or rescheduled on Friday and Saturday.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/rain-causes-crop-damage-in-bidar/article9118927.ece



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Double murder case solved in Bidar

source: The Hindu :-


Bidar police have arrested a city-based dance teacher who they say killed two of his friends in a fight over a petty issue two days ago.

Sachin Dayanand Kamble (28) of Milind Colony killed Sumit Devdas and Shivakumar Sharanappa and tried to set on fire Sumit’s house near the district stadium, SP Prakash Nikam told presspersons on Saturday.

Sumit had invited four of his friends for a liquor party at his house on September 13. Ramesh and Prashant left after a few drinks at around 11 p.m. Sachin, Sumit and Shivakumar stayed behind and spent the rest of the night drinking. They fought over a trivial issue and Sachin killed the two early morning on Wednesday, the SP said.

According to police sources, Sachin and Sumit fought more than once that night. It got out of hand early morning. Sumit was using foul language while talking on his mobile phone with someone else. Sachin objected to this. Sumit retorted angrily and abused Sachin. The latter lost his temper and hit Sumit with a stick. Sumit's cries woke up Shivakumar who was sleeping nearby. Shivakumar asked Sachin why he hit Sumit and another quarrel ensued. Sachin thought Shivakumar was trying to snatch a stick from under the cot, and so hit him. Shivakumar received injuries on his head and died.


After making sure they were dead, Sachin went to the roof of the house and sat for a few minutes. He came back, stole Sumit’s rings, laptop and mobile phone, switched on the gas stove and set fire to the house before leaving, to make it look like a cylinder blast fire accident. He had also made it difficult for police to trace him by changing mobile phones and changing his location every few hours.

The fire did not spread as a neighbour noticed the fumes and called the fire and emergency services personnel. They reached the spot in a few minutes and averted a major disaster. The fire force personnel called the police after finding the bodies.

Investigators arrested Sachin at Naubad on the outskirts of Bidar on Saturday morning. They recovered the valuables he had stolen. He confessed to the police about the crime. When officers asked him about the fire, he said he wanted to destroy evidence. He said that he used to spend hours watching police procedural dramas and crime serials on TV, from where he got ideas about destruction of evidence.

Mr Nikam congratulated the team of police officers including Deputy SP S.S. Almelkar for solving the case in two days and announced an award to the team.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/double-murder-case-solved-in-bidar/article9119035.ece



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Helping Bidri artisans reach wider markets

Source : The Hindu ..

Bidar-based couple assists them to adopt new designs and sell their ware online

Tech-savvy:Amarnath Shetkar and Channaveeramma Shetkar working on new designs.— Photo: Special Arrangement
Tech-savvy:Amarnath Shetkar and Channaveeramma Shetkar working on new designs.— Photo: Special Arrangement
A young couple in Bidar are combining their business with the welfare of traditional Bidri artisans, helping them adopt new designs and sell their ware online.

Amarnath Shetkar and Channaveeramma Shetkar have set up Curio38, a social business startup. They have invested their own funds to market handicrafts and train artisans. They approach traders to provide an assured market for existing products and create innovative designs for new products.

For his town

Mr. Shetkar, who joined the Ahmedabad-based Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India after an engineering degree, was associated with the Deshpande Foundation’s handicraft promotion programme for two years.

He returned to Bidar in 2014 as he wanted to “do something in the town he grew up”. He thought of a platform for online trade in Bidri handicrafts and founded the website http://www.bidriwala.com/

Ms. Channaveeramma’s skill has added to this venture. She has studied jewellery design in Manipal and England before joining a well-known brand as a merchandising manager. After her marriage to Mr. Shetkar this year, she moved to Bidar.

She uses traditional and contemporary design motifs to create new jewellery and accessories for men and women.

The response from artisans is surprisingly positive.

Tough start

Mr. Shetkar’s first few months were difficult. He had a hard time convincing artisans to sell their ware through his online venture. “Most of them are not educated and have had little exposure to technology. I had to sit with them and tell them about online sales of handicrafts. The relationship with artisans was built slowly, over several deals and cups of Irani chai!” he said. He now supplies to well-known clients such as Taj Khajana, Fabindia, Handicrafts India, and Desi Bazar.

“Empowering artisans is my first job. Selling handicrafts comes later,” said Mr. Shetkar, who wants to take Bidri to countries where it is unknown yet.

“The artisans easily adapt to new things when we demonstrate there is a demand for them and that creating them will be easier than routine items,” said Ms. Channaveeramma.

National award-winning master craftsmen Abdul Rauf and Majid Quadri are working with the Shetkars on new designs. They are now focusing on using Bidri for home furnishing and stationery.

“The opportunities for non-traditional usage of Bidri are endless,” Ms. Channaveeramma.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/helping-bidri-artisans-reach-wider-markets/article9067822.ece