Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today: Activists condemn saffronisation of Central University of Karnataka, and more

Under the banner of Komuvada Alisi – Kendriya Vishvavidyalaya Ulisi Andolana (Eliminate Communalism – Save Central University Movement), several Dalit, progressive, left and democratic organisations have planned to lay siege to the Central University of Karnataka (CUK) in Kalaburagi on October 11, condemning what is termed as saffronisation of university campus.

D.G. Sagar, a Dalit leader and the president of the campaign, said that over 5,000 people would take out a procession from Kadaganchi village to the CUK campus to protest against the efforts of CUK Vice-Chancellor Battu Satyanarayana, faculty member Basavaraj Donur and others who were “promoting right-wing communalism in the campus and suppressing Dalit and progressive students by implicating them in false police cases.”

The break down of an emergency recovery vehicle between Rajajinagar and Mahakavi Kuvempu Road Metro stations on the Green line of Bengaluru metro affected train services on October 3 morning. Train services between Yeshwanthpur station and Mantri Square-Sampige Road station were cut off due to the technical snag, leaving thousands of commuters stranded at Yeshwanthpur. 

While BMRCL ran single line operations between Yeshwanthpur to Mantri Square Sampige Road metro stations to reduce the inconvenience to passengers, the BMTC ran extra buses between Yeshwanthpur Metro station and Majestic to help commuters amidst the disruptions. 

Bringing major relief to the city, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), after a long hiatus, will likely resume majority of the civic works from November. All works in Bengaluru had come to a grinding halt after the new Congress government assumed charge, which is a usual exercise for any new government in the State as it reviews the works tendered, conceptualised and sanctioned by the previous government before moving ahead. 

For the second time in a year, the BBMP also introduced a change in the payment system. The fresh system now delegates payment powers to zonal Chief Engineers (CE) from Zonal Commissioners. While the BBMP has commenced payments of works completed under BBMP grants and released ₹411 crore so far, the change has not gone down well with the contractors. The BBMP first introduced a change in the system in October 2022. 

The Gram Panchayat Members’ Union of Vijayanagara district has written a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take appropriate action against government school teachers who are not attending school on time and not conducting classes properly during school hours.