"For the first time the Karnataka Sangha Dubai will organize a grand festival ‘KARNATAKOTSAVA 2002’ on Friday 4^th October 2002 from 10 AM to 5 PM.

The event will held at Hotel Crown Plaza and is open to members for free and all the Kannadigas of the Gulf.

Be a part and witness the glimpses of the glorious cultural and traditions of the State of Karnataka in a daylong festivity.

A day with galaxy of events such as Kavi Gosti with Proff.Nissar Ahmed and elite literary luminaries; Bhava Geethe by the famous singer Puttur Narsimha Nayak; Sugama Sangeetha by Sound of Music Orchestra of Bangalore directed by Mr.Gururaj and singing star Manjula; Hilarious Kannada Mimicry by the film actor Dayanand; Spell binding Magic by M.Hiremath laced with glittering & vibrant dances by Boogie Woogie famed Hariharan & troupe.

The festive moods and the nodes will be provided by live band  Saxphone artists ".

News: Our Karnataka Sangha Dubai, correspondent

Mangalore, September 4: St. Alloysius Evening College Students' Association president Mr. Callen D'Souza has been selected as the president of South Kanara District All College Executive Committee.  Other Christian student who got elected is: Mr. Swadeep N. D'Souza, Sacred Heart College, Madanthyar, as one of the Vice Presidents.  More than 450 student leaders from 36 colleges were in attendance for this election which held at Ballalbaug Tahksila Auditorium. 

 

Bangalore, September 5: Breaking his 12-day-long silence, Veerappan on Thursday sent another audio-cassette — his second — asking the Karnataka government to despatch jailed Tamil activist Kolathur Mani as its emissary to negotiate former minister Mr. H. Nagappa's release. The 30-minute cassette -- brought by DGP Mr. V. V. Bhaskar from Kamagere to Chief Minister Mr. S. M. Krishna's office — also has a three-minute message in Kannada from Nagappa, pleading with the Karnataka government to stop combing operations and send Mani immediately. Veerappan has threatened to kill Nagappa if this was not done. Nagappa has said he was being given food and water and was in good health. He said Veerappan had not been able to send out a message about his demands as the police had closed in around them.

The second cassette has apparently come in response to Mani's AIR messages broadcast on Tuesday and Wednesday, asking Veerappan to release Nagappa on humanitarian grounds due to his age and health. Nagappa is a diabetic. Mani is now lodged in Bellary jail, where he taped the AIR message at the behest of the Karnataka government. Earlier, Karnataka Home Minister Mr. Mallikarjun M Kharge told reporters that he had heard rumours but could not confirm that Veerappan's second cassettee had reached one of Nagappa's family members. "We have no details yet," he said.

'Music is gift of god' - Fr. Alguquerque
 

Vaz sisters had been pleading for police security
 

Bangalore, September 4: The police should have seen the Ms. Dolce Vaz murder coming. Ever since 1982, the Cubbon Park police records have been full of complaints from the Vaz sisters over their safety.  Early on Wednesday morning, Dolce Vaz was murdered by a man who broke open a ventilator and climbed in. Her sister, Vera Vaz, looked on as he fled the scene.  In 1982, the police had posted a constable round-the-clock to guard the house where the sisters lived. However, the security cover was withdrawn once the area became busy and the burden on the police increased.

For several years now, the sisters had sought protection from successive police commissioners. Sometimes, their request was taken seriously and sometimes not. Even Newspapers had received letters from the deceased in the past, asking for police protection.  Their house, full of antiques and precious things, had come to the notice of preying burglars. The unmarried sisters had not hired a security guard, and many people in central Bangalore knew they lived without a male companion. "This could be the reason why criminals had been threatening the Vaz sisters in the past," the police said.

The murder has demoralised the police force in the city, which has been at the receiving end after a spurt in armed robberies and murders.  Last year, an aged landlady Ms. Minna Rasquinah and her maid were murdered in their house on Convent Road. A retired sub-inspector's wife was murdered in their Nehrunagar home in Seshadripuram under similar circumstances. Both cases are unsolved.  Police Commissioner Mr. H. T. Sangliana has asked citizens to be vigilant and not to open doors to strangers until their bonafides is confirmed.

"It is impossible for the police to give security to a population of 90 lakh on an individual basis. We have our constraints such as shortage of staff. Citizens should learn to take precautionary measures and the police can only play a secondary role in protecting them," he added.  Reacting to Sangliana's advice, an aged resident of Lavelle Road who visited Vera Vaz after the murder, said: "We agree with the police commissioner. At the same time, we will compliment the police if they crack these murder cases. Unfortunately, that is not happening."
 

Robber chased, beaten up by public
 

Bangalore, September 4. One of the two youths who robbed a woman of cash at the Visveswarapuram branch of Canara Bank on Wednesday afternoon. The two youths were chased, caught, and beaten up by the public.  Police said that Navyashree (22), who works as an accountant at a computer firm, went to the Canara Bank located near Sajjanrao Circle to deposit Rs. 35,000. Around 12.20 p.m., when she was standing in a queue in front of the cash counter, a youth, who was standing behind her spoke to her in Hindi and diverted her attention. His accomplice tried to snatch a wad of currency notes from Navyashree's hand.

As she held the bundle tightly and raised an alarm, the culprit snatched a few currency notes and the two took to their heels.  While the person who snatched the cash escaped in an autorickshaw, his accomplice, Yosuf Ali (23) of Nagpur in Maharashtra, was chased, and caught.
 

Now you can book your train tickets online
 

Mumbai, September 4: Forget the long queues at the booking counters. Mumbaikars can now look forward to on-line reservation of railway tickets, which will also be courier-delivered to them at their doorstep by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).  The courier delivery facility will be introduced in Mumbai within a month; IRCTC's managing director Mr. M. N. Chopra told TNN on Tuesday. IRCTC also plans to set up collection centres in Mumbai, which will issue rail tickets,which are booked on-line. The collection centres are likely to be set up at CST and Churchgate. However, until the centres come up, tickets will be couriered from the centre at Delhi.

The on-line reservation system was introduced by the corporation in July.  While residents in any part of the country can book their tickets on the web, the ticket collection and delivery facility is limited at present to Delhi and its adjoining areas. IRCTC plans to expand its operations to other metro cities as well.  For on-line bookings, all that one has to do is log on the corporation's website- www.irctc.co.in., register oneself and fill in the journey details.

 

Quest to get God out of public America
 

Washington, September 4: Michael Newdow is tired of the way God is acknowledged widely in US public life - in schools, in courts, on money and in official ceremonies - so he has made it his quest to have those references to God removed.  A self-proclaimed defender of the separation between church and state, the California atheist has engaged in his latest battle, suing the US Congress to get congressional chaplains off the public payroll.

"It's a crusade. It's a civil rights battle. It strengthens our country. When you get religion involved with government, you end up with bad things," Newdow, a lawyer and emergency room doctor, said.  In a suit recently filed in federal court here, Newdow asserted that it is unconstitutional for the Christian chaplains - who can make up to $148,500 a year - to be paid by the government to say a prayer at the opening of congressional proceedings each day.

He bases his case on the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  "We have an establishment clause that says that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. No law means any law.  In addition, a law that puts chaplains in Congress seems to me a law respecting an establishment of religion. It's time to change it," Newdow said.
 

Centre plans to generate 1 crore jobs every year
 

New Delhi, September 4: Centre would generate about one crore-job opportunities every year during the Tenth Plan, Labour Minister Mr. Sahib Singh Verma said here today. He also said the government would soon initiate discussions with labour unions and other organisations on the issue of labour reforms. He has also ruled out any proposal of slashing government holidays in near future.  Addressing newspersons after chairing the 34th meeting of the National Council for Vocational Training, he said about 1,000 new industrial training institutes (ITIs) would be set up across the country.

Focusing on the necessity of revising the courses currently offered in the ITIs, he said the Council had approved introduction of multi-skill courses by restructuring the existing training courses and making them more need-based.  The Council had also approved reservation of seats for candidates belonging to other backward classes for admission in it were on par with reservation available for them for employment in government services in the respective states. It also decided on 25 per cent reservation of seats for women in the general technical institutes, he added.

The Council also welcomed the proposed revisions in the course curricula of the ITIs to keep pace with the technological changes taking place and approved identification of 17 new employable skill areas, including floriculture, insurance, medical transcription, hospital housekeeping and old-age care, the minister said.  Mr. Verma also gave away Best Establishment Awards under Apprenticeship Training Programme to MICO Ltd, Bangalore, and TELCO Ltd, Pune.

 

Goa bans plastic in sanctuaries, tourist spots
 

Panaji, September 4: In one of the most progressive moves to come out of this tourist destination in recent times, Goa has banned the use and sale of plastic bags and bottles in its sanctuaries and the Old Goa heritage zone. Two city beaches, Miramar and Caranzalem will also come under the ban, which goes into effect from October 2.  The notification has been issued under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986. The move could eventually lead to a complete ban on plastic on all of Goa's famous beaches, says director of Science, Technology and Environment Dr. N. P. S. Varde. Highly degraded beaches like Calangute and Baga will not come under the ban for now. "We have to consider the practicality of implementing it," he points out.

Non-biodegradable litter and garbage has become a serious problem for Goa's tourist beaches, as little co-ordination exists between the local panchayats, civic bodies and the tourism department to handle the issue.  The state government is also in the process of negotiating a recycling scheme for soft drink and mineral water bottles. Sources in the government said talks were on with big players like Coke, Pepsi and Bisleri, as well as smaller manufacturers to work out a solution.

"They are being urged to set up collection and compacting centres for plastic bottles in collaboration with NGOs and the Goa Small Scale Industries Association," he said. Recycled bottles would be pulverised and compressed into bales, which have varied applications, such as being reused as foam and cushioning for jackets and sofas.
 

Elderly woman murdered on St. Mark's Road, B'lore

 

Bangalore, September 4: A 75-year-old woman residing on St. Mark's Road was stabbed to death by an unidentified person in her house early on Wednesday morning. Ms. Dolce Vaz was killed in front of her 80-year-old sister Ms. Vera, who could do nothing except scream at the fleeing murderer.  The police suspect a thief, who had struck the house six months ago. At the same time, the property angle cannot be ruled out, the police said. However, there are no clues yet to the murderer.  It was well past midnight on Monday when Vera, who was asleep, heard her sister screaming for help. She came out of her room and saw a youth running away after assaulting her sister. She shouted at him, but could not do anything else.

On entering Ms. Dolce's room, Ms. Vera saw her sister struggling for life with stab injuries on her stomach, neck and hands. Dolce was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.  The murderer had apparently broken the grills of a ventilator and crept in. After murdering Ms. Dolce, he ran out through the door and jumped off a balcony.  Ms. Dolce Vaz was the daughter of the late Bombay High Court advocate Mr. E. A. Vaz, and was a piano instructor in the city. After their father's death, Ms. Dolce and her sister Ms. Vera, an English tutor, lived in their big family house 'Terra Vera'. Both were unmarried women.  Their house, probably the last residential dwelling on St. Mark's Road, situated next to Haji's petrol pump, is in a dilapidated state.