New Delhi:

Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved the ambitious project of the Bengaluru Skydeck, set to be South Asia’s tallest structure, at a staggering cost of Rs 500 crores. This project will be a major boost to the city’s infrastructure and will provide a 360 degree view of the Indian tech capital.

The tower will be approximately 250 meters high. For reference, the Qutub Minar monument in Delhi stands at 73 meters tall, so something that is 250 meters tall would be over 3 times taller than the Qutub Minar.

CNTC Presidential Tower, believed to be  Bengaluru’s tallest building, has an estimated height of over 160 meters.

“Karnataka government has approved South Asia’s tallest Skydeck. The Skydeck will be built in the city at a cost of Rs 500 crore, which will show a 360 degree view of India’s technology capital,” Karnataka’s minister of law, parliamentary affairs HK Patil said.

The Skydeck, set to be built on the NICE Road in outer Bengaluru, will have world class facilities for tourists and will be connected to the metro rail so that tourists do not face any inconvenience while trying to reach.

Apart from a lavish shopping complex, other facilities included inside the Sky Deck have not been confirmed as of now.

The government initially wanted to build the Skydeck in the middle of Bengaluru but two big challenges arose. First, it was difficult to find 25 acres of land in the middle of the city and second, there are establishments of the Defense Ministry in many areas of Bengaluru city, which raised their objection to such a high tower.

Having an extremely tall-tower in the middle of the city could have posed a threat to civilians, military airports. Therefore, the Skydeck project has been approved for outer Bengaluru.

The Karnataka cabinet has also cleared a two way tunnel from Hebbal to Silkboard Junction in Bangalore at the whopping cost of 1269 thousand crores

Bengaluru:

A 19-year-old BSc Nursing student died after she allegedly fell from the sixth floor of her hostel building in northern part of the city here, police said on Tuesday.

The nursing student, identified as Athulya G, hailed from Palakkad district in Kerala and was pursing her graduation from a private college in Chikkabanavara here, they said.

On Sunday afternoon, she was sitting on the parapet and talking to her parents over the phone. She allegedly fell from the sixth floor of the hostel building, a senior police officer said.

“Prima facie, it appears that the girl was not interested in studying in Bengaluru. She recently came from her native place to study here, according to her friends. We suspect it was an intentional act and that she allegedly jumped from the sixth floor. However, we are verifying the details,” he said.

The injured woman was rushed to the hospital but was declared brought dead, he added.

A case of unnatural death report has been registered, police said, adding further investigation is underway to ascertain if it was a case of accidental death or suicide.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

View of Kempegowda International Airport Halt railway station in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: Sudhakar Jain

The Union government, when approving the suburban rail project, mandated that K-RIDE, the implementing agency, prioritise the KSR Bengaluru (Majestic)–Devanahalli line connecting Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). Despite this, K-RIDE has not yet issued the tender, causing dissatisfaction among railway activists advocating for a strong rail network linking the airport, which would benefit numerous air passengers and airport workers.

In June 2021, K-RIDE decided to deprioritise the project as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) had already initiated the tender process for its airport line. Consequently, K-RIDE opted to focus on developing other unconnected routes instead, according to sources in K-RIDE.

In 2021, BMRCL commenced the construction of a 58-km Outer Ring Road–Airport link stretching from the Central Silk Board to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The project, slated for completion by 2025–26, aims to benefit commuters from the southern and eastern parts of the city. Additionally, BMRCL is concurrently developing a new metro line connecting Kalena Agrahara to Nagawara, which will be seamlessly integrated with the ORR–airport line at Nagawara.

The airport line of the suburban rail project is called Sampige Line, which has a length of 41.4 km and will have 16 stations.

Rajkumar Dugar, the convener of Citizens for Citizens (C4C), said, “The suburban rail connecting the city centre to the airport has not been prioritised. With Terminal-2 already operational at KIA and a significant increase in airport footfall, we are on the brink of a crisis due to the lack of a robust mass transit system linking the airport. While the metro project aims to serve the southern and eastern parts of the city, the suburban rail would cover essential areas like Majestic and Yeshwantpur, both of which are already integrated into the metro network. If you see, only 20% of the middle of the city area is covered in the metro to airport route.”

Also read | Navigating the airport commute challenge in Bengaluru 

“Despite instructions from the Prime Minister and the Railway Minister to expedite the project, both the railways and K-RIDE are moving at a sluggish pace in terms of progress. Though K-RIDE has committed to ensure loans for this corridor will be closed and tender will be called before the end of 2023. There is no indication of this happening soon. K-RIDE needs to hurry up and close loan and tender matters. Also, South Western Railway (SWR) must hasten approvals for alignments and give full cooperation to BSRP, their child. In fact, SWR will also be benefitted by this Project in several ways. All in all, everybody needs to buckle up and act on war-footing,” he added.

In 2021, the South Western Railway (SWR) introduced MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) trains along the existing railway line from Yelahanka to Devanahalli, aiming to facilitate air travelers. However, the service struggled to gain traction. A halt station constructed near the KIA campus has not been utilised efficiently, mainly because of low passenger demand.

Ranked as the third busiest airport in the country, Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru managed 31.91 million passengers during the fiscal year 2022-2023. Despite its significant traffic, reaching the airport, situated 30-40 km away from the city, is a difficult journey due to traffic congestion.

Currently, travellers have two public transport options to reach the airport: the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s (BMTC) airport AC bus service (Vayu Vajra) and the railways’ MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) trains.

A file photo of devotees offering ‘Tharpana’ at at Kadri Sri Manjunatha temple on the occasion of Mahalaya amavasya, which is considered to be the day to pay obeisance to the departed elders, in Mangaluru.
| Photo Credit: H.S. Manjunath

1. Income Tax sleuths continue their investigation, a day after their raided the properties of prominent contractor R. Ambikapathy and his relatives and recovered cash, speculated to be over ₹40 crore. While the ruling Congress has said that the raids are politically motivated, Opposition has alleged that it was “commission” money collected to fund the upcoming elections in Telangana.2
2. Today is Mahalaya Amavasya and a public holiday in Karnataka. It is a day when Hindus perform rituals to honour their ancestors.
3. The Bureau of Indian Standards, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, is celebrating World Standards Day, 2023, on the theme ‘Shared vision for a better world’ today. Former Minister and MLA Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan will be participating as the chief guest and delivering the inaugural address. The event is being held at Taj Yeshwantpur, Tumkur Road, Bengaluru, from 11.30 a.m. to 3.50 p.m. 
4. Natanam Institute of Dance will be presenting a tribute to Maharaja  Swati Tirunaal by Acharya Dr Raksha Karthik and her disciples. The programme will be held in Nayana Auditorium, Kannada Bhavana, J.C. Road, from 5 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. 
5. Chitra Samudaya, Bengaluru, is organising a webinar on contemporaries of Mrinal Sen to mark his birth centenary at 5.30 p.m. As part of the celebrations, there will be a talk on Mrinal Sen’s film “Akaler Shandhaney” by noted film Director B. Suresh. Zoom meeting ID 86317720151 Passcode: 316027. 
6. Indian Institute of Cartoonists will present a Treetoons, an exhibition by Mrityunjay Chiluveru, to create awareness among the public about the importance of tree plantation. The exhibition is open at Indian Cartoon Gallery, No. 1, Midford House, Midford Garden, off M.G. Road, Trinity Circle, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

From South Karnataka

Mysuru is decked up for its showpiece event Dasara which will also reveal the vibrant culture of Karnataka during the next 10 days starting tomorrow. A curtain raiser of the event.

From North Karnataka

Ballari MLA and district administration to felicitate Nandini, a resident of Raravi village at Siruguppa taluk in Ballari district, who won bronze medal in Asian Games.

Samatha Sainika Dal to present Samatha Awards to to the people who served society in different fields. At Kala Mandal Kalaburagi.

From Coastal Karnataka

MP and MLA will today visit smart city projects ongoing in Mangaluru.

Agriculture Minister Cheluvarayaswamy inaugurates Krishi Mela, Brahmavara.

Bengaluru:

A brief road rage incident involving a scientist with the Indian Space Research Organisation and the driver of a two-wheeler was captured on camera in Bengaluru on Tuesday. The scientist, Aashish Lamba claimed he was abused and that his car was attacked by the driver of the two-wheeler who was “driving recklessly and coming in front of our car suddenly…”

“Yesterday (while) going to ISRO office, near (newly constructed HAL underpass, a person on (a) Scooty (KA03KM8826) without helmet was driving recklessly and coming in front of our car suddenly… we had to brake (suddenly),” Mr Lamba said on X (formerly Twitter).

He also shared videos of the confrontation; a nine-second clip – it seems to be from a dashboard camera – shows a young man shouting in Kannada and making threatening gestures before he kicks the car and drives away.

“He came to our car started fighting. He kick my car two times and flew. Kindly please do the needful,” Mr Lamba said, tagging Bengaluru police and the Karnataka capital’s Police Commissioner.

@blrcitytraffic@CPBlr@BlrCityPolice Yesterday during going to ISRO office,Near to newly constructed HAL underpass, a person on scooty (KA03KM8826) without helmet was driving recklessly and coming in front of our car suddenly and so We had to apply sudden brake. pic.twitter.com/xwDyEy2peA

— Aashish Lamba (@lambashish) August 30, 2023

Bengaluru Police responded, writing, “Noted, we (have) informed (the) concerned police officers.”

There have been a host of angry responses to Mr Lamba’s video, with many calling for a public arrest of the man seen kicking the ISRO scientist’s car.

Bengaluru Scientist “Chased With Sword”

This incident comes a day after reports another scientist claimed he was attacked by a bike-borne gang that shattered the windows of his car and threatened him with swords.

READ | “Chased With Sword”: Bengaluru Scientist Shares Photo Of Attack On Car, Police Take Action

Authorities have confirmed that an ongoing investigation is in progress and have conducted on-site examinations in an effort to locate the suspects.

ISRO In The News

ISRO scientists have made headlines for various reasons – some not so good – since Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander made its historic soft landing on the moon.

READ |Gujarat Man Poses As Scientist Who Designed Chandrayaan-3 Lander, Arrested

Among the not-so-good headiness was news from Gujarat, where a man was arrested after he gave interviews to local media outlets claiming he was the ISRO scientist who designed the lander.

Pragyan Rover Update

Meanwhile, ISRO posted on X today to say the rover had been rotated 360 degrees on the Moon n search of a route that avoids craters and rocks on the lunar surface.

READ |ISRO’s Latest Video On Rover Roaming On Moon Has A “Chandamama” Reference

The rover and Vikram, the lander that carried Pragyan to the Moon, are racing to finish experiments before a lunar night (which lasts 14 Earth days) sets next week.

The budget has proposed a revenue surplus of ₹402 crore, breaking the trend of revenue deficit budgets for the past two years

February 17, 2023 10:08 am | Updated 02:59 pm IST

Aided by a buoyant economy, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai presented a ‘please-all’ revenue surplus budget with no tax hike on February 17, less than 100 days ahead of Assembly elections in the State. The budget outlay has, for the first time, crossed the ₹3 lakh crore mark, and is pegged at ₹3,09,182 crore, up from ₹2,65,720 lakh crore in 2022-23.

READ MORE

Fiscal deficit has been reined in at ₹60,581 crore, or 2.60% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). With borrowings of ₹77,750 crore, the liabilities at the end of 2023-24 are pegged at ₹5,64,896 lakh crore, or 24.20% of GSDP, thereby satisfying all parameters of Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2002.

The budget has proposed a revenue surplus of ₹402 crore, breaking the trend of revenue deficit budgets for the past two years, when the budgets did not comply with the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2002.

Also read: Ceiling for interest-free loans to farmers increased from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh

The Budget speech is also being seen as a poll pitch for the ruling BJP and an exercise in “articulating the legacy” of Mr. Bommai. CM Bommai had earlier described the Budget as a “Budget for the voiceless”, with a focus on “farmers, working class, poor, and women”, setting its political tone.

Here are the latest updates: