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KARNATAKA gets five Union ministers. Nirmala Sitharaman, HD Kumaraswamy, Pralhad Joshi, Shobha Karandlaje & V Somanna

Though the saffron party members won from the coastal region, they are all first-time MPs and have not been included in the ministry.

As Karnataka has elected 19 National Democratic Alliance MPs, the highest from South India, it was on Sunday rewarded with five ministerial posts in the Modi 3.0 cabinet. Of the five ministers, including Rajya Sabha member Nirmala Sitharaman, two are women.

Apart from Nirmala, the four other ministers are Pralhad Joshi, JDS state president HD Kumaraswamy, Shobha Karandlaje and V Somanna. While Nirmala, Joshi and Kumaraswamy have cabinet rank, the other two are ministers of state. Interestingly, Kumaraswamy was among the first few MPs to take oath in New Delhi on Sunday evening.

Of the 293 NDA MPs, the state’s contribution of 19 MPs constituted over 6 per cent and the number of ministries too is above that mark, considering that the Modi cabinet has 72 ministers.

Even among these five ministers, the representation to the Old Mysore region is more. Kumaraswamy represents Mandya, Shobha Bangalore North and Somanna Tumkur. Joshi, who has been reinducted, is the only MP from North Karnataka. This could be because of the lacklustre performance of BJP in these parts. Though the saffron party members won from the coastal region, they are all first-time MPs and have not been included in the ministry.

Joshi, who has the Sangh Parivar background and is the fifth time MP, had served as Law and Parliamentary minister in the previous government. Shobha, the first-ever woman MP from Bengaluru, had served as a minister of state.

Somanna, who was with Congress and JDS, joined BJP in 2009 and has stayed with the party since then. After suffering a defeat from two constituencies in the last Assembly polls, he won the parliamentary polls this time from Tumkur. His loyalty to the party has paid off with a ministerial berth.

Kumaraswamy, who is JDS state president, became a chief minister for the first time in 2006, thanks to his party’s alliance with BJP. But as per the power-sharing agreement between the two parties then, he refused to transfer power to BJP’s BS Yediyurappa in 2007, ending the coalition. The fallout was ugly and the two parties had kept their distance since then. But the 2023 Assembly polls were a wake-up call to the regional party as it won mere 19 seats. Fearing a complete meltdown, the party tied up with BJP for the Lok Sabha polls and Kumaraswamy helped BJP get a good number of seats in the Old Mysuru region.

Breaking down the caste equation, two Brahmins (Joshi and Nirmala), two Vokkaligas (Kumaraswamy and Shobha) and one Lingayat (Somanna), have made it to the Modi ministry.

Sources from BJP said that though two Vokkaligas have been given the honour, only Shobha is originally from BJP. Asked why former chief ministers Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar were not inducted, they said, “Since both are former CMs, they cannot be made ministers of state.”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA: From concrete jungle to water positive: Environmentalist Harsha Tej’s mission to save Bengaluru’s lakes

Environmentalist Harsha Tej speaks on his efforts to rejuvenate lakes and the need for community engagement to manage the water crisis.

Shouldn’t World Environment Day be celebrated every day?,” wonders environmentalist Hasrha Tej in one of his posts on social media as the world celebrated the day last week. But as is the nature of human societies, something only hits hard when it hits home. Just a few weeks ago, Bengaluru had almost come to its knees praying for a drop of rain; a sigh of relief from the unrelenting heat wave with temperatures touching 40 degrees Celsius in some areas. But as rains graced the city and flooded our streets, one has to remember that while rains come every year so does the water shortage. Why? Because once known as the city of lakes, Bengaluru has devolved into a concrete jungle where the rain has nowhere to go. Trying to tackle this cycle of continuous struggle with water is Tej, also known as @muddyfingers, who is working on rejuvenating lakes around the city and was recently joined by the veteran actor-director Raj B Shetty in his efforts to make the city water positive. “Because of a lot of siltation and sewage entering the waters, the water-holding capacity has fully reduced and the water quality has gone bad in many lakes. So, we do a detailed study, a feasibility survey and then see if the lake needs any restoration work,” says Tej, who left his corporate job to start his foundation five years ago.

Accompanied by co-director Gurunandan Rao, Tej is currently working on 12-15 projects in and around the city, including the Sarjapur area, Airport Road, and more. “One of the lakes that has been successfully rejuvenated is Hunsmaranahalli Lake on Airport Road. There are maybe four or five people in Bengaluru who actually do what we’re doing, and we need more people,” shares Tej. Coming from an agricultural background, Tej always felt rooted in the soil. “There are not many people to help another voiceless animal, or a bird, or the environment, which is screaming for help. So, from a very young age, both Gurunandan and I have been inclined towards the environment. We understand the soil and how water works,” he says, adding, “We have hardly scratched the surface.”

The team employs techniques such as photogrammetry surveys, planting native trees around the body and desilting to remove excess silt, thereby increasing water retention capabilities. Moreover, the foundation designs wetlands at lake inlets to ensure that only clean water enters the lakes, addressing the significant challenge of sewage contamination. “Usually during the monsoon, the water comes into the lake and during the summer, it immediately evaporates because there’s no water-holding capacity. We remove this silt to the natural level and allow the water to come in. And when the water comes in, it will do its best to hold water in the summer,” says Tej. The task is monumental and not without its challenges. Restoration efforts take anywhere from three months to a year, depending on the lake’s size, followed by three years of monitoring to ensure sustainability. “It’s a continuous process of learning to deal with certain challenges and we will eventually figure out a solution,” he reflects.

Tej emphasises the critical role of the community in addressing water issues, advocating for the widespread adoption of rainwater harvesting. “The crisis keeps happening because there is no groundwater. When it rains, the rain just runs off and it’s not going into the ground. There is no soil exposed. So what we can all do is have rainwater harvesting pits inside the house, anywhere that costs between `25,000 to a lakh depending on the size of the pit.

If everybody in Bengaluru can do this, we will be water-positive within two to three years,” claims Tej.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

KARNATAKA : HISTORY: Historian and Epigraphist Gunda Jois remembered for making world know about Keladi dynasty

Gunda Jois’ son Dr Venkatesh Jois, Dr G V Kallapur and others are carrying forward his work.

A renowned historian and epigraphist Keladi Gunda Jois passed away on June 2. He was 94. The fraternity of ancient history and epigraphy in the state said, “We have lost a legacy of a scholarly research cum resource person who informed the world about the tiny dynasty of Keladi of Shivamogga district.”

Gunda Jois of Sagar taluk, popularly known as “Keladi Gunda Jois”, earned the prefix Keladi for his dedicated research and study of the dynasty.

His passion for the dynasty’s history made him set up an exclusive museum at Keladi village of Sagar taluk in 1960. For those visiting the Sri Keladi Rameshwara temple, a peep into the museum is a must.

Gunda Jois collected historical manuscripts, sculptures, paintings, coins, arms and ammunition, copper plaques, and documents of the dynasty and displayed them at the museum. Most of these were found by him in the Malnad region.

Interestingly, he joined an MA course in Ancient History and Epigraphy when he was over 50 years old. He translated the work ‘Nrupa Vijaya’ in Halagannada (old Kannada) to Hosagannada (New Kannada) and helped historians understand the history of Keladi dynasty.

“Jois was an authority on ‘Modi lipi’ and Tigalari dialect of Havyaka Brahmins of Malnad region. He taught many of his students to study it and helped carry forward the knowledge,” said Dr SG Samak, a research student of Jois.

Also an Indologist, Jois learnt how to read palm leaf inscriptions that was in Modi dialect.

Gunda Jois’ son Dr Venkatesh Jois, Dr G V Kallapur and others are carrying forward his work.

Gunda Jois had been presented with Rajyotsava and other awards. He has written 30 historical books.

The Keladi dynasty came into existence at the end of 1499. Keladi Nayakas, who were once part of Vijayanagara empire, ruled Ikkeri and Keladi, and picked, Keladi, a small town, as their capital. Their rise started with the decline of Vijayanagara empire, whose preeminence began to erode after their loss at the Battle of Talikota in 1565.

Keladi rulers fought against the Mughal army, which had set out to capture Raja Ram — son of the Chhatrapati Shivaji, who had taken shelter at Keladi. The dynasty was in power from 1499 to 1763. 

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)