Sriramulu’s clarion call for sister

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary/March/2009

In the epic,“Mahabaratha,” charioteer Sri Krishna blew the Panchajanya, a conch to stir Lord Arjuna into performing his duties in the battle of Kurukshetra. Health minister B. Sriramulu did a repeat on Monday in Bellary by blowing a conch to stir his sister, Shanthi—the BJP candidate—into fighting and winning the battle for the Bellary Lok Sabha seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
Ms Shanthi began her election campaign on Monday from Yerrithatha temple in Chellagurki, near her native village, Joladarashi on the Karnataka—Andhra Pradesh border. She, accompanied by Mr Sriramulu and her mentor, tourism minister G. Janardhan Reddy performed pooja at a temple before addressing a huge public meeting.
Blowing the Panchajanaya modelled conch amid applause by a nearly 10,000 strong crowd, Mr Sriramulu signalled the start of the poll battle against the rival Congress and JD(S) which are yet to announce their candidates. Mr Janardhan Reddy, probably inspired by BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, has launched a “Ratha Yatra” hinting at a a high-pitch campaign in the constituency. Accompanied by Ms Shanthi and Mr Sriramulu, Mr Reddy climbed on a specially manufactured chariot to blow the Panchajanya.
Ms Shanthi who has done her PUC, read out a written speech in Kannada and said, “I will work for the upliftment of the downtrodden and women following in the footsteps of my brothers, Sriramulu and Janardhan Reddy. I seek votes to strengthen their hands and work for the full fledged development of this constituency.” Lashing out at former Prime Minister H.D.Deve Gowda and the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Mr Janardhan Reddy said, “Bellary has become a citadel of the BJP today from the panchayat level to Parliament. Hence, we need your blessings to continue the BJP’s winning spree. I am confident Shanthi will create history in electoral politics by winning with a record margin.”

Pigeons to get votes for BJP: Aye mas-sakali massakali, udd mattakali mattakali

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary/March / 2009

“Aye mas-sakali massakali, udd mattakali mattakali, aye massakali masa masa massakali, udd mattakali mattakali,” a popular song from the Hindi movie “Delhi 6,” seems to have inspired BJP leaders in Bellary including the powerful Reddy brothers to use homing pigeons for the Lok Sabha poll campaign.
Ms Joladarashi Shanthi, sister of health minister B.Sriramulu, is the BJP candidate for this constituency Pigeons were used extensively by the British Army during the Second World War. They were handed over to the Indian police before independence in 1947 and succeeded in carrying messages in monsoon conditions when modern communication devices failed.

The breeding of homing pigeons is common in every locality in this district with many people having hundreds of pigeons in their backyard.

Betting on homing pigeon races is also popular in Bellary.

Aware of the craze for homing pigeons, BJP leaders have decided to use the birds to make Ms Shanthi, hitherto an unknown face in the district, popular among voters.

Pigeon breeders who are friends of Mr Sriramulu— himself an avid keeper of the bird— have gifted as many as 1,000 pigeons to the BJP . “We plan to paint the BJP symbol, Lotus and stick the photograph of the candidate on the birds. We will then let them fly to villages and urban localities in the constituency.

This will help us reach at least 3 lakh voters by March end,” said district BJP spokesperson Sanjay Betageri.

BJP leaders assert that this will also help ensure that the tradition of breeding pigeons does not vanish. “These pigeons are excluded from the Wildlife Protection Act. So they can be used for the campaign. We use them as trusted messengers to reach every voter but we are also opposed to cruelty against animals and birds,” they claimed.

Other poll campaign modes of BJP:

* 10 dance and musical troupes from Bengaluru with noted artistes will perform during the campaign.
* magicians of the state will demonstrate the developmental works of the BJP governments with their “jadoo.”

*Voice recordings of party national leaders seeking votes for Bellary candidate Ms Shanthi and video recordings of developmental works will be played at village meetings.

UNESCO rejects in Hampi Master Plan

By Shivakumar G Malagi
March / 2008/ Hampi

After saying ‘no’to the reconstruction of the collapsed bridge here, Unesco has found the Rs 42 crore Hampi master plan unfit for the orderly growth of the World Heritage Site.
Minja Yang, Unesco Representative to India along with a team of experts, was here to work with the staff of the Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWHAMA) and chalk out a plan for the orderly development of the World Heritage Site.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Ms Yang said on Wednesday that the team which included experts in architecture and town planning, was here to work with the local staff and suggest to the authority the need to conduct a sectoral study to ensure orderly growth in Hampi.
Unesco, in association with GTZ, a German-based company, had been making a study on the architecture and designs that suit Hampi, the availability of material and so on. Ms Yang said that while the Master Plan had already been notified and was being implemented, the authorities also need to make a conservation plan for the core zone. “The state government is yet to conduct studies on transport, housing, waste disposal, restoration and other areas.
They have prepared the Master Plan without sectoral plans. I think, they wanted to finish the work on the Master Plan very fast,” She remarked.
She raised objections to the government building social houses in the hillocks of the Hampi area. “The natural landscape of Hampi will be ruined in ten years because of the construction of social houses every year, mushrooming of illegal hotels, the felling of trees and the absence of toilets and parking lots,” Ms Yang explained.
She suggested that the government should build low cost social houses outside the core zone. “By converting these social houses into traditional restaurants and lodges with the partnership of house owners, the government could promote cultural tourism. Not everyone wants to stay in star hotels when they visit places like Hampi,” She said.
When asked whether vested interests were preventing Unesco from bringing about changes in Hampi, she maintained, “We wanted to conserve Hampi and its rich heritage for the sake of locals here and not conservation for the sake of conservation. Individual interests and public interest do not go together; hence we have decided to safeguard public interest while making conservation efforts for Hampi.”
var zflag_nid="563"; var zflag_cid="1538"; var zflag_sid="641"; var zflag_width="300"; var zflag_height="250"; var zflag_sz="9";

var zflag_nid="563"; var zflag_cid="1538"; var zflag_sid="641"; var zflag_width="300"; var zflag_height="250"; var zflag_sz="9";