murali772's blog

The power of the Magic Boxes and the Tragic Hoaxes he invented can be assessed by confining ourselves to just one of his gifts to BB – the VIP road from Golf Club Circle to Mekhri Circle. That short stretch of “signal-free highway” is a signal contribution by the visionary in Subramanya.

JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy is still smarting over the Lok Sabha poll results in Bangalore. Hurt by the drubbing, Kumaraswamy railed against Bangaloreans at a party workers meet at the Palace Grounds ... “Even after my government started several new initiatives, the electorate rejected the party in Bangalore. I wonder why ...” said Kumaraswamy ....

You’ve paid infrastructure and education cesses. Now, get ready to shell out a green cess of 5 paise per kWh electricity. If the Karnataka government has its way, for the first time, the state will levy this on industrial and commercial establishments to raise funds for renewable energy.

A world-class 200-250 storey building and a garden around it. That is what may come up on the Bangalore Turf Club land. Yeddyurappa envisaged this structure during the Vikasa Sanaklp Utsav.

Given that we are almost on a daily basis protesting against one or other grovernment agency, I am coming to the realization that it perhaps isnt the best use of time. For one it is very difficult to get hold of people at short notice and more importantly is a source of constant friction.

Even as he cuts the red ribbon for the controversial Gundia power project on Saturday, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa will be violating the law. The project, taken up by the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) to augment power generation in the state, is yet to get both forest and environmental clearance from the Centre.

Taking a cue from its counterparts in Delhi and Mumbai, the state government is toying with the idea of handing over distribution of
power to private parties on a franchise basis. Currently, electricity supply companies (escoms like Bescom in Bangalore) do it.

"We are studying the Delhi and Mumbai models where private parties have been given franchises to distribute power. We propose to adopt such a model as part of power sector reforms,'' a senior energy department official said.

The move is seen as a bid to ensure better power supply at the consumer end and better revenue realization. "Once it's implemented, consumers will get uninterrupted power and it'll also lead to quicker repair of faults," the official claimed.

According to sources in the energy sector, the franchisee will purchase power from the state government (Karnataka Power Corporation) and sell it to consumers and will strengthen and maintain the distribution network. This system will not only address consumers' grievances but will also cut down the massive power pilferage, pegged at 22-27%.