STUDENTS DENY ATTACK BY TEACHERS;

Madikeri December 8, 2007

Students, especially class friends of injured Bharath in St.Joseph’s convent here strongly denied that their colleague was beaten by a teacher and kicked by another.

They were reacting to the complaint lodged by the boys parents targeting the teachers of attacking their son in class six on Wednesday.

This correspondent went to the school and interviewed students yesterday. His friend’s primith, Vijay, preetam, prajwal and Suhan told that they were playing in the park together on Wednesday and Bharath had a fall from a Slide. He complained of ankle pain and the boys supported him to walk to the class room. He was alright till evening. During the class, teacher Ashika hit him with a thin stick for wearing a dirty cloth. It’s a rules in the school, like in any other institution that the pupil should come to school cleanly dressed with cut nails. He was made to sit separately. The boy is known for loose talk, his friends and all the teachers complain. He began to tease his friends at the back of his teacher. They complained it to the teacher. He was rude and the teacher gave a second beating. Which was also very mild?

He complained about ankle pain in the evening. Few Teachers assembled. Checked his ankle and sent him home, thinking that it was caused due to the fall. Being naughty, he geared his parent’s wrath and lied about the injury and concocted a story. One teacher beat me with a stick and another stamped on my feet, he lied. Parents took him to hospital. A TV crew arrived at the spot. Newspaper men went there. The stick became a Hockey stick! The story took a new turn. The parents were forced to lodge a complaint with the police since they had to support their statement to media. Protest was launched against the school after media blew the issue out of proportion.

“I do not want to drag this case, I want to compromise. But my uncle and others are not allowing me to do it”, says the boys father Prasanna.

By yesterday evening, MLA K.G.Bopaiah approached Prasanna and convinced him to take back his complaint. He has agreed.

This incident sends several messages. At the first place parents should not trust the words of their children without verifying the fact. Teachers should inform the parents about illness or any injury to the students as soon as it occurs. People should think twice before organizing a protest. Media should also verify the facts before jumping into conclusion. When we flout all these principles, innocent teachers like Ashika and Pricilla will get suspended for no fault of theirs.

CROCODILE FOUND;

A huge crocodile was traced on the banks of River Cauvery at Mullusoge near Kushalnagar, yesterday.

The twelve feet long crocodile was resting at the bank, attracting hundreds of people. They stated that the crocodiles come to that area to catch waste meat being thrown by some of the merchants into water, carelessly.

TRAFFIC CHAOS;

Traffic jams and tiff with police has become a common occurrence at Madikeri where police express helplessness in controlling it.

Traffic is dwindling with the surge of tourists from outsid, increase in number of vehicles in Kodagu. Added to this, couples of roads are getting cemnted in the town which is taking months for completion.

Traffic was blocked for more than two hours yesterday as an Aids jatha and Flags day was allowed to take place on the main street. Police made no alternate arrangements for the vehicles to pass the town. Lorries and busses, cars and autorikshaws blocked every nook and corner of Madikeri with no through fare.

It is high time that the district administration seriously thinks of making alternate arrangements for parking and posts police personnel to control the traffic. Shifting of the private bustand to a better place will also help, according to motorists.

IRREGULARITY IN KODAVA ACADEMY; Rs.508 BECOMES 25,679!

Chairmen of Kodava academy, Dotty Poovaiah is again targeted with a new finding of irregularity.

Sara Chengappa, president of the Kodava Janangakarada Koota and Addanda Caiappa, a Taluk Panchayath member exhibited tampered receipts by the academy and changing rupees 508 into rupees 25,679.

Dotty poovaiah had been to Bangalore and stayed at Bangalore Kodava Samaj Club and had paid rupees 508. Back in the office, they erased the originals figure and changed it to rupees 25, 679. The same change was made in another bill also. They suspect that the president must have misused more than rupees twenty five lakhs in the academy and urged to dissolve the committee and conduct investigation. Few cases are already booked against the president and few members have already submitted resignation to their membership.

GOVT TO FORM NEW SPORTS POLICY;

The chief secretary to Youth service and Sports department, A.Srikanth said that a new Sports policy would be introduced to encourage sports in Karnataka.

Addressing a meet the press programme here at Madikeri yesterday, he sated that Karnataka could fetch only four medals in Olympics and sports lacks proper encouragement here. The government has decided to provide basic facilities to sports persons to encourage them by introducing new policy.

He disclosed that the centre has released rupees one hundred crore for sports in Karnataka and rupees twenty crore was already spent in it. The government has developed 63 stadiums in 176 talukas in the state and schemes are in the anvil to undertake other developmental activities. A state level Olympics would be held in Bangalore shortly.

He also said that Karnataka Sports Authority was also constituted to take up developmental works, he said. He disclosed that rupees 128 lakh would be released to develop district stadium at Madikeri. 4000 meter track, drainage and other facilities would be improved here, he said. Sports school at Kudige will also be developed, he promised.

Press Club president Anil H.T was present.