It was a meeting with Tulu cinema producers and directors in city on Saturday. Noted producer S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu, chairman, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, was hearing them.
As the meeting was to end, a producer raised the issue of corruption in the government. The producer said that if a producer was to get Rs. 10 lakh as subsidy per film, Rs. 2 lakh would have to be shelled out as bribe. Ultimately, the producer gets Rs. 7 lakh. But the producer did not point out at anybody or any department as responsible for corruption. Observing that it was taking a different turn, the compere of the meeting was quick to react and ended the meeting there itself without giving scope for anybody to talk on the issue.
Mono act
One would remember the character in a mono act—if I stand there, I’m Rama, if I stand here, I’m Lakshmana and if I stand in between, I’m Seetha.
Similar was the scene at the Dakshina Kannada Regional Transport Authority (RTA) meeting held in Mangaluru on Saturday. The meeting was exclusively convened to consider issue of permits to the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to operate city buses in Mangaluru under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme. The KSRTC had filed applications for 24 routes starting from State Bank with 35 buses.
“But, the district magistrate has allowed only 18 buses from State Bank area,” said RTA Chairman and Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim and added “I cannot go beyond the magistrate’s notification.”
But, who is the district magistrate is the next question. The Deputy Commissioner, acting as the district magistrate, had modified earlier notifications fixing cap on the number of buses that can enter State Bank only a day before Saturday’s RTA meeting.
While KSRTC had sought entry for all 35 buses, the magistrate had allowed just 18 buses, disabling the RTA Chairman to consider the KSRTC’s plea for permits for all 35 buses from State Bank!
Not a dull affair!
Government functions are normally dull affairs. What makes them even more tiresome is that people, especially beneficiaries, have to wait for Ministers and other elected representatives, who, more often than not, are late.
But the ‘Jana Mana’ programme organised by the district administration in Udupi on Saturday provided relief to the beneficiaries of various government schemes. It was hi-tech. There were audio-visual clips playing from the overhead projector at the district offices complex auditorium.
Vinay Kumar Sorake, Urban Development Minister, who was the chief guest, was late by 35 minutes. But no one felt the pinch of waiting as they were busy watching the entertaining audio-visual clips, which included a song feature on Kannada and culture, “Namma Vachana, Bahu Vachana”, written by poet Jayant Kaikini .
RAVIPRASAD KAMILA,
ANIL KUMAR SASTRY AND GANESH PRABHU