RUPEES FIVE CRORE PENDING FOR PRISON;

Madikeri January 17, 2006

MLA K.G.Bopaiah has said that a land was demarked to build a separate prison building in madikeri and the forest department is obstructing to allot the land.

Reacting to the escape bid by two undertrials from the central jail building, which is in a dilapidated condition, MLA said that the government has long ago granted rupees five crore to build the prison in the outskirts of madikeri. The forest department with an excuse of green belt is obstructing the move to begin construction, he said. He informed that the matter would be discussed with the chief minister shortly and shifting of prison would be done in due course.

The District prison building was a temporary one, built by the then british rulers. They had clearly mentioned in the gazetteer of 1936 that the building is unfit to house prisoners and hardly 36 undertrials could be housed inside. The irony is the prison today has 181 prisoners, including six women!

Politicians and prison officials had been boasting of shifting the prison since decades but in vain.

SUB INSPECTOR DIES;

Sub inspector Lakshmi Narasimhaiah, 42 of Kushalnagar died of heart attack.

He was shifted to mysore hospital the day before yesterday with heart complaint. But he succumbed to pain yesterday.

The body was received with full police honour yesterday at Kushalnagar. His family shifted the body for cremation to Doddaballapur. He leaves four children and wife.

NCC RIDERS TO SPREAD MESSAGE;

A team of thirteen NCC cadets, including officers set out on Motorcycles on an interstate mission from madikeri.

Left Col Akil Shah inaugurated the rally by lifting a green flag at madikeri bus stand, yesterday. The team will tour Karnataka and Goa to spread the message of the importance of preserving environmental values.

The team is led by battalion leader Left col Aiyyar.