The Karnataka government today demanded Rs 17,901.73 crore in funds from the Centre to compensate farmers affected due to drought in the Kharif season this year.

Karnataka Agriculture Minister N Chaluvaraya Swamy, Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge, and Revenue Minister Krishna Byregowda met Union Agriculture Secretary Manoj Kumar Ahuja and Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla separately and updated them about the drought situation in Karnataka.

The three state ministers are also members of the Karnataka Cabinet sub-committee on drought management.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Mr Byregowda said, “We have sought a total drought relief of Rs 17, 901.73 crore as per the NDRF norms. We have requested the central government to clear the funds at the earliest.

As of September 22, the state as a whole recorded 26 per cent deficit rainfall that led to an estimated agriculture and horticulture crop loss in about 45.55 lakh hectares during the kharif season, he said.

The state has so far declared drought in 216 taluks and will examine the possibility of declaring more taluks as drought-hit in the first week of November, he said.

Out of Rs 17,901 crore estimated drought relief funds, the Revenue Minister said the state government for the first time has demanded Rs 12,577 crore as gratuitous relief to families whose livelihood has been seriously affected due to drought for 90 days.

The state has also demanded Rs 4414.29 crore for agriculture and horticulture crop loss during the kharif season (July-June) this year, while Rs 355 crore towards animal feed and Rs 554 crore for providing drinking water assistance in drought-affected taluks, he added.

The Karnataka government has estimated a total loss due to the crop damage in the state at Rs 33,770.10 crore. It has sought assistance of Rs 17,901.73 crore under the National Disaster Relief Find (NDRF).

Byregowda also said that the state government has requested the Centre to consider the latest number of small and marginal farmers which is 70 per cent of the state population while sanctioning the relief fund.

The state Rural Development Minister Kharge said he requested the Centre to release the pending Rs 600 crore MGNREGA funds to the state in a separate meeting with the Union Rural Development Secretary here.

“We have also sought an increase in the number of guaranteed man-days of work under the MNREGA for the state from the current 10 crore to 18 crore keeping in view the drought situation,” he said.

Already, 10 crore man-days of work have been exhausted till now and more man-days of work is required to provide livelihood to people affected in drought-hit areas, he said.

“Right now, there is no problem of drinking water, but cannot say in the next 2-3 months. We need funds to arrange for contingency water requirement in drought-hit taluks,” he added.

The state agriculture minister Mr Swamy said he also discussed problems being faced in the implementation of the Centre’s crop insurance scheme and sought some changes.
 

Ariana Grande making a splash with her fashion outings is nothing unusual in the world of fashion. From her wardrobe collections to her shoe cabinets, the American singer is true to her name of being a fashion icon. This time around it was a pair of very unique shoes that made the cut for the fashion headlines. Ariana’s recent photo dump on a wholesome experience surrounded by the most adorable goats on a farm was where her comic balloon pumps from the shelves of the Spanish luxury brand, Loewe made “farmtastic” entry. The medium concealer-hued pumps featured leather lining, with 90mm bobine heels that give the shoes its distinctive appeal. Their satin finish featuring hand embroidery is made with intricately clustered latex balloons and costs approx Rs 16 Lakh. The pair of quirky shoes may have been the hero of the outfit but comfort too followed for the singer when she paired her luxury pair with a knitted beige sweater and light-blue denim jeans for a relaxed afternoon.

Also Read: Ariana Grande On Stopping Botox And Fillers: “I Wanted To See My Well-Earned Cry Lines And Smile Lines”

Loewe’s creative director Jonathan Anderson, launched the first comic balloon pumps during the brand’s spring 2023 ready-to-wear show at the Paris Fashion Week in September this year. Apart from the medium concealer pair, the shoe company also harbours another colour variation of the stilettos.

American actress and model Kaia Gerber slipped into this Loewe creation during the I-D magazine photoshoot. She turned muse to designer Victoria Beckham, wearing a black mini dress from Victoria’s spring/summer 2023 collection paired with the yellow comic balloon shoes to complement her OOTD.

Also Read: Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian And More Are Slaying These Trendy Ponytail Hairstyles

#VBMuse @KaiaGerber wears look 34 from the #VictoriaBeckham Spring Summer 2023 collection for the Spring 2023 issue of @i_D. pic.twitter.com/0zSln8WPmP

— Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) February 21, 2023

Another woman to have put on these balloon-inspired shoes is entrepreneur and socialite Natasha Poonawalla. Known for her avant-garde fashion sense, Natasha wore the Anthurium Red balloon embellished heels for a friend’s birthday party in New York City. Needless to mention, it created quite a stir on the internet. 

Traces of Loewe’s specially crafted balloon-themed footwear can be found in the company’s previous creations too. The brand houses leather balloon sandals with exquisitely buckled straps that float atop the pair, lending the shoes a surreal feel. In terms of fashion, the Spanish luxury brand takes up creative challenges graciously, gaining notoriety for its out-of-the-box footwear.

Also Read: You Can’t Trespass Natasha Poonawalla’s Piercing Black Leather Dress At Coachella Even If You Tried

Judges have to follow discipline and ought not to take up any case unless it is specifically assigned by the chief justice, the Supreme Court has said while dealing with an appeal challenging an order passed by the Rajasthan High Court.

Observing that taking up a case not specifically assigned by the chief justice was an “act of gross impropriety”, the top court wondered how a civil writ petition for clubbing First Information Reports (FIRs) could be entertained.

A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal was hearing an appeal against the May order of the high court which had directed that no coercive steps shall be taken against three persons in connection with eight FIRs.

The bench noted the three persons had first approached the high court seeking quashing of the FIRs but no interim relief was granted to them.

It noted thereafter, they filed a separate writ petition on the civil side for clubbing the eight FIRs and consolidating them into one.

Appellant Ambalal Parihar, at whose instance six FIRs were registered against the three persons, claimed before the top court that the method of filing a civil writ petition was invented and it was done to avoid the roster judge who had not granted interim relief.

“This is a classic case of forum hunting by the second to fourth respondents,” the bench observed, adding, “Thus, this is a case of gross abuse of process of law.” It noted in the roster notified by the chief justice, there was a separate roster for criminal writ petitions.

“If the courts allow such sharp practices, the roster notified by the chief justice will have no meaning. The judges have to follow discipline and ought not to take up any case unless it is specifically assigned by the chief justice,” the bench said in its October 16 verdict. It said a judge can take up a case provided either the cases of that category have been assigned to him as per the notified roster or the particular case was specifically assigned by the chief justice.

“Though a civil writ petition was filed, the judge ought to have converted into a criminal writ petition which could have been placed only before the roster judge taking up criminal writ petitions,” the top court said.

The bench said it was sure that this conduct of the three litigants will be considered by the concerned court taking up petitions under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) seeking quashing of the FIRs.

“This is a fit case where the second to fourth respondents must be saddled with costs. We quantify the costs amount at Rs 50,000,” it said, adding, they would pay the cost to the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority within a month.

While allowing the appeal, the bench held that action of filing the civil writ petition was nothing but a “gross abuse of process of law” and it was a classic case of forum hunting.

“We direct the registrar (judicial) of the Rajasthan High Court to place a copy of this order in all eight petitions under section 482 of CrPC filed by the second to fourth respondents for quashing First Information Reports,” it said.