DJ party mania grips Hubli on New Year eve

DJ party mania grips Hubli on New Year eve

Basavaraj F Kattimani, TNN, Dec 30, 2010, 10.34pm IST

HUBLI: Gone are the days when hotels and resorts would host orchestras to entertain their customers on the eve of New Year. Now, DJ party mania has gripped the city ahead of the D-Day.

DJ party concept was just confined to metros like Bangalore and Mumbai till recently. But this year, most of the hotels and resorts have roped in DJs (disc jockeys) to entertain the people who ring in the New Year in their hotels and resorts.

DJs from Pune, Mumbai and Goa are in great demand now. Having booked DJ troupes, the hotels are busy preparing for the New Year to take the celebrations to new heights.

Hotels don't even bother to shell out Rs 30,000 to 1.5 lakh to host DJ parties. Fees for individual ranges from Rs 400-800, while it is Rs 1,200-3,000 for couples.

Speaking to `The Times of India', Prashant Arabhavi, general manager of Mandhar Hotel (Dharwad), said: "For the first time, we are designing the venue on Las Vegas theme for the party with a Goan DJ." Prakash Agadi, manager of Cotton County Club here, said they have already booked a good number of people. Pune-based DJs will perform there.

DJ Kushal said they are in demand at parties in cities like Hubli too. DJ parties usually allow the revellers to shake a leg with DJs on stage and listen to their favourite numbers in remixed version.

Rahul Baneerjee, resident manager of Clerks Inn here, said they are not hosting any DJ parties. "But for a change, we offer a Gala Buffet to treat the revellers with 60 types of food items, including continental, oriental, Chinese and Indian. We will also send eight couples on a trip if they happen to occupy lucky seats from among 90," he added.

Dharwad HC to have another circuit Bench

Dharwad HC to have another circuit Bench
TNN, Dec 11, 2010, 09.57pm IST

DHARWAD: The high court circuit Bench at Dharwad will have another divisional Bench. The new Bench will be functional from January 3, said Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Justice Jagadeesh Singh Kehar here on Friday. He said the decision was taken considering the large number of cases being filed at the circuit Bench here.

Justice Kehar, who visited the circuit Bench for the first time after assuming charge as CJ, was addressing the advocates. He said that 17,000 cases had been filed in the circuit Bench in the last four months and the advocates had appealed to the high court to set up another divisional Bench to clear the cases quickly. Two judges will sit in the new divisional Bench.

Justice Kehar said two divisional Benches will deal with civil and criminal cases separately. He said the number of cases filed at a single Bench in Dharwad circuit Bench was on par with that filed at the main Bench at Bangalore and hence the decision to set up another divisional Bench. He called upon the advocates and judges to work in tandem to ensure speedy justice for the litigants.

Justices A S Pachhapure, K Govndraju, V G Sabhahit and H Billappa among others were present.

Boating, amusement park planned at Tolanakere

Boating, amusement park planned at Tolanakere

Staff Correspondent -The Hindu

• Fencing, strengthening of tank bund under way
• Barring one structure, there is no encroachment on the tank area: Deputy Commissioner
• First phase of work likely to be completed in five to six months

Development plan:Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Darpan Jain speaking to presspersons after inspecting ongoing work at Tolanakere

HUBLI: The Dharwad district administration, which has chalked out a plan for the comprehensive development of Tolanakere (a tank) near Ramalingeshwar Nagar in Hubli, will initially begin work on strengthening the tank bund.

Speaking to presspersons after reviewing the ongoing work at Tolanakere on Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Darpan Jain said that Rs. 1.8 crore would be spent for fencing the tank area, strengthening the tank bund and other related work in the first phase.

Mr. Jain said that the boundary of the 23-acre tank had been demarcated.

He clarified that barring one structure, there was no encroachment on the tank area. The tank area was being used by brick manufacturers who had set up kilns.

“We have informed the brick manufacturers, and will soon clear the kilns once the work gets going,” he said.

The Deputy Commissioner said the work had been undertaken under the Rs. 100-crore grant sanctioned by the State Government to the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation. The first phase of work was likely to be completed in five to six months.

Second phase

Mr. Jain said that in the next phase, steps would be taken to divert sewage entering the tank. A viewing point would be created and landscaping done. There were plans to start boating once the development work was completed, he said.

“We are planning a children's amusement park and other facilities. We are working out a system to ensure there is no dearth of funds for their maintenance.”

Regarding development of the Unakal tank, Mr. Jain said that sewage entering the tank had been diverted by laying underground drainage pipes in residential areas located around the tank.

Waste management

To a query, he said the district administration had submitted an integrated solid waste management proposal to the State Government and was awaiting its approval.

On unauthorised religious structures in the twin cities and in the district, Mr. Jain said the process of clearing such structures would begin in a day or two.

“Once again our officials have issued notices, conducted spot verifications and interacted with local residents and organisations. We want them to clear such structures on their own and if they don't, we will step in and do it after taking all those concerned into confidence,” Mr. Jain added

HDMC conferred Best Practice Award

HDMC conferred Best Practice Award

TNN, Dec 8, 2010, 08.53pm IST

HUBLI: Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) is perhaps the first corporation in the state to be appreciated by the state urban development department for adopting technology to provide hassle-free services to the public.

HDMC has been chosen for prestigious Best Practice Award-2010 under city corporations' category by Karnataka Urban Development Department (KUDD) in association with City Managers' Association-Karnataka ( CMAK) for its initiative in automized building plan approval system and implementation of volumetric tariff for water supply system.

HDMC is also said to have inspired other corporations in the state to adopt the services being offered by it __ to provide building plans and fixing volumetric water tariff.

According to a KUDD letter available with TOI, HDMC has been chosen for the coveted award "for revolutionizing the way of issuing building plans (building permission)" by adopting technology called Auto DCR software.

Earlier, people had to wait for over 21 days to get building permission. But after the implementation of the new system, people are getting building licence within a week.

The documents furnished by building owners will be loaded into the software. The applicants will be called for clarification, only if found to be violating the norms while constructing building. If not, the licence will be couriered to their address within seven days.

The government is also impressed with the way the corporation implemented the volumetric tariff for water supply in the twin cities. HDMC had earlier fixed flat prices as water tariff. But it has now joined hands with Water Board to introduce volumetric traffic.

Accordingly, the water tariff will be collected as per the consumption of water, instead of fixing uniform tariff to all consumers. If a person uses less water, (s)he will pay less amount.

Speaking to `The Times of India', HDMC commissioner K V Trilokchandra said: "We are happy that the government has recognized our works. The award has further increased our responsibility to deliver better services. We will strive to provide good services to the public."

Hubli-Dharwad's incubation centre attracts start-ups

Hubli-Dharwad's incubation centre attracts start-ups

Anil Urs- The Hindu Business Line, Hubli, Dec. 6

Incubation facility at iiitb@hd (International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore Hubli-Dharwad Centre) has begun to attract start-ups.

“The facility at iiitb@hd located at IT-Park in Hubli opposite Glass House launched in 2009 had attracted only one company. But of late, we are getting many enquiries,” said Ms Suma S. Shetty, Assistant Manager, iiitb@hd.

“The incubation facility has about 2,000 sq. ft of space to let and fully equipped to house start-up companies. Space is available with or without airconditoners,” she added.

Recently Aissel Solutions, a start-up offering solutions in pharmaceutical and media sphere with six employees, has started operating in 200 sq. ft.

Ms Shetty said Aissel started by Mr Prasad Patil is a business research and technology solutions start-up creating products and services for global pharmaceutical and media companies.

In the last six months, enquires for space have increased at iiitb@hd. The price quoted for space with air conditioner is Rs 55 a sq. ft and without it Rs 45 a sq. ft.

Incubation space is accorded priority to proposals based on work that has commercial potential carried out at the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (iiitb).

“But of late, lot of enquires are from information technology (IT) professionals working in Bangalore's major IT companies and turning entrepreneurs by getting venture funds for their ideas,” said Ms Shetty.

“When we launched the facility in 2009, only one company — Pluto Engineering Solutions (PES) — came up to set up facility,” said Ms Shetty.

PES, a start-up founded by Kiran P. Vaidya, offers solutions in structural engineering and has 20 employees on its role and operates in 600 sq. ft.

PES is primarily engaged in analysis, design and detailing of steel and RCC structures in addition to architectural services.

Sadhanakeri Lake to sport new look soon

Sadhanakeri Lake to sport new look soon

GURURAJ JAMKHANDI, TNN, Dec 3, 2010, 09.13pm IST

DHARWAD: Sadhanakeri, the lake that was a source of inspiration to Jnanpith laureate poet Da Raa Bendre, is now ready to inspire new-generation Bendres with a new look. The lake and its surroundings have been given a facelift under the Baaro Sadhankerige project sanctioned by the department of tourism (GoI), and is all set to be thrown open to the public in a month.

DC Darpan Jain, who has succeeded in taking the project to the logical end, told reporters here on Thursday that civil works at the tank site are completed and the park is expected to be inaugurated before January 26.

The area spread over eight acre land has been transformed into a park which houses an amphitheatre, a musical fountain, boating facility, canteen, walk path, landscaping, playing equipment for children, etc. Nirmiti Kendra has made the dream come true at a cost of Rs 2.58 crore.

Jain said a proposal was submitted to the Union government in 2006, seeking funds for development and beautification of the historic tank. The Centre had allotted Rs 3.6 crore for the project and the work had been entrusted to a private contractor. However due to poor quality of work, the amphitheatre collapsed, forcing the government to terminate the contract and assign the work to Nirmiti Kendra under the direct supervision of DC in April 2010.

Measures have been taken for illuminating the park and also creating parking space. There are toilet blocks in and outside the park.

Two pedal boats and a mechanical boat would be operational for the public. The park would be a plastic-free zone. Cultural programmes at weekends would be regularly organized at the amphitheatre.

The lake and park would initially be maintained by Nirmit Kendra.

State to get two world class education hubs

State to get two world class education hubs

November 30th, 2010

DC Correspondent

Nov. 29: The education sector is set to receive a heavy flow of investment as if things go according to plan, the state will develop two education hubs; one at Chikkaballapur and another at Dharward, and the institutions will be set up with an initial investment of Rs 1,475crore.

According to senior officials of the department of higher education, “The Chennai-based Marg Group has been granted permission to set up the education hub at Dharwad, while the Manipal-based MAHE University will develop a world-class multi disciplinary global education campus at Doddaballapur in Chikkaballapur district.

The State High Level Clearance Committee (SHLC) has cleared both projects.” In fact, for the first time, the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) will allot land for the two institutions to be set up. Just recently, educational institutions had appealed to the state government asking it for land to develop new campuses.

According to sources, the Marg group will invest Rs 980 crore for the proposed education hub at Dharward, which is expected to create 2,690 employment opportunities and the KIADB will distribute 100 acres of land for the purpose.

“According to the proposal, this education hub will accommodate a number of educational institutions under one roof. It is a first-of-its-kind experiment in the state and nobody has invested such a large sum of money to build a campus,” said the sources.

Meanwhile, the MAHE University is making an initial investment of Rs 495 crore for the hub at Doddaballapur taluk, and the KIADB will allot 60 acres of land for this purpose.

Mr Rajesh H. Rao, an overseas education consultant, said that the proposed education hubs are expected to be the country’s answer to the fear of foreign investments in the education sector. “The education sector has a lot of scope for investment. Such big investments and exclusive hubs help institutes share an understanding with prestigious institutes from foreign countries while providing quality education to our students,” said Mr Rao.