Udupi: The gram panchayat polls in Udupi and Karkala taluks on Saturday witnessed a turnout of 74.26 per cent, according to the figures provided by the district administration.

While Udupi taluk recorded a turnout of 71.57 per cent, in Karkala taluk it was 76.96 per cent.

Tight security arrangements were in place in the naxalite-affected areas of Karkala taluk. According to Deputy Commissioner P. Hemalatha, voting was absolutely peaceful. The voter turnout in naxalite-affected areas was good, she said.

Udupi is the only district in the State where polling for gram panchayats is being held in two phases. In Kundapur taluk, elections will be held on May 12.

Voting began on a brisk note in the two taluks. The average turnout in the naxalite-affected areas in Karkala taluk was 80 per cent. The highest turnout in one of the polling stations in the naxalite-affected areas was 89 per cent and the lowest was 71 per cent. (There are no naxalite affected areas in Udupi taluk).

As many as 117 out of the 334 voters had cast their votes by 11.15 a.m. at the Government Higher Primary School at Nadpal, a naxalite-affected area.

At the Zilla Panchayat Higher Primary School in Someshwara Pete, which comes under the Nadpal Gram Panchayat, 433 of the 1,091 voters had cast their votes by 11.30 a.m. Ranganath Poojary, a resident of the village who had cast his vote at Someshwara, told presspersons that the people had cast their votes freely. The authorities had made proper arrangements for the elections. “We want electricity and good roads,” he said. Manohara Bhakta, another resident, said that Nadpal was the largest gram panchayat in Karkala taluk. The village needed better infrastructure, he said.

As many as 332 of the 503 voters had cast their votes at the Higher Primary School at Sitanadi-Nellikate by 12.25 p.m. At the Zilla Panchayat Higher Primary School at Kabbinale Melmatha under the Mudrady Gram Panchayat, 356 of the 563 voters had exercised their franchise by 1.10 p.m.

All these four polling stations, considered to be naxalite-affected areas, were guarded by a team comprising a Sub-Inspector, two constables and nine personnel from the Tamil Nadu Special Police Force. Ninety-three police personnel were on the guard around the Someshwara Pete polling station. Parmeshwar Naik, a police officer, said that the personnel of the Anti-Naxal Force had been stationed at the Sitanadi-Nellikate polling station from the previous night till Saturday morning.

As many as 359 of the 1,170 voters had cast their votes by 10.25 a.m. at the B.M. Aided Higher Primary School at Perdoor village.

Udupi: One person drowned in the Arabian Sea at St. Mary's Island on Saturday.

D.S. Chauvan, a resident of Raghavendra Math Road, Bannerghatta in Bangalore, had come to the island on a tour with his family and friend Marvin D'Sa around 9.30 a.m.

Marvin D'Sa, who went for a swim in the sea, drowned around 10.30 a.m. Mr. Chauvan immediately jumped into the sea and brought Marvin D'Sa to the beach.

Attempts made by Mr. Chauvan and his family membersto resuscitate Marvin were in vain. He was then taken to the District Government Hospital in Udupi where the doctors declared him brought dead.

A case has been registered at the Malpe police station.

Udupi: Noted Yakshagana artiste Malpe Ramdas Samaga (84) passed away here on Tuesday following a cardiac arrest.

He is survived by his wife, three daughters, including writer T.S. Ambuja, and son Vasudeva Samaga, who is also a Yakshagana artiste.

Samaga was smitten by Yakshagana at a very young age. He was part of the Karnataka Yakshagna Mela for nearly 35 years. The roles he played in “Harishchandra” and “Nala” earned him accolades and fame. He won several awards, including the Karnataka Janapada and Yakshagana Academy Award, the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy Award, and Yaksha Kalanidhi Award

Udupi: Judge of Karnataka High Court Aravind Kumar has urged the advocates to ensure quick settlement of cases.

He was speaking after inaugurating the Udupi Advocates' Multi-purpose Co-operative Society on the court campus here on Saturday. Mr. Kumar said that when mediation centres were established in different places, some advocates feared that they might lose their clients. But, quick settlement of cases only earned them more reputation and more clients came to them.

District courts were the training grounds for advocates and judges. Hence, the role of these courts in shaping the judiciary could be hardly exaggerated, Mr. Kumar said.

Presiding over the function, judge of Karnataka High Court Jawad Rahim said that advocates should form a housing society and help young advocates own a house. The society should try for e-stamping facility. Judge of Karnataka High Court B. Manohar said that the society would meet the advocates' requirements of essential items at concessional rates. District and Sessions Judge K.B. Changappa and president of Udupi Bar Association C. Vijay Hegde were present.

Udupi: Principal of Dr. T.M.A. Pai College of Education Mahabaleshwara Rao has blamed teachers and parents for lack of creativity among children.

He was speaking at a seminar-cum-discussion on “Improving creativity among children” here on Saturday. “School Phobia”, a book in Kannada written by psychiatrist P.V. Bhandary was released on the occasion.

Mr. Rao said that every child was talented. But, the present-day education system did not provide any outlet for displaying their talent. Marks scored in an examination was not the yardstick to gauge the intelligence of a child, he said.

Character, determination, and problem-solving ability played an important role in the growth of children. Children should be allowed to commit mistakes because only then would they be able to grasp a subject better.

Children should be encouraged to ask questions. Lack of proper education was hampering the growth of children. Mr. Rao expressed displeasure over television realitys shows for children.

Psychiatrists Sripathi M. Bhat and Virupaksha Devaramane and former Pro-Vice Chancellor of Manipal University Varadaraya Bhandary were present.

Udupi: Convener of the State unit of Karnataka Dalit Sangharsh Samiti Satya Bhadravati said on Sunday that B.R. Ambedkar had brought in a lot of social changes in the country.

Inaugurating the Bahujana Jagriti Samavesha, organised by the Udupi district unit of the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsh Samiti here, Mr. Bhadravati said that Ambedkar had drawn up the Constitution, which emphasised on secularism. This was responsible for harmony among various religions in the country. Ambedkar had experienced the discrimination from “caste” Hindus and knew the humiliation suffered by the Dalits.Amedkar had brought in reservations so that the oppressed sections of society got a chance to come up in their lives, he said. Efforts were being made to unite the various factions of the DSS. Although this was a laudable effort, there was a lot of competition among the Dalit leaders to head the unified organisation.

Dalit leader the late B. Krishnappa was responsible for the growth of the DSS. But, unfortunately the organisation got divided into various factions.

The persons who supported Krishnappa to organise the Dalit movement had been reduced to redundancy. The late Krishnappa had fought against the dreaded practice of “Bettale seve” that was prevailing in Chandragutti in Shimoga district.

Ambedkar had always believed in giving equal status to women. Though a lot was being made of the role of AICC president Sonia Gandhi in getting the Women's Reservation Bill passed in Rajya Sabha, the role of Ambedkar in emancipation of women could not be ignored, he said.

The Dalit organisation should be strengthened in Udupi district by focussing on the issue of provision of land to Dalits. People, especially the youth, should read and follow the ideals of Ambedkar and B. Krishnappa.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Steven John Menezes, president of Zilla Alpasankhyatara Vedike Abdul Rashid and Dalit leaders Mudur Ambagilu, B. Kamala and Sundar Ullal were present.

Udupi: In all, 1,012 nomination papers were filed on Saturday in Udupi district for the gram panchayat polls. They included 548 nominations for Udupi taluk, 385 for Karkala and 79 for Kundapur taluks, according to the election cell here. The gram panchayat elections in Udupi and Karkala taluks will be held in the first phase on May 8, while the polls in Kundapur taluk will be held on May 12.

ARDUOUS TASK:Personnel of the Fire and Emergency Services removing a tree that fell on a house at Kukkikatte in Udupi on Saturday.

Udupi: Four persons suffered burns, four cattle died and 54 houses were damaged in rain accompanied with strong winds and lightning in Udupi district on Saturday morning.

According to the control room at the Deputy Commissioner's office here, a shop and a car belonging to Jagadish Shenoy at Devi Towers in Kadiyali were damaged. The loss is estimated at Rs. 5 lakh.

An electricity pole and two trees fell on a shop at Kukkikatte, near Diana cinema.

Several advertisement posters and banners were torn and trees uprooted in places such as Lakshmindra Nagar, Kukkikatte, Perampalli, Sagri and Marpalli.

Electricity poles were damaged at Perampalli here, affecting the power supply for most part of the day. According to Udupi tahsildar V. Prasanna, four persons suffered burns at Perdoor village due to lightning. Four cattle died at Nalkur due to lightning.

Seventeen houses and a cardboard making unit were damaged in Udupi taluk. The rainfall in Udupi in 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday was 74.2 mm. Kundapur and Karkala towns received a rainfall of 86.4 mm and 2.2 mm respectively.