U.N. award for Gadgil The United Nations on Tuesday tapped ecologist Madhav Gadgil for the Champions of the Earth award, its highest environmental honour. Gadgil chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel to study the impact of population pressure, climate change, and development in the ecologically fragile region. The panel recommended in 2011 that the entire hill range be declared an ecologically sensitive area belagavi l wednesday l December 11, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI IT visionary Panchamasali protest turns violent CM, SM Krishna, rests in peace f o r r e s e r v a ti o n E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Last rites to be performed with full state honours at his hometown Maddur today E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, Kar nataka’s 10th chief minister (October 11, 1999, to May 28, 2004), who put Bengaluru on the world information technology map, passed away around 2.45 am on Tuesday at his residence in Sadashivnagar here. He was 92. Krishna, a recipient of Padma Vibhushan, was suffering from age-related issues. The last rites of the veteran leader will be performed with full state honours at his hometown Maddur in Mandya district on Wednesday . The state government declared a holiday on Wednesday and announced a three-day mourning. As a mark of respect, the tricolour will be flown at half-mast atop all government buildings. Karnataka Assembly and Council were adjourned till Thursday after paying rich tributes to Krishna. The body of this towering political leader was kept in state at his Sadashivnagar residence till 8 am on Wednesday for the public to pay their last respects, INSIDE Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna May 1, 1932- December 1o,2024 before being moved to Maddur. The body will be kept for the public to pay their last respects in Maddur from 10:30 am to 3 pm. Krishna’s family and relatives, including Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, are looking after the arrangements for the last rites. Krishna is survived by his wife Prema and daughters Malavika and Shambhavi. He preferred spending time with his grandchildren Amartya and Ishaan Hedge. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his condolence message, termed Krishna a remarkable leader, admired by people from all walks of life.  CONTINUED ON P5 He faced challenges with a smile | P4 Honouring the visionary legacy of SM Krishna | P9 Panchamasali Lingayats’ protest seeking reservation for the community under 2-A category turned violent when protesters indulged in stonethrowing after police foiled their attempts to remove barricades and enter the premises of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here on Tuesday . The police resorted to lathicharge in which more than 50 protesters were injured. Several policemen were injured in stone-throwing. Over 500 protesters, including Basava Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swami of Panchamasali Peetha, and BJP MLAs Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and Aravind Bellad, we re t a ke n i n t o p o l i c e custody . Earlier, ministers HC Mahadevappa, K Venkatesh and Dr MC Sudhakar met the protesters and assured them that they would apprise Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of their grievances and try to resolve them amicably Howev. er, the protesters led by the seer and Yatnal were not convinced by the ministers’ assurance. “We (protesters) are waiting for the CM to meet us at the protest venue,” the seer said.  CONTINUED ON P5 A policeman helps an injured protester during the Panchamsali community’s agitation in Belagavi on Tuesday | Express Community leaders didn’t come for discussion: CM Reacting to the protest by members of the Panchamsali community in front of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday, CM Siddaramaiah said that the leaders of the community did not come for discussion on the reservation issue, despite his invitation to them. He added that everyone has the right to protest in a democratic set-up. 60 sign no-trust notice against V-P P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi The strained ties between the Opposition and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar came to a head on Tuesday as the INDIA bloc submitted a notice for a motion in the House to remove him from the post, accusing him of partisanship. Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Naseer Hussain submitted the notice signed by 60 MPs — including from the Congress, RJD, TMC, CPI, CPIM, JMM, AAP DMK, Samajwa, di Party — to Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody . The motion said, “Unfortunately, Dhankhar’s brief term has been rife with instances where he has acted in a manner that is explicitly partisan and unfair towards members belonging to the Opposition.” This is the first time that such a notice has been moved in the Rajya Sabha. While the Opposition conceded that the scales are tilted in favour of the ruling NDA, they said it was a “strong message to fight for parliamentary democracy”. Elaborating the reasons to move the motion, the parties pointed out that Dhankhar’s conduct of the House on Mon- day was particularly one-sided and totally unfair. “He was encouraging and provoking the Treasury Benches to make outrageous remarks.” He has repeatedly acted in a manner that reduces the prestige of the position he holds, they charged. The Opposition enclosed a list of articles and videos covering various instances where the chairman has unjustly been critical of Opposition members or their actions. Later, Jairam Ramesh said that they were pained to move such a notice, but were “forced” to do so after he “crossed all limits” on Monday by allowing several members of the treasury benches to speak against the top Congress leadership in the House. express read SC asks Allahabad HC for details of judge’s speech New delhi: Amid criticism over the controversial speech of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court, delivered at a VHP function on December 8, the Supreme Court on Tuesday called for details from the High Court | P10 Israeli warplanes pound Syria as troops advance Damascus: Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the neighbouring country, a Syrian opposition war monitor said on Tuesday, and the Israeli defence minister announced that his forces had destroyed Syria’s navy. RBI-govt ties were the best in my tenure: Das B E N N K OCH U V E E D A N @ Mumbai Outgoing RBI gover nor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday said the relationship between the central bank and the government was “at its best during the past six years”. Das, who demitted office on Tuesday, underlined the need for restoring the inflationgrowth balance as the key task for his successor Sanjay Malhotra, to whom he will pass the baton on Wednesday . Addressing his last press meet as RBI governor at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai, the civil-servant-turnedcentral banker said: “The perspectives of the finance ministry and RBI can differ at times. But during the past six years, all such issues were resolved through internal discussions and coordination.” Listing out the challenges for his successor, Das said the new governor will also have to navigate the changing world order ,deal with cyber threats, and focus on harnessing new technologies. He said the governor will have to keep in mind the needs of the wider economy, adding that it is a judgement call that every governor takes. RBI-government ties were not that cordial during the governorships of his predecessors Urjit Patel and Raghuram Rajan. Das, a seasoned bureaucrat, was brought in to correct the deep imbalances.