Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: How Bengaluru’s longest cycle lane slowly vanished, and more

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the launch of Gruha Lakshmi scheme, a guarantee of the Congress government in Karnataka, will be one of the biggest government programmes in India. AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge will be launching the scheme — the fourth guarantee being rolled out after Shakti, Anna Bhagya and Gruha Jyothi — in Mysuru on August 30.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said 1.33 crore women (women head in household) have so far enrolled for the scheme, which provides ₹2,000 a month to beneficiaries. Karnataka would be spending ₹32,000 crore annually on the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. More than 200 buses will be plying to Mysuru on August 30 to bring beneficiaries from the four districts of Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu.

The Cabinet sub-committee on drought is expected to place its findings on the situation in Karnataka before the State Cabinet in the next two days following which affected taluks will be declared drought-hit, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said. After drought is pronounced, Karnataka will approach the Centre for financial assistance, which will be followed by an inspection of the affected areas by a Central team before aid is released.

The State will seek relief from the Centre as per the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) guidelines. The CM also said drought-relief work will be taken up in affected taluks.

Following the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bengaluru underwent a notable alteration in its mobility landscape. In 2020, a dedicated 17-kilometre cycle lane was laid along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to cater to a considerable number of employees commuting to their offices within the city’s IT corridor. However, construction of a Namma Metro line along the same stretch has resulted in disappearance of the cycle lane.

While signboards indicating ‘Cycle Lane’ on the service road at Kadubeesanahalli on the ORR continue to stand, the lane itself, marked with green for cyclists, has vanished with a few autos and cabs now occupying that space. The bollards that once demarcated the 17-km cycle lane from the main roadway have been taken off. Bengaluru’s bicycle mayor Sathya Sankaran and other dedicated cyclists have expressed frustration at the authorities for eliminating the lane citing metro work.

Flight operations will begin at Shivamogga airport on August 31. Calling it a historic day for the people of the district, Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra said the first flight (Indigo) will leave Bengaluru at 9.50 a.m. and land in Shivamogga at 11.05 a.m. The flight will take off from Shivamogga the same day at 11.25 a.m. and reach Bengaluru at 12.25 p.m.