Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: Centre’s ‘puppet’ says CM Siddaramaiah upping the ante on Governor, and more

Upping his ante against Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot for issuing a show-cause notice to him over the alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused the Governor of working as a ‘puppet’ in the hands of the Centre.

Mr Siddaramaiah accused the Centre of misusing Raj Bhavan to destabilise an elected State government. The show-cause notice served by the Governor was not only ‘illegal’ and ‘anti-constitutional’, but also ‘ruining’ democracy, said the Chief Minister while calling upon him to withdraw the notice immediately. To know all about the MUDA scam, read our explainer here.

Landslip at Puttur Bypass Road on Mangaluru-Madikeri-Mysuru National Highway 275 in Dakshina Kannada early on August 2 affected the traffic movement on the highway. The landslip occurred at about 3 a.m. near the Jain Bhavan at Bappalige hampering movement of especially heavy vehicles. Many vehicles had to ply inside the congested Puttur town, reports said.

Meanwhile, even as efforts were on to clear the debris of previous landslips at Doddathappale village, in Sakleshpur taluk of Hassan district, heavy rainfall triggered fresh landslips at the spot on August 2. This yet again disrupted movement of vehicles on Mangaluru-Bengaluru NH75 via Shiradi Ghat. The NHAI hired excavators to clear the road.

Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) has modified the timings of restrictions on the movement of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) on Saturdays owing to a shift in peak hours. The decision comes after a study by BTP showed that the peak hours on Saturday start later when compared to all other days.

Until now, the movement of HGVs was prohibited from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. to ensure smooth flow of traffic in Bengaluru city. The modified regulations state that HGV movement will be prohibited between 10 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. and from 4.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. 

A four-year-old boy accidentally fell on the Namma Metro track at Baiyappanahalli station at 9.08 p.m on August 1. According to a statement from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the boy was playing with his sibling on Platform No. 2 while waiting for a train when he accidentally fell on the track.