Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: DKS says Brindavan Gardens upgradation project to boost tourism, jobs, and more

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who visited the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam in Mandya district on August 9, reiterated that upgradation of Brindavan Gardens — at the cost of ₹2,000 crore — will boost tourism and help generate employment. Mr. Shivakumar said 200 acres of land is available for the purpose. A portion of it will be left untouched for security and safety of the dam.

In anticipation of growth in tourist footfalls, the road will be upgraded to a four-lane highway. Drainage system and drinking water supply will also be ensured to draw more tourists to Brindavan Gardens and Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary. Guidelines have been prepared on upgrading the Brindavan Gardens without compromising on its heritage value.

The Karnataka government has decided to reserve 25% of the total seats in Under Graduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) courses in all the deemed medical colleges in the State as government quota seats as per the rules of the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) Act, 2006.

According to sources, most of the colleges have agreed to give government quota seats. Karnataka has 70 medical colleges — government and private — including 9 deemed medical colleges, with 12,095 seats for UG courses for the academic year of 2024-25. A total of 1,650 seats are available in deemed medical colleges.

Even after years of deliberations, smart meters are not a reality in Bengaluru. Although the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) had announced that 17.5 lakh smart meters will be installed in non-residential buildings by 2023 and 55 lakh smart meters will be installed in residential buildings in the years after that, there has been no progress so far. 

In the last two years, Bescom has replaced over 17 lakh old electro-mechanical meters with new-age digital meters in Bengaluru Metropolitan Area Zone (BMAZ). KERC Chairman P. Ravikumar said that, with these replacements already having taken place, it would be unnecessary expenditure to replace them with smart meters. 

Bengaluru police have booked 38 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 in July, arresting 54 drug peddlers, including four foreign nationals. The city police have recovered a large cache of narcotics in July, including 114 kg of marijuana, 745 gram of cocaine, 4 kg of MDMA crystals, among other narcotics.