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Karnataka Today newsletter: Rare coins of Hoysala, Chalukya, Chola and Mughal eras to be auctioned, and more

A Hoysala-era gold coin depicting Lord Rama, and said to be among the ‘highest rarities’ in the numismatic world with no known public records outside literary references so far, is among rare coins from the Hoysala, Western Chalukya, Chola and Mughal eras is going under the hammer in Bengaluru on January 6.

There are also two ‘exceptionally rare’ coins — one from the 12th century, weighing 4 gm and minted to celebrate Vishnuvardhana’s (Bittideva) conquest of Nolambavadi region (parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh), while another is a 10th century Gold Varaha coin. An ‘exceedingly rare’ 4.32 gm gold Kahavanu coin is also part of the auction.

As caring for the mind gets more and more relevant around the world, a greater focus on mental health promotion will become even more important, said President Droupadi Murmu on January 3, 2025. Speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of NIMHANS in Bengaluru, the President said issues of mental health had not received enough attention in some societies in the past.

“In recent times, however, awareness about mental health has been rising. The unscientific beliefs and stigma associated with mental illnesses are a matter of the past, making it easier for those suffering from various ailments to seek help. This has been a welcome development especially because a variety of mental health issues are taking epidemic proportions around the world,” she said.

The BBMP’s insistence on a ration card from Karnataka to be enumerated as a street vendor in the ongoing survey, has led to many exclusions, especially those of migrants hawkers in Bengaluru. While street vendor unions have come down heavily on this norm terming it ‘a ‘ploy to limit the number of street vendors’ in Bengaluru, the street vendors’ cell of the ruling KPCC has defended the move. 

The civic body is all set to close the survey of street vendors, being carried out for the past three months, this week. It has enumerated only 27,575 street vendors as on January 3, 2025. Though this is a jump from the 13,995 vendors enumerated in the 2017 survey, it is in sharp contrast to 1.42 lakh street vendors who have secured loans under the PM Street Vendors’ Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme. 

A report of the Bangalore Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) has estimated that a total of 3,074 million litres (ML) leachate has accumulated in Mittaganahalli and Kannur landfill sites, and it will take nearly four years and around ₹553 crore to treat it.