Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: DKS bats for night life to boost tourism in coastal districts, and more

Unlike Bengaluru and Mumbai, which are vibrant cities during the night, Mangaluru has no nightlife to entertain the youth. “The tourism potential of the coastal cities can be exploited by promoting entertainment activities during the night,” said Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar

The coastal region of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts have huge tourism potential owing to vast natural resources. Lakhs of people embark on temple tourism, beach tourism, health and education tourism in the region. But there are no activities during the night to entertain young minds, he said.

Bengaluru-based IT behemoth Infosys Ltd. found itself as point of discussion in the ongoing Legislature session over the slow-paced development of its Hubballi campus. “Infosys has taken land from the government and has not done much to create employment in Hubballi... What is the status now?” BJP member S.V. Sankanur asked Industries Minister M.B. Patil in the Legislative Council on March 4, 2025.

The issue had come before both Houses of legislature in 2024, too, when members took exception to the company taking 43 acres at a concessional rate but not doing much for job creation in the city. While members had accused the company of partially developing the land, Mr. Patil had in Legislative Council assured that the excess land would be reclaimed by the government.

The BJP and JD(S) members accused the ruling Congress in Karnataka of ‘blacking out’ Opposition members. They alleged that the Legislative Assembly TV cameras show only ruling party members on giant TV screens set up inside and outside the Llegislative Assembly. On March 4, Leader of Opposition R. Ashok raised the issue.

“The Assembly TV is not the property of a particular party. It must show proceedings in an unbiased manner. The selective focusing of the camera on the ruling party members and Speaker U.T. Khader is not good,” he said. BJP and JD(S) members alleged that employees of the Information and Publicity Department have been functioning as per the directions of the Speaker.

Dismissing allegations of a “scam” after changes were brought in the City Gas Distribution (CGD) policy, Heavy Industries Minister M.B. Patil on March 4, 2025, said that the changes were, in fact, made at the insistence of the Union government, and benefits will be passed on to the end user.