1. Kannada poet, playwright and critic H.S. Venkatesha Murthy passes away
Kannada poet H.S. Venkatesha Murthy (HSV), 81, passed away in Bengaluru on May 30. He was suffering from age-related ailments. Making his debut with the collection of poetry Parivrutta in 1968, during the Navya (modernist) movement, he continued to write until recently. A book-length retelling of Buddha’s life and philosophy in verse, Buddhacharana (2020), was his last major work.
Even as he wrote poetry through various literary movements, HSV preserved his own distinct identity. His poetry was known to be modern, but also ‘in conversation with tradition’. His poems lent themselves to be sung as Bhaavageete in the Kannada sugama sangeeta era, and HSV was one of the poets who was then bracketed as ‘cassette poets’.
2. Mangaluru rains: Four die in landslips, two fishermen go missing
Incessant rains created havoc in Dakshina Kannada district claiming four lives in two separate landslip incidents on the outskirts of Mangaluru, and two fishermen are reported missing after their boat capsized at an estuary in Mangaluru on May 30, 2025. Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district administration declared holiday for anganwadis, primary and high schools in view of heavy rains.
Several areas in Mangaluru city, like Jeppinamogaru, Rao and Rao Circle, Mission Street, Kopparahitlu, and Kottara Chowki were flooded, water entered many houses in Jeppinamogaru and there were reports of trees falling. Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, who is also in-charge of Dakshina Kannada district, arrived in Mangaluru in the evening and took stock of the situation.
3. Fallen tree affects train traffic from Mangaluru Central towards Kerala for over six hours
A huge tree that fell on the Mangaluru Central-Shoranur line between Central and Netravathi Cabin near Marnamikatte in Mangaluru city affected train traffic in the region for over five hours on May 30 early morning. The line was restored by around 10.30 a.m. following which train operations towards Kerala resumed albeit with a huge backlog.
While the Mangaluru Central-Mangaluru Junction line (single line) was not impacted by the tree fall, the Railways diverted a few Kerala-bound trains from Mangaluru Central via Mangaluru Junction. Several trains from Kerala to Mangaluru too were running late following incidents of tree fall in Thiruvananthapuram Division. Consequently, the Railways rescheduled many trains.
4. Siddaramaiah launches real-time ‘CM Dashboard’ for development monitoring
The ‘Chief Minister’s Dashboard’ (CM Dashboard), a platform that provides real-time, integrated insights into key development indicators across Karnataka, was launched on May 30, 2025. It was launched by CM Siddaramaiah during the review meeting with Deputy Commissioners of all districts and CEOs of all Zilla Panchayats at Vidhana Soudha.
The dashboard, developed in-house by the Centre for e-Governance (CeG), is now functionally complete and hosted under the domain cmdashboard.karnataka.gov.in. The dashboard is built using a microservices-based architecture, ensuring scalability and ease of integration, and the data is integrated via APIs from various departments, eliminating manual entry.
5. KRV activists stage protest slamming Kamal Haasan for his remarks on Kannada
Members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) staged a demonstration in Mysuru and slammed actor Kamal Haasan for his remarks on Kannada. The actor’s statement that Kannada stemmed from Tamil has hurt the sentiments of people of Karnataka as it was baseless and false, said the KRV.
The KRV said that if Kamal Haasan did not withdraw his remarks and offer an apology, protests across Karnataka will be intensified. It said that the anger against the actor’s statement was palpable across the State, and it has decided that his upcoming film Thug Life would not be allowed for release in Karnataka under any circumstances.
Published – May 30, 2025 07:17 pm IST
