1. HAL hands over first LCA Tejas twin seater aircraft to Indian Air Force
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first LCA Tejas twin seater to the Indian Air Force in the presence of Union Minister of State for Defence & Tourism Ajay Bhatt at a ceremony in Bengaluru on October 4.
The LCA Tejas Twin Seater is a lightweight, all-weather multi-role 4.5 generation aircraft. It is designed to support the training requirements of the IAF and augment itself to the role of a fighter in case of necessity. The production of the LCA twin seater variant adds India to the list of very few elite countries who have created such a capability and have them operational in their Defence Forces.
2. Population of street dogs down by 10% in Bengaluru: survey
The street dog survey carried out by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) shows that the population of stray dogs has come down by 10% from 3.10 lakh in 2019 to 2.79 lakh in the city. The BBMP attributed the decrease to Animal Birth Control (ABC)-Anti Rabies Vaccinations (ARV) programmes.
The survey that was conducted through sight-resight method showed that neutering of dogs has increased by 20% from 51.16% in 2019 to 71.85%. At 58,341, the highest number of strays was recorded in Mahadevapura zone and lest number was recorded in Dasarahalli with 21,221 dogs.
3. Shivamogga engineers develop app that converts handwriting into speech to help people with disability
Two Shivamogga-based engineering graduates, Akshay V. Nayak and Karthik B.S., have launched an application that could help people with speech and hearing impairment. While there are several applications that convert typed text into speech, their app — Writell — does real-time handwriting-to-speech translation, which makes communication accessible and inclusive.
The application helps convert handwriting in English, Kannada, and eight other Indian languages into speech. The application was launched for Android users on September 21 for free. So far, around 700 people have downloaded it.
4. Nightmare in Kalladka as flyover work on NH 75 leaves little space for rainwater drainage
Heavy movement of vehicles between Bengaluru and Mangaluru on National Highway 75 this past weekend due to a series of holidays resulted in motorists having to crawl in and around Kalladka town amid the slush-filled carriageway.
With the work on the 2.1 km flyover in the town moving at a snail’s pace and the service roads below not having proper rainwater drainage facility, accumulation of water on the road is making driving miserable for travellers and residents. The NHAI is hopeful of improving the carriageway in the town after it completes flyover girder launching by November-end.
5. Man arrested for threatening CBI public prosecutor in Soujanya murder case
The Hebbal police arrested Mahaveer Jain for threatening CBI public prosecutor Shivananda Perla on social media over the Soujanya murder case. Jain had posted an objectionable post misusing Perla’s photo and accused him of taking a bribe.
The accused alleged that Mr. Perla had taken a huge bribe to derail the Soujanya murder case. The accused had said he will soon come out with documentary evidence of the bribe taken in the case.
