Category: Karnataka, Records

Bangalore’s St.Andrew’s Church First Opened for Worship : 1866

St. Andrew’s Church (formerly St. Andrew’s Kirk), Cubbon Road, Bengaluru (Bangalore)

November 18th, 1866. St. Andrew’s Church – a Presbyterian church built with massive Scottish architecture is a prominent edifice in the city’s landscape which has retained its old glory. Named after the patron Saint of Scotland – St.Andrew , the church was originally home to the Scottish regiment in the Bangalore cantonment

The foundation stone for St.Andrew’s Kirk (as it was called then) was laid on November 22nd, 1864 by Lady Grant the wife of Lieutenant-General Sir.Hope Grant ,the Quartermaster-General of Her Majesty’s Forces

Designed by engineers Major Sankey, Chief Engineer and R.C. Dobbs, Executive Engineer of Mysore. The building was completed and opened for worship on November 18th, 1866

Heritage: (*) It has a 90-foot belfry tower that houses the church bell that has been ringing since 149 years  (*) The clock has been installed in 1893  (*) The church houses an 800-odd pipes-fitted pipe organ. Built by Peter Gonacher & Co., England. The pipe organ was installed on May 03rd, 1881

St.Andrew’s Church joined the C.S.I in September 1959

www.standrewschurch.org.in

India’s First Tile Factory in Mangalore : 1860

The Basel Mission Tile Factory, Mangaluru (Mangalore)

India’s first tile factory was established in Mangalore in 1860 . The tiles were first introduced in India by a German Missionary – Plebot

Located on the banks of the river Nethravathi at Morgan’s Gate, close to the Ullal bridge in the Western Coast of India

This venture gave the now world famous ‘ Mangalore Tiles’. The British preferred these tiles for their Government buildings

The famous Architect Fredrick William Stevens used Mangalore tiles in constructing the Chhatrapati Sivaji Terminus, Mumbai(Bombay)

Some of the other heritage buildings in Mangalore that showcases these classic tiles are : (1) Office of the Deputy Commissioner (2) Government University College (Hampankatta) (3) St. Aloysius College (4) Rosario Church etc..

Karnataka State Law University’s (KSLU) First Convocation : November 2014

Karnataka State Law University (KSLU), Navanagar, Hubballi

Saturday – November 22nd, 2014. Governor and Chancellor of Universities – Vajubhai Vala conferred Honorary Doctorates at KSLU’s First Convocation held at D Veerendra Heggade Kalakshetra at Suttur near Dharwad

The convocation address was delivered by former Attorney General of India and Rajya Sabha member K. Parasaran

Honorary Doctorates were awarded to former Chief Justices of India – Justice S Rajendra Babu and Professor Emeritus Prof. G.V. Ajjappa. Former Chief Justice of India – Justice M. Venkatachalaiah was also awarded Honorary Doctorate in absentia

Degrees were awarded to the First batch of the 5-year B.A, LLB and BBA, LLB and Honours courses. Gold medals were presented to the first rank holders of the LLM courses and PG Diplomas.

Also present at the event were Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra, KSLU Vice-Chancellor T.R. Subramanya, Registrar T.V. Manjunatha and Registrar (Evaluation) B.S.Reddy and others.

First Karnataka Player to Win ‘National B Chess’ Title : 2013

M.S. Thej Kumar , International Master (IM), Mysuru

The only player from Karnataka who has achieved the 3 Grand Master norms . Thej Kumar is the highest ranked player in Karnataka

2013. Triple Grand Master Norm holder and seeded 20th in the tournament, Thej’s 8th move draw with GM Deepan Chakravarthy, gave him his maiden National B Chess Title. Consequently he lifted the coveted Trophy at Bhopan with 10.5 points from 13 rounds

With this win, Thej also qualified for the National A Championships scheduled at Jalgaon, Maharashtra

Awarded the IM title by FIDE in 2009

Thej Kumar a post graduate from Mysore is an employee of South Western Railways, Mysore. The soft spoken Chess Champ lives with his wife M K Jayashree. He also coaches upcoming players at the Mysore Professional Chess Academy

Karnataka – First State in India to introduce ‘Remote Expert Government Services’ (REGS) : November 2014

Remote Expert Government Services (REGS), Mantri Square Mall, Malleswaram, Bengaluru

Friday – November 14th, 2014.  Now file an FIR from a Kiosk in a Shopping Mall ,without having to enter a police station.

A citizen can now lodge complaints via Remote FIR Centre. The complainant can sign, print and scan documents virtually as a part of the experience

The first REGS Kiosk was inaugrated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The event was attended by Home Minister K.J.George, DG & IGP Lalrokhuma Pachau and City Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi

The kiosk is accessible 24×7 and will now serve as a central location for FIR’s related to 105 law & order police stations as well as 42 traffic police stations

The Karnataka Government has set up the kiosk as a pilot project. The kiosk has been set up with the company that developed the technology for the project – Cisco, incorporating Cisco TelePresence system

On successful feedback and implementation, the facility would be extended across the entire state

The initiative is also to enable in building a strong and sustainable police-citizen relations

First Complaint :

The first complaint was filed at the kiosk centre by Yatish Kumar, about a 2-wheeler vehicle theft

First State University in Karnataka to Launch ‘Global Document Verification System’ : November 2014

Mangalore University, Mangaluru

November 12th, 2014 – Wednesday.   Mangalore University has launched the Global Document Verification System for Certificates and Mark List. Consequently making it the First State University to implement this in Karnataka

Advantages to Students and Global Alumni :

Faster verification, cost effective, transparent and efficient and prevents document frauds

Verification :

www.mangaloreuniversity.directverify.in . To verify any of the documents, the user only needs to upload the said documents to the portal above and make an online payment for processing. Replies will be sent using appropriate security measures

e-Governance :

Paperless verification of degrees/mark sheets online. This e-governance initiative will reduce the use of paper and exchange of couriers. Savings on paper usage, savings on time and savings on courier services.

First Woman from Karnataka to Climb on Top – Mount Everest : October 2012

Captain Smitha Lakshmana, Bangalore

May 25th, 2012.  20-year old Smitha Lakshmana, a Captain in the Indian Army completed the rare feat of climbing Mount Everest, as a part of the ‘Indian Army Women’s Everest Expedition – 2012’

Smitha was one amongst 22 selected from 659 participants, and one of the 17 who were selected for the final climbing expedition. The trekking from Jari near Kathmandu started on May 25th.

From the base camp it took about 40 days to reach the summit and get back. Smitha Lakshmana and her team reached the peak around 4 am of May 25th, 2012

Smitha Lakshmana is from Bangalore. A Computer Engineer from Dayanand Sagar College. She did her schooling in Vijaya Junior School, Jayanagar. Her parents are from Devalapura hobli, Nagamangala Taluk, Mandya District. Her younger brother is an agriculturist.

Karnataka’s First Company with permission for Charkha : 2011

Swadesh Enterprises, Bangalore

2011. Swadeshi is the only company in Karnataka to obtain permission from ‘Khadi Bhandar Sabarmati’, Gujarat to manufacture Charkhas (spinning wheel).

Sri Charan Bhaskarachar started the venture 3 years ago. The Bangalore based company has the production unit in Banavara, Chikmagalur district.

Swadeshi employs 25 people and crafts a range of 6 models of miniature charkhas.

Demand and sales are as mementos at public functions and exports worldwide through consulates and embassies.

Karnataka – First time vaccination for small pox . 1806

1806 . Vaccination for small pox in Mysore, Mysore State (now Karnataka)

For the first time in the State, Dewan Purnaiah introduced vaccine for small pox in 1806 according to Mysore Gazetteer.

Brief:

Purnaiah was a Minister under Tipu Sultan (Tiger of Mysore). Subsequent to the death of Tipu Sultan in the IVth Mysore War of May 1799, the Kingdom of Mysore was restored to the Wadiyars. Purnaiah was made the Dewan of the Kingdom of Mysore.