logo
CM Siddaramaiah asserts Karnataka's right to raise Almatti dam height despite Maharashtra's objections

CM Siddaramaiah asserts Karnataka's right to raise Almatti dam height despite Maharashtra's objections

BELAGAVI: In a major development, Chief Minister Siddaramaiahhas taken an aggressive stand with regard to his government's decision to increase the height of Almatti dam from the present 519.60M to 524.256 M.
On June 9, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had urged Siddaramaiah in his letter to reconsider the state government's decision to increase the height of Almatti dam, claiming that the rise in dam height would result in floods in areas of Sangli and Kolhapur districts.
In his letter to his Maharashtra counterpart written on June 11, Siddaramaiah expressed his government's commitment to increase the dam height. He clarified his government's stand not only on the submergence issues but also on its right to raise Almatti dam height to FRL (Full Reservoir Level) 524.256 M even without waiting for the publication of the award by the Union government under Section 6(1) of the Inter State Water Dispute Act of 1956.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Burning fuel, intense heat left no chance to save anyone: Amit Shah
Burning fuel, intense heat left no chance to save anyone: Amit Shah

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

Burning fuel, intense heat left no chance to save anyone: Amit Shah

Gandhinagar: Union home minister Amit Shah , who rushed to Ahmedabad on hearing the news of the plane crash, said that the aircraft carried about 1.25 lakh litres of fuel, and the temperature had increased to an extent where there was no chance of saving lives. Stating that there was one survivor in the crash whom he met at the hospital, Shah said that authorities will provide the final death toll after conducting DNA sampling. He said that the aviation department began an investigation into the plane crash, and the Union civil aviation minister issued instructions to complete the inquiry at the earliest. Speaking to reporters after visiting the crash site and meeting the injured at the hospital, Shah condoled the death of the plane crash victims. "The death toll will be known after the DNA sampling is completed. Of the 242 persons on board the plane, there is one survivor. The plane had 1.25 lakh litres of fuel, and the temperature increased to such a level that there was no chance of saving lives. The state govt has done a commendable job in responding to the plane crash," Shah said. He said that all the bodies had been recovered from the crash site, and the task of collecting DNA samples is ongoing. The victims' relatives who are abroad have also been informed about the incident and their DNA samples will be collected as soon as they reach here. "About 1,000 DNA tests will have to be conducted. Gujarat has the facility for these tests. The mortal remains of victims will be handed over to relatives after DNA sampling," Shah said. Chief minister Bhupendra Patel, who was in Bardoli for an official function, rushed back to Ahmedabad after the air tragedy and supervised relief and rescue operations at the crash site. The CM also accompanied Union home minister Amit Shah to the crash site and the hospital where the injured are admitted. He directed the FSL and NFSU to expedite the process of collecting DNA samples as frantic relatives rushed to the Civil Hospital in search of their loved ones. Lauding the efforts of the agencies that participated in the rescue and relief operations, Amit Shah said, "Accidents cannot be prevented, but the administration's preparedness is tested during such times." He said that the entire country stands in solidarity with the family members of the victims. Shah said that the Union govt was informed within 10 minutes of the crash, and both the central and state govts launched a concerted relief and rescue operation. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .

Siddaramaiah cites 1995 law to justify Congress high command's decision to scrap 2015 caste survey
Siddaramaiah cites 1995 law to justify Congress high command's decision to scrap 2015 caste survey

The Print

timean hour ago

  • The Print

Siddaramaiah cites 1995 law to justify Congress high command's decision to scrap 2015 caste survey

He also said that the socio-economic and educational survey , better known as the caste survey, was over a decade old and needed to be re-enumerated even though his core support base of Backward Classes groups have been pressuring him to release the data. 'Already 10 years are over (and) according to section 11, clause 1 of the Backward Classes Act 1995, it is very clear that after the 10 years (sic) period, a new survey is to be conducted,' Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Thursday. Bengaluru: A day after the Congress tried to mask its decision to scrap the findings of the 2015 caste survey, Karnataka government Thursday cited clauses from the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1995, to justify its high command's directive to do away with the report. 'In 10 years, the population has gone up, socio-economic and educational changes have happened. In the Backward Classes Commission Act, it is clearly mentioned that after 10 years a new survey needs to be undertaken,' he added. He was addressing the media after a special cabinet session was convened in Bengaluru to discuss the caste survey. On Tuesday, the Congress high command tried to find middle ground between Siddaramaiah and members of his cabinet opposed to the decision to release the findings of the 2015 survey. Political analysts and observers ThePrint spoke to suggested this decision reflects the party leadership's careful manoeuvring to reconcile differing–and confrontational–viewpoints within Karnataka, effectively diverting attention from the Chinnaswamy stadium stampede and prevent the Centre from taking credit for initiating the nationwide caste census. Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation K.C. Venugopal said Tuesday that the party accepts the 2015 caste survey in principle but also called for re-enumeration. The decision was viewed as a setback to Siddaramaiah who has advocated for long to address the dominant status enjoyed by groups like Lingayats and Vokkaligas. Insistence on conducting the entire exercise again is also perceived as a political maneuver for upstage Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement for a nationwide caste census. Also Read: How redoing Karnataka 'caste census' weakens CM Siddaramaiah without strengthening Shivakumar 'New survey to be conducted in 90 days' In 2015, during his first term as chief minister, Siddaramaiah formed a single-person panel comprising then Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSBCC) chairperson H. Kantharaj, which initiated work on the caste survey on 11 April that year. It completed the survey on 30 May, 2015—having put forth 54 questions to a total of 5.98 crore people or 94.17 percent of the state's population. But the report, which cost roughly Rs 190 crores, was never accepted as political leaders and seers from dominant communities are believed to have pressured the government to shelve it. Siddaramaiah did not accept the findings and the Congress was ousted from power three years later in 2018. He also did not pursue its coalition partner, Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S), to do the same in 2019. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not want to accept the report since its then chief minister, B.S. Yediyurappa, was leading the agitation to scrap the findings. 'Let H.D. Kumaraswamy, B.Y. Vijayendra and R. Ashoka call for a press conference and announce they are in favour of the earlier caste census. They are making a lot of comments, we will respond to them in the Assembly session. The media must highlight contradictions in the stand of Opposition over caste census. They are trying to politicise it,' Shivakumar said Thursday. In February last year, Siddaramaiah accepted the report but did not open the files until earlier this year. When he did do it, and some of the findings were leaked, protests by so-called dominant communities intensified as the population numbers of these groups were shown to be significantly lower than what was projected earlier. Caste plays a very important role in Karnataka's politics and society. BJP is believed to have the backing of Lingayats while JD(S) depends on the Vokkaligas. The Congress under Siddaramaiah has been backed by AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits). Caste trumps party affiliations as Siddaramaiah's own cabinet ministers, including Shivakumar, M.B. Patil, S.S. Mallikarjun, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Eshwar Khandre and several others opposed the release of the report. Siddaramaiah is from the backward Kuruba community and his support base took aim at Shivakumar every time the latter would try to broach the unwritten pact that he would replace the former halfway through the term. Siddaramaiah camp further complicated matters for the party by promoting a narrative that replacing a chief minister from Backward Classes with Shivakumar, who is from a dominant community, could be politically unfavorable. 'Siddaramaiah and Congress used the Backward Classes for their political agenda and then sacrificed the latter. Siddaramaiah claims that he became CM with the support of AHINDA but has today shown that he will cheat the backward classes to remain in power,' R. Raghu Kautilya, president of Karnataka BJP's OBC morcha said Thursday. Shivakumar said the Congress was carrying out the survey again to further its objective of achieving social justice and not for the sake of politics. The state government said the new survey will be completed in 90 days of it being commissioned. (Edited by Amrtansh Arora) Also Read: Karnataka protests 'ban' on its Totapuri mangoes entering AP, Naidu govt says 'rescue your own farmers'

Govt to soon restart work on Wullar barrage: Manohar Lal
Govt to soon restart work on Wullar barrage: Manohar Lal

Time of India

time2 hours ago

  • Time of India

Govt to soon restart work on Wullar barrage: Manohar Lal

(You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Union power minister Manohar Lal on Thursday said the Centre will soon restart work on the Wullar barrage in Bandipora of northern Kashmir , now that India has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with a presser in Srinagar, he said the government will increase the capacity of the ongoing hydropower projects and explore the possibility of starting new projects as well. The minister was in Srinagar to highlight and celebrate the achievements of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, which completed 11 years this month. He also held a meeting along with J&K CM Omar Abdullah related to the power and housing projects of the state. NHPC and companies from here are doing great work. And now Indus Waters Treaty is in abeyance, we will increase the capacity of ongoing (hydropower) projects and explore the possibility of starting new (hydropower) projects as well," said Khattar."A project was conceived in 1981 around Wular Lake, but they (Pakistan) didn't give the permission and there was no consensus and we had to abandon the project," said Khattar.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store