Kabini dam restoration work to be taken up at a cost of ₹32.25 crore: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Speaking to reporters after offering bagina to Kabini reservoir on Sunday (July 20, 2025), Mr. Siddaramaiah said the State Cabinet meeting held recently at MM Hills had approved the restoration project for the dam, which is about 51 years old.
Outflow from Kabini to be increased, flood warning issued
The construction of Kabini reservoir began in 1959 and was completed in 1974. As 51 years had elapsed since its construction was completed, the Government had decided to take up work on its restoration and strengthening. He, however, hastened to clarify that the Government's restoration work does not mean that the dam had become weak.
It may be mentioned here that concerns had been expressed in certain quarters about the minor cracks and cavities in the dam structure. But, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) had ruled out any immediate threat to the dam. 'The Government will also take up work on modernisation of Taraka canal system,' he added.
'The Kabini, which takes birth in Kerala, and joins Cauvery at T. Narsipura, is a tributary of Cauvery. The Kabini river irrigates 1,08,000 acres of land,' he said. Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Government was also planning to build a garden on the lines of Brindavan Gardens at KRS reservoir.
To a question, the Chief Minister said more than the stipulated quantity of water was flowing to Tamil Nadu and regretted that the Centre was not giving permission to the State to build a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu.
When his attention was drawn to BJP's suggestion that the Congress Government should convince its INDIA ally DMK, which is the ruling party in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Mr. Siddaramaiah shot back and asked why the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders was not able to persuade their party's leaders in BJP-ruled Goa to permit the Mahadayi project in Karnataka, which is long pending.
However, he said the State Government was ready for Mekedatu project if the Centre gives permission for the same.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who also holds the Water Resources portfolio, said the State Government had sent its technical teams to all dams to study their safety after a crest gate at Tungabhadra dam was washed away about a year back.
The Government will take up any work that is necessary for the safety of dams on a priority basis while adding that the restoration work of Kabini dam will also be taken up.
Responding to a request from HD Kote MLA Anil Chikkamadu, the State Government was considering a proposal to take up project to develop a garden at Kabini dam under public private partnership (PPP) model.
When asked about the demand for celebrating Kabini Utsav, Mr. Shivakumar said he will discuss the matter with the Minister in charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa and take a decision.
He said, 'The Government had already planned to hold a Cauvery Arathi at KRS reservoir and added that the project will not only boost tourism, but also generate employment. However, he said the Government's first priority was safety of the dams.'
Mr. Mahadevappa, MLAs Anil Chikkamadu, Harish Gowda, A.R. Krishnamurthy and Darshan Dhruvanarayan and MLC D. Thimmaiah and others also accompanied the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister while offering bagina to Kabini on Sunday (July 20, 2025.)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
28 minutes ago
- India.com
BJP IT Cell Chief Malviya Exposes Tejashwi Yadavs Multiple Voter IDs, Terms Opposition As ‘Alliance Of Pappus'
A major controversy has broken out in Bihar after BJP's IT cell Chief Amit Malviya accused RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav of holding multiple Voter Identity Cards. The BJP has alleged that this is a serious case of voter fraud, while Tejashwi has claimed that his name was wrongly removed from the new voter list released on August 1. BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said in a post on X, 'I still can't believe Tejashwi Yadav once compared himself to Steve Jobs, only to now be exposed holding multiple EPICs! From fake comparisons to fake voter IDs, the hypocrisy is staggering.' Malviya also called the Opposition an 'Alliance of Pappus', mocking their leadership and unity. The issue started when Tejashwi raised questions about the draft voter list released by the Election Commission. Tejashwi claimed that his voter ID details had been changed without his knowledge, and his name was missing. He called it a conspiracy and asked how many other voters might be facing the same issue. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary joined the row, claiming that Tejashwi had two EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers: RAB0456228 and RAB2916120. According to Choudhary, Tejashwi was consistently voting under the EPIC number RAB0456228 from the Digha Assembly constituency in Patna. To back his claims, Deputy Chief Minister Choudhary posted detailed records from past elections. Choudhary mentioned: In the 2015 Assembly polls, Tejashwi voted from Booth 150, Serial No. 605, In 2020, it was Booth 160, Serial No. 511, In 2021 voter list revision, it was Booth 171, Serial No. 489, In January 2025 revision, Booth 171, Serial No. 481, and In August 1, 2025 revision, Booth 204, Serial No. 416. Choudhary said that the second EPIC number, which Tejashwi recently referred to, was either fake or never officially issued. 'Where did this second EPIC number come from?' he asked. 'This is a serious matter and must be investigated. Is this an individual mistake or part of a bigger plan by the RJD?' he added. The Election Commission of India (ECI) responded by saying it is possible that the second EPIC was never officially issued.
Indian Express
28 minutes ago
- Indian Express
The Malegaon blast trial that stalled: Shared suspects, multiple probes, but no progress in 2006 case
The 2008 Malegaon blast case, in which several accused were linked to extremist groups, concluded this week following the acquittal of all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, a parallel case from 2006 involving similarly placed suspects remains stalled in court. Despite the National Investigation Agency (NIA) naming operatives of Hindu outfits in its 2013 chargesheet in the 2006 case, the trial of the four accused has made no progress since 2019. Two of the men named in the 2006 blasts, Ramchandra Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, are also accused of having played a role in the 2008 blasts. What ATS found On September 8, 2006, four bombs exploded in Malegaon, three on the premises of Hamidia Masjid and Bada Kabrastan just after Friday prayers, and the fourth at Mushawarat Chowk, killing 31 people and injuring 312 persons. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which initiated the investigation, claimed that 13 Muslim men, some of whom had met at a conspiracy meeting during a wedding on May 6, 2006, conspired to carry out the blasts. Nine of these men, including Shabbir Masiullah, who was already in prison, were arrested for their role in the explosions. Four accused who were never apprehended were also named for their role in the blast. The ATS accused them of making and planting the bombs. A subsequent supplementary chargesheet that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed in 2011 also named the same individuals. The case was transferred to the NIA in 2011 after RSS activist Swami Aseemanand, who was then an accused in the Ajmer Sharif and Mecca Masjid blasts, told the magistrate in his statement in 2010 that the 2006 blasts were allegedly the handiwork of 'right-wing activist' Sunil Joshi and his men. The NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet in 2013, after which the nine Muslim men were discharged from the case in 2016. Seven of these men had earlier been released on bail in 2011, and two others, who were also named in the Mumbai train blasts, were released this year after being acquitted in the case. NIA investigation The NIA's 2013 chargesheet named seven men for carrying out the 2006 blast, including Manohar Narwaria, Rajendra Chaudhari, Dhan Singh Shiv Singh, Lokesh Sharma, and Sunil Joshi, who was killed in 2007. Three of the accused, including Kalsangra, Dange, and Ramesh Mahalkar, were never apprehended. As per the NIA, a criminal conspiracy was undertaken at Bagli in Dewas District of Madhya Pradesh, where training in arms and assembling of bombs/IEDs was imparted under Joshi's supervision for committing 'terrorist acts in Muslim religious places'. Subsequently, four men carrying four bombs left from Indore and reached Malegaon on September 8, 2006. The NIA claimed that Narwaria and Chaudhari, posing as Sumer Thakur and Badal Yadav respectively, purchased two bicycles from shopkeepers in Malegaon. Singh then placed one bag with two bombs on the bicycle that Chaudhari purchased. They both then went to Mushawarat Chowk, where Chaudhari was accused of placing one bomb/IED in a metallic box and fixing that box on the carrier of the bicycle. That bicycle was then parked near an electric pole. Chaudhari then placed a bag containing the other bomb on a tree inside Hamidia Masjid and Bada Kabrastan. Kalsangra and Narwaria went to Hamidia Masjid and Bada Kabrastan with two bombs in a bag. A box containing one bomb was then fitted into their bicycle that was parked inside the mosque. Another bomb was kept in the bag and it was hung on the main gate of the Masjid. The NIA claimed that after planting the bombs in this manner, they went to Jalgaon and from there to Indore. The accused, as per the NIA, were also alleged to have called up media houses and informed them that 'Dharmasena' had taken responsibility for the bomb blast at Malegaon. They were subsequently arrested in 2013, with some men, including Singh and Sharma, also being accused in the 2008 blast by the NIA. Before the courts In 2019, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Singh, Sharma, Narwaria, and Chaudhari in the 2006 case. The High Court said the men were in jail for over six years without the trial commencing and also said the trial court, which rejected their bail pleas, should have considered the entire record, including the chargesheets that the ATS and the CBI had filed.. Following their bail pleas, the men approached the trial court seeking discharge, pointing out the difference in the findings of the ATS/CBI and the NIA probes. With no hearing having taken place on the discharge applications in the past few years, the trial court proceedings are at a standstill. The lawyers for the accused submitted that the case be heard after the High Court decides on their plea to quash the case and another one challenging the discharge of the Muslim men. The Maharashtra ATS, too, has challenged the decision to release the nine Muslim men and submitted that both sets of accused be put to trial. It had taken a stand in the Malegaon 2008 case that it would not be a party to the case as the NIA had taken over its probe, even as its investigation was called 'dubious' and its officers were accused of planting evidence. The last hearing on the appeals in the High Court took place in 2019. While Singh and Sharma were also investigated by the NIA in the 2008 case when it took over in 2011, they were dropped as accused five years later after the agency claimed there was no proof against them. When it arrested Singh, the NIA had said that Kalsangra and Dange had instructed him to transport the motorcycle fitted with the explosive from Madhya Pradesh and hand it over to Kalsangra.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
28 minutes ago
- Business Standard
EC's neutrality questionable, Opposition wants discussion: Gaurav Gogoi
Senior Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday alleged that the neutrality of the Election Commission is questionable, which is why the opposition parties want a discussion on the revision of the voter list in Parliament. Speaking to reporters before the start of the Extended Executive Meeting of the Assam unit of the Congress here, Gogoi, who is also the deputy leader of the party in Lok Sabha, questioned the BJP-led central government's decision not to allow a discussion on the EC even though the Chief Election Commissioner is appointed by it. "Today, there is a question mark in the minds of the people regarding the neutrality of the EC. That is why we want a discussion in Parliament. The government is trying to hide something. What is it? Is it their manipulation in the last assembly polls and Lok Sabha election?" the Assam Congress chief asked. Gogoi said the Opposition wants an open discussion in Parliament regarding the voter list, which is being revised in Bihar. "The common people should know the status of their voting rights and details of polling stations. We want a discussion on this, but the government is saying they cannot discuss the matter. "Their logic is that the Election Commission is not related to any department. This is an absurd logic because the Chief Election Commissioner is appointed by the PM and government," he added. Gogoi also claimed that there have been instances of electors visiting a polling station during voting, coming to know that their names are missing from the list. Speaking about Operation Sindoor, the Congress MP said, "The Union Home Minister did not even give minimum respect to the deceased of the Pahalgam terror attack. People died because of intelligence failure of the agencies under his ministry, but they did not apologise to the people. That's their nature." The Extended Executive Meeting of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee began here on Sunday morning. All party MPs, MLAs and senior leaders of the state unit participated in it. In the meeting, the strategy for the upcoming assembly elections in the state will be discussed threadbare, an official said. Assembly elections in Assam for 126 seats are likely in March-April next year. "The meeting will adopt two resolutions. One will be political and the other will be economic. These will be prepared keeping in mind the upcoming assembly polls," the party official said.
