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Friday, June 14, 2019
Plan to pipe water from Bhadra river to Bengaluru may not be viable, experts say
Experts say the government should be looking at sustainable alternatives to battle Bengaluru’s water crisis.
Once a city brimming with lakes and rivers running across its boundaries, Bengaluru has now become a city of concrete. Rapid urbanisation, increasing population and inefficient management of resources has resulted in the city growing parched day after day. In order to solve the crisis of water shortage, the Karnataka government has proposed a new infrastructure project to bring 18 TMC of water from the Bhadra river, located in Bhadravati in Shivamogga, to Bengaluru, about 290 kilometres away. B Shamasundar, the superintendent engineer of the Water Resource Department, says that a week ago, the department received a direction from the Chief Minister’s Officer asking them to ascertain the viability of the project. The ambitious plan is to construct pipelines from the Bhadra Dam in Shivamogga’s Bhadravati to Bengaluru city. “The plan is just in the proposal stage and may cost around Rs 7,000 crore. But the actual cost estimation will take place only after the proposal is approved by the state government and a feasibility report is obtained,” Shamasundar said. Why not look for sustainable solutions? Speaking to TNM, Dr Sharadchandra Lele, distinguished fellow in Environmental Policy and Governance with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), says that the state government must focus on sustainable solutions to tackle the issue of water scarcity in the city. Dr Lele maintains that the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board must plug leakages in the Cauvery Water pipelines, which would save about 40% of the 1,400 MLD the city draws from the river every day. “40% of the Cauvery water is currently going to waste simply because the BWSSB is unable to plug the leakages in the pipelines. If these are maintained and leakages are plugged regularly, there will be more water to drink,” Dr Lele says. In addition, the water supply and civic authorities in Bengaluru have failed to reuse wastewater effectively, resulting in poor groundwater recharge. “Recycled wastewater can be used for construction and other purposes that are not meant for drinking. This is the second option where the administration fails. If the properly treated water is used to recharge lakes, the groundwater tables will be stabilised. Why do we have to look at big infrastructure projects when there are sustainable solutions. Disrupting water supply of people living in the Badhra catchment is not fair to the locals,” Dr Lele says. The proposal has drawn flak from farmers in the Malnad region, who fear they will not have adequate water for irrigation. According to Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha’s Shanthakumar, the project will create an ecological imbalance in addition to lower the prospects of good yields for farmers in Shivamogga and surrounding areas. “Generally, after the monsoon, the Bhadra river would be filled to the brim. The government cut down so many acres of forest land and the water levels began receding. People living in the catchment area had never seen the river bed dry. Although water levels decreased during summer, there would be water enough for a shallow stream. It’s not so any more,” Shantakumar says. The farmers in the catchment area were shocked when the river had run dry in November of 2015, he says. Since then, the water level has decreased due to excessive pumping. “If they take 18 TMC from here, what will we have?” Shantakumar questioned. The farmers in Malnad region have already been affected by the Upper Bhadra Project, which aims to lift 17.4 TMC water from Upper Tunga river and 29.9 TMC of water from the Bhadra river to irrigate an extent of 2,25,515 hectares via micro-irrigation in drought-prone districts of Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Tumakuru and Davanagere and to fill up 367 tanks in drought-prone taluks of the three district through Chitradurga branch Canal and Tumkur branch canal. “As it is so much water is being diverted to other areas. If an additional 18 TMC water is diverted to Bengaluru, we will end up creating a water crisis in the Malnad region. Besides, sustainable solutions are less expensive and the diversion proposal is going to cost more. There will be capital costs and maintenance costs, and the government will end up spending so much money when there is a cheaper and sustainable option available,” Dr Lele adds.
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Students' bus pass fare hiked by Rs 200 in B'luru, no more free rides for primary kids
According to the Transport Department, the fare hike was to drive revenue to state road transport corporations, which are reeling under losses.
In an unexpected move, the Karnataka state road transport authorities have hiked the fees for student bus passes this year. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has added a processing fee of Rs 200 to the bus passes. Accordingly, the bus pass fare will increase by Rs 200 and will vary for student-passengers in high school, pre-university, engineering, medical and evening colleges. With this, the bus passes for primary school students, which was free until now, will cost Rs 200. For renewing smart card bus passes, the BMTC has added a processing fee of Rs 170 for all student passes. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is also slated to announce an increase in fare of student bus passes soon, Transport Department officials say. The BMTC has started issuing new smart card bus passes for students this year. The BMTC is expected to issue 3.5 lakh to 4 lakh smart cards this year, including renewal of the cards issued the previous year. Online applications for student bus passes for the 2019-20 academic year are now available on the BMTC website. The applications for renewal of smart cards is currently open for high school and PU students only. Notifications for smart card renewal for students in degree and professional courses will be issued shortly, BMTC said in a press release. While BMTC will give approval for students in Class 10 in state syllabus schools, the private schools and colleges will have to grant approvals for students in the respective institutions. Bus passes will be issued between 9 am to 5.30 pm at BMTC major bus stations and TTMC (bus depots). B Basavaraju, Principal Secretary of the Transport Department, said that the fare hike was to drive revenue to state road transport corporations, which are reeling under losses. “There has been no increase in fares since 2013 and the BMTC requires additional revenue. The revision is meant to reduce financial burden,” he said. Students bus passes have been subject to concessions every year as the government bears 50% of the total cost, while the transport corporations bear 25% of the cost and students will have to pay the remaining 25%.
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Kumaraswamy expands his cabinet: R Shankar and H Nagesh sworn-in as ministers
The cabinet expansion comes in the wake of rebellion in the Karnataka Congress.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy expanded his state cabinet on Friday. KPJP MLA R Shankar and independent MLA H Nagesh were sworn in as ministers by Governor Vajubhai Vala on Friday at Raj Bhavan. In the 34-member cabinet, the Congress holds 22 berths while the JD(S) has 11 in its kitty. The Congress had three vacant posts, two of which were filled on Friday. CS Shivalli was the Minister of Municipal Administration and Local Bodies before he passed away in March this year. The position has remained vacant since then. The position of Primary and Secondary Education Minister is also vacant after N Mahesh, the lone BSP MLA in the Karnataka Assembly resigned from his position. The Congress is mulling over offering senior Congress leader Chivalli’s portfolio, sources say. However, the JD(S) has no plans of offering the post left vacant by N Mahesh. “Portfolios are not yet decided. The coalition coordination committee will convene and decide soon,” a senior Congress leader said. The expansion comes in the wake of Karnataka BJP’s attempts to topple the coalition. R Shankar, MLA from Ranebennur, had served as the Minister for Environment and Forests in Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s cabinet before being dropped during the reshuffle in December 2018. R Shankar’s portfolio was given to rebel MLA Satish Jarkiholi in a bid to stop him from defecting to the BJP. Soon after the reshuffle, R Shankar and Mulbagal MLA H Nagesh had withdrawn their support for the coalition and submitted a letter to the Governor on the same. They had sided with the BJP with the promise of casting votes in its favour in case of a trust vote. The two legislators were inducted into the cabinet in an attempt to stop the BJP from poaching disgruntled and dissatisfied legislators in the coalition.
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Parking restrictions in central Bengaluru as two MLAs to take oath as ministers
Independent MLA H Nagesh and R Shankar of the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party, will take oath as ministers at 1pm on Friday.
Representational Image/ Vincent Bloch via Wikimedia Commons
Parking on roads in central Bengaluru will be restricted on Friday as two independent MLAs will take oath as ministers in the Karnataka cabinet later in the day. According to Bengaluru Traffic Police, parking has been banned on the following roads: Dr BR Ambedkar Road, from Balekundri Circle to KR Road on both sides; Raj Bhavan Road, from CTO Circle to Raj Bhavan junction; LH Road, from Raj Bhavan junction to Chalukya junction; Queen’s Road, from Balekundri Circle to Queen’s Circle; Palace Road, from Mysuru Bank Circle to Vasanthnagar underpass; Devaraja Urs Road, from Chalukya Circle to MS Building; Race Course Road, from Trilight junction to Chalukya Circle; Park House Road, from AGS Junction to CID Circle; interior roads of Cubbon Park; Millers Road, from LRDE Junction to Basaveshwara Circle; Infantry Road, from Ali Asker Road junction to traffic headquarters; Ali Asker Road, from Raj Bhavan junction to Ali Asker Cross; KG Road, from Police Corner to Mysuru Bank Circle; Old Post Office Road to Mysuru Bank Circle; Nrupatunga Road from KR Circle to Police Corner; Kasturba Road, from Hudson Circle to Queen’s Circle; Mallya Hospital Road, from Siddalingaiah Circle to RRMR Junction Road; Cubbon Road, from CTO Circle to Manipal Centre; T Chowdaiah Road, from Old High Grounds Jn to Cauvery junction and Ramana Maharshi Road, from Cauvery Jn to Mehkri Circle. Independent MLA H Nagesh and R Shankar of the Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party, will take oath as ministers at 1pm on Friday at Raj Bhavan. “On Friday, Nagesh and Shankar will take oath and join the Cabinet. Shankar has agreed to merge his legislature party with ours,” Eshwar Khandre, senior Congress MLA and KPCC (Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee) working president said. This will further cement the stability of the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka with 119 members in the Assembly. Incidentally, Shankar was part of the cabinet earlier as the Forest Minister but was dropped after a reshuffle. Following that, he had withdrawn his support from the government in the wake of a crisis when four MLAs led by former Minister and Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi started a rebellion against the party.
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K'taka HC raps Bengaluru police over noise levels in Indiranagar pubs
The HC called the status report filed by the police as nothing but an "eyewash".
File image
The Karnataka High Court on Thursday came down heavily on Bengaluru police on the issue of noise created by pubs and bars in Indiranagar. Calling the police status report as “nothing but an eyewash”, the HC also warned that it might have to summon the City Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar for a proper explanation. The Hindu reported that these oral observations were made by the Division Bench led by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice HT Narendra Prasad after they found that the police report did not have any definite action taken by police. The HC also inquired if the police had carried out surprise checks related to the issue. The HC was hearing the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Defence Colony Residents’ Association and others on the issue of excess noise created by these pubs. When the legal counsel of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board pointed out that police do not have any equipment to monitor noise levels, the HC asked if the police had approached the Pollution Control Board after the case was heard by them. Upon being informed that police have booked cases of nuisance against some of the pubs, the court asked how the police are going to prove those cases without any evidence. The HC also asked how police will measure noise levels if they do not have the equipment for it. In reply, the state government counsel assured the court that the status report will be improved upon. The Times of India reported that police took five witness accounts as evidence to register cases. TOI quoted a police source saying, “We ask witnesses to stand 100 feet away from the spot and tell us if there is any noise. After reaching the spot, they close their ears and record the sound. If it’s unbearable, they record the same in their statement.”
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IMA scam: SIT seizes cars of key accused, shuts down Bengaluru office
Police suspect that MD of IMA Mansoor Khan is hiding in the Middle East.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the multi-crore I Monetary Advisory (IMA) scam on Thursday seized the cars and other moveable properties belonging to its absconding Managing Director Mansoor Khan and the company's head office. Till now police have received 15,000 complaints from Bengaluru alone. Mysuru Police also have also started registering complaints. The numbers are expected to go up further. The scam is similar to the recently unearthed “halal” ponzi schemes which targetted Muslims exploiting their belief systems. Read: A con in the name of religion: Karnataka 'Halal Ponzi scam' victims await justice A luxury SUV parked at the airport has been seized along with a high-end sports car which was seized from his residence. Police suspect that Mansoor Khan is hiding in the Middle East where he flew just before the scam came to light. Investigators are trying to ascertain the details and value of the company’s assets at the moment. Meanwhile, police had already arrested the seven other directors of the company who surrendered on Tuesday. Their passports have also been seized. The seven are Dada Peer, Nasir Hussain, Naveed Ahmed Nattamkar, Nizammudin Azeemuddin, Afshan Tabassum, Afsar Pasha and Arshad Khan. Incidentally, all these directors own a miniscule percentage of the company. Speaking to TNM, Commercial Street Police Station Inspector Shekhar, who is part of the SIT, said, “We have seized the car and locked down their offices. All the seven persons will continue to remain in custody for the next 10 days.” The SIT chief Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Ravikanthe Gowda is expected to brief the public over the investigation in the coming days. Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lashed out at Congress MLA Roshan Baig who was embroiled in this conspiracy. Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah said, “Roshan Baig should not speak to the media but instead should talk to the SIT.” Siddaramaiah assured that the investors would get their money back and the government will take appropriate action. Siddaramaaiah’s statements come after a day Roshan Baig cried “political conspiracy” over his name being dragged into the scam, Addressing reporters in the Press Club, Roshan Baig had said, “After my recent political fallouts, some of my adversaries have made a full-fledged attempt at assassinating my character by orchestrating a series of events using underhanded methods. The entire hitjob has been carried out using a baseless, un-investigated audio recording.”
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