Deluge on one side; famine on another
Some parts of Karnataka have suffered serious damage to property owing to torrential rains. In some other regions, there is scarcity of water owing to poor monsoon. The CM has said his government would be coming up with schemes to tackle this situation in at least 12 districts in the near future.
Some districts in North Karnataka have received good rains, while some have not. If it does not rain in the next one month in Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Vijayapura districts, things would go from bad to worse. There is almost 50% scarcity of rain in these areas.
Hyderabad Karnataka is in the red with lack of normal rains in the area; though it has already been two months since the monsoon set in. The farmers are tensed since the lakes, ponds and other water sources do not have water in them and the table is fast depleting. Birds and animals are suffering because of there is hardly any water in spaces where they quench their thirst. Heat is on the rise in the region. Sowing has already taken place in about 80% of the cultivable land in Kalaburagi district which amounts to six lakh hectares and farmers are looking forward to rains lashing the area soon enough to sprout the seeds. There was some sprinkle of the showers in the last week of May and that was it. Rains disappeared after that. Bhima, Amarja, Kamalavati, Mullamari, Kajina, and other major rivers have dried up in the area.
Hyderabad Karnataka region had to receive at least 120 mm rain in the month of July. But there is a lack of 60% rains in the area. Vijayapura and Kalaburagi are suffering under the dry spell. People are in distress even over drinking water. Some areas in South Karnataka such as Kolar and Chikkaballapura are also facing shortfall of rain.
The CM had called for DCs meeting on Monday at Vidhana Soudha and discussed the further plan of action. He has said a disaster management action will be initiated to tackle the distress situation in those areas with drought kind of condition. The loss caused by natural disasters should be compensated for.
The state government has already released Rs 43 crore for this purpose, and would allocate even more funds if need be. Possibilities of supplying drinking water through tankers to places that are facing scarcity of water, is also under consideration.
While all this situation is being tackled in North Karnataka, some irresponsible MLAs belonging to BJP who have benefited thousands of crores under illegal mining, have started this cry for separate North Karnataka state. Media is using all opportunities to build various narratives around some spur of the moment talks CM HD Kumaraswamy had with the members of press in Ramanagara. Some leaders are behind this ‘separate state’ demand. Leader of Opposition, Yeddyurappa is trying to fan the fire by giving silent support to those who are crying aloud for separate state, and hoping to destabilize the government.
There is a good amount of truth in the allegation that North Karnataka has got a raw deal as far as development is concerned, ever since the formation of Karnataka was complete. But the people responsible for that are the legislators who represent the region, and no one else. Nearly 100 MLAs who have been elected from the region have hardly spoken for the region in the house, as per veteran journalist Patil Puttappa’s words. Once elected, they go and create a base for themselves in Bangalore, and come to their constituencies only when elections are close or when they are invited for the events.
Hence, the people’s representatives have ignored the cause of their people big time. People know the response BJP MLAs showed when Mahadayi water sharing dispute was being protested against, by farmers of Dharwad region recently. These are the same MLAs who are encouraging this separate state cry.
Had the Prime minister convened a meeting of Goa and Maharashtra CMs, and addressed the problem, it could have been solved amicably long ago. The PM didn’t respond even when the then CM Siddaramaiah took an all-party delegation to Delhi. Leaders like BSY and Jagadish Shettar sat silently in such meetings. Now they are all very affectionate towards North Karnataka people and want a separate state for them.
Hence the efforts to divide the state are on, full swing. BJP is doing this with the upcoming general elections in mind. Instead, they should focus on developmental works in the state, help the state get aid for regions affected by famine and drought from the centre. They shouldn’t play politics in this matter.
This is a very strange situation Karnataka is facing which is stark contradiction of natural phenomenon in state. Some regions are facing famine and some others are facing floods. The elections have got over only recently. Our leaders and MLAs have to go to people to deliver better facilities for them. Instead, they shouldn’t engage in destabilizing the government. All parties have to come together for the cause of people.
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MP: 7-year-old girl raped and murdered; minor relative detained
Barwani (MP), Jan 28 (PTI) Police on Wednesday detained a 17-year-old relative of a seven-year-old girl in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh for allegedly raping her and killing her by throwing her into a canal, a police official said.
Superintendent of Police Jagdish Dawar told reporters that the body of the child was recovered from the Indira Sagar Canal on January 26, following information from residents of a village in the Rajpur police station area of the district.
He said the post-mortem report concluded severe injuries to the girl’s private parts and attributed her death to drowning.
Dawar said a 17-year-old boy, a close relative of the girl, has been detained in connection with the rape-murder.
The teenager told the police that he kidnapped the girl from her home on the night of January 25 while her family members were asleep, took her to a nearby canal and raped her, according to the official.
When the girl started screaming during the sexual assault, the minor boy allegedly threw her into the canal, with the intention of killing her. The child drowned in the water body, the official said.
The detained minor will be produced in a juvenile court.
A case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and an investigation is underway, he added.
