Centre signs MoU with six states for water project
New Delhi, Aug 28 : Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with six states for the construction of the Lakhwar multi-purpose project in the upper Yamuna basin to deal with water crisis.
Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan, Trivendra Singh Rawat of Uttarakhand, Jai Ram Thakur of Himachal Pradesh, Manohar Lal Khattar of Haryana and Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi signed the MoU for the construction of the 204-metre high water storage project near Uttarakhand's Lohari village.
"It will create storage facilities of 330.66 million cubic metres in the upper Yamuna basin to deal with water crisis between January and June," Gadkari said.
The agreement will help conserve and utilise monsoon water that flows into the Yamuna, said the Minister, adding that 90 per cent of the project will be funded by the Centre and the remaining amount by the six states.
The total project cost is Rs 3,966.51 crore.
Gadkari said that the stored water will help irrigate 33,780 hectares of land and make available an additional 78.83 MCM of water for domestic, drinking and industrial use in the six basin states.
The Lakhwar project will also boost electricity production in Uttarakhand. The project will generate 300 megawatt power and will be executed by the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited.
"When Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan face drinking water crisis from January to May due to water shortage in the Yamuna, the project will help maintain an optimum level to resolve drinking water problem," said the Minister.
Gadkari said that the project will also help increase the Yamuna's storage capacity by 65 per cent and that there would be no drinking water problem in the coming 20-25 years.
He urged the six states to pay attention towards such water projects that are pending for 20-25 years due to absence of agreements among them.
Referring to the partition of India, the Minister said three rivers were given to India in 1947 and pointed out that "our water is flowing into Pakistan's rivers due to lack of management".
"I think maximum water can be taken to the Yamuna to help resolve the irrigation problem in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. I think water is a biggest problem in our country. There is no crisis of water, but the problem lies with water management."
The Lakhwar project was initially approved by the Planning Commission in 1976 and the construction started in 1987. After 30 per cent construction was done, the project work came to a halt in 1992 due to paucity of funds. In 2009, it was declared a national project.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Goa nightclub fire: Luthra brothers granted bail, set to walk out of jail
_vb_51.jpeg)
Panaji (PTI): A Goa court on Wednesday granted bail to Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, owners of fire-ravaged nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane, in a forgery case, paving the way for their release from jail. The brothers had earlier secured bail in a case related to the devastating blaze of last December that left 25 dead.
Advocate Parag Rao, representing the Luthras, told reporters that Judicial Magistrate First Class (Mapusa) Jude Sequeira granted regular bail to the accused in the forgery case.
With this verdict, Rao said, the brothers will be released from jail.
Rao said his clients have been asked to report to the Mapusa police station for the next five days. “We are waiting for the detailed judgment in the case,” he said.
The case pertains to allegations that the Luthra brothers used forged documents, including a fake no-objection certificate (NOC), to obtain permissions and an excise licence for operating their nightclub at Arpora village in North Goa.
According to police, the alleged forged NOC was later used to get regulatory clearances.
A sessions court at Mapusa on April 1 had granted bail to the two brothers in a case related to the deadly fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub last December that killed 25 persons.
Hours after the fire broke out at the club on December 6, 2025, the brothers had fled to Thailand, from where they were deported to India on December 17 and arrested by the Anjuna police from the coastal state.
The forgery case was registered separately by Mapusa police after a complaint from the health officer of the Candolim Primary Health Centre, who alleged that his signature had been forged and a fabricated entry had been made in the official register to secure the health NOC.
The tragedy had triggered a massive probe into fire safety violations, licensing procedures and alleged negligence in the operation of the club.
_vb_41.jpeg)
_vb_97.jpeg)
