Clearance for Kalasa Banduri can't be given without hearing us, says Goa CM Pramod Sawant
Panaji, Oct 23: After Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar announced that environment clearance (EC) has been granted to Karnataka for the Kalasa Banduri project on the Mahadayi, the Goa government on Wednesday said such a clearance could not be granted without giving it a hearing.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant claimed on Twitter that his government was not aware that clearance had been granted.
"Mhadei (river Mahadayi) is more than mother to us. We shall protect it at any cost. Officially Govt of Goa is not aware of any EC having been granted to Karnataka affecting Mhadei (Mahamayi) river," he said.
"According to us such EC can't be granted without hearing Goa government and without considering the case of state of Goa. In case such EC is issued without hearing state of Goa, we shall challenge the same before appropriate forum including NGT (national green tribunal)," he tweeted.
"We shall defend the interest of people of Goa and the state at any cost," Sawant added.
Javadekar had announced the grant of EC for the project through Twitter.
"On the follow up of my cabinet colleague @JoshiPralhad (Union Mines Minister), Kalasa Banduri drinking water project in Karnataka has been granted environmental approval," he had said.
Goa Forward Party Chief Vijai Sardesai termed the move as "Kill Mahadayi River".
"Shocked and Outraged. This is no drinking water project. This is 'Kill Mahadayi River' project. A plan we, as a party and as partners in government, fought tooth and nail," he tweeted.
Sardesai questioned Chief Minister Sawant's stand on the matter and added that "there is no better way to kill Goa's flora and fauna then to build on Mahadayi and divert water."
Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar said his party would not allow even a drop of Goa's share of water to be diverted.
The BJP governments at the Centre and in Karnataka and Goa conspired to sacrifice the lifeline of Goa, the Mhadei, despite being fully aware that it would be disastrous for the Goa, the Congress leader said.
On August 14, 2018, the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal which was hearing a dispute between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra over sharing of water from the Mhadei, allotted 13.42 TMC (including 3.9 TMC for diversion into the depleted Malaprabha river basin) from the Mhadei river basin to Karnataka.
Maharashtra was allotted 1.33 TMC water.
Both Goa and Karnataka have filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the tribunal's award.
Mhadei is more than mother to us. We shall protect it at any cost. Officially Govt. of Goa is not aware of any EC having been granted to Karnataka affecting Mhadei river.
— Dr. Pramod Sawant (@DrPramodPSawant) October 23, 2019
According to us such EC can't be granted without hearing Goa Govt. and without considering the case of State of Goa. In case such EC is issued without hearing State of Goa, we shall challenge the same before appropriate forum including NGT.
— Dr. Pramod Sawant (@DrPramodPSawant) October 23, 2019
We shall defend the interest of the people of Goa and the state at any cost.
— Dr. Pramod Sawant (@DrPramodPSawant) October 23, 2019
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
