Opposition raises EVM tampering claims in Kairana, Noorpur
LUCKNOW May 28: Even as the polling for the high-stakes by-elections to Kairana and Noorpur assembly constituencies is underway, the opposition has raised concerns about the reported malfunctioning of voting machines in some areas.
"Upchunav mein jagah jagah se EVM kharab hone ki khabrein aa rahi hain, lekin phir bhi apne matadhikar ke liye zaroor jayen aur apna kartavya nibhayan," Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said on Twitter.
It loosely translates to "getting reports of problems in EVMs in the by-election, but still voters should go out and vote".
SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said 140 EVMs were tampered with in Noorpur and that similar reports have come in from Kairana.
"BJP wants to avenge their defeat in the earlier bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur anyhow and win the ongoing polls," he said. RLD spokesman Anil Dubey echoed the Samajwadi Party's claims.
He said there were reports of EVM malfunctioning in both the constituencies, especially areas dominated by the RLD-SP combine.
"We (RLD and SP) are going to meet the chief electoral officer to lodge a formal complaint in this regard," Dubey added.
courtesy : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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K’taka to launch special drive for drinking water tests in gram panchayats amid rising temperatures
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Bengaluru: As summer intensifies across Karnataka, the state government is preparing to initiate a special campaign to test drinking water across the state.
A directive is expected to be issued to all chief executive officers of zilla panchayats, instructing gram panchayats within their jurisdictions to conduct water quality tests, as reported by The New Indian Express on Thursday.
Karnataka has around 6,000 gram panchayats and their staff have been trained to conduct field tests. They check the water quality for 12 parameters, including potential of hydrogen (PH), chloride, fluoride, iron, nitrate, alkalinity, residual chlorine, and total dissolved solids. The hydrogen sulfide test is also conducted to check the presence of bacteria.
The testing has been made mandatory after several drinking water contamination cases have been reported over the years across the state, added the report.
Anjum Parvez, Additional Chief Secretary for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, said that water quality testing is routinely mandated twice a year—once before and once after the monsoon season.
“During pre-monsoon, groundwater level goes down and the quality of water has to be checked. Post monsoon, the flow of water is more, and the threat of contamination is not high, but even then water is tested. Potable drinking water is our priority,’’ TNIE report quoted Parvez as saying.
He also noted that panchayat development officers and engineers regularly inspect water supply pipelines for leakages.
The state government has taken disciplinary action in past cases involving supply of contaminated water and is now conducting special campaigns to prevent such incidents.
