Tamil YouTuber Felix Gerald arrested for allegedly disseminating rumours
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Chennai (PTI): Noted Tamil YouTuber Felix Gerald was arrested on Tuesday for "spreading rumours" over the Karur Vijay rally stampede incident which claimed 41 lives and injured over 50, police said.
The arrest comes close on the heels of police registering cases over 20 people for allegedly spreading rumours over the stampede and following the arrest of three persons.
Gerald runs a YouTube channel featuring content in Tamil on current topics.
Meanwhile, a special police team arrested a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) functionary Pounraj for allegedly harbouring party office-bearer Mathialagan, a key accused in the stampede case, who has already been arrested.
Mathialagan was among the three TVK office bearers named in the FIR on the stampede incident.
TVK state general secretary Bussy Anand and party deputy general secretary Nirmal Kumar are the other two party office bearers named in the FIR.
The three TVK functionaries have been booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 125 (endangering life of others), and 223 (disobedience to order), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992, has also been levelled against them, a police official said.
According to the FIR, TVK chief Vijay "deliberately" reached late at Velusamypuram in Karur district, leading to overcrowding and restlessness among the people, gathered to attend his rally on September 27.
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Karnataka tanks hold strong water storage: Minister Boseraju
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister N S Boseraju on Tuesday said that minor irrigation tanks across the state are holding good water storage levels, with the 3,788 tanks under the department’s jurisdiction providing life-sustaining water to a large agricultural command area of approximately 4,45,009 hectares.
In a statement, the Minister for Minor Irrigation, Boseraju, said that according to the latest data released by the department, a vast majority of the 3,788 minor irrigation tanks in the state have maintained good water levels.
Detailing the storage status, the report said that even in peak summer, 165 tanks are full.
Additionally, 1,355 tanks have retained more than 51 per cent capacity, 1,143 tanks have water levels up to 50 per cent, and 959 tanks are at roughly 30 per cent storage capacity.
District-wise, Davanagere leads the state in water storage, with 27 tanks remaining full even during summer. Chikkamagaluru follows closely with 46 full tanks, indicating strong water retention.
Other top-performing districts include Hassan, Tumakuru, and Kolar.
Boseraju, who also holds the portfolio of Science and Technology, said 1,184 tanks are being actively filled through 145 tank-filling lift irrigation projects under the Minor Irrigation Department.
He attributed the strong water retention to good monsoon rainfall and effective water management strategies of the government.
“It is encouraging to see such a substantial volume of water stored across our minor irrigation tanks by the end of March, remaining largely intact even as summer progresses. The fact that 1,355 tanks are nearly full and 165 tanks are brimming is a testament to the success of our tank-filling programmes and rejuvenation initiatives,” he said.
“By ensuring a continuous flow of water to these tanks through lift irrigation projects across departments, as well as supplying treated and surface water to the Bayaluseeme districts, we have taken proactive measures to prevent them from drying out during the summer,” the minister said.
According to him, these data points confirm that efforts to build a water-secure Karnataka are yielding strong results at the grassroots level.
“This water wealth preserved in our tanks will bring direct benefits to lakhs of farmers across the 4,45,009-hectare command area,” he added.
