By-election: Congress, BJP name candidates for Chincholi, Kundgol
Bengaluru, Apr 27: Congress and BJP tonight named their candidates for the May 19 by elections to Chincholi and Kundgol.
Congress has fielded Subhash Rathod from Chincholi and Kusumavathi Shivalli from Kundgol.
Rathod and Shivalli will be pitted against BJP candidates Avinash Jadhav and Chikkanagouda Patil.
Their candidature was announced by Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik in a press note Saturday night.
Subhash Rathod from Banjara community is close to Congress heavyweight Mallikarjun Kharge, whereas Shivalli is the widow of Kundgol Congress MLA C S Shivalli, whose demise about a month ago warranted the bypoll.
Meanwhile, BJP too announced the name of the two candidates from the two constituencies.
The BJP has decided to field Dr Umesh Jadhav's son Avinash Jadhav from Chincholi and Chikkanagouda Patil from Kundgol," BJP spokesperson S Prakash said.
Jadhav is the son of Congress MLA Dr Umesh Jadhav, who resigned from the assembly and joined the BJP to take on Congress heavyweight Mallikarjun Kharge in the Gulbarga Lok Sabha election recently.
His resignation warranted the bypoll in Chincholi.
The Congress decided the candidates at a meeting led by AICC general secretary and Karnataka in charge K C Venugopal, state Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao and former chief minister Siddaramaiah at the state Congress headquarters this afternoon.
Congress working president Eshwar Khandre, deputy chief minister Dr G Parameshwara, and many other senior Congress functionaries were present.
The elections will be held on May 19 and the election commission has already issued a notification to the effect.
The counting will take place on May 23 along with the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections.
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Nearly 700 km of Karnataka rivers polluted; cities, towns depend on contaminated water
Shivamogga: A total of 693.75 of river stretches across Karnataka are polluted, and water from several of these rivers is being supplied to towns and cities, the State government informed the Legislative Assembly.
According to a report published by The New Indian Express on Monday, replying to an unstarred question by Thirthahalli MLA Araga Jnanendra during the winter session in Belagavi, Forest, Environment and Biodiversity Minister Eshwar Khandre said rivers are classified into five categories, P1 to P5, based on Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels, with P1 being the most polluted.
He reportedly said untreated domestic wastewater from urban and rural areas is the main reason for river pollution. Arkavati, Lakshana Teertha, Tungabhadra, Bhadra, Tunga, Cauvery, Kabini, Kagina, Krishna, Shimsha, Bheema and Netravati are the polluted rivers and so far, 112 polluted drainages along these rivers have been identified.
Khandre explained that rivers are classified into five pollution categories P1 to P5. The Arkavati River has been placed in the P1 category, while no rivers fall under P2 and P3. Tungabhadra, Bhadra and Shimsha are categorised under P4, and eight other rivers fall under P5.
Khandre allegedly said domestic wastewater from municipalities, towns and villages along riverbeds is being discharged into at least 17 rivers, identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This is the primary cause of river pollution.
According to the report, the minister said drinking water is being supplied from polluted rivers in districts such as Mandya, Ramanagara, Vijayapura and Shivamogga. In parts of Uttara Kannada, Ballari, Vijayanagara and Bagalkot, local bodies are also drawing water from polluted river sources.
In 2022-23, CPCB identified South Pinakini, Aghanashini, Sharavathi and Gangavali rivers too as polluted. But wrote to CPCB, stating that these rivers are not polluted and sought their removal from the list. An action plan is being prepared for the South Pinakini River, he said.
On remedial measures, Khandre reportedly said the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board is setting up sewage treatment plants as per the directions of National Green Tribunal.
As per the report, under 12 river rejuvenation plans, the state generates 817.31 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage. While 41 STPs with a capacity of 614.1 MLD are operational, 203.21 MLD of sewage remains untreated.
Work is underway to establish 19 STPs with a capacity of 248.91 MLD, while 39 more STPs with a combined capacity of 357.92 MLD are in the planning stage. Progress is being monitored and reported regularly to the NGT and the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The minister reportedly said the state government gave its approval for underground drainage works worth Rs 535.56 crore in 2021 for 24 cities/towns besides Rs 523.80 crore for nine UGD projects.
