Bengaluru, June 25: As the centre has notified the Cauvery Water Management Board without consulting Karnataka government, the government has decided to convene an all party meeting to discuss on further steps to be taken.
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy along with Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwar and Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar held a prolonged meeting with the higher officials at the Vidhana Soudha on Monday and discussed the pros and cons of formation of the Board.
DK Shivakumar said that Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari on June 18 related to formation of the Board and apprised both of them the apprehensions of the state and appealed them solve them.
Speaking to reporters later, Shivakumar said that the Prime Minister had promised of convening a meeting to discuss the issue. But within overnight, the centre has constituted the Board against the interests of the state. “The centre did not hear our grievances. As per the provisions made in the Board, if only six members attend the Board meeting, it is valid and can take decisions. But the state government has opposed this factor. Opinion from the Advocate General and legal experts was taken and it was also decided to convince the Supreme Court on the injustice to be meted out to the state”, he said.
They got the information that the Board meeting would be held on July 2. As there are chances of taking decisions against Karnataka state in the absence of the representatives from the state, it was decided to send Water Resources Department Secretary Rakesh Singh and Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited Managing Director HL Prasanna as state’s representatives. Before the next Parliament Session, it was decided to convene an all party leaders meeting to get their suggestions on next steps of the state government, he said.
The state government has already sent a letter to the Centre appointing two officers as the representatives of the state for the Board on June 23. “We are fighting neither with the center nor with the Supreme Court. But we want justice. We appeal the Prime Minister and the Supreme Court for the justice”, Shivakumar said.
As alleged by the Opposition party, the government has not delayed in this issue. It is the work of BJP to make allegation. But Cauvery water dispute is the state issue and he would appeal the Opposition leaders to join hands with the government for the interests of the state, he said.
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Puttur: An inhumane incident has been reported in Puttur, where the body of a worker who died during work was transported in a pickup vehicle and left on the road in front of his house. Dalit organisations held a protest in front of the Puttur City Police Station today condemning the incident.
The incident occurred on Saturday in the Salmara area of Chikkamudnoor village in Puttur taluk. The deceased, Shivappa (69), was a labourer from Salmara Tarigudde.
According to reports, Shivappa was taken to work in the morning by Henry Travo of Salmara Travo Industries in a pickup vehicle. While at the worksite, Shivappa reportedly fell seriously ill, and in the afternoon, he was brought back in the pickup and left lying on the road in front of his house. "When my mother and I went to check, we found that my father had passed away. Later with the help of our neighbours we brought the dead body inside," said Shivappa’s daughter, Usha, in her police statement.
Usha’s statement has led to the Puttur City Police registering a case. The police have seized the pickup vehicle that was allegedly used to transport the body.
Various Dalit organisations held a protest in front of the Puttur Town Police Station, condemning the inhumane act of leaving Shivappa's body on the roadside.
Following the protest, police went to Salmara Tavromil and retrieved the vehicle that had been used to transport the body, which they have now seized.
During this time, Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai, Dalit leaders, BJP leader Arun Kumar Puthil, and others were present.
MLA Ashok Kumar Rai questioned the delay in the police investigation, stating that abandoning the body in such a manner was not acceptable. He has instructed the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.