Centre clears Kalasa Banduri project in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Oct 23: The Centre has accorded environmental clearance to the Karnataka government's long standing demand for the Kalasa Banduri project, aimed at providing drinking water to three north Karnataka districts by diverting water from the Mahadayi river in Goa.
"On the follow up of my cabinet colleague (Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs) Pralhad Joshi, Kalasa Banduri drinking water project in Karnataka has been granted Environmental Approval, tweeted Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa thanked the Union Government for granting the environmental clearance.
"The Environment Ministry has given its nod to the Kalasa Banduri project, almost paving the way for its completion," he said.
The Chief Minister said his government had promised that it would set at rest the controversy related to the project, which was evident in the centre clearing the decks for its completion.
"We will initiate steps to start the project, Yediyurappa said.
The project is aimed at providing drinking water to the three important districts of north Karnataka Belagavi, Gadag and Dharwad, which go parched in summer due to acute water scarcity.
The project involves diverting water from Mahadayi river, the lifeline of Goa, into the Malaprabha river.
The scheme, pending for decades, was revived when S M Krishna was the Chief Minister in 2002, but soon ran into trouble when the then chief minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar raised objections, stating that it would affect the flora and fauna of the state.
Hence, it was dropped.
However, there was growing demand for the approval of the project and many demonstrations and protests took place in North Karnataka for its approval.
The issue was the main poll plank of both Congress and the BJP during the Assembly election last year.
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Senior citizen duped of Rs 23.5 lakh on threat of digital arrest in Thane district
Thane (PTI): A 68-year-old man was allegedly cheated of Rs 23.5 lakh by cyber fraudsters who threatened him with digital arrest in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Monday.
This is a second such incident reported in the district this week, an official said.
Based on a complaint, the Kalyan police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, Assistant Inspector Vinod Patil of Mahatma Phule police station said.
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"The complainant alleged that two unidentified persons cheated him of Rs 23.5 lakh by threatening to place him under digital arrest and forced him to transfer money through online transactions between December 8 and 12," Patil said.
'Digital arrest’ is a growing form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials or personnel of government agencies and intimidate victims through audio/video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to pay money.
He said that the accused allegedly contacted the victim on WhatsApp video calls and claimed that his bank transactions were suspicious and linked to alleged irregularities.
"The fraudsters told him that he could be placed under digital arrest, but assured him that they would help him avoid legal action if he cooperated," the officer said.
He said that the accused repeatedly threatened the senior citizen and put pressure on him to make multiple online money transfers amounting to Rs 23.5 lakh.
The fraud came to light after the victim narrated the incident to acquaintances and approached the police on realising he had been duped.
"We are analysing bank transaction details, call records and digital evidence to track down the accused," Patil said.
