CM Basavaraj Bommai to convene all-party meet on Mekedatu issue
Bengaluru, Aug 1: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said he would convene an all-party meet in the coming days on the Mekedatu dam issue, a bone of contention between the state and Tamil Nadu.
"In the coming days I will convene an all-party meet. When it comes to the land and water related issues, all political parties become one. We will take everyone along and proceed further," he told reporters here.
Bommai said he was aware of the agitation by JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on the issue.
The row between both states has seen Karnataka asserting last month that work on the reservoir would start and protests in several parts of the Cauvery delta region in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry against the initiative.
The Rs 9,000 crore Mekedatu balancing reservoir and drinking water project across the Cauvery river in Ramanagara district aims at utilising 4.75 TMC of water for drinking purposes in Bengaluru and neighbouring areas, besides generating 400 MW power.
However, Tamil Nadu is opposed to it, saying that it will hamper the interests of the state and deprive its farmers of water for irrigation purposes.
In July, former CM Yedidyurappa had written to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, asking him not to stall the project as it was in the interest of both states to store water to meet the needs during distress years and offered to hold a bilateral meeting to resolve the differences.
On flood relief measures in Karnataka, Bommai said the government would sanction Rs 670 crore for emergency work, which would start once the water level recedes from low lying areas.
"There is water logging in Belagavi in the Krishna river catchment areas, Uttara Kannada and Udupi.
A total of 466 villages in 13 districts have been affected, 13 people have been killed and one person has been reported missing," he said.
The Chief Minister said he had held discussions on restoring road and bridge link in the affected districts with Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar, the secretary in the finance department and the Karnataka Natural Disaster Management.
Bommai said the government would provide relief within 15 days to those whose homes and crops had been damaged in the floods.
"We have already released Rs 10,000 for those whose houses have got damaged.
Apart from this, an amount of Rs five lakh for completely damaged houses, Rs three lakh for severely damaged homes and Rs 50,000 for partially damaged houses will be given," Bommai said.
He said he has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to send a central team to assess the crop damage in the state.
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EAM Jaishankar meets Jamaican PM, gifts over 10 BHISHM Cubes
Kingston (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and discussed ways to further deepen "political, economic and people-to-people cooperation."
Jaishankar also conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Holness.
"Pleased to call on Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM in Kingston. Conveyed the greetings of PM @narendramodi," Jaishankar posted on X.
"Discussed deepening our political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. Value his commitment towards further strengthening India-Jamaica relations," the post further read.
Also, the external affairs minister handed over 10 BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes as a gift to Jamaica.
"Formally handed over 10 BHISHM Cubes as a gift from India to Jamaica, in the presence of PM @AndrewHolnessJM, Health Minister @christufton and FM @kaminajsmith," Jaishankar posted on X.
"The BHISHM Cube mobile hospital system, designed for rapid deployment, will help Jamaica during disasters and emergencies. The gift of these cubes is a statement of friendship, a commitment to disaster preparedness, and an outcome of innovation," the post said.
Jaishankar arrived in Kingston on Saturday evening, marking the first leg of his nine-day tour of Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, aimed at further strengthening India's strategic and cultural ties with the Caribbean nations.
Earlier in the day, he interacted with the Indian diaspora and discussed India's ongoing transformation in infrastructure, human development and technology-driven governance and entrepreneurship with them.
He also highlighted the cricket bond between both countries as India gifted a scoreboard to Jamaica.
A scoreboard was dedicated at Sabina Park in Kingston. It is the home of the Jamaica cricket team and is the only Test cricket ground in the Caribbean island nation.
The minister expressed hope that the new scoreboard would witness many memorable innings, including those symbolising the enduring friendship between the two countries.
Cricket has long been a strong cultural bridge between India and Jamaica, which is part of the West Indies cricket team.
Jamaican players, including Chris Gayle, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding, have played a major role in shaping the legacy of West Indies cricket in the international arena, contributing to its dominance in earlier decades and its continued global appeal.
