Bengaluru, Jun 13: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said the state Forest department has agreed to hand over 500 acres of land, which is crucial for the implementation of Yettinahole drinking water project.
He said this after a meeting with Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre at Vikasa Soudha here.
“The Forest department has handed over 500 acres of forest land for the project. In return, the Revenue department has agreed to handover equal area of revenue land to the Forest department. The process will be completed soon,” Shivakumar, who is also the Water Resources Minister said.
The meeting, which was also attended by officials and T B Jayachandra, Karnataka government’s Special Representative in Delhi, discussed the progress of Yettinahole and Upper Bhadra projects.
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The Yettinahole project is aimed at providing drinking water to parts of Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru, Ramanagara and Bengaluru Urban districts by drawing 24 tmcft of water from the Yettinahole river in Sakleshpur taluk of Hassan district.
Noting that officials have identified challenges facing the projects and discussions were held regarding solutions in the meeting, Shivakumar said, “there were bottlenecks at 20 different places over a stretch of 260 km pertaining to forest land. We conducted a joint survey involving the Forest department and Revenue departments and the issue is now resolved. The work will start soon.”
A compensation of Rs 51 crore needs to be given to farmers in some places, of which Rs 10 crore has already been released, he said.
There are differences between the Forest and Revenue department over the compensation and this will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting.
“The balancing reservoir in Doddaballapura taluk is pending and preparations are on to start the work. In the first phase, water will be pumped to a distance of 48 km by next month. A technical committee has been formed to explore using water which is currently flowing into the sea,” he added.
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Lucknow (PTI): Pacer Akash Singh caught the eye with his unique celebration during Lucknow Super Giants' win over Chennai Super Kings, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket after a wicket, a gesture he said was aimed at "motivating" himself and "asserting dominance" over batters.
The left-arm pacer pulled out a scrappy piece of paper after each of the three wickets he took in LSG seven-wicket win over CSK, with the message reading: "Akki on fire -- Akash knows how to take wickets in T20 cricket.
The 24-year-old, who began his IPL journey with Rajasthan Royals and was part of Chennai Super Kings’ title-winning campaign in 2023 before moving to Lucknow Super Giants, registered his best IPL figures with 3 for 26 on Friday.
"'Akki knows how to take wickets in T20 cricket', right?" Akash said when asked about the message on the piece of paper, adding that it serves as a source of motivation and helps him focus on dominating batters and delivering stronger performances for the team.
"Different things motivate different people. Some days I show the paper, some days I don't, but it reflects my mindset on that particular day. When you carry a piece of paper with something written on it, you manifest things and the most important part is when those manifestations actually materialise," he added.
Akash, who hails from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, said the strong backing from the Lucknow Super Giants support staff over the last two years had played a huge role in his growth as a cricketer.
"I've been with LSG for two years and the most important thing has been the backing from the coaches, even when I'm not in the playing XI. This year we have Bharat Arun sir, last year Zaheer sir was there...Tom Moody. The way they guide us, prepare us and keep us ready for opportunities is very important when there are 25 players in the squad," he said.
"When you are not playing, you naturally seek backing and every player wants to make the most of the opportunities he gets. The support from the captain also matters a lot and with Rishabh bhaiya backing you, the confidence grows and you are able to perform better," Akash said, referring to Rishabh Pant.
Akash said Pant had asked him to trust his strengths ahead of the clash against CSK.
"He told me that the new ball is my strength and that I can swing it both ways. So I just tried to make the best use of my skills. The wicket also had good bounce, so I focused on using the bouncer effectively,” added Akash.
On his success against CSK, Akash said his experience of playing in the IPL since 2020, including a stint with CSK, helped him understand the opposition batters better, while backing his own strengths with the ball also played a key role in his impressive spell.
"Obviously, when you play in the IPL and have shared the dressing room with some players, you understand their strengths and weaknesses. My focus was first to back my own strengths, then exploit their weaknesses and also make the best use of what the wicket was offering," Akash said.
Akash said he had sensed over the last two-three games that an opportunity could come his way after being repeatedly told to "be ready", though he admitted he was unfortunate not to get a chance earlier.
"Two days before the match, during practice, I was told to be ready," he said.
Clarifying that he had not been carrying the piece of paper in anticipation, Akash said he often notes down thoughts that could help improve his game..
"Whenever I’m alone or about to sleep, any thought that comes to my mind which can help my cricket, I write it down. The other night I got this thought and jotted it down on paper," he added.
