'Fake letter' on home minister's name: BJP spokesman Hemanth Kumar arrested
Bengaluru, Apr 27: A journalist was arrested here Saturday for allegedly circulating a "fake letter,"purportedly written by home minister M B Patil to Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi in 2017 on religion tag to the Lingayat sect.
Patil had termed the letter fake and alleged that it was a conspiracy against him by his rivals.
Inspector General of Police CID, economic offence wing and cyber crime Hemant Nimbalkar told PTI that Hemant Kumar was arrested here Saturday.
Kumar is special correspondent of a Delhi based English and Hindi magazine.
Police in a release said Hemanth Kumar was arrested, "based on credible evidence corroborated by oral statement."
He was produced before a court, which granted police custody of Kumar till April 30, it said.
The 'letter' had first emerged during the Karnataka assembly elections in 2018.
It resurfaced during the current Lok Sabha election with BJP first publishing it on its Twitter handle on April 15.
Condemning the arrest, a delegation of BJP leaders, led by MLAs Arvind Limbavali and Suresh Kumar submitted a memorandum to the Director General of Police Neelamani M Raju.
Later, speaking to reporters, Limbavali alleged that all those supporting the BJP and working for the party during the election are being targeted at the instance of home minister.
Police barged into the office and arrested Hemanth Kumar, who is a BJPsympathiser, he said.
Patil has repeatedly termed it a fake letter, but it kept resurfacing time and again.
When it came up again,Patil, as home minister, took serious note of it.
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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.
