K C Valley Project: JD(S) MLA shows bottle with discoloured water in K'taka Assembly
Bengaluru, Mar 10 (PTI): Demanding tertiary treatment of water under the K C Valley project that pumps treated sewage water from Bengaluru to lakes in drought-prone Kolar and Chikkaballapura districts, JD(S) MLA Samruddhi Manjunath on Tuesday displayed a bottle containing discoloured water in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
He accused the Congress government of supplying impure water to Kolar and Chikkaballapura, and alleged, "You are poisoning our children."
Responding to the MLA during the question hour, Minor Irrigation Minister N S Boseraju said that the project was planned only for secondary treatment to improve groundwater tables.
The groundwater table that had gone to 1,500 feet, has now improved following this project and water is now available at 250-300 feet, he said, adding that the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is regularly giving reports regarding the quality of water.
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Intervening, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda hit out at the JD(S) MLA of playing politics over the issue, and said the Koramangala-Challaghatta (KC) Valley project has been appreciated by UN and World Bank officials.
The IISc, which is the country's premier institution, does test every three months. The government was ready to accept recommendations by any "genuine" scientific institutions, on further improving the project, he said.
Food & Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa, who hails from the region, suggested the government convene a meeting of legislators from Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru Rural districts, as well as experts from the IISc, and other institutions involved, aimed at addressing the concerns and to provide clarity.
The project is aimed at filling up tanks with secondary-treated water, he said, clarifying that for drinking water projects, tertiary treatment is required.
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BJP using women's quota bill as front to pass Delimitation Bill that will break India: Mamata
Cooch Behar (WB) (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday alleged the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was using the proposed amendment to the women's quota law in Parliament as a front for the Delimitation Bill that would "break the country into pieces".
The TMC will fight this Central government's move at every step, she asserted at her party's poll rally here.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to tweak the women's quota law, along with the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, to implement the proposed amended women's quota law, in the Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
According to the Constitution amendment bill, Lok Sabha seats will be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats will also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
Opposing the Centre's move, Banerjee alleged that "the BJP brought the Delimitation Bill while keeping the women's reservation bill at the front".
"The BJP is trying to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to nearly 850 through the Delimitation Bill. It will break the country into pieces," the TMC supremo said.
She also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not speaking the truth about the development of north Bengal at a BJP rally last week.
"The prime minister said nothing was done for the development of north Bengal. But we spent Rs 1.72 lakh crore on the development of the region," Banerjee said and asked Modi to cross-check data before making such remarks.
