Maharashtra's objection on Alamatti dam height is baseless: Minister MB Patil
Bengaluru, Aug 1 (PTI): Karnataka Industries Minister M B Patil on Friday dismissed Maharashtra's claim that raising the height of the Alamatti dam on the Krishna river would cause floods in Sangli and Kolhapur districts.
Asserting that this argument has already been rejected by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal, the Supreme Court, and even in the Lok Sabha, he termed Maharashtra's objection as "politically motivated".
The Minister was reacting to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting the Union government to stop Karnataka from raising the height of Almatti Dam on the Krishna river, saying it would worsen the floods in southern Maharashtra's Sangli and Kolhapur districts.
Fadnavis has written a letter to Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil in this regard.
"Sangli and surrounding regions in Maharashtra witnessed severe floods in 1964, 1976, 1994 and 1997 — all before the construction of the Alamatti dam. Moreover, as early as the year 2000, the Supreme Court had ruled that Karnataka is entitled to raise the height of the dam to 524.256 metres," Patil, who had served as the Water Resources Minister in the past, said.
He further pointed out that Maharashtra had raised the matter again in 2005 before the Krishna Water Tribunal, which also rejected the claim.
"The Tribunal, in its detailed reports of 2010 and 2013, clearly stated that the Alamatti dam was not responsible for floods in Sangli and Kolhapur. It even considered the impact of the Hipparagi dam in this context but found no basis for Maharashtra's claim. No state has challenged the verdict of the second Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal constituted to examine such matters," he said in a statement.
Noting that even the erstwhile unified Andhra Pradesh had once opposed the raising of Alamatti's height, claiming it would affect its share of water, Patil said that, too, was dismissed.
"Maharashtra's current objection is politically motivated. Having served as Water Resources Minister for five years, I have complete clarity on the issue," he said.
Claiming that rampant encroachment on catchment areas in Sangli district was a more credible reason for flooding and that he possessed a report on the matter, the Minister urged the Maharashtra government to focus on resolving such issues rather than obstructing Karnataka's development initiatives.
He also stated that he would hand over all relevant documents to the current Karnataka Water Resources Minister and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar. "Our state will give a befitting reply to Maharashtra's objections," he added.
Stating that the Water Resources Minister will respond to Maharashtra's objections, Home Minister G Parameshwara told reporters, protecting Karnataka's interest was important, and increasing the height of the Alamatti dam would help Karnataka store its share of water.
The government will take all necessary measures to protect the state's interest and stress this before the Centre and other states, he said.
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ICC right to pull up Pakistan for boycotting Indo-Pak fixture: Rajeev Shukla
New Delhi (PTI): BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla on Monday said the the International Cricket Council (ICC) was right in warning Pakistan of severe repercussions for its selective pullout from the high-profile T20 World Cup contest against India in Colombo on February 15.
Pakistan's decision, conveyed through an official government statement, is being seen as a political protest linked to Bangladesh's removal from the tournament after the world body declined its request to shift matches from India to Sri Lanka on security grounds.
The ICC has already warned Pakistan Cricket Board the a boycott of the marquee fixture could lead to punitive sanctions and said that the decision is not in the interest of the the game in general.
"The ICC has issued a big statement on this subject. It has highlighted element of sportsmanship. We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI will not make any comment until we speak to the ICC," Shukla told reporters here.
The raging controversy was sparked by Bangladesh pacer's Mustafizur Rahman's ouster from the IPL on instructions of the BCCI for unspecified reasons. Bangladesh refused to travel to India after that citing security concerns.
Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor said the game can't be held to ransom like the way it is being at the moment.
"It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides, frankly. I don't think that Mustafizur (Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman) should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was most unfortunate intrusion of politics," Tharoor told reporters.
"I think the Bangladeshi reaction was an overreaction but it is also a reflection of the same and Pakistan is trying to show its solidarity with Bangladesh. This whole thing is spiralling out of control.
"I honestly think this is now a wake up call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis, the ICC could be the platform for it - just say, let's call off this nonsense...You can't go on like this forever," he said.
The India-Pakistan clash is the most anticipated fixture of any ICC event, drawing peak global viewership, sponsorship interest and broadcast revenues.
The host broadcaster could incur advertisement revenue losses which could be anything in the range of Rs 200 crore to Rs 250 crore for a marquee game whose 10 second commercial slot can cost up to Rs 40 lakh.
While a walkover would hand full points to India, the ICC retains the authority to impose financial penalties on the PCB.
To get a walkover, the opposition team needs to be present on the ground for the coin toss.
The Indian team will therefore travel to Sri Lanka and Suryakumar Yadav will be walking out for the toss. Once Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha doesn't appear, the match referee will award a walkover and two points to India.
There could also be a host of sanctions awaiting Pakistan, including docking of WTC points, no movement in ICC rankings, top member nations refusing to travel there and last but not the least -- sanctions on participation of players in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Pakistan are scheduled to open their campaign against the Netherlands on February 7, followed by matches against USA on February 10 and Namibia on February 18. All their matches will be played at the SSC ground in Colombo.
