Delhi Government takes measures to tackle water crisis amid Supreme Court warning
New Delhi: Delhi Minister Atishi announced the deployment of additional water tankers and special teams, along with an increased presence of IAS officers, to facilitate water distribution in areas facing scarcity.
The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, had stressed on the urgency for the AAP government to curb the influence of the tanker mafia and prevent water wastage.
Justices P.K. Mishra and P.B. Varale warned that failure to take immediate action could result in intervention by the Centre-controlled Delhi Police.
Highlighting spillage and the activities of the tanker mafia as primary concerns, the court stressed on the persistent water scarcity despite additional water releases from Himachal Pradesh. In a previous hearing, the court directed Himachal Pradesh to release surplus water to Delhi via Haryana.
The court demanded accountability from the Delhi government, urging them to submit a report detailing their efforts to combat water loss. With visuals of water scarcity prevalent across news channels, the court emphasized the necessity for immediate measures to control wastage and mitigate the suffering of residents.
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Karnataka plans 100-acre aqua park to boost fishing sector
Bengaluru: Karnataka is planning to set up a 100-acre integrated aqua park aimed at promoting fishing. The proposed park will offer end-to-end facilities, including fish farming, storage facilities and sports fishing.
According to a report published by Deccan Herald on Sunday, a senior official from the Karnataka Fisheries Department said the aqua park is part of a concept introduced by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The idea is to develop hubs that support the entire fishing value chain from fish seed production and feed to processing and market access.
According to the plan, the aqua park will include nine major facilities like farming of fish food, generating of fish seeds, development of fish seeds, fish farming, cold processing units, development of ornamental fish for aquariums, well-equipped market, fish transport facilities, and sports fishing.
The fisheries department has shortlisted three locations for the project, Byndoor in Udupi, Malavalli in Mandya and Almatti in Bijapur. One of these locations will be finalised based on land availability, after which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared and sent to the Union government for approval.
“We have received proposals for three locations. All of them have water bodies close by and hence there is a demand for fishing. However, space is the main criteria. If we are able to get 100 acres, we will go ahead and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted to the central ministry,” DH quoted Dinesh Kumar Kaller, director, Karnataka fisheries department as saying.
At Malavalli, near Gaganachukki, around 75 acres of land has been identified and a request has been sent to the Revenue Department. The revenue department has said that the land belongs to the forest department and talks are on. We are also looking at other locations, Kaller reportedly said.
As per the report, at present, only 11 states have an aqua park approved under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and Karnataka is confident that its proposal would also be accepted soon.
