Maharashtra govt reconstitutes committee to resolve border dispute with Karnataka
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has reconstituted the high-powered committee to resolve the state’s border dispute with neighbouring Karnataka.
According to a government resolution (GR) issued on Thursday, the committee, headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, was reconstituted because crucial decisions regarding the border dispute need to be taken with consensus by a non-partisan and representative body.
From time to time, the committee has been reconstituted as new governments took office. A similar exercise had been carried out on November 22, 2022, months after the then Mahayuti alliance took charge with Eknath Shinde as the chief minister.
The committee has now been reconstituted following the formation of the new government, with Fadnavis as the CM, after last year’s assembly polls.
Fadnavis heads the 18-member committee, which also includes his deputies Shinde and Ajit Pawar and former CMs Narayan Rane, Sharad Pawar and Prithviraj Chavan.
NCP (SP) MLAs Rohit Patil and Jayant Patil, ministers Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraj Desai, Prakash Abitkar, Suresh Khade, BJP legislators Sudhir Gadgil, Sachin Kalyan Shetty, leaders of opposition in the legislative assembly and council are among the other members of the committee.
The Maharashtra assembly currently does not have a leader of opposition. Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress legislators do not figure in the high-powered committee.
The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra sought to include Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to over 800 Marathi-speaking villages that are currently in Karnataka.
Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
