Telangana, Andhra agree to divert Godavari water to Krishna
Hyderabad, June 28: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers on Friday decided to divert water from the Godavari river to Krishna river to tide over the water scarcity in parts of both the Telugu states.
This was decided during the talks between Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy here. They discussed various outstanding inter-state issues.
They directed the officials concerned to prepare a strategy to divert water from Godavari to Srisailam reservoir across Krishna.
The availability of water in Krishna is less, which is causing hardships to the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh, Palamuru and United Nalgonda districts in Telangana, said a statement from the office of Telangana Chief Minister.
The Chief Ministers of the two Telugu states, accompanied by their respective ministers, senior officials and advisors, held the first-ever official talks for over five hours at Pragati Bhavan, the official residence of Chandrashekhar Rao.
Both the Chief Ministers asserted that it would be their endeavour to ensure total and efficient utilisation of water resources available so that there was no scarcity of water for agriculture, industries and for the drinking water purposes in both the states.
They announced that the disputes and issues pertaining to river water sharing have been forgotten in the spirit of "let bygones be bygones" and both the states were in unanimity to get optimum benefit to both the states and its people.
KCR, as the Telangana Chief Minister is popularly known, said in his opening remarks that ever since the recent elections in Andhra Pradesh, there has been a qualitative change in relations between the two states.
"There are no egos, no disputes over the water basins, no apprehensions, there is no need for differences or disputes. If we want disputes we cannot give water to our next generations.
"KCR and Jagan will not think about themselves. They think from the people''s point of view. People have voted for us, they have put their trust in us. It is our responsibility to do good for them," he said.
"We have decided to provide water to people in both the states at a lower cost. Problems of water for the irrigation sector should be solved with the best and simple methods. Water level is going down in Krishna river. It may further get reduced in the years to come. Hence the governments have firmly resolved to utilise water from Godavari river to mitigate water problems," said Jagan Reddy.
KCR gave a powerpoint presentation on the availability of water in the rivers.
"There is availability of 4,000 TMC of water in Krishna and Godavari. By utilising this quantity of water both the states can become very fertilie. We have water available in abundance.
"About 3,000 TMC of water goes into the sea every year. We have to utilise that. We need to have wisdom to utilise that water. It all depends on our efficiency on how much water we can use.
"There is no use in running around the Tribunals and Courts for sharing water. If both the states think and walk together it is enough. It is enough if both have unanimity on utilisation of water in the two rivers for the benefit of people in both the states," said KCR.
The Telangana CM said the Centre was bringing a proposal on connectivity of rivers. "After our rivers fulfil our needs, then we can think of the Centre''s proposal," he added.
Though Chandrashekhar Rao and Jagan Reddy met several times since the latter formed the government in Andhra Pradesh a month ago, this is the first full-fledged talks between them to sort out inter-state issues.
Both the leaders have already agreed to solve all the outstanding issues amicably and foster good neighbourly relations for the welfare of people of both the states.
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.
ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
