Asst Commissioner to hoist national flag at Chamarajpet Idgah Maidan on Aug 15
Bengaluru, Aug 11: The Karnataka government on Thursday said a Revenue Department official of the rank of Assistant Commissioner will be hoisting the tricolour at Chamarajpet 'Idgah Maidan' here on August 15.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city civic body, had recently dismissed the petition filed by the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf for a 'khata' (document which identifies the ownership of a property) in its favour for the communally-sensitive Idgah Maidan, and had declared Karnataka Revenue Department to be the default owner of the land.
"Several persons and groups had come out wanting to hoist the national flag on August 15. All these days it was Corporation (BBMP) property.. now it is no more a Corporation property and has come to the Revenue Department and after consulting the Legal department, officers and intelligence chief Dayananda, it has been decided that a Revenue Department official will hoist the flag," Revenue Minister R Ashoka said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, Assistant Commissioner- Bengaluru North will hoist the flag and as per protocol an MP and local MLA among others are allowed to participate in the event, along with people.
"Deputy Commissioner of Police who has jurisdiction over the area has been asked to make all bandobast, and for no reasons other than slogans like Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram and hailing freedom fighters- no other slogans like religious will be allowed, and police commissioner will issue an order imposing restriction," he added.
Following the BBMP order, several Hindu organisations had announced that they will celebrate Independence Day on August 15 on the ground.
Also, Local Congress MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan too had announced that they will go ahead and hoist the tricolour on the ground.
Appealing to everyone to abide by law, the Minister said anyone involved in any violation or mischief will be dealt strictly in accordance with law.
He said if any one has any claims over the title of the land, they can make an appeal to the Revenue department, and it will be decided accordingly as per rules. "One can even approach the court."
The decades-old dispute over Idgah Maidan had once again come to fore earlier this year, when some Hindu outfits sought BBMP's permission to hold events at the place.
This resulted in two contrary sets of documents emerging, as the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf presented a 1965 gazette notifying the land as Wakf property, while the 1974 City Survey records and all other civic records thereafter showed the land to be a playground.
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
