Ex-Karnataka CM Bommai demands immediate halt to release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu
Bengaluru (PTI): Former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday demanded that the state government immediately stop the release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu, file an appeal in the Supreme Court and fight a legal battle.
The BJP leader accused the Congress government of failing to protect the interests of farmers and the drinking water needs of people in Karnataka.
"The government has been faltering on the Cauvery issue since the beginning. Already about 15 TMC water, by way of releasing 10 thousand cusecs (cubic feet per second) water everyday, has been released as per the order of Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) directive but yet no legal action has been taken against it," he alleged.
Bommai wondered as to what was the point of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who holds Water Resources portfolio, discussing with legal experts now when the government has already started releasing 5,000 cusecs of water daily on the instructions of CWMA.
An appeal against the previous order should have already been filed with the Supreme Court, which has not been done yet, he said.
"I demand that the release of water should be immediately stopped and an appeal to the Supreme Court should be filed and a legal fight should be initiated by making strong convictions. The Congress government has failed to protect the drinking water requirements of Karnataka state and the interest of the farmers," Bommai said.
Earlier, CWMA had ordered Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of water daily for 15 days. Karnataka later appealed to the authority against its order saying that there were inadequate rains in the watershed regions of Cauvery.
The CWMA ordered Karnataka to release water to ensure that 5,000 cusecs reaches Biligundlu in Tamil Nadu daily till September 12.
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Gold smuggling racket busted at Bengaluru airport, 5 arrested
Bengaluru (PTI): The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a major international gold smuggling syndicate operating through Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru following a coordinated operation, according to an official statement.
Five people have been arrested so far in connection with the case and efforts are underway to identify the key masterminds and dismantle the entire network, officials said.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, officers of the DRI’s Bengaluru Zonal Unit mounted surveillance at Terminal 2 of the airport, leading to the interception of a network involving foreign nationals and local facilitators.
The operation, conducted over April 6 and 7, culminated in the seizure of 3.356 kg of high-purity gold worth about Rs 5 crore in paste form.
“The officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Bengaluru Zonal Unit, have successfully busted a major international gold smuggling syndicate operating through Kempegowda International Airport (KIAL), Bengaluru,” the agency said in a press release.
Officials said the contraband was ingeniously concealed in paste form inside capsule-shaped packets, highlighting the sophisticated methods adopted by the syndicate.
Investigations revealed that carriers arriving from abroad deliberately chose Bengaluru as a transit point, exploiting longer layovers to facilitate covert transfers within the airport premises.
“The gold was concealed on the body and transferred using a pre-arranged passcode system inside sensitive areas such as washrooms and smoking zones, thereby bypassing Customs scrutiny,” the statement said.
The use of coded exchanges within restricted zones enabled the syndicate to evade routine checks, it said, adding that the probe also uncovered insider involvement within the airport ecosystem.
“The syndicate had further infiltrated the airport ecosystem, with the involvement of an insider who misused authorised access to restricted zones to receive and smuggle out the contraband,” the DRI said.
The operation also revealed the use of encrypted communication platforms featuring coded messages and disappearing chats.
Authorities said preliminary investigations indicate the involvement of a wider international network.
“Preliminary investigation indicates that the network is part of a larger cross-border smuggling syndicate involving foreign operatives, suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals, working in tandem with domestic handlers and facilitators,” the DRI said.
Officials said the case reflects the increasing sophistication of smuggling operations and reiterated that the agency remains committed to curbing such organised economic offences.
