Farmers move Karnataka HC against Disneyland-style amusement park at Brindavan Garden
Bengaluru: Farmers from Mandya district have reportedly filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court challenging the state government’s decision to transform Brindavan Garden, located at the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam, into a Disneyland-like space. The petitioners argue that the project poses serious environmental threats and undermines the interests of the farming community.
A vacation division bench of Justices B.M. Shyam Prasad and K.V. Aravind has issued notices to several authorities of the state and central governments, including the Ministry of Jal Shakti, National Dam Authority, state chief secretary, water resources, agriculture, forest and ecology departments, Kaveri Neeravari Nigam Ltd and other authorities of Mandya district, as reported by The New Indian Express on Thursday.
This was after they heard the petition filed by K. Boraiah and four others from KRS village and nearby areas, questioning the tenders issued to set up the amusement park in the name of Brindavan Garden Upgradation without statutory clearance, including from the gram panchayat.
The petitioners argue that the project violates Articles 48-A and 53A of the Indian Constitution, the Karnataka Forest Act, the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
The petitioners contend that turning the historic garden into a non-agricultural commercial hub—expected to attract 10,000 visitors per day—would result in significant damage to the region's agricultural ecosystem, the report added.
The dam is around 120-years-old and this has not been taken into consideration by authorities, they further alleged.
The first notification was issued on September 9, 2024, and the third notification on March 15, 2025. The urgency behind the PIL stems from the state’s May 13 decision to call for tenders for the Rs 2,663 crore amusement park project, alongside a Rs 100 crore Cauvery Arathi event, TNIE mentioned.
The petitioners have urged the court to stay the tender process, calling the state government’s actions arbitrary, hasty, and disastrous for the agrarian sector.
The matter is scheduled for further hearing on June 9, 2025.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
