IT companies also responsible for floods, BJP leader tells Mohandas Pai
Bengaluru: N R Ramesh, BJP Bangalore South district president, has snapped back at Mohandas Pai, senior information technology industrialist, saying in an open letter that the IT industry was equally answerable for the floods tormenting the state capital.
Ramesh wrote to Pai that IT/BT companies as well as Tech Parks in Bengaluru had contributed immensely to the mess that several parts of the city are currently in.
The open letter was written in the backdrop of Pai’s accusation that poor administration, an ineffective government, and high levels of corruption had resulted in the public works being of low quality and the rise of illegal construction in Bengaluru. All these factors, coupled with a lack of urban reforms, had made way for the floods due to the heavy downpour in the city, he had stated. Pai had launched the 'Save Bengaluru campaign' and tweeted about the failure of the Central and state governments and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
Ramesh has told Mohandas Pai, “You have, however, preferred to maintain silence on the contribution of the IT/BT sector to the current situation… IT companies that are members of the Outer Ring Road Companies Association and the Electronics City Industries Association and Tech Parks in the ITPL area of Mahadevapura had encroached upon stormwater drains (rajakaluve) and the buffer zones while constructing their buildings. You seem to have forgotten this.”
The district president, further, said that the companies in Electronic City had merely received all sorts of benefits of the system, but failed to pay Rs 350 crore to Rs 400 crore as property tax to BBMP.
He also pointed out, “Earlier administrations and officers had supported the IT companies in the latters’ works and remained silent during encroachment, which also made way for the floods in the region.”
Ramesh accused the industrialist of trying to blemish the stature of a historic city like Bengaluru by focusing on only the current administration and saying the system has failed in its duties.
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Nine Naxalites carrying cumulative bounty of Rs 43 lakh surrender in Chhattisgarh
Sukma, Jan 11: Nine hardcore Naxalites, allegedly involved in attacks on security forces and carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 43 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Saturday, police said.
The cadres, including two women, turned themselves in before senior officials from the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) here, citing disappointment with "hollow" and "inhuman" Maoist ideology and infighting within the outlawed outfit, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.
He said the surrendered Naxalites were also impressed by the state government's 'Niyad Nellanar' (your good village) scheme, which aims at facilitating development works in remote villages and stated that senior cadres were on backfoot with the increasing pressure of security forces and setting up of police camps in interior areas.
The official said Ransai alias Oyam Buska (34), the commander of platoon no 24 of Maoists, and Pradip alias Ravva Rakesh (20), a member under a company wing of PLGA battalion no. 1, were carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh each.
He said four other cadres carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh, a woman Naxalite carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh, and two others, including a woman, carried a bounty of Rs 2 lakh each.
Chavan said Ransai was allegedly involved in attacks, including the Jhara Ghati ambush in Narayanpur district in 2007, wherein seven policemen were killed; the 2007 Ranibodli (Bijapur district) attack, in which 55 security personnel died; the 2017 ambush in Burkapal (Sukma), where 25 CRPF personnel were killed and the 2020 Minpa ambush (Sukma) that killed 17 security personnel.
The other surrendered cadres were also involved in multiple attacks on security forces, he said.
Personnel from Konta police station, District Reserve Guard (DRG), Intelligence Branch Team and 2nd and 223rd battalions played a crucial role in their surrender, he said.
The official said the surrendered Naxalites were provided Rs 25,000 each and will be further rehabilitated as per the government's policy.
Last year, 792 Naxalites had surrendered in the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Sukma.
