Karnataka BJP delegation to meet Amit Shah
Bengaluru (PTI): A delegation of the Karnataka BJP will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Monday night, the party state unit said.
"The delegation will submit a report to Amit Shah regarding the Dharmasthala issue. We will also discuss the Koppal incident and other cases of attacks on Hindus," a statement issued by the BJP said.
The Dharmasthala controversy erupted after a former sanitation worker alleged that while he was in service, he was, over a period of time, forced to bury several dead bodies, including the bodies of women, some of which bore marks of sexual violence.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), was formed by the state government to look into these allegations. SIT led excavations at several places, identified by the complainant-witness, along the banks of the River Nethravathi to see if there were skeletal remains. In two of the places, they found skeletal remains.
The sanitation worker, whose identity was not revealed earlier, was arrested later for perjury and identified as C N Chinnaiah. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said there was a conspiracy to defame Dharmasthala. The BJP has termed it a conspiracy to malign the temple and held a protest.
In Koppal, a 27-year-old youth leader Gavisiddappa Nayak was murdered on August 3. The BJP has demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
The delegation that will meet Shah include Opposition Leader R Ashoka, Legislative Council Opposition Leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, MLA Harish Poonja and BJP legislators from the Mangaluru region, the statement said.
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Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
