Karnataka likely to experience above normal rainfall during pre-monsoon season
Bengaluru, Feb 20 (PTI): Karnataka is expected to witness above normal rainfall during the pre-monsoon season, with significant rainfall in April and May, officials said on Thursday.
This February, temperatures were 2.5 degree celsius higher than usual, but the pre-monsoon season is expected to bring above-average rainfall, they added.
A cabinet sub-committee meeting, chaired by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, was held on Thursday to discuss the 2025 Rabi and Monsoon seasons, agriculture, drinking water supply, weather conditions, and reservoir water levels.
Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge, and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy attended the meeting.
Officials briefed the ministers, stating, "Above-normal rainfall is expected during the pre-monsoon season, with good rainfall in April and May. There is also a likelihood of increased rainfall in the last week of February and March. However, rainfall during the Rabi season has been below average, and precipitation from October to December is expected to decline."
Officials reported that February has already recorded higher-than-normal temperatures, with a 2.5 degree celsius increase over the average.
However, a temperature drop is expected in the last week of the month.
Following this, the Revenue Minister instructed officials to ensure there is no drinking water shortage across the state and to take necessary precautions.
The cabinet sub-committee also reviewed the current water storage in major reservoirs.
"Karnataka’s 14 key reservoirs currently hold 535.21 TMC of water, around 60 per cent of the average storage. Last year, at the same time, the storage was 332.52 TMC," a statement from the Revenue Minister's office said.
Expressing concern over lower water levels in some reservoirs, Gowda emphasised the need to carefully manage available water, considering irrigation requirements and future drinking water needs.
The Water Resources department has been directed to provide a clear report on expected reservoir levels in the coming months and to ensure that drinking water needs are prioritised before releasing water for irrigation.
"Due to long-term water scarcity and water quality issues, drinking water is being supplied via tankers and borewells to 66 villages across 13 taluks in five districts—Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Bengaluru Urban, and Ramanagara," the statement said.
"Similarly, tankers and borewells are supplying drinking water to 56 wards in urban local bodies across Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Urban, and Kolar districts. The meeting also discussed identifying additional villages that may face water shortages in the near future," it added.
The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department has been instructed to make comprehensive preparations by reviewing past measures and considering additional steps to address drinking water issues.
A detailed report will be presented at the next Cabinet Sub-Committee meeting, officials stated.
The Revenue Minister also informed that Rs 488.30 crore is currently available in the PD accounts (Disaster Relief Fund) of all Deputy Commissioners and Tahsildars, ensuring that financial constraints will not hinder relief measures, they added.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
