Kodagu: Amid heavy rains, district administration imposes ban venturing into rivers, waterfalls
Madikeri: The district administration has imposed a ban on venturing into rivers, waterfalls and going near other water bodies in the midst of intensified rains.
Deputy Commissioner Venkat Raja has issued a precautionary order to prevent the public and tourists from entering water bodies, including waterfalls, streams, rivers, public lakes, dams, and reservoirs, due to the heavy rains across Kodagu district.
Meanwhile, heavy rains are affecting various parts of Kodagu district, causing trees and branches to uproot and fall, and several areas are witnessing persistent power outages.
A huge tree fell near Devarakolli on the Madikeri-Sampaje National Highway, obstructing vehicular traffic. Another tree fell across the highway near Kutta on the Kodagu-Kerala border. The Forest Department, Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company officials, and local bodies are carrying out operations to clear fallen trees and repair disrupted electricity supply.
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This comes in the wake of increasing incidents of accidental deaths of tourists in rivers and waterfalls in recent times.
In the meantime, The water level at the Harangi Reservoir on July 3 stood at 2,842.27 feet, the maximum limit of the reservoir is 2,859 feet. Rainfall at the Harangi Reservoir was recorded at 1.20 mm today, compared to 4.80 mm on the same day last year. Water inflow today was 1,649 cusecs and outflow was 200 cusecs, compared to 30 cusecs on the same day last year.
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MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for 6 yrs: Digvijaya Singh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for six years, as he accused the Election Commission of being "biased", and also questioned the need for conducting Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Participating in the discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, Singh sought removal of the ceiling on electoral expenses to ensure transparency in the election process, and alleged "vote chori (theft)" in states like Karnataka, Haryana, and Maharashtra.
He also claimed that Rahul Gandhi had submitted proof in this regard, but the Election Commission never responded.
He alleged bias by the Election Commission and wondered whether citizenship was being ascertained or a new voter list was being prepared, claiming that matriculation certificates were being demanded from individuals during the SIR exercise.
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"SIR kaha se aa gaya? Humse citizenship ke question poochhey ja rahe hain (where did SIR come from? We are being questioned regarding citizenship)... matriculation certificate is being demanded from voters... whether citizenship is being ascertained or a voter list is being prepared?" Singh questioned during his remarks.
The senior Congress leader said, "When the election commission carries out summary revision four times a year, then what is the need of SIR?"
He suggested that the delimitation exercise should not be based on population and instead on the current seat dynamics in place in the North and South India.
"(Delimitation)... jansankhya ke aadhar par nahin hona chahiye. maujooda anupaat jo dakshin aur uttar bharat ki seats hai uss par hi hona chahiye," Singh said.
Singh claimed that multiple letters were written to the Election Commission and INDIA bloc members had sought time from the body but it was never granted.
He and Home Minister Amit Shah,
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wanting to implement a "fascist dictatorship" by appointing people following a particular ideology on constitutional positions.
He claimed that Shah was never associated with the RSS, a charge debunked by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal.
"Rahul Gandhi ne apne bhashan mein kaha tha is desh mein 2014 ke baad jitne bhi samvidhanik sansthaayein hain unpar ek nishchit vichardhaara ke logon ko bithaya ja raha hai, woh yogya ho ya ayogya ho, aur unke maadhyam se, mera yeh aarop hai, fascist dictatorship laagu karna chahtey hain Narendra Modi ji (Rahul Gandhi in his speeches has said that since 2014 people from a particular ideology, whether qualified or not, are being placed in constitutional posts... my allegation is that Modi ji is trying to impose fascist dictatorship in the country," Singh said.
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Speaking on the issue of illegal immigration, Samik Bhattacharya (BJP) quoted former PM Manmohan Singh's speech on September 30, 2005, claiming that Singh had stated that "India is opposed to all illegal immigration into the country be it from Bangladesh or elsewhere. The illegal immigration should not be encouraged."
He asserted that the Election Commission is a constitutional authority, and the SIR is underway and it needs to be accepted.
He also raised the issue of political violence and demographic imbalance/changes in West Bengal.
Sandeep Kumar Pathak of the Aam Aadmi Party raised the issue of exorbitant electoral expenses and the lack of level-playing field to contest polls by common citizens for this reason. He also suggested proper verification of the voter list.
