Motorist killed, pillion rider injured in accident in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): A motorist died and the pillion rider was injured in an accident on Wednesday after their two-wheeler, allegedly hit by another vehicle from behind, rammed into a stationary state run BMTC bus here, officials said.
According to Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), the accident occurred near Sonnenahalli area when the two-wheeler allegedly attempted to overtake the bus which was halted at a bus stop near Dodda Basti on the Ramasandra- K R Market route.
The mini truck coming from behind crashed into the bike, causing it to hit the rear portion of the bus.
While the rider died on the spot, the person seated behind sustained leg injuries and was shifted to a nearby hospital, the BMTC said, in a statement.
BMTC further stated that neither its bus nor its driver were responsible for the accident.
Chief Traffic Manager (Operations) Prabhakar Reddy G T, along with senior officials and accident investigation staff, inspected the spot.
A case has been registered in the regard, police said, adding investigation is underway.
Meanwhile, a woman was killed and two others injured in a head-on collision between a tanker lorry and a car in Mangaluru, police said.
The accident happened on the Madikeri-Sullia National Highway near Kodapale in Sullia taluk.
The tanker lorry travelling from Madikeri towards Sullia collided with the car coming from the opposite direction, they said.
According to police, the car driver and his wife sustained injuries. They were first taken to KVG Hospital, Sullia, before being shifted to a hospital in Mangaluru for advanced treatment.
A case has been registered at the Sullia police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said, adding further investigation is underway.
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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.
