No compromise on Mekedatu project, TN opposing it for politics: CM Basavaraj Bommai
Bengaluru, Aug 5: Karnataka Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai on Thursday asserted that there is no "compromise" on the Mekedatu project that the state wants to undertake across the river Cauvery, and accused the neighbouring Tamil Nadu of opposing it for the sake of politics.
"There is no compromise on the Mekedatu issue. In Tamil Nadu it is being used for politics, whichever party they may be from, they are opposing it for the sake of politics," Bommai said.
The chief minister's comments came on a day when the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP staged a hunger strike in Thanjavur against party-ruled Karnataka's move to build a reservoir on river Cauvery at Mekedatu.
Speaking to reporters here, Bommai said everyone is aware that the project is for drinking water, power generation and for the sharing of water during the distress period and pointed out about his meeting with the Union Jal Shakti Minister along with a delegation of MPs from the state in this regard.
"I'm confident that the DPR will be approved at the earliest, also we will get other clearances, and once we get it, it is certain that we will go ahead with the project.
There is no compromise on this. If anyone is protesting, we have nothing to do with it, it is being done for politics, we will not take it into account," he added.
Mekedatu is a multipurpose (drinking and power) project, which involves building a balancing reservoir, near Kanakapura in Ramanagara district.
The project once completed is aimed at ensuring drinking water to Bengaluru and neighboring areas (4.75 TMC) and also can generate 400 MW power, and the estimated cost of the project is Rs 9,000 crore.
Last month, the then Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had written to his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin urging him not to oppose the Mekedatu project "in the right spirit" and offered to hold a bilateral meeting to address any issues.
In response, Stalin had urged Yediyurappa not to pursue the Mekedatu project, as he rejected Karnataka's stand that implementation of the project would not affect the interests of Tamil Nadu farmers.
’ಮೇಕೆದಾಟು ಯೋಜನೆ ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವುದೇ ರಾಜಿಯಿಲ್ಲ. ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಸಂಸದರ ನಿಯೋಗದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಜಲಶಕ್ತಿ ಸಚಿವರನ್ನು ಭೇಟಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು, ಡಿಪಿಆರ್ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಅನುಮೋದನೆಗಳು ದೊರಕಿದ ಕೂಡಲೇ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭ ಶತಸ್ಸಿದ್ಧ’ : ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ @BSBommai.@PMOIndia @gssjodhpur @MoJSDoWRRDGR pic.twitter.com/b6VujKy6T2
— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) August 5, 2021
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Seventeen unexplained deaths: J&K’s Badhaal village declared containment zone
Rajouri/Jammu (PTI): The remote Badhaal village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district was on Wednesday declared a containment zone and prohibitory orders imposed on all public and private gatherings in the wake of the death of 17 people belonging to three families, officials said.
Another person belonging to the village has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition, they said.
The containment orders have been imposed under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Section 163 of BNSS gives magistrates the power to issue written orders in urgent situations. These orders can be used to prevent or remedy nuisance or dangers.
According to the order issued by additional district magistrate (Rajouri) Rajeev Kumar Khajuria, the village has been divided into three containment zones – the first covering all families where deaths have occurred.
“The houses of these affected families shall be sealed and entry will be totally restricted for all individuals, including their family members, unless otherwise authorized by the designated officers/officials.”
In the containment zone 2, the order said the members of all families identified as close contacts of affected individuals be shifted to Government Medical College, Rajouri for continuous health monitoring which is mandatory.
All households will be covered under the containment zone-3 and staff will be deployed to ensure the continuous monitoring of food consumption, deployment of police personnel to enforce compliance and deployment of designated officers for maintenance of log books, the order said.
“All public and private gatherings are hereby prohibited within the jurisdiction of these containment zones, in order to prevent further spread of the infection,” the order said.
It said the designated officials shall be responsible for monitoring all meals provided to families in containment zones.
“It is mandatory for affected families and their close contacts to consume only the food and water provided by the administration. Any other food items available in the households are strictly prohibited for consumption,” the order said.
It ordered immediate replacement of all food and water supplies, and seizure of all edible materials in the infected households.
The fresh steps were taken after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the village on Tuesday.
Seventeen persons belonging to three families linked to each other have died under suspicious circumstances in the village between December 7 and January 19.
A 24-year-old man identified as Aijaz Ahmad was hospitalised on Tuesday evening after his health deteriorated.
