Plea filed in Supreme Court seeking Army deployment to retrieve Kerala native from K'taka landslide
New Delhi: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking the deployment of Indian Army personnel for rescue operations on National Highway 66 in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, where a landslide occurred on July 16.
The PIL, filed by Advocate Subhash Chandran KR, states that the Karnataka government has failed to act effectively in the golden hours following the landslide and does not have a plan to tackle the situation. The petitioner alleges that despite the presence of an army cantonment in nearby Belgavi and naval resources in Karwar, no efforts have been made to mobilize the army.
The petitioner points out that a truck driver, Arjun, a native of Kerala, is trapped at the disaster site since July 16, and search operations are continuing but are not yielding productive results due to the initial inaction of the Karnataka government and police authorities.
The PIL seeks the deployment of army personnel to rescue those trapped, including Arjun, and to clear the debris using scientific methods. The petitioner also seeks a direction to the respondents (Union Government, Karnataka, and Kerala Governments) to take all possible steps to locate the stranded human life and vehicles.
The Supreme Court has been requested to hear the matter urgently, given the seriousness of the situation. The case is being argued by Senior Advocate V Chidambaram and filed through AOR Biju P Raman.
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
