Water row: Karnataka CM Bommai to meet Union Minister
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said he would meet Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to press the Centre to resolve water disputes related to Mekedatu balancing reservoir, Mahadayi water project and Upper Krishna Project.
Bommai said he would, if needed, lead an all-party delegation from Karnataka to meet Shekhawat in the coming weeks.
He said the State would not agree to inter-linking of Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Pennar unless the allocation of water and the river basins was finalised.
"After the Assembly session, I will visit Delhi and discuss all inter-State water disputes such as Mekedatu, Mahadayi and Upper Krishna Project with Jalshakti Minister Shekhawat. I will apprise political parties in Karnataka about the outcome of our meeting, he told reporters after chairing an all-party meeting.
Karnataka Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, JD(S) leader Bandeppa Kashempur, Opposition Congress leader in the Karnataka Legislative Council B K Hariprasad, former water resources ministers D K Shivakumar, M B Patil and H K Patil were among those who attended the meeting.
The Chief Minister said Karjol would visit Delhi on Monday or Tuesday and convey the developments taken place here. It was decided in the meeting that Mekedatu project would be pursued before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
The officials said the matter was discussed five or six times in the CWMA and the final meeting will be convened. The proceedings have not arrived yet. We have written to the government at the Centre to release the details of the proceedings in the CWMA, Bommai said.
The Chief Minister said he would make efforts to see that in the next meeting of the CWMA the detailed project report is discussed and approved.
Stating that Karnataka would try to get the environment clearance, Bommai said, I will get in touch with the Union Water Resources Minister to fix a meeting with the CWMA.
The Chief Minister said he would apprise all the political parties in Karnataka about the outcome of their meeting with the Water Resources Minister.
Regarding Mahadayi project, Bommai said since water allocation has been done and the notification has been made by the tribunal concerned, the opposition members wanted the government to get the environmental clearance and start the work.
The Chief Minister exuded confidence that Karnataka would get the clearance and start the work. With regard to the Upper Krishna Project Stage-3, he said the project is pending for many years.
The project got stayed in 2011. After the final order of the Krishna Tribunal's final order, whenever we made our efforts, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana opposed it. The project has got delayed, Bommai said.
Regarding the interlinking of Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Pennar, he said everyone in the meeting were unanimous that Karnataka should give its approval only after getting its share of water.
He said the opposition leaders wanted to get the technical details of the interlinking of water. After obtaining such details, the Chief Minister said he would share them with the opposition.
On interlinking of rivers, Bommai said the basins of the four rivers first have to be finalised.
So far, no allocation has taken place. It is not possible to give our approval without finalising the allocation of water for our State. We are seeking allocation... the Chief Minister said.
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Rupee hits record low of 96.14/USD, settles at fresh closing low of 95.86/USD
Mumbai (PTI): The Indian rupee crashed below the 96/USD mark on Friday before closing at an all-time low of 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar as elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns added to the downside pressure on the rupee.
Rupee has registered over 6 per cent losses so far this year, and in the past six trading sessions, it has depreciated nearly 2 per cent as Iran war risk escalation pushed crude oil prices higher. The dollar index moved northwards after strong US retail sales and stable labour market data reduced expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Forex traders said global uncertainties, relatively high valuations, and the lack of AI-led investment opportunities have weighed on capital flows.
Moreover, weak net FDI inflows are likely to exert pressure on the balance of payments, while rising crude oil prices stoke inflation worries.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.86, then slumped to a record low of 96.14 in intraday trade, registering a fall of 50 paise from its previous close.
The USD/INR pair finally settled at 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a fall of 22 paise from its previous close, helped by likely RBI intervention.
On Thursday, the rupee weakened to a fresh record low of 95.96 before closing with a marginal gain of 2 paise at 95.64 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.15, higher by 0.34 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading up 3.14 per cent at USD 109.04 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 160.73 points to settle at 75,237.99, while Nifty declined 46.10 points to 23,643.50.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 187.46 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the country's exports in April rose by 13.78 per cent to USD 43.56 billion despite global challenges, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday.
Imports grew 10 per cent year-on-year to USD 71.94 billion in April. The trade deficit during the month stood at USD 28.38 billion.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns. Strong dollar and FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee. However, any intervention by the RBI and hiking of import duty on gold and silver may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.60 to 96.20," said Anuj Choudhary, Research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Friday hailed their talks as "historic" and "landmark", as the American leader wrapped up his three-day visit on a high note, but no deals on any contentious issues were announced.
Both Presidents, who held several rounds of talks covering a range of global issues, including the Iran war and bilateral trade frictions, concluded their discussions with a private meeting at Zhongnanhai, the well-guarded compound in Beijing where top leaders reside.
