Australia honours divers involved in Thai cave rescue
Canberra, July 24 : The Australian government on Tuesday honoured divers who were involved in the rescue of a Thai boys' soccer team from a flooded cave earlier this month.
Governor General Peter Cosgrove presented cave divers Craig Challen and Dr Richard Harris, as well as seven other Australians, with the Order of Australia and the Star of Courage for their roles in saving 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach from the cave in northern Thailand, Efe news reported.
The award ceremony was held at Government House in Canberra and was attended by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Australia's Ambassador to Thailand, among other senior figures including military and police officials.
"It was a great honour to meet our @AusFedPolice heroes involved in the rescue in Chiang Rai at the award ceremony today at Government House @TurnbullMalcolm @AngusTaylorMP", Dutton tweeted.
Cosgrove wrote on his Facebook page that the reception was the first time the rescuers had been together since they returned to Australia from Thailand on July 13, just a few days after the Thai soccer team was taken out of the cave in the complex rescue operation.
Following their removal from the cave, the boys who ranged in age from 11-16 and their 25-year-old coach, spent several days in a hospital in Chiang Rai where they received medical and psychological support.
Most of the boys were due to be ordained as Buddhist monks.
The team, known as the Wild Boars, originally entered Tham Luang cave on June 23 after a soccer training session but became trapped by a sudden storm surge that partially flooded the vast cave system.
A massive search operation was undertaken involving large numbers of Thai police officers and soldiers and several international diving experts. A pair of British divers finally found the boys on July 2 on a rock embankment.
Saman Kunan, a former Thai Navy Seal diver died during the operation after he delivered oxygen tanks to the boys.
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Shivakumar urges centre to intervene on Alamatti dam height issue
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday urged the Centre to intervene and allow Karnataka to raise the height of the Almatti dam across the Krishna river.
He also said that he will lead an all-party delegation to Delhi in this regard.
Noting that all three states -- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra -- have opposed the project, he said the Andhra Pradesh government has asked the Centre not to allow Karnataka acquire land for the proposed project to increase the dam's height from 519 meters to 524 meters.
"Andhra Pradesh government has written to the Centre asking it to refrain from giving any approval or gazette notification that allows Karnataka to carry out land acquisition for the proposed project stating the matter is pending before the Supreme Court," Shivakumar, who is also the state's water resources minister said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, the Union Water Resources Secretary has sought Karnataka's response. "We will reply to it after consulting legal experts."
"I did not expect Andhra Pradesh to react this way. (Andhra Pradesh CM) Chandrababu Naidu is an experienced politician; he is aware of everything, but they are now putting such pressure on the centre. I'm unable to understand this," he said.
Noting that the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) award permitted Karnataka to raise the dam to 524 metres and that there was no stay from the Supreme Court, the Deputy CM said and appealed to the Centre to act in accordance with earlier orders.
He also appealed to all the parliament members of Karnataka to put pressure on the central government in this regard, in the interest of the state.
"I will be sending all the details and records to our MPs; we need to build pressure on the centre, Prime Minister and the Union Jal Shakti minister on the issue when the Parliament session begins on March 10," he said, adding that he also plans to lead an all-party delegation to Delhi in this regard.
Pointing out that the Karnataka cabinet, on September 16, 2025, decided to acquire 1.33 lakh acres of land for this project in one go, through consent acquisition, and planned to allocate Rs 70,000 crore for land acquisition in three phases, Shivakumar said, adding, "Now obstacles are being caused to it."
Further delays would escalate costs, he said, as land compensation has become a major burden, with courts awarding higher payouts after farmers rejected earlier offers of Rs 8-9 lakh per acre during the previous BJP government.
"After deliberations, compensation is fixed in the range of Rs 35-40 lakh per acre, with some awards reaching Rs 10 crore because of litigations," he said, adding that around Rs 20,000 crore has already been spent on the project.
Asserting that it is "our water, our land", Shivakumar said, "I appeal to Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra not to interfere in this project; it is not good for you."
