Cauvery water sharing: Karnataka govt. convenes all-party meeting on August 23
The Hindu
The Congress government in Karnataka has convened an all-party meeting on August 23, to discuss on the inter-State river disputes on Cauvery and Mahadayi
Amid attack by the opposition Janata Dal (Secular) and BJP over the release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu, the Congress government in Karnataka has convened an all-party meeting on August 23.
Announcing the details of the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who holds the Water Resources portfolio, told reporters here on Sunday: “We have convened the all party meeting to discuss on the inter-State river disputes on Cauvery and Mahadayi. The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will chair the meeting to be held in Vidhan Soudha at 11 a.m on Wednesday. Some members of parliament have also been invited. Several issues pertaining to the matter will be discussed.” He said: “It is our duty to protect the State because farmers of Karnataka are in distress. Rainfall has not been good.”
The announcement comes after the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who had slammed the government for releasing the Cauvery water, had earlier last week urged the government to convene the all party meeting. After the State government started release of Cauvery water following a direction from Cauvery Water Management Authority to Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs daily for 15 days, the opposition had charged the Congress government of releasing the water to help DMK, an ally in the newly formed opposition block I.N.D.I.A.
He said: “Ultimately, we want to respect all. There is a hearing tomorrow. We are cautious about it. Our friends in BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) are politicising the matter. They do not know. I do not want to politicise the issue.”
On Sunday, Mr. Shivakumar said that the State Government had already written to the authority to reconsider its direction in the light of decreased inflow into the reservoirs. “All reservoirs have reported a decrease in inflow. This is also true in Krishna basin reservoirs.” He also said that the State government has also directed the legal team to appeal against the authority’s direction, and that the legal team, including the advocate general were working on it.
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.
The 16th edition of Bhoomi Habba was held on June 8, at the Visthar campus. The festival drew a vibrant crowd who came together to celebrate eco-consciousness through a variety of engaging activities, creative workshops, panel discussions, interactive exhibits and performances, all centered around this year’s theme: “Save Water, Save Lives.”