
Water Resources dept. to be equipped to cater for agriculture
The Hindu
Minister launches work for Poolakkadavu regulator-cum-bridge
The Water Resources Department will be equipped to cater more for the agriculture sector, Minister for Water Resources Roshy Augustine has said. Launching work for the Poolakkadavu regulator-cum-bridge here recently, the Minister pointed out that youngsters were taking up agriculture during the pandemic, and that barren lands were being utilised. Hence, the department will prioritise efforts to strengthen the sector. The Minister said the Poolakkadavu project would serve multiple purposes. Besides ensuring drinking water supply and enriching the farm sector, the project will add to the natural beauty of the region and support tourism development, he said, adding that the department was making efforts to introduce irrigation tourism.
In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












