Archives for January 2018

Bengaluru: The war of words between Karnataka and neighbouring BJP ruled Goa over the Mahadayi river water sharing dispute, has worsened with Goa planning to file a contempt petition before the Supreme Court and the Mahadeyi Water Dispute Tribunal against Karnataka for allegedly resuming work on a canal at Kankumbi on a Mahadeyi tributary “in violation” of the apex court order.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah termed as ‘reprehensible,’ the alleged abusive words used by Goa water resources Minister Vinod Palyekar against Kannadigas, a charge dismissed by the latter. Palyekar had reportedly used the abusive words on Saturday when he visited the site where Karnataka is allegedly constructing a canal.

“The abusive words used against #Kannadigas by @BJP4India Irrigation Minister from Goa are reprehensible to say the least. However we hold no grudge against the people of Goa. We will continue to strive to secure drinking water from #Mahadayi for our people,” Siddaramaiah said in a tweet.

The abusive words used against #Kannadigas by @BJP4India Irrigation Minister from Goa are reprehensible to say the least. However, we hold no grudge against the people of Goa. We will continue to strive to secure drinking water from #Mahadayi for our people.

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 14, 2018

Last year, the apex court had ordered Karnataka to stop work on the construction of the canal at Kankumbi, which was aimed at diverting water from the Mahadeyi tributary. Goa now claims they have photographic evidence to prove that the work has begun. The Goa Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma has written to his Karnataka counterpart over the ‘ongoing work’ on the tributary, which he said was in violation of the Supreme Court order.

Karnataka, which has locked horns with Goa on sharing Mahadayi water, is seeking release of 7.56 tmcft water for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project. This project is being undertaken to improve drinking water supply to the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad and districts of Belagavi and Gadag.

(Agencies)

A 15-year-old girl in Haryana, missing since last week after she left home for tuition classes, was found dead on Saturday with 19 severe injuries to her body and signs of unspeakable torture. Her liver and lungs had been ruptured and an object had been jammed into her body, doctors said.

Amid horror at the brutality of the crime, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar said one of the attackers had been identified and would be arrested soon.

The Class 10 student, from a village in Kurukshetra, went missing on Tuesday. Her mutilated, half-naked body was found near a canal about 100 kilometres away, in Jind. It was covered just by a torn shirt, and there were wounds on her face, neck, lips and chest. She was believed to have died two days earlier.

“The body had many injury marks, the private parts were mutilated and there were lot of internal injuries. Signs of sexual assault are visible and looks like three-four people were responsible, a hard and blunt thing was inserted inside her, signs of drowning also found,” said a doctor in PGI Rohtak, SK Dattarwal.

He said it was apparent that the girl had struggled to escape but was gagged, and someone sat on her chest.

The girl’s father hit out at the administration. “My daughter was kidnapped and raped. She was tortured… If administration had done its job well, an incident like this would have never happened,” he wept.

The assault has been compared to the Delhi gang-rape in which a 23-year-old medical student — who came to be known as Nirbhaya — died after being gang-raped and tortured on a moving bus in December 2012.

Two special investigation teams led by senior officers have been set up to investigate the schoolgirl’s rape, said the police in Jind.

The body of another girl, 11, was found in a village in Panipat on Sunday, the police said.

The girl was allegedly kidnapped on Saturday evening when she had left her house to throw garbage in the village dump. She was raped and strangled, the police said.

Rahul Sharma, superintendent of police, Panipat, told news agency Press Trust of India that two men in her neighbourhood had been arrested.

Last month, a six-year-old girl was raped and killed in the state’s Hisar district. She had also been tortured with a stick.

(Agencies)

The Nasheman Weekly’s Editor-in-Cheif Mr. Rizwan Asad has been selected for the prestigious Asian Arab Awards by the Asian Arab Chamber of Commerce Award. The Asian Arab Awards is nominated by the Jury from more than 21 countries and Mr. Asad was chosen for the landmark service given to the cause of Journalism in India with the publication of The Nasheman Weekly.

Asian Arab Chamber of Commerce (AACC) is focusing on strengthening economic, commercial and cultural relations between Asia and Middle East continent. To deepen this economic engagement, the governments of India and various countries have established institutional mechanisms and entered into agreements aimed at providing added impetus to trade and investment flows between the various continents. AACC is the platform to facilitate all these engagements.

The organization is being run by a consortium of National and international professionals under the guidance of an eminent board of senior bureaucrats, professionals and Industrialists globally.

“IETO is one of the unique organizations in India with presence globally and which is exclusively facilitating business with the global region fulfilling the need of providing common platform for interaction with focus on the needs of the business community. We will have discussion around the key focus areas like growth of MSME’s, Procurement of technologies, Import Export opportunities and Educational, R&D programs and cultural exchange in various sectors bringing this gap,” noted HRH Princess Fay Jahan Ara, President of the AACC.

Panaji: The Goa government has sent a team of officials to a village near the border with Karnataka amid media reports that the neighbouring state is diverting water from the Mahadeyi river. Goa Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar today said the team has been sent after taking cognisance of reports that Karnataka has resumed work on a dam to block the Mahadeyi river water at Kankumbi village on the border.

Mahadayi river riparian states Karnataka and Goa, besides Maharashtra, have been locked in a bitter dispute over sharing of its water. “After media reports of Karnataka blocking a Mahadeyi tributary and resuming work on a project at Kankumbi, I have directed our chief engineer to immediately dispatch a team of engineers to do an inspection at the site,” Palyekar told PTI.

The team has been asked to submit a report by today evening, he said. The Central government has formed a tribunal to look into the river-sharing issue between Goa and Karnataka. On Wednesday, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that ongoing dispute with Karnataka will be fought before the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal.

Parrikar had written a letter to Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddyurappa last month, saying Goa could share the river water with Karnataka for drinking purposes, and expressed his willingness to hold bilateral talks. Parrikar’s missive had evoked strong criticism from from certain quarters.

The letter created a controversy as it was addressed to the BJP leader instead to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who represents the state government. The Mahadayi (called Mandovi in Goa) originates in Karnataka and flows to Goa and Maharashtra. The water-sharing issue is politically sensitive one, especially in five north Karnataka districts. The southern state is going to polls later this year.

(PTI)

New Delhi: Members of the legal fraternity on Friday dubbed the apprehensions of four senior judges about the Supreme Court’s functioning a “major concern”, with one claiming that the issue may “just be the tip of the iceberg”.

In an unprecedented event in Indian judiciary’s history, four senior sitting judges of the Supreme Court on Friday met the media to allege that the apex court’s administration was “not in order”.

Justices J. Chelameshwar, Ranjan Gogoi, Kurien Joseph and Madan B. Lokur expressed concern about the need to protect the institution of the judiciary and said that “for the survival of democracy impartial justices are needed”.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan said he had not seen such “blatant abuse of power” during his legal career.

“I have not seen such blatant abuse of power (in exercise of assigning cases by the Chief Justice of India) as in the case of the present Chief Justice… if he has any self respect, he would resign. Because, for the four most senior judges of the Supreme Court, it clearly expresses public loss of confidence or lack of confidence,” Bhushan told a TV channel.

Speaking of late CBI Judge Brijgopal Loya’s case — whose death was said to have occured under mysterious circumstances — the noted lawyer said “it should have been listed before senior SC judges in view of the importance of the case, but instead was listed in Court Number 10, which is of Justice Arun Mishra… Most cases have been sent to the bench of Justice Arun Mishra”.

Terming the situation “alarming”, senior Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaisingh said Loya’s case may be the “tipping point” which forced the four Judges to address the issue publicly.

“Maybe, Loya’s case was the tipping point… this may just be the tip of the iceberg,” she told reporters.

She asserted, however, that the judges should not be termed “anti-CJI” and it is important for the “judiciary to survive”.

“Remember, the (Indian) judiciary is the only institution which can protect us from the excesses of the Executive and the Legislature… we all want the judiciary to survive,” she said.

Former Delhi High Court Judge Mukul Mudgal vouched for the integrity of the four judges, terming them “really responsible and respected judges” and said there must have been “compelling” reasons for them to come out in the open.

“No doubt, the Chief Justice of India is the master of the roster, but there are systems and precedents and conventions that have to be followed in a constitutional manner… Historically, the cases of constitutional importance are assigned to the most senior Judges. There have been departures from it and I think this is the reason which must have compelled them,” Mudgal told a TV channel.

Supreme Court Senior Advocate K.T.S. Tulsi termed the event “unprecedented” and “shocking” and said the judges would not have approached the media “unless having exhausted all options”.

“One could see the pain on their faces while they were speaking (to the media),” he said.

Congress leader and advocate Salman Khurshid said it is the Chief Jistice’s responsibility to set things right as the “greatest (of the judges)” and “head of the institution”.

(IANS)