The TV channels and web portals have made the news that “I have the relationship with Cycle Ravi and spoke to him over the phone several times. The CCB officials are likely to interrogate me shortly”.

“I don’t know who cycle Ravi is. But some electronic media and web portals have been tarnishing my image by telecasting false news that I have a relationship with him. I have decided to file a case against such media houses”, said former minister MB Patil.

When he was in a programme at Vijayapura, one of his friends called him and informed that some TV channels have been telecasting news that the former minister has a relationship with the rowdy sheeter. He was surprised to hear such news, he said.

“I am hearing the name of Cycle Ravi for the first time. I don’t know anything about his background and whereabouts. But the media have been saying that I have spoken to him over the phone and sent messages. I could not understand this. When I spoke to CCB Joint Commissioner Sathish Kumar and asked him about the news, he told me that ‘the phone number is mentioned in the channels is not the phone number of Cycle Ravi. The phone number belongs to Mandya Congress leader Sachchidananda. But he does not know why the TV channels are making such news’. Some media have made me as a culprit and telecast the news repeatedly. Being accountable to the people, the media should know the reality before telecasting or publishing any news. But these media have crossed their limitations which is regrettable”, the Congress leader said.

“Mandya Congress worker Sachchidananda is a supporter of my close friend and former minister Ambareesh. I know him for several years. This time, he wanted to contest from Srirangapatna constituency from the Congress. I have spoken to him several times. But his phone number was mistaken as the number of Cycle Ravi and telecast false news only to tarnish my image in public life. I would file a case against such TV channels and web portals in the court”, he said in a statement.

By : Santhosha

Bangalore; Potholes are created by rain and forms circular current of water which Carrie’s small pebbles and sediment begin to wear away a rock surface.

When Potholes are negotiated it leads to humans death and this has been a perennial problem, on Bangalore roads and they are causing accident’s and endangering the lives of common people. Potholes are tens and thousands which creates regular accident’s, public complaints and media have also continued to raise.

Each and every year lot’s and lot’s of rupees have been kept on spending, it’s not just the government but also the people around us are supposed to ensure proper responsibility into our own hands to fix the porthole.

Even as monsoon rain has started lashing the Bangalore city roads resulting in the opening of more craters, parameshwara’s office issued a statement saying, “Report a Pothole, get it fixed immediately.” Through via multi modes including the BBMP sahaya platform (bbmp.sahaaya.in) or via WhatsApp 9480685700 or by calling BBMP control room -080-22660000.

Now it’s time for citizens to find potholes and inform the authorities of BBMP so that the city roads can be fixed.

The body of a local policeman abducted by militants was found on Friday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, police said.

Javaid Ahmad Dar was abducted on Thursday evening from his home in Shopian district’s Vehil village.

Dar’s body was found in Kulgam’s Pariwan village, the police said.

Meanwhile, militants fired at Muhammad Ashraf, a cleric, in Pulwama district. His condition is said to be critical.

The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved Minimum Support Price (MSP) for summer-sown crops for the year 2018-19, which will provide farmers a profit of 50 percent or more over the cost of production.

Addressing the media, Union Minister Rajnath Singh said the cabinet had taken the “historic” decision to provide relief to distressed farmers as it would have “positive impact” on the economy.

He said that the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Production (CACP) had fixed input cost for major monsoon crop paddy at Rs 1,166 per quintal and the government had added 50 per cent profit, which would make the MSP Rs 1,750 per quintal this year — a steep increase of Rs 200 from Rs 1,550 last year.

The MSP for ‘Grade A’ variety of paddy would be Rs 1,770 per quintal while it will be Rs 2,430 per quintal for jowar — a year-on-year jump of Rs 730.

He said the MSP would be based on ‘A2 +FL’ – one of the input cost concepts recommended by the Swaminathan Commission and the Central government would spend additional Rs 15,000 crore on account of the higher MSP.

Rajnath Singh said the MSP for bajra would be Rs 1,950 per quintal — return of about 97 per cent as the input cost calculated by the CACP was Rs 990 per quintal.

The government has fixed the MSP of Rs 5,675 per quintal for arhar (66 per cent profit), Rs 6,975 for moong and Rs 5,600 for urad.

In case of cotton, the MSP has been raised to Rs 5,150 per quintal.

The MSP would be Rs 4,890 for groundnut, Rs 5,388 for sunflower, Rs 3,399 for soybean, Rs 6,249 for sesame and Rs 5,877 for nigerseed.

Rajnath Singh said the higher MSP was a part of the NDA government’s plan to double farmers’ income by 2022.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of the Aam Aadmi Party led-Delhi government and said that the Lieutenant Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice by its Council of Ministers.

The LG is also bound to send files to the President in case of differences of opinion, in exceptional matters.

The court said the LG has not been inferred with independent decision-making powers. He cannot act as an “obstructionist”.

The apex court added that the LG and the Delhi government have to work harmoniously.

The LG must realise that it is the Council of Ministers, who are answerable to the people and he cannot stall every decision of the National Capital Territory (NCT) government, the bench said.

The Cauvery Water Management Authority, which held its first meeting on Monday amidst reports of Karntaka planning to appeal in the Supreme Court against its formation, directed Karnataka to release about 31 tmcft water to Tamil Nadu in July.

“The quantum of water which has been in the tribunal award after adjusting whatever has been the surplus in the month of June that would be released by Karnataka,” Central Water Commission (CWC) and CWMA Chairman S. Masood Husain told reporters after the meeting.

As per the tribunal’s order, the tentative monthly deliveries during a normal year indicate 34 tmcft water to be released to Tamil Nadu in July. Officials at CWC inform that the excess water received by Tamil Nadu in June due to good monsoon was excess by more than 3 tmcft.

Husain said the first meeting of the authority was held in a “cordial atmosphere” and it marked a historic moment after a long period of litigation. The meeting was attended by all four party states — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

In the nine-member CWMA chaired by CWC Chairman, Karnataka is represented by its Principal Secretary, Water Resources, Rakesh Singh and Tamil Nadu government by Principal Secretary, Public Works Department, S.K. Prabakar. Kerala Water Resources Secretary Tinku Biswal and Puducherry Development Commissioner-cum-PWD Secretary A. Anbarasu were also present.

On whether Karnataka will follow the CWMA’s direction, Husain said he is hopeful that all party states will cooperate in the implementation of the tribunal award. Going by the deliberation at the meeting on Monday, he said he is fully confident about the award’s implementation.

“This is the decision of the authority and as the monsoon has been normal, we hope the reservoirs in Karnataka would be receiving the normal inflow and we hope that Karnataka would be able to release this amount. I do not see any lack of cooperation from any side,” he said.

The meeting discussed rules of business, required staff and structure, infrastructure like offices, format for maintaining data like inflow, outflow, withdrawals, cropping pattern, implementation status of the tribunal’s award for June and realisation at Biligundlu site on inter-state border.

“The authority directed Karnataka to ensure the balance quantity for July 2018 at Biligundlu adjusting the excess quantity of water realised by Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu in June 2018 subject to the assessment and recommendation by the regulation committee.” the Chairman said.

In case of Puducherry, the authority directed that the existing arrangement for the supply of water to Puducherry by Tamil Nadu will continue. The authority unanimously decided to request CWC for a proposal to set up the communication network to assess hydrological conditions.

While the authority is yet to decide the date for its next meeting, the Cauvery Water Regulation Commitee (CWRC) will meet on Thursday (July 5) to look into whatever the mandate it has been assigned and the issues referred to the committee by the authority.

Husain said that as per the gazette notification, the office of the authority will be establised in Delhi and for this the authroity has planned to approach the Union Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry for a separate office for the authority.

“This was the first meeting and we were more focussed on making the rules of business. Considering the states’ spirit of cooperation at the meeting, I believe a new era of water cooperation has started in the country,” he said.

Karnataka would protest against the formation of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CRMA) and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) by the Central government at their first meeting in New Delhi on Monday, said an official on Sunday.

“As decided by the all-party meeting here on Saturday, the state’s nominated members on the Authority and the Committee will participate in their meeting to protest against their formation by the Centre without considering views of the state government,” an official of the Chief Minister’s office told IANS here.

State Water Resources Principal Secretary Rakesh Singh and Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd Managing Director H.L. Prasanna are Karnataka’s representatives on the CWMA and CWRC.

“The meeting also directed the representatives to express displeasure to the Centre and register objection at the first meeting of the CWMA and CWRC for constituting them without discussion in Parliament on the scheme, which affects the interests of the people, especially farmers,” added the official.

The Union Water Resources Ministry on June 1 notified the Authority and the Committee as part of the scheme the apex court directed on May 18 for implementing the 2007 Cauvery Water Tribunal Award.

Central Water Commission Chairman Masood Hussain heads the CWMA, while its Irrigation Management Organisation’s Chief Engineer Navin Kumar Chairman of the CWRC and also member of the Authority.

The technical panel, which will be based in Bengaluru, is mandated to ensure Karnataka releases 177.25 tmc (thousand million cubic) feet of the river water to Tamil Nadu in a normal year as per the Tribunal award and directed by the apex court.

Mounting debt and crop losses led a farmer in Madhya Pradesh to commit suicide, officials said.

Brijmohan Patel, 40, from Gadaghat village in Hoshangabad district, drank pesticides on Sunday night, police told IANS. He was admitted to a hospital where he died late at night.

According to his relatives, Patel was troubled because he failed to repay the Rs 4 lakh loan he had taken due to poor yields.

Gunmen shot dead a businessman in Bihar’s Saran district on Thursday, triggering violent protests, police said.

Shaukat Ali was targeted near the Matitar High School, barely 100 meters away from his residence.

The victim, who ran a tent and catering business and a chicken farm, was quite popular, neighbors said regretted the loss. He was returning from his chicken farm.

Angry over the killing, hundreds blocked roads in the area.

This was the second such incident in a week. Earlier, Arvind Choudhary, a businessman from Patna, in his early 40s, was shot dead in Sugauli near Motihari, the district headquarters of East Champaran.

A man from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking protection for his four young daughters.

The father’s letter came on the same day when India was declared the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.

In the letter, the father has stated that his four daughters are being harassed by young men in the neighborhood.

The harassment takes place on a daily basis and has reached such a level that the girls have stopped attending madrassa and are forced to stay indoors. However, despite staying indoors the harassment does not end there.

Recently, the men barged into their home and threatened them of being attacked with acid.

Speaking to news agency ANI, one of the girls said, “We stopped going to madrasas due to it (harassment). They barged into our house, threatened us of acid attack. Even living at home has become difficult.”

Apart from reaching out to the police, the man has appealed to PM Modi and CM Yogi Aditynath to provide security and to look into the matter at the earliest.

“We have received a complaint from a man who alleged that his four daughters are being harassed by few men in the neighborhood. It is difficult for them to even get out of the house. Further investigation is underway,” said police officer Rajesh Kumar.