‘The project will submerge patches of the riparian forests’

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) constituted high-level working group (HLWG) headed by Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan has said that the government should reassess the impact that the Gundia hydroelectric power project will have on the environment and proceed with it with “extreme caution”. The HLWG submitted its detailed report on the Western Ghats in New Delhi on April 15.

Chief minister Jagadish Shettar has written to Union power minister to consider setting a UMPP in Karnataka

Karnataka has sought to push the Centre to set up an Ultra Mega Power Project ( UMPP) in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district. In a letter to Union Minister of State for Power, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar noted that a team of officers visited four potential sites identified by Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI) for setting up thermal power plants in coastal region of the state last year.

Sand miners are digging deep into the embankment of the Konkan Railway bridge across the Udyavara river, 6km from the city, putting it in danger.

Govt conducted unscientific, improper survey of Endo victims, alleges leader

Dakshina Kannada District Congress has decided to stretch a helping hand to more than 5,521 Endosulfan victims from 92 villages of Sullia, Puttur, Belthangady and Bantwal taluks in the district. Addressing a press conference in Mangalore on Thursday, Social Action Group for Empowerment (SAGE) Convenor and AICC Member P V Mohan said that Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad has responded positively for the first hand report sent by district Congress about Endo victims through AICC General Secretary Oscar Fernandes and assured of taking immediate actions.

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday directed the Central and state governments to act against “endosulfan poisoning” in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts as the pesticide was wreaking havoc on many families there.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna, hearing a suo motu petition, observed that the endosulfan chemical had ruined “generations.” The court pointed out that a mother wanted her endosulfan-affected child to die as she thought there would not be anyone to look after it, in case of her death first. Such instances depicted the gravity of the situation.

Describing that the health problems caused to people in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts from the use of endosulfan are “next only to the Bhopal gas tragedy”, the State government on Wednesday submitted to the Karnataka High Court that it was time to make the polluter to pay compensation in such cases.

Submission in this regard was made before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B.V. Nagarathna during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition, initiated suo motu by the court, on the issue of sufferings of the people affected by the use of endosulfan in two districts. The PIL petition was initiated following a letter written by K.L. Manjunath, a judge of the High Court.

As many as 103 gram panchayats will be presented with the Nirmal Gram Puraskar award by Governor H R Bhardwaj on Saturday.

The gram panchayats have been selected for the award as they were “100 per cent defecation free”, said Sanjeev Kumar, Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj. Addressing the media along with RDPR Minister K S Eshwarappa, Kumar said three districts in Karnataka, including Dakshina Kannada had been declared completely free of defecation.

The contagious disease can affect human beings too, says officer

Milk Ring Test will be conducted on 1500 milk samples collected from the Dakshina Kannada Milk Union Ltd, bulk milk coolers, chilling centers, milk producers co-operative societies and private milk vendors, in order to find out the presence of Brucellosis disease in the cattle in the district. Informing the same at a technical workshop on National Control Programme on Brucellosis organised by Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, DKMUL, Veterinary Department and District Veterinary Doctors’ Association at DKMUL premises on Friday,

The State government was resorting to “jugglery of words” when speaking about the Netravati diversion project and the Yettinahole project, member of the Western Ghats Task Force B.M. Kumaraswamy said here on Wednesday.

Speaking to The Hindu here on the sidelines of a programme organised by the task force and the Department of Forests, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the government was denying that there was any attempt to divert the Netravati, and instead it was saying that it would supply drinking water to Kolar, Chickballapur, Chitradurga and Bangalore Rural districts from the Yettinahole, a tributary of the Netravati, he said.

Water scarcity always evokes a knee-jerk measure - drilling borewells; long-term plans need of the hour.

Every drop is priceless: Scramble for water is a common sight in villages during summer. Given the ever-increasing demand for the precious commodity, only scientific conservation methods will save the day. Elected representatives are demanding more and more funds from the government for drilling borewells in the 123 drought affected taluks spread across 24 districts.