karnataka English news | karnataka, Latest News & Live Updates in English | English News (Latest English News) at Lokmattimes.com

Senior Congress leader Nana Patole accused both Fadnavis and Yediyurappa for failing to ensure that water was discharged in time from the Almatti Dam in Karnataka which could have prevented the flood situation in Maharashtra from worsening and helped save precious lives."As public servants, both the CMs have failed in discharging their duties and hence they should be booked because human lives have been lost," Patole said, referring to the 37 deaths caused in Maharashtra due to the floods in Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Pune.He continued: "Had the Maharashtra CM taken up the issue of releasing Almatti Dam water well in time with the Karnataka CM, the flood situation in Maharashtra would not have been so severe, nor would so many lives be lost and lakhs displaced."Referring to Fadnavis' statement that "a national calamity" would be declared at the appropriate time, Patole countered that even after viewing the colossal tragedy and loss of lives with his own eyes, "what moment is the CM waiting for to declare this as a national crises?"The Congress also plans to consider legal options in this regard, hinted Patole, who is also the chief of the state Congress' Campaign CommitteeAnswering a querry, Patole said that "there is no point asking for their (CMs') resignations... They will not (quit)... They love to stick to power."He claimed that the protocols between the two neighbouring states over the Almatti Dam water discharge were not followed though the India Metrological Department (IMD) had forecast heavy rains well in advance."There were heavy rains in Maharashtra, the Koyna Dam (in Satara) was full and water was released, but not from the Almatti Dam (in Karnataka) as was required and should have been done," Patole pointed out.It may be recalled here that Fadnavis had spoken thrice with Yediyurappa on the issue this week, seeking the release of at least 500,000 cusecs water from the Almatti Dam, besides discussing the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.Besides Patole, other parties such as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena too have questioned the alleged delays in this matter.Sena President Uddhav Thackeray said that if Karnataka had discharged water from the Almatti Dam at least 2-3 days earlier, the situation would not have come to such a stage as it did in south-west Maharashtra.On its part, the Karnataka government said that the release of water from the Koyna Dam was creating an alarming flood-like situation in Belgaum, Vijayapure, Raichur, Kalburgi and Yadgir in the southern state.However, on Friday afternoon, Yediyurappa informed Fadnavis that around 450,000 cusecs of water has already been discharged from the Almatti Dam which is now expected to ease the flood woes in Maharashtra.( With inputs from IANS )

KarnatakaFOLLOW

Karnataka, Latest News

Heavy rains and landslips along railway tracks in Sakleshpur eroded embankment along Sakleshpur-Subramanya Road Ghat Section here, an official statement South Western Railway said on Sunday. ...

The Congress on Sunday accused the BJP-led NDA government of displaying "insensitivity" towards flood victims in the country, and said that the Centre was neither releasing required funds to the affected states nor declaring the situation as a 'natio ...

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday undertook an aerial survey of flood-affected areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka. ...

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Sunday accused the Central government of ignoring the flood situation in Karnataka and demanded an assistance of Rs 5,000 crore. ...

Water-level in Hogenakkal waterfall in Biligundlu, Tamil Nadu increased after water discharge from Krishna Raja Sagara Dam in Karnataka, followed by floods in various districts across the state. ...

Emergency response teams of the Indian Army and Navy have been relentlessly spearheading rescue and relief operations in Maharashtra, and the southern states helping thousands stranded due to severe flood situation following heavy rain that lashed o ...

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on Sunday conduct an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas of Belagavi district in Karnataka. ...

With the flood situation in the state continuing to remain grim, the Congress on Friday demanded booking Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his Karnataka counterpart B.S. Yediyurappa for 'culpable homicide' and under the Disaster Manage ...