Mahadayi river row: Farmers turn politicos

Hubballi: Disillusioned with both the Congress and BJP's posturing on the Mahadayi water dispute,  farmers here have now decided to take things into their own hands and on Monday launched a political party, the Jana Samanyara Paksha  to fight for their cause.

The party, which has the tractor as its symbol,  will field candidates in all constituencies of the state in the coming Assembly poll. 

Formally inaugurating the  party at the pilgrimage centre of Kudal Sangam in Bagalkot district,  the farmers pledged to complete the Kalasa Banduri project within a month by diverting the water of the Mahadayi river  to the Malaprabha reservoir with the involvement of people. They  plan to mobilise Rs 20 crore for the project though voluntary contributions collected from the region.

Taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to intervene in the dispute and find an amicable solution to it, president of the party, Dr Ayyappa Satish accused him of misleading the farmers through his speeches. He added disparagingly that he was a member of  the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), which he called "an organisation for the unemployed." 

"All  parties have given us hollow assurances so far on the Mahadayi water dispute. So we will work to redress the regional imbalance in North Karnataka ourselves. We have launched this party after consultation with several farmers leaders. The (Kalassa Banduri) project report  has been prepared after discussion with legal experts and engineers over the last few months and we are awaiting the Centre's approval as we are prepared to complete it on our own," he added.

A farmer, who has been agitating for the Mahadayi river water, Vijay Kulkarni, said his party was committed to completing the Kalasa Banduri project without assistance from either the state or Centre.

Pattan: ban Palyekar’s  entry into karnataka
Demanding that the state government ban  the entry of Goa Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar into Karnataka for abusing people here, Congress Chief Whip Ashok Pattan hit back at Palyekar calling the latter the ‘real harami.' Objecting to the use of such bad language by a minister, Pattan questioned the latter's culture.

Speaking to the media at Kankumbi, Pattan warned the Goa government not to cross its limits and said its political gimmick ahead of elections would not materialise. He objected to the entry of Palyekar into the Mahadayi project site at Kankumbi without bringing it to the notice of the Belagavi district administration and wondered what was the need for Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to write a letter on the Mahadayi project to BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa.