BELAGAVI: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar hit back at BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel and JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy over Kateel’s statement that Shivakumar should get ready to go to Tihar jail again. Shivakumar said Kateel and Kumaraswamy are not judges to send him to jail.
Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, he said he held discussions with officials of the Irrigation Department about various projects in Belagavi. “The Ghataprabha, Markendeya, Hippargi and Almatti reservoirs are up to 90 per cent full, but water storage in Malaprabha dam is 52 per cent currently,’’ he said.
While stating that there were some problems in the process of appointments to various posts in the Irrigation Department in the Belagavi division, he said 1,322 posts were sanctioned for Belagavi out of which 671 appointments were made, he said. He will initiate measures to fill the other 651 posts after going to Bengaluru on Thursday.
He said officials will hold discussions with the Rural Development Department on the proposed repairs of canals in the state. The works will be taken up under NREGA and with the help of locals, he said.
Commenting on the Kalasa-Banduri project, he said the Centre should take the initiative to resolve the differences between the stakeholder states to make way for the project, he said.