Afghanistan, India Inaugurate Major Dam

[Vikrant]

It is called friendship dam.

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a multi-million-dollar dam in western Afghanistan on Saturday that will bring power and irrigation to vast tracts of the war-torn country.

The Afghan-India Friendship Dam in Herat province, which borders Iran, was built with Indian aid at a cost of $300 million and was under construction for about a decade.

Modi arrived in Afghanistan Saturday for the formal inauguration of the project, which will provide 42 megawatts of power and irrigate 75,000 hectares (185,000 acres) of agricultural land.

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Afghanistan, India Inaugurate Major Dam

 

[irosie91]

no doubt MODI is a nice guy ----but he makes questionable friends. I hope he can keep things under control for the UP COMING
ramadingdong festivities

 

[waltky]

Fight over water in India...

South Indian state bursts into violent protests after country’s Supreme Court orders water sharing
Monday 12th September, 2016 - Following a crucial verdict by India’s Supreme Court ordering the country’s south Indian state of Karnataka to release water from a disputed river to neighbouring Tamil Nadu - both the states have faced unlawful situations.

The country’s Apex court ordered Karnataka on Monday to release 12,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of Cauvery river water every day to Tamil Nadu until September 20. This is a modification of the court’s order released on September 5 when it has ordered Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for next 10 days to Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery River originates in Karnataka and flows into Tamil Nadu and has been the source of a bloody water dispute for decades. Karnataka argued in court that it did not have enough water reserves to share. Earlier, reports noted that the court had directed Tamil Nadu to approach the Supervisory Committee within three days for the release of Cauvery water as per the final order of Tribunal.

Karnataka is said to have urged the court to reconsider the order that now forces the state to release more water to its neighbour - but the court rejected the request. The court also reportedly criticised the protests that were conducted in Karnataka stating, “citizens cannot become a law unto themselves.” Protesters in Bangalore burnt vehicles and threw stones at them on Monday even as armed reserve police tried to contain the violence in the city. The state of Karnataka even tried to stop buses from plying to Tamil Nadu and other vehicles too were stopped from entering the state. Ahead of the violence spilling out to the streets of the capital - schools, colleges and even some offices remained closed in Bangalore, with metro services being stopped for a brief period of time.

Reports also emerged of a Karnataka hotel in Chennai, New Woodlands Hotel being vandalised by a fringe group, with its windows and glasses being broken. Four people were arrested and ten people were involved in the attack after a petrol bomb was thrown in and pamphlets warning retaliation if Tamils were targeted in Karnataka were dropped around. Reports also emerged of five tourist vehicles from Karnataka being damaged by protesters in southern Tamil Nadu. In a letter addressed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa - Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is said to have urged Tamil Nadu government to take action against the violent protesters that attacked Kannada speaking people.

He further addressed reports of an attack on a man who reportedly was Tamil, claiming that reports were “blown out of proportion.” The man was said to have been attacked and humiliated in Bangalore over his comments on social media on the Cauvery dispute. The video of the man, an engineering student being slapped and kicked by other men went viral on the social media after he reportedly put up a post on Facebook, mocking Kannada actors, that too went viral. Following the verdict, tensions escalated in both the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with verbal violence spilling onto the virtual space - social media was filled with taunts and jibes from people on either sides.

South Indian state bursts into violent protests after countrys Supreme Court orders water sharing

See also:

Why water war has broken out in India's Silicon Valley
Tue, 13 Sep 2016 - TS Sudhir explains why violence has broken out in India's technology hub Bangalore over a long-running dispute about water.

Violence has broken out in India's technology hub Bangalore in Karnataka state over a long-running dispute about water. Protesters are angry at a Supreme Court ruling ordering Karnataka to share water from the Cauvery river with neighbouring Tamil Nadu. TS Sudhir reports on the latest crisis. On Monday afternoon, a school bus was stopped in the Banashankari area in southern Bangalore. Three drunk men got into the bus and asked aloud: "Which child belongs to Karnataka and and which child belongs to Tamil Nadu?''

Indian fire fighters extinguish lorries set to fire by pro-Karnataka activists (unseen) during a protest in Bangalore, India​

The 15-odd students, aged between 10 and 14, were stunned. Their school had asked them to leave early because the situation was tense, with violence and arson breaking out in many parts of the city. "Luckily the driver handled it tactfully. He told the intruders that everyone was a native of Bangalore and that their families supported Karnataka on [water sharing with] Cauvery,'' said a parent, not wanting to be identified.

Battle for access

Earlier this month India's Supreme Court ruled that Karnataka must release 12,000 cubic feet of water per second to Tamil Nadu from the Cauvery river until 20 September. Both states say they urgently need the water for irrigation and a battle about access to it has raged for decades.

India's water war

Related:

India to 'divert rivers' to tackle drought
16 May 2016 - India is set to divert water from its rivers to deal with a severe drought, a senior minister has told the BBC.

Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said transferring water, including from major rivers like the Brahmaputra and the Ganges, to drought-prone areas is now her government's top priority. At least 330 million people are affected by drought in India. The drought is taking place as a heat wave extends across much of India, with temperatures in excess of 40C. The Inter Linking of Rivers (ILR) has 30 links planned for water-transfer, 14 of them fed by Himalayan glaciers in the north of the country and 16 in peninsular India. Environmentalists have opposed the project, arguing it will invite ecological disaster but the Supreme Court has ordered its implementation.

'First in India's history'

"Interlinking of rivers is our prime agenda and we have got the people's support and I am determined to do it on the fast track," Ms Bharti said. "We are going ahead with five links [of the rivers] now and the first one, the Ken-Betwa link [in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh] is going to start any time now. "And then we will have the Damnaganga-Pinjal interlink which will sort out the Mumbai drinking water facility." Ms Bharti said the river-linking project would be the first in Indian history since independence in 1947. There were also other projects aimed at supplying water for irrigation and drinking in the next few years and the ILR was a long-term scheme, she added.

Indian boys on their way to play cricket walk through a dried patch of Chandola Lake in Ahmadabad, India​

Following two consecutive bad monsoons, India is facing one of its worst droughts. Of its 29 states, nearly half were reported to have suffered from severe water crisis this dry season. The worst hit have been Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, among others. The federal government in Delhi has had to send trains carrying water to the worst affected places. India has faced a water crisis for years. Its ground waters have depleted to alarming levels, mainly because of unsustainable extraction for agriculture and industries. "The water crisis will be there [in the future] because of climate change but through this [inter linking of rivers] we will be able to help the people," Ms Bharti said. "The public has welcomed it and they are happily ready to be displaced."

'No scientific study'

 

[Vikrant]

US appreciates India’s generosity towards Afghanistan

Appreciating India’s generosity, the US has welcomed USD one billion aid by New Delhi to help war-torn Afghanistan become a stronger country with a capacity to defend itself and provide security to its people.

“We obviously support India’s generosity and focus on Afghanistan and willingness to help Afghanistan become a stronger, independent country that has the stronger economic growth, certainly, and also has the capacity to defend itself and provide security to its people,” State Department Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters on Thursday.

He was responding to a question on the pledge made by India this week to allocate USD one billion for Afghanistan’s capability building in spheres such as education, health, agriculture, skill development, empowerment of women, energy, infrastructure and strengthening of democratic institutions.
“The fact that India is willing to invest in that future (of Afghanistan), we view it as a very positive sign and we appreciate India’s effort,” Toner said.

India has emerged as one of the largest donors of civilian aid to Afghanistan.

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US appreciates India’s generosity towards Afghanistan