'There is a clear relationship between the Char Dham road widening and these landslides.' 'The situation has further worsened with the massive influx of tourists whose number are running into several lakhs per month.' 'No parameters have been laid down to control tourist inflow and the result is that the Char Dham yatra has seen a sharp escalation in accidents and loss of lives.'
The mining mafia in the district allegedly tried to attack a senior woman officer when she opposed illegal mining of sand from the area.
Rediff.com brings you some explosive extracts from the 400-page report that has triggered a political tsunami.
'His willingness to take the initiative to fight for truth and justice and his willingness to cross swords with anyone for a just cause.'
In the midst of opposition protests in Karnataka over the illegal mining issue, Governor H R Bharadwaj on Tuesday met President Pratibha Patil.
Vicky Nanjappa digs deep into the Lokayukta report to find that all rules in the book are being openly flouted by the mining lobby in Bellary.
Blood And Iron is veteran journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta's painstaking effort at documenting the mining scams that erupted in south India this year.
A standing committee of the Rajasthan Wildlife Board's has cleared a proposal to allow the mining of a special sandstone, much sought after by builders including those constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya, from Bharatpur's Bandh Baretha sanctuary.
'When I undertook a study of temple desecration in precolonial India, it was not enough simply to document what temples were desecrated, by whom, when, and where.' 'It was also important to explore the total historical context of such incidents, with a view to discovering patterns, which in turn could reveal the reasons why they occurred.'
In an interview with Vicky Nanjappa, S R Hiremath of the Samaj Parivartana Samuday claims he has irrefutable evidence that the Reddy brothers are involved in illegal mining. Hiremath had filed a petition in the Supreme Court for a probe in illegal mining in Bellary district.
State Home Minister Anil Vij said the probe will also go into all aspects of illegal mining in the area.
In an incident reminiscent of the murder of IPS officer Narendra Kumar, two members of a mining mafia on Wednesday allegedly tried to kill a police officer who was trying to stop a tractor-trolley carrying illegally mined sand.
The ED action, sources said, has been initiated after taking cognisance of a 2018 FIR of the Punjab Police against some companies and individuals alleged to be involved in illegal sand mining in the state.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has refuted claims made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin regarding fund allocation and delimitation, accusing him of spreading misinformation and engaging in diversionary tactics. Shah asserted that the Modi government has provided significant financial support to Tamil Nadu and denied claims of any reduction in Parliamentary representation for the state following delimitation. He also criticized the DMK government's handling of law and order, citing issues such as drug trafficking and corruption. Shah expressed confidence in the BJP's prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections, predicting a larger victory than in Maharashtra and Haryana.
The SC told the Haryana counsel to convey to the state government that the law will deal with those indulging in illegal mining even if the state wished to protect them.
Amid tight security, former Karnataka tourism Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy was on Friday produced before a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Bengaluru which remanded him to CBI custody till March 12 in connection with an illegal mining case.
The agency wants to question and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Police officials had erected a checkpost near Hullur village to curb illegal sand mining activities, and when Chauhan tried to check the tractor, its driver ran the vehicle over him and escaped, officials said.
The top court said a balanced approach of sustainable development ensuring environmental safeguards needs to be resorted to while dealing with the issue of sand mining.
Karnataka's mining baron, Janardhan Reddy is in trouble. The chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation has suggested that Reddy earned Rs 4,300 crore through illegal mining.
The officials said that families of the illegal miners are yet to report to the authorities, fearing police action.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday termed as "illegal" Vedanta's bauxite mining project in Orissa's Niyamgiri hills which was denied environmental clearance by the Centre.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force consisting of over 60 personnel reached on Friday morning, while 12 personnel from the State Disaster Response Force are already at the site.
Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh alias Honey was arrested in this case by the agency.
Mining operations in all the 90 mines in Goa were ordered to be halted by the Supreme Court on Friday on the basis of the Justice M B Shah Commission report which estimated a whopping Rs 35,000 crore loss to the exchequer due to illegal mining in the last 12 years.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (retd) Santosh Hegde on Sunday opposed granting financial assistance to people affected by closure of mining in Goa and expressed doubts over the state government's willingness to implement recommendations of Justice M B Shah Commission.
The demand for minerals, boulders and sand is so great that it has fueled a black market and the goons who control this trade do not hesitate to kill law enforcement officers and reporters who have tried to expose them.
In the second part of this two-part series, we take a close look at this poison, which spread across small mining towns of Karnataka, unchecked and unbridled, before it was brought to a grinding halt last year
The Enforcement Directorate has issued fresh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to appear before it in Ranchi on November 17 for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state, official sources said Wednesday.
The Rajasthan government will soon begin an online auction of a special pink sandstone variety, much sought after by builders including those constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya, found in the Bansi Paharpur area of Bharatpur.
Sabbir, alias Mittar, the key accused in the case, was arrested from Rajasthan's Bharatpur district.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader had asked the ED to advance the date of appearance to November 16, which has not been agreed to by the agency, they said.
Ninety percent mining in Bellary district of Karnataka is illegal which has converted the area of green scenic into a war ravaged zone with huge ugly scars, says the Supreme Court-appointed committee.
Indian students at Harvard, on condition of anonymity, shared their concerns and experiences of the last few months during which the prestigious university has seen relentless attacks by the Trump administration.
The Central Bureau of Invstigation has started interrogating former Karnataka Tourism Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy in connection with an illegal mining case, agency sources said on Saturday.
Police said around half-a-dozen dumper trucks and some machines were buried under the debris caused by the landslide which occurred around 9 am in Tosham block.
Deadlock in Karnataka over the mining issue continued for the second day with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa failing to convince the Opposition to let the proceedings go on smoothly.
Facing flak from opposition Congress on the mining issue, the Karnataka government on Monday ordered a probe by Lokayukta into illegal export of minerals, including iron ore, from 2000 till date.
Former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, who is in the thick of a fight against a powerful mine owner and Karnataka's tourism minister Galli Janardhan Reddy, has chided the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress for being under control of mining mafia.
A special CBI court in Hyderabad on Monday dismissed the bail plea of mining baron and former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, an accused in the illegal mining case involving his Obulapuram Mining Company.
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