Karnataka Congress Chief DK Shivakumar 'unaware of illegal mining activities at KRS dam'

After Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh claimed that the Krishna Raja Sagara(KRS) dam in Karnataka developed cracks due to illegal mining in the vicinity, the Karnataka Congress Chief D.K. Shivakumar denied all her allegations. D.K. Shivakumar stated that he is unaware of the mining process at the KRS dam in Karnataka. He further stated that he was the district in-charge minister in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet and nobody complained to him about mining at KRS Dam in Karnataka. The Karnataka Congress Chief further said that some concrete mining 10-15 km away doesn't make any difference. 

Previously, DK Shivakumar was an irrigation minister in the cabinet of former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and energy minister during the Siddaramaiah cabinet.

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In 2019, the issue of illegal mining activities at the KRS dam was started by Sumalatha Ambareesh, a member of Parliament from Mandya district, Karnataka. She tweeted on her Twitter account about these allegations. Janata Dal former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy also traded charges over illegal mining in Karnataka's Mandya district. As per reports, the Mandya MP also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Information(CBI) over the impact of illegal mining at the KRS dam. The leaders of Janata Dal were quick to react to the controversy of illegal mining. They allegedly said that the illegal mining activities had begun during the time when Ambareesh was managing the affairs in Mandya district.

Further, Sumalatha was being asked to sleep in front of the KRS dam gates to prevent seepage. Kumaraswamy also told that Sumalatha worked as a protector of the KRS dam in Madya district and they should probably make her sleep at the gates of the KRS dam to ensure that the water doesn't leak. Even last Friday, Sumalatha was asked to provide proof of illegal mining activities at the KRS dam by the neighboring Mysore-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha. After receiving all these comments by Kumaraswamy, Sumalatha also tweeted on her Twitter handle against these statements and targeted the corrupt MPs of Karnataka who were involved in illegal mining activities at KRS dam. 

(IMAGE: PTI)