DailyBrief: PM Modi visits Sandeshkhali; And Bengaluru's water crisis

Have you checked out our YouTube and Instagram channels yet? Follow us to get the same sharp analyses you love, on your social media.

Market Watch

• Indian benchmark indices hit new highs today as the Sensex rose 408.86 points to settle at 74,085.99, while the Nifty rose 117.70 points, settling at 22,474, their best closing ever.
• Sectorally Nifty Media and Nifty Realty were the biggest losers, while Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank were the biggest gainers.

Modi visits Sandeshkhali while Bengal govt refuses to send rape-accused leader to CBI custody

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sandeshkhali today, where he met with women who were victims of sexual assault at the hands of former TMC goon Shajahan Sheikh and his acolytes.

What he said: “Under the Trinamool rule, women have suffered atrocities. Trinamool has committed a grave sin. What happened in Sandeshkhali would make everyone hang their heads in shame. But the Trinamool government doesn't care about your pain. It is using all its might to protect the oppressor of Bengali women. Their acts were first condemned by the High Court and then the Supreme Court as well…TMC govt trusts its leaders more than it trusts the women of Bengal. TMC has full confidence in their leader but not in the women of West Bengal,” he said.

• All valid points, but many question the timing of his visit to the state (Lok Sabha polls around the corner), and some brought back the question as to why he didn’t show as much haste in visiting Manipur while the state was in turmoil.

What the women said: “We voted the Chief Minister to victory but she insulted us... She did not even talk to us... We felt very good after talking to PM Modi... We requested him to deploy the Central Force here because we have no faith in the state government,” said one of the women present in the crowd.

• These sentiments - “no faith in the state government” - were echoed by almost all the women present there quoted in multiple news reports. This is a very bad look for the TMC government and for Mamata Banerjee, as being a woman leader one would have expected more empathy from her instead of how she is now using all her power to shield Shahjahan Sheikh.
• Nusrat Jahan whose constituency is at the center of this entire saga has been silent so far - raising the question - where are the TMC’s women leaders when such atrocities are taking place in their state?

Shielding Shahjahn Sheikh: Sheikh, accused of heinous crimes in the region, was only apprehended after being on the run for 55 days, that too after the High Court ordered his arrest.

• A video of him strutting around a police station went viral, sparking debates on whether the state police has the wherewithal to handle a politically sensitive case. It also raises questions as to whether the state police is just an extension of the ruling party.

• Now, after the Calcutta High Court ordered the state police to transfer custody of Shahjahan Sheikh to the CBI, the state police refused compliance citing an appeal to the Supreme Court. It is important to note that the SC refused an urgent hearing on the matter when the Mamata Banerjee government sought intervention.
• It is likely that he will be handed over to the CBI this evening.

Clip du jour

This epic video of a young boy’s quick thinking - calmly trapping a leopard in an office until rescuers could arrive.

Hi, I’m Gaurav Jeyaraman, the editor of this newsletter. We’d like to hear some feedback on our newsletter: what works and what doesn’t work? WhatsApp me directly and tell me what you think.

Bengaluru water crisis worsens, and summer is yet to come

Bengaluru's water crisis has reached a critical point, with even Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's home borewell drying up. Residents are struggling with disrupted supplies and inflated prices for water tankers. And summer hasn’t even begun yet.

• Residents Welfare Associations have started banning car washing and closing swimming pools to conserve water, with some opting for waterless car wash alternatives.
• Whitefield, Yelahanka, Kanakpura, and Sarjapur, among others, are the worst affected areas so far. Areas in the central parts of the city are managing so far.

How bad is it?: The city, with a population of around 1 crore, is facing a substantial water deficit, with a daily supply from the Cauvery River falling short by approximately 1,680 million litres compared to demand.

• Private water tankers have hiked their rates from Rs 1,200 (per 12,000 litres) one month ago, to Rs 2,000.?This has forced the government to take over water tankers and negotiate with them to standardize the rates.

War room for water crisis: The government has a plan to tackle the crisis, including using milk tankers for water transportation.

• BBMP has set up a war room for real-time monitoring of the water crisis and nominated nodal officers in various wards to manage water-related issues.

What’s to blame? The blame game is already underway with several prospective culprits. Many locals blame the Supreme Court’s directives on the Cauvery water issue as the cause. Others say the massive influx of people from other states has put additional stress on water availability.

• The government mentioned the mushrooming of illegal borewells as a significant contributor to the reduction of groundwater levels.
• A rainfall deficit is also being blamed for this. But while Bengaluru saw its?highest rain deficit in a century in August 2023, the September rainfall offset this, which means plenty of rainwater should have been available. However, the city lacks rainwater harvesting, with 90% of rainfall wasted as runoff.
• It is likely a combination of illegal borewells, unchecked infrastructure development and poor rainwater harvesting policies that have led to this.

ICYMI

• Seven more Indians tricked into going to Belarus without visas, were coerced into military service in Russia. One of the youths who was duped into going there earlier has now been killed on the front lines.
• Bitcoin reached a new milestone, soaring to a record high of $69,202, before experiencing a pullback.
• “Raise your hand, volunteer for layoffs”; IBM takes a unique approach to downsizing
• India’s commissioning of a naval base in Lakshadweep is seen as a response to China’s military pact with the Maldives.
• A painter from Delhi, who tragically lost his hands, has received a new lease on life after a bilateral hand transplant.
• After last night’s major outage of Meta services, Mark Zuckerberg lost $3 billion from his net worth.
• The NIA is offering a Rs 10 lakh reward for information leading to the identification of the bomber responsible for the Rameshwaram Cafe blast.
• Nikki Haley plans to abandon the race to the White House which means a Trump v Biden rematch is imminent.
• The Delhi Police has denied former BharatPe MD Ashneer Grover's request to travel to London for a speaking engagement at the London School of Economics (LSE).