An Executive Engineer of the Panchayat Raj Engineering Division of Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat has said that he received many threatening calls after he began an inquiry into the alleged dredging of Muddana tank at Abbalagere on the outskirts of Shivamogga City.
Mr. K. C. Sangappa, Executive Engineer, in a review meeting chaired by Minister for School Education Madhu Bangarappa who is also Minister in-charge of Shivamogga district, on Saturday, said that as he started his inquiry into the illegal extraction of silt from the tank, he got many threatening calls. However, he refused to provide further details on the calls.
Mr. Madhu Bangarappa insisted the officer’s statement be recorded in the meeting proceedings. He also told the officer not to be threatened by anyone, assuring him that the government would be with him.
Further, the Minister said that the government would investigate the illegal removal of the silt from the tank. “The government cannot keep quiet when there are allegations of illegal activity in a tank that belongs to the State Government. There are reports of Karnataka State Government Employees Association president C.S. Shadakshari being involved in the act. The government will take proper action on this”, he said.
The Hindu had reported on the illegal dredging of Muddana tank. The Executive Engineer, in his report, stated that the Government Employees Association caused a loss of royalty to the government, by removing over 15,000 loads of silt by taking permission only for 500 loads. However, Shadakshari maintained that he had no role in the activity.
