Karnataka is working on a war footing to address the crippling water crisis in Bengaluru, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said, adding that over 3,000 borewells in the city have dried up, including the one at his home.

“All the borewells are dry, including the one at my house,” the Deputy Chief Minister told reporters.

The state is working round the clock to identify all the points where water is available, he assured. “I am looking into this very, very, very seriously. I have had a meeting with all the officials. We are taking over all the tanks and are identifying the points where all water is available. Two hundred and seventeen tunnels have been tried. More than 3,000 borewells have dried up in Bangalore. Whatever water is coming from the Cauvery is coming…” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister also blamed the Centre for not helping with the Mekedatu project. “We are facing a very difficult situation. That is why we walked for water, for the Mekedatu project. I hope the central government will at least come to our rescue now to see the Mekedatu problem is solved,” he said.

Last year, Mr Shivakumar had said that the proposed Mekedatu project, a balancing reservoir in the Cauvery basin in Karnataka, was the only solution to the water-sharing row with neighbouring states.

The escalating water crisis is forcing locals to pay exorbitant amounts for water tankers. A 5,000-litre water tanker that earlier cost Rs 500 in the city is now available for Rs 2,000.

“We will ensure we provide at a very reasonable rate to all the people,” Mr Shivakumar said.

On March 4, he had warned water tanker owners in the state that their tankers would be seized if they didn’t register with the authorities before the March 7 deadline.

“Of the total 3,500 water tankers in Bengaluru city, only 10%, or 219 tankers, have registered with the authorities. The government will seize them if they don’t register before the deadline,” he had said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said 223 of the state’s 236 talukas are reeling under drought. Among them, 219 are badly affected, he added.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make her electoral debut from the party’s Uttar Pradesh stronghold of Raebareli – a seat won thrice by ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi – sources told NDTV Wednesday afternoon. Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, will return to the Congress’ other UP stronghold – Amethi – which he lost in a shock defeat to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Smriti Irani in 2019.

Mr Gandhi will, however, also fight from his current seat of Wayanad in Kerala; victory here had allowed him to retain his Lok Sabha status after the last general election.

Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into electoral politics – a long-awaited event – comes after her mother, ex-party boss Sonia Gandhi – said she would not seek re-election from Raebareli, a seat she has won five times in the past, including 2019, when she was the sole Congress leader to win a UP Lok Sabha seat.

Mrs Gandhi last month shifted from the Lok Sabha to the Rajya Sabha – she was elected from Rajasthan – in a move meant to signal a shift in party leadership before the general election.

After the Congress confirmed Sonia Gandhi’s withdrawal from Raebareli, there was a wave of speculation that Priyanka Gandhi – whose resemblance to Indira Gandhi, her grandmother, had not gone unnoticed in the constituency – would finally contest an election.

There were even posters in Raebareli this week urging the Congress to name Ms Gandhi Vadra as its candidate for the prestigious seat. “Take Congress’ development work forward, Raebareli is calling… Priyanka Gandhiji, please come,” the posters said. The Congress has now responded to that call.

The BJP has not yet announced its Raebareli candidate; in 2019 the party fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh, who slumped to defeat by over 1.8 lakh votes in the constituency.

The party has, however, confirmed that Ms Irani will defend her Amethi seat, setting up the first of two blockbuster contests in the politically significant state of Uttar Pradesh.

Days after the Supreme Court pulled him for his remarks on Sanatana Dharma, DMK minister Udhayanidhi Stalin today got some relief from Madras High Court. The court today dismissed a petition, which had challenged the continuation of Mr Stalin and two other DMK leaders as legislators.

The high court observed that Mr Stalin’s remarks were “wrong”, but noted that he has not been convicted by any court yet.

The 46-year-old DMK leader, who is the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, had made the controversial remarks on Sanatana Dharma last September. The remarks, in which he said “Sanatana is like malaria and dengue and must be eradicated, had sparked a massive row.