Goodies to keep voters in good humour

MLAs birthday bash

As if preparing the ground for a cakewalk in the next Assembly election, the Palike’s Bommanahalli zonal officers arranged a perfect birthday party by doling out freebies on Monday.

In what appeared to be a run-up to the Assembly elections, the event saw a tough competition of benevolence between the Palike Bommanahalli zonal officers and many unknown persons to arrange freebies for the MLA’s electorate.

Playing Santa Claus in the month of Christmas, the birthday boy had gifts for every person attending the event at the Agara Government School playground.

While the Palike announced scholarships and dhobi (washermen) kits under its various welfare schemes for the economically and socially weaker sections, unknown philanthropists provided 100 bicycles, 100 sewing machines, 10 kg rice and other grocery items to 120 families that live in abject poverty but do not figure in the government’s BPL list.

All these freebies were given to the beneficiaries by the MLA. Some corporate giants offered costly chocolate packets with visiting cards stapled to everyone attending the event.

HSR Layout Corporator Latha Narasimha Murthy enthusiastically narrated how private persons came forward for a “social” cause. “Our layout has no dearth of rich people who readily agree for any charitable work. They have actually sponsored bicycles, sewing machines and grocery items for the BPL families,” she said.

She, however, made it clear that the donors’ names would “not be mentioned during the event because the philanthropists want their names to be kept under wraps.”

She added that the donors had spent somewhere between Rs 6.5 lakh and Rs seven lakh.

The corporator rued that although the BBMP has a provision of giving sewing machines under its welfare scheme, the electorate of her ward could not avail the benefit of it.

“Women have to undergo tailoring training for a year to get a sewing machine from the Palike, but there are no training schools in our Bommanahalli constituency. It would take at least a year for women in our ward to avail the benefit as the training school was started last month,” Latha said.

In his speech, Satish Reddy said many developmental projects were taken up in his area after he became the MLA, but some people were tarnishing the government’s image by blowing the fake bills scam out of proportion.

“It is not a scam. Residents want us to take up projects in places where no work has been sanctioned. In such conditions, we have to listen to the people. No one wants to indulge in corruption and then languish behind the bars,” he said.