JOIN USHe visits Kolar to assess drought situation, promises to open more goshalas in the district.
Supply of drinking water through tankers will continue in view of prevailing drought situation in the taluk.
Addressing a meeting on the gram panchayat premises at Madiwala on Sunday, Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka said that more goshalas will be opened to address the fodder crisis.
Tahsildars have been directed to work relentlessly on executing the drought relief measures, he said.
Ashoka suggested farmers in the district to stop cultivation of eucalyptus which will lead to depletion of groundwater.
Ashoka said the State government has waived loans availed by farmers from co-operative societies, and the Union government too should consider writing off farmers’ loans up to Rs three lakh in the nationalised banks.
Students from class 1 to 7 will be given bus pass to commute to their schools free of cost, the deputy chief minister said.
Member of the Parliament H N Anannth Kumar criticised K H Muniyappa, the minister of railway for State, for his “failure to provide drinking water to the voters of his constituency.”
He said more than 600 stepped-wells and 2,000-odd tanks have dried up in the taluk and farmers are dependent on borewells for irrigation. But, the elected representative from the district has not failed to redress grievances of people, he said.
He said the State has suffered a loss of an estimated Rs 18.500 crore due to the drought and hence, a proposal has been submitted to the Union government, seeking release of three lakh metric tonne rice to the State, he said.
Minister R Varthur Prakash, legislators S N Krishnaiah Setty, Y A Narayanaswamy, M Narayanaswamy, D S Veeraiah and B P Venkatamuniyappa were present on the occasion.