JOIN USNeglect of water in budget infuriates citizens
Activists of various local organisations staged a protest on the streets of the City on Saturday, accusing the State government of having ‘cheated’ the district during its presentation of the budget on Friday.
The protesters, who gathered at the Shidlaghatta Circle, shouted slogans against the government. “The Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar had promised at a meeting in Bangalore that a permanent irrigation project would be implemented, to benefit the arid districts, but no funds have been allocated for any such project. The act is condemnable,” they added.
‘Only promises’
Yaluvahalli Sonnegowda, member of the Permanent Irrigation Struggle Committee, reminded that a protest demanding an irrigation project had been carried out for several days.
“Leaders and members of many organisations had participated in the protest and expressed support to our cause. Many ministers and even the District In-charge Minister, who met us, too promised to ensure a project is implemented. The budget, however, shows the government has cheated the citizens of the district,” he complained.
Kolar Gold Fields
The exclusion of the City from the list of new taluks presented in the budget by the State government on Friday has left most residents upset.
There have been repeated requests to the government to make the City the taluk headquarters, as it is the largest town in the taluk. There had also been requests for taluk status, with either Kolar Gold Fields or Bethamangala as the headquarters. Various organisations had even staged protests on several occasions for this cause.
‘MLA failed’
“The local legislator Y Sampangi has failed to stand up successfully for the cause of the City, and to urge the government into providing us taluk status. We are forced to continue as before,” said Mutyalamma, member of Zilla Panchayat, with disappointment.
Union Minister K H Muniyappa agreed that the legislator could not put across the case of the City effectively.
Naseer Ahmed, Member of Legislative Council, said, “The government had been proposed to give taluk headquarters status to Kolar Gold Fields City well before the implementation of the Nanjundappa report. Now, however, the government has also ignored the City to provide taluk status.”
Vikramadityan, chairperson of the Kolar Gold Fields Urban Development Authority, demanded that the government consider the requests by the residents of the constituency and immediately give it the status of a taluk.