Gandhi Bhavans in all 30 dists: CM

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday said that the government was in the process of setting up Gandhi Bhavans in all 30 districts of the state.

Speaking during the Gandhi Jayanti celebrations at Gandhi Bhavan, Kumaraswamy said that land for the Bhavans had already been identified in 16 districts, while the land identification process in the remaining districts would be completed in the next 15 to 20 days.

The Bhavans, which will be utilised to hold activities throughout the year, will also impart skill development training to youths, he said.

Expressing concern over the increasing incidents of farmer suicides, the chief minister appealed to the farmers not to commit suicide and push their families to hardships. He said that his government’s priority was to protect the interests of farmers.

Hence, it had promulgated an ordinance against forceful debt recovery. The same was awaiting the President’s assent, he said.

Kumaraswamy said all roads and localities in Bengaluru would soon come under CCTV surveillance in a bid to check the growing crime rate.

He said the coalition government aimed at making Bengaluru free from rowdy elements. He said he had taken steps to post good police officers to Bengaluru city.

Later, addressing the gathering during the Gandhi Grama Puraskar award (2017-18) ceremony, Kumaraswamy said his government had devised the ‘Jaladhare’ scheme to supply purified drinking water to all village households in the next five years at an estimated cost of Rs 7,000 crore. He said the detailed project report would be readied soon.

The chief minister distributed Gandhi Gram Puraskar awards to 175 villages. As many as 3,542 villages had applied for the award.