After Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s budget announcement on Friday, several reactions emerged regarding the various sectors covered in the budget.
Animal lovers shared their joy at the state’s efforts to protect and promote the welfare of animals, particularly stray dogs. “Mobile veterinary clinics would be very beneficial as they will ensure primary care can be provided to injured animals before they can reach shelters like ours,” said Keerthan RP, Manager at Charlie’s Animal Rescue Centre (CARE).
He added that the decision to develop the Mudhol breed might also encourage people to adopt Indie breeds over shopping for exotic breeds. “We hope that the money allocated for animals is actually used for them,” he said.
The Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike said that this budget was “a mixed bag”, noting that while the free bus scheme and the ‘Makkala Bus Scheme’ were steps in the right direction, the amounts allocated for them were insufficient. “We are concerned that BMTC is being weakened and not enough is being done to build a robust, accessible bus service that Bangalore deserves,” they noted in a statement.
Kausalya of Slum Mahila Sanghatane had a positive outlook on some of the bus schemes. “They have taken this one step forward after all our efforts. We need to further strengthen our efforts and raise our collective voice to demand more for the buses and commuters in the city,” she said.
Vinay Sreenivasa, an advocate, said that he was disappointed that the budget included nothing for street vendors. “There is a greater focus on just building ring roads and flyovers but nothing about improving bus stops and building proper shelters for them,” he said.
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Karnataka Rashtra Samithi party president Ravikrishna Reddy said that more money has gone into infrastructure projects which are “substandard and corrupt” but no steps are being taken to improve the human development index of citizens of Karnataka. “As long as the budget doesn’t serve the welfare of the people, it is useless,” he said.