Kolar: Exuding confidence of Congress returning to power in the state after winning in the 2018 Assembly polls, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the BJP was “day-dreaming about a Congress-free Karnataka.”
He was addressing a public meeting after laying foundation stone to Koramangala-Challaghatta Valley (KC Valley) project at Narasapur near Kolar on Monday.
Referring to BJP’s slogan of a Congress-free Karnataka, he said the Congress wanted opposition parties. “Opposition party is a must in democracy. We never give the slogan of a BJP-free Karnataka,” he pointed out and added, “We want a hunger-free, poverty-free, malnutrition-free Karnataka.”
Without taking names, he said it was ironical that “those who were jailed on corruption charges were talking about fighting it now” and added, “Let them first get exonerated from the corruption charges.”
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement at Davanagere on Sunday about doubling farmers’ income, Mr. Siddaramaiah sought to know the programme under which this would be realised.
He also criticised Mr. Modi for renaming the crop insurance scheme as Phasal Bima Yojna and alleged that this was done for the sake of taking credit, as the scheme already existed before.
Over-exploitation of groundwater
Over-exploitation of groundwater along with failure of rain was the major reason for water woes in the region, Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
The state government was committed to fill 126 tanks in Kolar district and Chintamani taluk of Chickballapur district before its (government’s) term ended, he announced. The project was taken up at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,208 crore with an intention of recharging the groundwater levels. Hebbal-Nagawara project on the lines of Koramangala-Challagahtta Valley project will be taken up to fill tanks in Chickballapur district, he said.
Minister for Minor Irrigation Shivaraj Thangadagi said five tmcft water will be available from this project and help improve the groundwater table in the district.
MPs K.H. Muniyappa and Rajiv Gowda, Transport and district in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Agriculture Minister C. Krishna Byregowda, Health Minister U.T. Khader, MLC Chowda Reddy, MLAs K.R. Rameshkumar, G. Manjunath, Y. Ramakka, K. S. Manjunath, K.M. Narayanaswamy and Varthur Prakash, zilla panchayat president Geetha, Deputy Commissioner K.V. Thilok Chandra and secretary of Department of Minor Irrigation Prabhakar were present.