BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with his deputy D K Shivakumar and a group of ministers and legislators, staged a protest in Bengaluru. The protest was in response to what they perceived as an injustice by the central government in releasing drought relief funds to the state.
Using a ‘Chombu’, a round water pot symbolizing emptiness and deception, the leaders accused the Centre of cheating Karnataka by failing to provide sufficient relief to address the severe drought conditions. This drought was described as unprecedented in several decades.
The symbolic protest took place in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the Vidhana Soudha, the building that houses the Legislature and Secretariat.
ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಭೀಕರ ಬರಗಾಲದಿಂದಾಗಿ 48 ಲಕ್ಷ ಹೆಕ್ಟೇರ್ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಳೆದಿದ್ದ ಬೆಳೆ ಹಾನಿಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ @narendramodi ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ 4,663 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂ. ಇನ್ಪುಟ್ ಸಬ್ಸಿಡಿ, 12,577 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂ. ತುರ್ತು ಪರಿಹಾರ, 566 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂ. ಕುಡಿಯುವ ನೀರಿಗಾಗಿ ಹಾಗೂ 363 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂ. ಜಾನುವಾರುಗಳ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆಗಾಗಿ ಒಟ್ಟು 18,174 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂ. ಪರಿಹಾರ… pic.twitter.com/zP34VKpLzC
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 28, 2024
The state government had declared 226 out of 236 Taluks in Karnataka as drought-hit, with a reported crop loss in 48 lakh hectares of land.
Siddaramaiah highlighted that despite the state’s request for Rs 18,171 crore in drought relief, the central government had only released Rs 3,454 crore. This amount was less than a quarter of what was requested and only after the state had approached the Supreme Court for assistance.
