CM Siddaramaiah meets Shah; seeks early release of drought relief
New Delhi (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and requested him to sanction early drought relief of Rs 18,177.44 crore to the state.
Siddaramaiah, who met Shah in his office in Parliament complex, said a central meeting of the high-level committee should be convened at the earliest to approve the drought relief for Karnataka, an official statement said.
The CM informed in the meeting that the small and marginal farmers are more impacted because of the drought in 223 taluks out of 236 in the state. The crops sown in 48.19 lakh hectare of farm land have been impacted.
Siddaramaiah also said that the state government had submitted a memorandum seeking Rs 18,177.44 crore drought three month back and requested the Centre to expedite the matter.
While sanctioning the drought relief, the CM requested the Centre to consider the latest farmers' population data instead of the 2015-16 data, the statement added.
The state government had submitted its memorandum on September 22. Consequently, a central team visited the state in October and submitted a report.
Siddarmaiah had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday on the same issue.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
