Five guarantees introduced to follow principle of social justice: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the five guarantee schemes of his government were introduced to follow the principle of social justice in the accumulation of wealth and its distribution.
Addressing people on the occasion of 77th Independence Day from the Sam Manekshaw Parade Ground, Siddaramaiah pointed out that the people of Karnataka realised that development can be possible only if there is peace in the society.
Explaining the reason behind introducing the five guarantees, he said due to neo-liberalism, the gap between haves and have-nots started widening. In India, today 10 per cent people control 70 per cent of our resources, he claimed.
"During colonial era, the British rulers plundered the country but now the resources are getting accumulated with a few capitalists. In this situation can development be possible?" he wondered.
"Keeping this in mind, we are following the principle of social justice in the accumulation of wealth and its distribution. Hence, we introduced the five guarantees," the CM said.
The Congress government decided to formulate the five guarantees, which is founded on Universal Basic Income (UBI) to elevate the socio-economic position of the people. Along with that, the government has taken price rise, unemployment, discrimination based on caste and religion and corruption seriously.
"We took the decision to implement these schemes in the first cabinet meeting and introduced them within three weeks of government formation."
Under the 'Shakti' scheme, daily 50 to 60 lakh women passengers are availing the free bus services in the state, he said and added that so far 38.54 crore free rides have been registered.
Siddaramaiah further said that under the 'Gruha Jyothi' scheme, which promises 200 units of free electricity to households, 1.49 crore families have registered online. People are availing benefits of this scheme from August 1. The state has earmarked Rs 13,910 crore for its implementation.
On the Anna Bhagya scheme, the Chief Minister said the government had promised to provide 10 kg rice under the programme to ensure a hunger-free state.
Owing to the 'non-cooperation' of the Centre to provide an additional five kg rice, Siddaramaiah said his government decided to pay cash instead of five kg rice to each beneficiary every month.
According to him, 1.04 crore families are receiving financial assistance under the Anna Bhagya scheme.
Regarding 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme, which provides Rs 2,000 per month to the women head of the families, Siddaramaiah said the Direct Benefit Transfer into the accounts of women will commence on August 27. He noted that 1.08 crore women have enrolled themselves under the scheme.
Remembering the freedom-fighters, the CM said the people of the country are enjoying independence due to the sacrifices of thousands of people who did not care for their life to rid the country of slavery.
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
