Telangana celebrates I-Day with two major schemes
Hyderabad, Aug 15: The 72nd Independence Day was celebrated in Telangana on Wednesday with the launch of two major schemes - free eye screening for all citizens and life insurance for farmers.
Under 'Kanti Velugu', the entire population of 3.7 crore will be provided free eye care. The authorities will not only conduct eye screening but will also provide free medicines, spectacles and arrange for free surgeries, if required.
The government expects that four lakh surgeries will be performed across the state. Under what is claimed to be the first such programme taken up anywhere in the world, the government plans to distribute 40 lakh spectacles.
Unfurling the national flag at the historic Golconda Fort, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao also announced the implementation of another scheme, 'Rytu Bima', aimed at providing life insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh to every farmer.
The government will cover 28 lakh farmers aged between 18 and 59 years. The government will bear the annual premium of Rs 2,271 per farmer. It has already paid Rs 636 crore towards premium to Life Insurance Corp.
The insurance documents will be distributed among farmers from Wednesday.
For the fifth consecutive year, Rao unfurled the national flag at Golconda Fort to mark India's Independence Day.
The youngest state of India celebrated the day with gaiety and patriotic fervour, with Rao leading the celebrations at the main official function.
He reviewed a parade by contingents of Telangana State Special Police, State Armed Reserve and City Armed Reserve.
The number of policemen and students participating in the parade was limited due to space constraint. As in the previous four years, there were no tableaux.
After paying tributes to martyrs at a memorial at Parade Ground in Secunderabad, Rao drove to Golconda fort for the main event.
Drummers, tribals and other artists performed on the ramparts to add colour to the festivities.
After formation of the state in 2014, Rao had departed from the over five-decade-old tradition of Independence Day celebrations at the Parade Ground to choose the ancient fort as the venue to showcase the rich legacy of Telangana.
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Conspiracy afoot to 'tarnish' image of Dharmasthala: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Aug 14 (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said there was a “conspiracy” to tarnish the image of Dharmasthala.
His comments come amid an ongoing investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into serious allegations of mass burials in the revered temple town in Dakshina Kannada district.
“A conspiracy is being hatched to destroy hundreds of years of legacy. It is not correct to tarnish someone just like that. It has all happened due to one complainant,” he said.
Noting that some Congress MLAs have called for action against those involved in the slander campaign at the legislature party meeting, he said, “ I have told them that action must be taken against those who are indulging in a slander campaign. The CM has also said that action must be taken against such people.”
“I have information on this case. Religious feelings should not be hurt in any manner. Culprits must be punished,” he told reporters, according to a release from his office.
Responding to a question, Shivakumar said the Congress party will not allow the image of any religious place to be tarnished.
“We see everyone equally when it comes to religion,” he added.
The SIT, formed by the state government, is probing claims of mass murder, rape, and mass burials in Dharmasthala over the past two decades.
The complainant, a former sanitation worker whose identity has not been revealed, alleged that between 1995 and 2014 he was forced to handle bodies—including women and minors—and that some showed signs of sexual assault. He has given a statement before a magistrate.
As part of the probe, the SIT has been conducting exhumations at multiple locations identified by the complainant-witness in the forested areas along the banks of the Netravathi River in Dharmasthala, where some skeletal remains have been found at two sites so far.
