Belagavi session was fruitful for North Karnataka's development: CM Bommai
Belagavi, Dec 24: The Belagavi session of state legislature was fruitful for the development of northern Karnataka as many projects for development of the region were approved during the session, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
Speaking to media persons at Suvarna Soudha, he said the session came up with solutions for many complex problems of the region.
"State government has proved that it is committed to the development of irrigation in the region. Approvals were given for a slew of railway projects for northern Karnataka, financial rejuvenation of HESCOM, clearance for Sasalatti and Manturu irrigation projects, lift irrigation in Sedam were among the projects which got a push during the session," Bommai said.
The recruitment of teachers for Kalyana Karnataka region, grant of Rs 500 crore in the supplementary estimates for the region, taking up new infrastructure projects in Belagavi and holding joint session of state legislature in January are among the prominent decisions the state cabinet took during the session, Bommai said.
According to him, the session witnessed elaborate discussion on recent floods and crop losses.
He added that the state government made history by rushing to farmers' aid as the crop loss compensation was paid within 48 hours after the details were uploaded in the government app.
About Rs 700 crore was distributed within a month, benefiting over 14 lakh farmers, he explained.
"We have proved ourselves as a farmer-friendly government by almost doubling the crop loss compensation despite financial constraints amid COVID-19 crisis. The compensation for crop loss in dry land farming has been raised from Rs 6,800 per hectare to Rs 13,600, for irrigated lands it has been increased from Rs 13,500 to Rs 25,000 and for horticulture crops it has been raised to Rs 28,000 from Rs 18,000. It is a historic decision," Bommai said.
Referring to the Anti-conversion Bill which was passed by the legislative assembly, the Chief Minister said it exposed the dual policy of the opposition Congress, which opposed the bill.
When asked about the bill not getting passed in the Legislative Council yet, he said, "We would not like to force the bill through. The bill would be taken up in the next session after taking all the members into confidence."
Reacting to Congress' comments that the session was convened only to push through a few bills, the Chief Minister said the opposition parties had enough time to take up pro-people issues but their objective was confined to holding dharna in the House.
Claiming that the opposition did not bother to participate in the debates, he alleged that they did not conduct themselves responsibly.
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9 killed, 15 injured as bus catches fire in Haryana
Gurugram(PTI): At least nine people were burnt alive and 15 injured when a moving bus caught fire near Tauru in Haryana's Nuh district in the early hours of Saturday, police said.
The incident occurred around 2 am on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway. The bus was carrying around 60 people, all residents of Punjab's Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana, who were returning from pilgrim towns of Mathura and Vrindavan. All of them are relatives, police said.
"Nine people -- six women and three men -- were killed in the accident. Fifteen people were injured and have been hospitalised. All the injured are stable," said Inspector Jitendra Kumar, Station House Officer, Sadar Tauru.
"The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. A probe is underway," he said.
A local resident said that after noticing the fire, some people chased the bus on a motorcycle and asked the driver to stop. The locals also informed the police and fire department.
