‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme beneficiaries to get money instead of 5 kg rice for now: Minister KH Muniyappa
Bengaluru (PTI): As the Karnataka government is facing difficulty in procuring large quantities of rice required to fulfil its poll guarantee, it has decided to pay beneficiaries cash at the rate of Rs 34 per kilo, for the additional 5kg of the foodgrain promised under the 'Anna Bhagya' scheme.
The Congress, in its election manifesto, had promised to give an additional five kg rice a month along with five kg given by the Centre for free.
The state government said the disbursement of money will start from July 1.
"The FCI (Food Corporation of India) has a standard rate of Rs 34 per kg rice. We tried to get rice but no institution came forward to supply us the required amount of rice (to give additionally)," Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa briefed reporters here after a Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday.
He said, "Since the date for launching Anna Bhagya has arrived (July 1) and we had given word, today in the cabinet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and other ministers arrived at a decision that till the time the rice is supplied, we will give money at the rate of Rs 34 per kg, which is the FCI rate, to the (BPL) ration card holders."
If there is one person in one card then the person will get Rs 170 a month against five kg additional rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme, the Minister explained.
Two persons in the ration card will be entitled for Rs 340 and if there are five members then they would get Rs 850 a month, he added.
Muniyappa said the government has made arrangements to directly deposit the amount into the beneficiaries' accounts.
"This will come into effect from July 1 itself. This is one of the important guarantees promised by our party. We had taken this decision in the first cabinet meeting after coming to power," the Minister noted.
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Humanity trumps terror: Kashmiri guide saves lives of children of Chhattisgarh tourists
Raipur, Apr 24 (PTI): Risking his own life, a Kashmiri tourist guide saved the lives of children from a group of tourists from Chhattisgarh when terrorists struck in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
Nazakat Ahmad Shah (28) was acting as a guide to a group of 11, four couples and three children, from Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district in Chhattisgarh during their Kashmir trip.
Shah's own cousin was killed in the attack that claimed the lives of 26 persons, he told PTI over phone on Thursday.
Arvind Agrawal, one of the tourists, posted pictures of him and his daughter with Shah on his social media handle and wrote, "You saved our lives by risking your own, we will never be able to repay the debt of Nazakat Bhai." As per his Facebook profile, Agrawal is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha- a youth wing of the BJP.
Besides the Agrawals, families of Kuldeep Sthapak, Shivansh Jain and Happy Wadhavan were part of the group.
Shah sells shawls in Chirmiri town of Chhattisgarh in winter, and therefore knew these families.
"They reached Jammu on April 17 and I received them and took them to Kashmir in two vehicles. I took them to Srinagar, Gulmarg, Sonmarg and in the last leg we decided to visit Pahalgam," he said.
"Pahalgam was to be the last venue as my village is close by, and I wanted to host them, because Kashmiris have a passion for hospitality," Shah said.
"We reached Baisran around 12:00 noon. My tourists were busy with pony rides and clicking pictures. Around 2 pm I told Lucky (Kuldeep) that we are getting late, so we should go. He replied we will go after clicking some more pictures. While we were talking, we heard gunshots and initially we thought it was the sound of firecrackers.
"Suddenly, we realized it was gunshots. There were thousands of tourists who were running here and there in panic," he said.
"My first concern was the safety of the tourist families. I took Lucky's kid and another child and laid down on the ground. The area was fenced so it was not easy to escape. I noticed a small opening and asked the families to move out through that opening. They asked me to save the children first. I slipped through it with the two kids, and ran towards Pahalgam town," he said.
After depositing the children in a safe place, he returned to the spot and escorted out the others safely. "Thanks to Allah, I took all our 11 guests safely to Pahalgam," Shah said.
Adil Hussain, the son of his maternal uncle, was killed in the terror attack but he could not attend his final rites as he decided to escort the tourists back, he said.
"I knew them (Kuldeep and others) for several years as earlier I used to accompany my father to Chirmiri to sell shawls. I wanted my guests saved even if I did not survive," said Shah, who has two daughters.
Like Agrawal, Sthapak also shared his and his family's pictures with Shah on social media, and hailed him profusely for saving their lives.
"A letter written from the heart to Nazakat Bhai...My brother, the passion and bravery with which you rescued us from there is still echoing in my ears. There was chaos, gunshots, screams and the shadow of death all around. No ordinary person can do that. The humanity you showed by putting your life at stake is beyond words. I will be grateful to you all my life. I can never forget this favor," he wrote in Hindi on his Facebook page.
Sthapak also said he was concerned about Shah's own safety. "People will debate about religion and caste, but who will take care of Nazakat Bhai, who presented the most beautiful example of humanity? The heart becomes restless thinking about this," he said.
Shah picked up his child, sat him on his shoulders and ran 14 km on dangerous hills, Sthapak said.
"Nazakat bhai, you not only saved my life that day, you kept humanity alive. I will never forget you for the rest of my life," he added.
Sthapak's wife is a BJP corporator in Chirmiri town.
नजाकत खान जैसे लोग इंसानियत की मिशाल हैं।
— Dr Monika Singh (@Dr_MonikaSingh_) April 24, 2025
पहलगाम आतंकी हमले में 28 लोगों की मौत हो गई. वहीं इस बीच हमले के दौरान अपनी बहादुरी से 11 लोगों की जान बचाने वाले नज़ाकत अहमद शाह ने आंखों देखी पूरी घटना बयां की है और साथ ही उन्होंने बताया कि कैसे उन्होंने लोगों की जान बचाई... pic.twitter.com/QXxyAmlfPG
