Cong betrayed people by making promises which remain unfulfilled: CM Bommai
Gadag (Karnataka): Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai on Monday accused the Congress of betraying people by saying that the grand old party is known for making tall promises but poor in delivering them.
The previous Congress government had announced seven kg rice per head and reduced the offer to four kg within a few days, but the truth is that only four kg was distributed for three years of their five-year tenure, Bommai said addressing an election rally here.
He added that the rice quantity was raised to seven kg when just one year was left for the General Assembly election.
Bommai said the same goes with the Congress party's promise of distributing houses for the poor. Referring to former chief minister Siddaramaiah's allegation that BJP government had not distributed even a single house, Bommai said the senior Congress leader is misleading the people.
"Congress has betrayed people. It makes tall promises but is poor in delivering them. They built castles in the air by promising to build 15 lakh homes for poor people three months before the previous election without making any financial allocation," Bommai said.
He told the crowd that the BJP government has not only provided funds for the housing scheme but also started work on the construction.
He further said he has approved the construction of five lakh houses and instructed the officials to ensure that they are completed well before the general Assembly election in 2023.
The Chief Minister also listed many welfare programs launched by his government.
According to him, there is healthy competition among various departments in taking up developmental works in rural areas. About 7,500 Stree Shakti Sangha have been provided a grant of Rs one lakh each and about 75,000 youth have been enrolled for various skill development programs to enable them to get jobs or become self-employed, Bommai added.
The Chief Minister was campaigning for the BJP candidate for the legislative council election for 25 seats in the State, which is scheduled to take place on December 10.
The BJP has fielded 20 candidates against the 25 seats.
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K’taka to launch special drive for drinking water tests in gram panchayats amid rising temperatures
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Bengaluru: As summer intensifies across Karnataka, the state government is preparing to initiate a special campaign to test drinking water across the state.
A directive is expected to be issued to all chief executive officers of zilla panchayats, instructing gram panchayats within their jurisdictions to conduct water quality tests, as reported by The New Indian Express on Thursday.
Karnataka has around 6,000 gram panchayats and their staff have been trained to conduct field tests. They check the water quality for 12 parameters, including potential of hydrogen (PH), chloride, fluoride, iron, nitrate, alkalinity, residual chlorine, and total dissolved solids. The hydrogen sulfide test is also conducted to check the presence of bacteria.
The testing has been made mandatory after several drinking water contamination cases have been reported over the years across the state, added the report.
Anjum Parvez, Additional Chief Secretary for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, said that water quality testing is routinely mandated twice a year—once before and once after the monsoon season.
“During pre-monsoon, groundwater level goes down and the quality of water has to be checked. Post monsoon, the flow of water is more, and the threat of contamination is not high, but even then water is tested. Potable drinking water is our priority,’’ TNIE report quoted Parvez as saying.
He also noted that panchayat development officers and engineers regularly inspect water supply pipelines for leakages.
The state government has taken disciplinary action in past cases involving supply of contaminated water and is now conducting special campaigns to prevent such incidents.
