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AAP, state bodies to protest against Karnataka budget on July 10
Against the alleged negligence towards North Karnataka, Belagavi in particular, the Kannada organisations and Aam Admi Party (AAP) have planned to hold a protest next week.
Tucked away in the borderlands of Karnataka and Maharashtra, Belagavi, known as the second capital of Karnataka, has played a crucial role in the state’s growth and development. However, Friday’s state budget announcement by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance ministry, in the legislative assembly has left the city residents disheartened, as it received no allocation.
The spotlight shone on the capital Bengaluru, which received a staggering ₹45,000 crore under the banner of “Brand Bengaluru”.
Except for establishing a human body organ transplantation unit at a government-funded multi-speciality hospital in Belagavi, no fund was allocated to Belagavi in the budget.
Kannada Organisations’ Steering Committee convener, Ashok Chandaragi, who was disappointed with the budget, told HT that the Kannada organisations, in a memorandum submitted to the district administration soon after formation of new Congress government, demanded a new district administration complex on the deputy commissioner office campus, shifting of a few major ministries to Suvarna Vidhan Soudha, the legislative assembly building in the district, and funds to Kittur Development Authority, among others.
He said that former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, who established the Kittur Development Authority, did not allocate funds, and Siddaramaiah is doing the same. “Hundreds of crores of rupees were released to Kalyan Karnataka Development Authority in the same north Karnataka. To avoid traffic congestion, our organisation submitted a memorandum in 2005 when the late Dharam Singh was the chief minister. Though north Karnataka pays high taxes to the state, it’s been neglected by all the governments. Despite regular injustice, the legislators were least bothered about people who voted for them,” Chandaragi added.
Belagavi, with a population of around 700,000 and a floating population of approximately 400,000, is an economic powerhouse. Its strategic location attracts visitors from neighbouring Maharashtra and Goa, making it a commercial centre.
According to Chandaragi, Siddaramaiah has not touched the long pending demand for the construction of the ring road and two flyovers. “Ring road was planned outside the town to avoid plying heavy vehicles inside, while the flyovers to reduce the vehicular burden inside the city,” he said.
Soon after assuming the office, Belagavi district in-charge minister Satish Jarkiholi, who also heads the public works department (PWD), ordered the drafting of the plans for the 10 kms long flyovers from the engineers of his department and tabled to the chief minister for the approval. However, the proposal was not met. He said that funds for constructing flyovers would be allocated in the supplementary budget, and if not, the funds allocated to the PWD department would be utilised for the project.
“Belaumites need not be worried as even though the project was not taken in the main budget, it would be considered in the supplementary budget to be tabled on the last day of the ongoing budget session, else he would provide the funds from PWD,” Jarkiholi said at a press conference on Saturday.
Uttara Karnataka Abhivrudhi Horata Samiti president Ashok Pujari criticised the current and the previous government, which never stood with north Karnataka. “After being bestowed with privileges under Article 371 of the Constitution, the Kalyan Karnataka was enjoying a lot of benefits, and after former Union minister Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as the Congress president, Siddaramaiah government introduced a few projects to the Kalyan Karnataka. However, neither the ministers nor legislators from Kittur Karnataka [the region to which Belagavi belongs] have raised voices in previous and also in the current government,” he said.
Pujari said that the government must shift at least a few ministries to Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi and relocate the villages situated on the river banks to safer places, which maroon during every monsoon.
The shifting of about 25 villages situated on the banks of Krishna, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, and Markandeya rivers in the district to safer places, is pending since 2006.
Against the alleged negligence towards North Karnataka, Belagavi in particular, the Kannada organisations and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have planned to hold a protest next week.
Pujari, who is an office bearer of Congress, criticised his own party for neglecting the district in the budget. “Keeping aside party lines, Congress and AAP and many Kannada organisation, Belagavi Chamber of Commerce and Industries will extend support to the protest scheduled on next Monday [July 10].”
