Date:07/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/07/stories/2007070753070400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Chief Minister’s visit made no difference to the people of Chamarajanagar, says MLA

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: Dhruva Narayana (Congress) on Friday thanked Chief Minister H.D Kumaraswamy for removing the 15-year-old jinx attached to Chamarajanagar with his visit to the district.

Participating in the debate in the Legislative Assembly on flood-related problems in the State, Mr. Narayana said that, unfortunately, neither the Chief Minister nor the entourage of 20 Secretaries had brought any relief to the people of the drought-prone district, who did not even have drinking water.

He accused the Minister in charge of the district, H.S. Mahadeva Prasad, of diverting relief funds to the areas such as Yelandur and Hanur.

The minister denied the charge and said a task force headed by an MLA had allocated funds to each constituency on the basis of the need in each area in the district.

Manohar Tinaikar (MES-supported independent member) said the damage to roads and bridges in the State were compounded because of incomplete work. He wanted a permanent mechanism to be put in place to tackle natural calamities. Gopalakrishna Belur, Gangadhar Bhat, Papareddy, Basavaraju, Nehru Olekar, Siddu Savadi, Lalji Mendon and Padmanabha Kothari demanded immediate relief measures and road repairs in their constituencies.