Karnataka Leaders Protest Inadequate Drought Relief Funds
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with his deputy D K Shivakumar, several ministers, and legislators, staged a protest on Sunday, alleging injustice by the union government in the allocation of drought relief funds.
Holding symbolic "Chombus" (round water pots) to represent emptiness and deception, the leaders accused the Centre of "cheating" Karnataka by not releasing adequate funds to address the severe drought, the worst the state has witnessed in decades.
The protest took place in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the premises of "Vidhana Soudha", which houses the state legislature and secretariat.
The Karnataka government has declared 226 out of 236 Taluks drought-hit, with crop losses reported across 48 lakh hectares of land.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that against the state's request for Rs 18,171 crore for drought relief, the union government sanctioned only Rs 3,454 crore, and that too only after the state approached the Supreme Court. He emphasized that this amount was not even a quarter of what the state needed.